Getting accurate with Airweights

[mc5aw]

I've done two things over the years to get comfortable, and dare I say "proficient" with my Airweights/AirLites: 1) Practice with Wadcutters as much as possible. I used to buy Sellier & Bellot WCs buy the case, but they've become completely unavailable over the past year. 2) Practice with my 317 as much as possible. Same dimensions as every other J, but in .22. It helps a great deal in getting the "feel" of a lightweight revolver, without the pain of heavy recoil.

 

[340PDOperator]

Educate me a little on wadcutters. Several here have mentioned them. I realize they're just flat projectiles... But how do they help?


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[mc5aw]

Basically WCs are flat top bullets. The S&B WCs were even with the top of the cases, and barely noticeable in terms of recoil. If I recall, the S&B .38 Special WCs were 125g. About as much felt recoil in a lightweight J-frame as a .22.

 

[David R]

Wadcutters are for paper punching. They cut a full caliber hole in the target for easy scoring purpose.. They also have unique bearing surface for the length of the bullet because there is no nose at all. The wadcutter is all bearing surface. They are usually loaded to low velocity for ease of shooting, quick target re acquisition, and less fatigue shooting them in a match.

Statement #2. They cut a full caliber hole in the target. Even if the target is flesh. Solid Base Wadcutters can be loaded to +P velocity for a decent self defense bullet.

Don't forget even at 700 fps, the wadcutter is spinning at 28000 RPM when it hits the target what ever it is. (so is any other bullet ASSuming the twist is 1 turn in 18")

How do they help in practice? The don't hurt. Because they are loaded to target velocity, they have less recoil and are easier on the hands. Kind of like a -P.

David

Educate me a little on wadcutters. Several here have mentioned them. I realize they're just flat projectiles... But how do they help?


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[Harley Fan]

I've nothing to add other than thanks for the informative thread.

I'm experiencing a similar thing at the range when going from decent target results with my 686 and switching to my model 10 snub.

 

[getoff]

I've done two things over the years to get comfortable, and dare I say "proficient" with my Airweights/AirLites: 1) Practice with Wadcutters as much as possible. I used to buy Sellier & Bellot WCs buy the case, but they've become completely unavailable over the past year. 2) Practice with my 317 as much as possible. Same dimensions as every other J, but in .22. It helps a great deal in getting the "feel" of a lightweight revolver, without the pain of heavy recoil.

i'm an owner of a 317 as well. can't speak highly enough about it. it is spendy however...

 

[Boogsawaste]

My first gun was a snub (taurus), which I quickly traded for a bg38, which I quickly traded for my current 642. So I learned to shoot with double action lightweight snubs at 15 yards (distance at my range). I know not the best idea, especially since my buddies were shooting 1911's and other full size guns and hitting what they were aiming at. At first I would get just some on the probably 2' square wood backstop, forget about the actual target! This was about 1 year ago now. After burning through a bunch of ammo at the range and constant practice, I can get a grouping of about 6-7" constantly, with double action and semi quick firing! Not earth shattering, but self taught and will work for those guns intended purposes.

For flinch I put 4 live rounds in and 1 spent shell. Spun the cylinder and closed it without looking. When I dropped front sight on the spent shell I saw what was happening. To combat this I started repeating a phrase like "egg shells" while pulling the trigger so the break surprised me. Worked like a charm even though it sounds ridiculous.

 

[BobR1]

My Airweight J is a 442 Pro. That is plenty light enough for me.
I do a great deal of practicing with my LCR22. Taking the recoil out of the picture will help to figure out exactly what you need to work on. Also great trigger finger exercise.

I belt carry in a Pancake about 99% of the time. That said I carry my SP101 way more than my 442. It is a lot more shootable, as well as fun to shoot.

I have noticed that Primary Combat Tupperware shooters have a hard time with a revolver due to the fact that you are used to a Super Light trigger. Trigger time with a revolver is the main thing that will help

Bob

 

[Rex Goliath]

Probably unconsciously, this is what the shooter is doing when switching between a snappy snubby & a heavier frame

I use the same diagram to evaluate myself as shown above


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[Gearhead Jim]

Educate me a little on wadcutters. Several here have mentioned them. I realize they're just flat projectiles... But how do they help?


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As others mentioned, the primary benefit of wadcutters for snub practice is the low recoil.
However, I find that most 130 gr fmj (Win, Fed, PMC) has about the same recoil as wadcutters (higher velocity but lighter bullet), never leads the barrel, and are easier to load because of the bullet shape. You can buy a box of each and compare.

Price is variable, especially right now.
You can often buy wadcutter reloads pretty cheaply, but sometimes they are loaded hotter than you want and/or produce lots of barrel leading.

 

[RetDep310]

I have boot grips on my 340 right now. It's the most naturally pointing grips. I used to have the CT 305 but my pocketability suffered a little so I switched back. I will have to look into the Pachmayr Decelerator. I remembered my old LCR. The hogue grip on that made a nice difference.


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If you liked the grips on your LCR, you might try the Hogue Tamer grips for your 340. Have a set on my M&P340, and they make all the difference. They are just a bit bigger if you pocket carry, but they are great for target practice.

 

[sac-gunslinger]

I've discovered the pink rubber boot grips tend to improve J-frame accuracy.

A friend of mine has teased my wife for some time threatening to get her a pink set of grips or one of Taurus' faux-alligator pink carrying cases. To which she adamantly insists "heck no!".

So much for fashion.

 

[sac-gunslinger]

Wadcutters are for paper punching....

Solid Base Wadcutters can be loaded to +P velocity for a decent self defense bullet....

Not all wadcutters are so lightly loaded. Buffalo Bore offers a 150 grain hardcast wadcutter with an advertised muzzle velocity in the range of 850 FPS. This will shoot to point-of-aim with your fixed sight guns and has enough punch to do serious damage. The wadcutter seems the best choice for in-close encounters. All of my defensive revolvers are loaded with this round with a follow-up speedloader loaded with the so-called FBI load. Wadcutters are clumsy to use when reloading time counts.

I have communicated with Buffalo about offering its wadcutter in a magnum case. Unfortunately, the component shortage is preventing them from developing and offering the magnum version of this load.

I wonder what load Jim Cirillo used for wadcutters in his M10?

 

[Boogsawaste]

I have communicated with Buffalo about offering its wadcutter in a magnum case. Unfortunately, the component shortage is preventing them from developing and offering the magnum version of this load.

My hopes went crashing down with this.

 

[Colddeadhands61]

I had an Airweight a few years ago, 636 or 637 ?, I don't remember. Couldn't hit anything with it either. Besides that, the frame started pitting. The finish was so bad, under the grips I could scratch it off with my fingernail. I sent it back to S&W to get refinished. They put a new frame on it because it was "that bad".
The new frame had some pitting that had already started when I got it back ! Between that and the terrible trigger, I took the loss and sold it. I bought a 1993 model 649-2 and love it. IMHO, sell it and buy an older J frame.

 

[bonjorno2]

Practice as much as you can! Best 5 shot string at distance i've had was 10" group free standing at 25 meters.

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

I came across a video two days ago that did the best job I have seen on controlling recoil. It might not cure the problem but I sure bet it will help. Tom Gresham would not have posted it unless it had some good sound information.

Let us know if it actually helps. We'd appreciate the feedback.

 

[ridgewalker]

I was shooting my M&P340 at the range yesterday. It is basically the same gun as your 340PD but with a steel cylinder instead of Titanium. Mine weighs 2 ounces more than yours at 13.3 oz. as stated by S&W. I was shooting standard 38 special rounds with 158 gr FMJ bullets. I would shoot a cylinder and then switch to my L frame or N frame. After the pain subsided I would shoot another cylinder out of the 340. I shot about 40 rounds total that day out of my 340. My thoughts are for a fun range session, I don't want to deal with the pain. Even though I shot about 20 rounds of 357 mags through my L frame to finish up a box, I couldn't bring myself to put even a single round through my 340. The pain of the standard 38 specials wasn't overwhelming but I just don't see any positive benefit from pushing it. I felt that if I was ever in a self defense situation, I would be able to handle the pain and it probably would not be noticeable until after the situation had been dealt with. I didn't have any +P rounds with me but I think I could be effective with those from my 340. I have shot 357 mags from my steel framed J's and truthfully I don't wish to do more than a cylinderful of those.

I have the minimal Crimson Trace 405 grips on my 340 (it came that way) and think that the Uncle Mike boot grips might feel a bit better to me so next time I will try those. Incidentally, I had the laser switched off while practicing, preferring to use the Iron Sights.

In summation, for practice, minimize the pain. Whether you can shoot 1, 2, 3 or 5 shots at a time, then stop, take a break and shoot something more comfortable before you come back to your 340PD. I would recommend getting a steel framed J, like a 640, to switch off to. But I think practicing with any revolver will provide more benefit than switching off to a Glock. My range recently got some portable moveable stands for targets so yesterday, I was shooting my J at 10 feet (the closest I have ever shot it) and then switching off to my larger revolvers at 25 yards. For the first time, I tried shooting my J from the hip and missed the target entirely on my first shot, then I adjusted and was hitting center of mass. It was an interesting learning experience. (To anyone reading this, be sure of your backstop.)

 

[SabouGolden]

S&W 442

Love my 442 - see here with her new Rosewood Grips I installed yesterday! Love this baby!

 

[M3Stuart]

I can't find any pics of my 642 targets. But I shoot the 642 pretty well out to 7 yards with no problem. I do some two handed shots at bullseye type targets but mostly practice one handed at B27 targets from 7 yards and can keep all the shots in 'the zone' - even point shooting.

All my practice shooting is done with 158gr LSWC's. I was using about 3.7 gr of WIN231 (what everybody on the reloading threads consider a 'wimpy' load - though its the max recommended). Lately I've been loading with Trail Boss since the WIN231 became unobtainium and noticed that my leading problem vanished . I'd guess their moving about 700-750 fps with either load. I can shoot 50-100 rounds of either with no problem.