I went to the local gun range yesterday afternoon and rented an airweight J-frame. I've been thinking that it should be my choice for a CCW, and I wanted to check one out in person. A few lessons from yesterday.
1) shooting one of those things is just too much darned fun. Some posts here say that airweight recoil is no big deal, some say it's so unpleasant that people avoid shooting them, so I was not sure what to expect. The range sold me a box of 158 grain SJHP, and after the first shot I was smiling, and I smiled through to the end of the box. Granted, they were not +P, but the recoil was NOT an issue at all. After the 50th round, my shooting hand basically felt like I'd been playing catch with a strong pitcher. That's it. From my point of view, recoil is not a problem with these guns.
2) I've made my choice for a defensive handgun. Now I just need to choose between the blued and non-blued frame, and I gotta find one of the things for a decent price.
3) range personnel, like gun salespeople, don't always know what they are talking about. I told the woman behind the counter that I wanted to rent an airweight j-frame, and she said with a smirk, "Oh, you want the Ladysmith," and she pulled the 642 off the wall. She had a large semi-auto in a waistband holster and her arms were bigger than my legs, so I chose not to argue with her.
4) range personnel don't like to clean guns. That poor 642 was so dirty. I was tempted to say, dudes, find me a bench and some Hoppe's and I'll clean every revolver in the joint. I hate a dirty gun. Seems lazy.
5) I need to thank this forum and Massad Ayoob. My first 5 shots were not pretty. I had a man-sized silhouette at 7 yards, and my group size could be measured in feet, not inches. I thought, OK, as long as every attacker facing me is as big as Andre the Giant, I'm good to go. Then I remembered that the .38 round is inherently very accurate, and that the Smith snubbies are as well engineered as any revolver ever made... and concluded that, of course, the problem was ME. I suddenly remembered Ayoob's advice (focus on the front site, let the target go fuzzy, roll the trigger) and experienced EXACTLY what he said I would, the marvelous sensation of watching a bullet hole appear in my target precisely where I had wanted it to. It is still remarkable to me that such a small change in my shooting process could make such a gigantic difference in my results. I went from being embarrassingly out of control, to putting nearly every shot exactly where it needed to go. Amazing. That advice literally saved me from deciding not to buy that kind of gun.
6) Those little guns ARE accurate. Once I settled down and remembered Ayoob's advice, I got a 3" group in the head of the target at 21 feet, at the point of aim, standing, with a two-handed hold. But, man, when shooting a snubby, you need to focus and pay attention. Let your mind wander just a bit, and your groups will wander, too.
7) Those little guns are well made. Even with the lightweight frame, the sense I got was that I was hanging onto a bulldog of a gun (I understand Charter Arms' choice of that name now), a compact, simple, feisty, and solid machine.
8) I need to practice. I shall buy one of those bodyguards within the next several days, and I'm going to spend some money on ammunition. Just 50 rounds made a huge difference in my skill, and I'm going to keep going. I want to know, if I ever have to pull that thing out (God forbid), that it will do what I need it to do.
Thanks to the folks in this forum - I've come a long way very quickly. I'm surprised how addictive this forum is, I spend a lot of time here, and I've learned a great deal.
1) shooting one of those things is just too much darned fun. Some posts here say that airweight recoil is no big deal, some say it's so unpleasant that people avoid shooting them, so I was not sure what to expect. The range sold me a box of 158 grain SJHP, and after the first shot I was smiling, and I smiled through to the end of the box. Granted, they were not +P, but the recoil was NOT an issue at all. After the 50th round, my shooting hand basically felt like I'd been playing catch with a strong pitcher. That's it. From my point of view, recoil is not a problem with these guns.
2) I've made my choice for a defensive handgun. Now I just need to choose between the blued and non-blued frame, and I gotta find one of the things for a decent price.
3) range personnel, like gun salespeople, don't always know what they are talking about. I told the woman behind the counter that I wanted to rent an airweight j-frame, and she said with a smirk, "Oh, you want the Ladysmith," and she pulled the 642 off the wall. She had a large semi-auto in a waistband holster and her arms were bigger than my legs, so I chose not to argue with her.
4) range personnel don't like to clean guns. That poor 642 was so dirty. I was tempted to say, dudes, find me a bench and some Hoppe's and I'll clean every revolver in the joint. I hate a dirty gun. Seems lazy.
5) I need to thank this forum and Massad Ayoob. My first 5 shots were not pretty. I had a man-sized silhouette at 7 yards, and my group size could be measured in feet, not inches. I thought, OK, as long as every attacker facing me is as big as Andre the Giant, I'm good to go. Then I remembered that the .38 round is inherently very accurate, and that the Smith snubbies are as well engineered as any revolver ever made... and concluded that, of course, the problem was ME. I suddenly remembered Ayoob's advice (focus on the front site, let the target go fuzzy, roll the trigger) and experienced EXACTLY what he said I would, the marvelous sensation of watching a bullet hole appear in my target precisely where I had wanted it to. It is still remarkable to me that such a small change in my shooting process could make such a gigantic difference in my results. I went from being embarrassingly out of control, to putting nearly every shot exactly where it needed to go. Amazing. That advice literally saved me from deciding not to buy that kind of gun.
6) Those little guns ARE accurate. Once I settled down and remembered Ayoob's advice, I got a 3" group in the head of the target at 21 feet, at the point of aim, standing, with a two-handed hold. But, man, when shooting a snubby, you need to focus and pay attention. Let your mind wander just a bit, and your groups will wander, too.
7) Those little guns are well made. Even with the lightweight frame, the sense I got was that I was hanging onto a bulldog of a gun (I understand Charter Arms' choice of that name now), a compact, simple, feisty, and solid machine.
8) I need to practice. I shall buy one of those bodyguards within the next several days, and I'm going to spend some money on ammunition. Just 50 rounds made a huge difference in my skill, and I'm going to keep going. I want to know, if I ever have to pull that thing out (God forbid), that it will do what I need it to do.
Thanks to the folks in this forum - I've come a long way very quickly. I'm surprised how addictive this forum is, I spend a lot of time here, and I've learned a great deal.
