Found a 351C and a 351PD. Can't Decide

[pvq]

I purchased a 351PD before the C came out a few years back. Paid $659 plus tax. Although I generally prefer hammerless revolvers for concealed carry, I think the PD offers a definite advantage for those with weak hand strength to still utilize them for self defense. Rimfires naturally have a heavier trigger, and I have two very petite daughters that just don't have the hand size/strength to pull the trigger any any DA revolver. The PD with the external hammer is my choice for that reason.

 

[Monad71]

I own both and love the 351C. It's deadly accurate at 25ft. I performed a trigger job, (polishing and changing springs) and it's so smooth now. I put a set of eagle Secret Service grips on it. The 351PD sits in the safe.

Doc

 

[Stainz]

I like the concealed hammer of the 351C for CC, but the 351PD has a nicer grip - and was all I could find locally this January - so I bought mine for what I thought was $599, as the trigger guard string tag stated. The LGS owner rang it up as $629 + s/t, which I didn't notice due to the CC purchase - and the madness that was early January in a gunstore. It had to go back to S&W for a new cylinder & ejector, but I was happily shooting it by month's end - and carrying it, too. The slick wood grip doesn't print or stick, and whether from a 642-sized Mika pocket holster or a suede leather pocket holster, rapid draw and fire proved the hammer to be a non-issue. The wood grip is small in my medium+ sized hands, but easily & efficiently 'grabbed', ie, no fidgeting, and the low recoil is no problem. That grip would be miserable in my 632 Pro with real .327 Fed Magnums, however (That's why it sports the larger wooden '60 Pro' grips.). The 351PD is for pocket carry - and a true 'emergency' - it doesn't have to be a 'comfortable' plinker - I have a 4" 651 for that! I'd get the 351PD, given the choice.

As to DA trigger improvement... S&W offers an $85 'clean up' - no spring changes. There is a reason for that - the Magnum rimfire primer needs a significant 'hit' to fire reliably. My LNIB 651 got lighter Wolff springs initially - and ftf's. Back went the full strength hammer coil. Enter my 351PD... I did nothing but flood it's innards free of manufacturing crud, leaving little RemOil aerosol within it. It broke in nicely - actually, very equivalent to the broken-in 651. It seems stiffer than it really is due to the lite weight (10.8 oz) of the revolver - the muzzle seemingly wanders as you pull the DA trigger. Still, it is 'doable' for my wife and myself and easy follow-ups, due to the lite recoil, permit all seven rounds (Hornady 45gr FTX Critical Defense) to be put in the COM of a bg target at 7yd in seconds - good enough for SD - the bg will eventually notice those seven new exsanguination ports you've added...

Stainz

PS I still carry seven rounds in a screw cap poly bottle as a 'slow' reload, despite having bought a Speed Beez 351-7 speedloader and 4 x 7 loading block - great range aids, however.

 

[Lobster Picnic]

A few excerpts from an excellent article about the .22 Magnum round:

In my days in Federal Service a number of our agents carried two shot derringers in 22 magnum during undercover operations where a gun couldn't be seen. Very small and easy to hide...but yet nasty if hit with a shot from one. I fired one in the air one dark night in New York City, to get the attention of my backup officers....they said it looked like the electric company lighting the night! During the 1980s several medical examiners told us to shoot for the guts with the 22 mag...that it would fold the biggest bad guy up...or at least slow him considerably. That advice was followed, and proved to be very true in several uncover shootings.....

And a few years ago I had a young adult male pull a knife on me during an arrest. I put the muzzle of the AMT to his knee and fired a warning shot. He folded up and lay on the floor waiting for the medicos to arrive, crying for his momma...big bad dude that he was. When he gets out of the facilities given to him by the state, I don't think he will be doing any long foot races.

The round is not a true self defense cartridge, but in the right place it will slow an attacker way...way down....in 1983 we answered a call where a young military house wife with a baby, with her husband away at the Air Base, shot a burglar that broke into her home. She shot him at across-the-room range. She had a Ruger single six 22 RF magnum. Her husband taught her to aim for the third button down on a man sized target. And she did, but being fearful she keep shooting till the gun was empty. All bullets exited in a three inch or so pattern from the perp's back and it looked like the exit of a .410 shotgun load. Needless to say she did it all exactly right, and he is no longer terrorizing young women.

The Sleeper - .22 WMR

 

[Dogmann]

Was the 351PD ever offered WithOut the lock?

 

[Lobster Picnic]

Wow, old thread. No, the 351PD always had the IL. I'm not even sure why the 43C and 351C are spared the IL, but it was one of the reasons I chose the 351C, the other reason being that a 351PD was not available at the time

I wanted the C anyway, but I do like the PD as a carry gun, too. The trigger on my 351C is ridiculously hard to pull - my wife actually thought the gun was broken when she tried to shoot it. I have pretty strong fingers so it makes for a very safe carry gun that cannot be fired by accident. I won't do a trigger job but the 351C trigger is slowly improving gradually with use. It's still horrendous. The PD would be the more "fun" version to shoot with its SA ability. The C is like the ultimate carry package for the minimalist mindset.