All,
Thanks for the kind words about the Spegels and the Chiefs. It's my idea of simple and effective armament. As many of us here have surmised, there are many, many shades of grips for the venerable J-Frame revolver.
I have evolved on the subject over a period of many years. I still like the old (without emblem) Pachmayr COMPACs for the J-Frame Round Butt. These are for gun that are in a hip or IWB holster. They are the best of the oversized grips for the model IMO.
I will allow that the J-Frame Service Panels (S/B or R/B) have their place, but must be used with a T-Grip or Pachmayr grip adapter. I use them on my 1998-vintage Model 38-2 Bodyguard (detailed much earlier on this Forum).
I use this Bodyguard Airweight for pocket carry (with a pocket holster!) around the house. As you can see, the Service panels allow for near seamless carry in a front jeans pocket.
I did pick-up a new shooting style for these small guns from our esteemed Jerry Miculek. The high "1911 Thumb" was something I came up with, or learned from Clint Smith. I can't recall exactly. The result is a impediment-free trigger action that can deliver five shots in about 1.5 seconds (if that's your thing...).
It may look weird, but I urge each of you to try it. Some of you will like it, others won't. Just another arrow in your quiver, if you will.
When I volunteered at my local SoCal gun shop, I cringed when the well-meaning husband would buy a J-Frame Airweight or worse, an Airlight for 'Mama Bear'. It never got used and often found itself back in the case unfired for a heckuva good price.
These are Expert's Guns. Many people who have these as a first gun, don't devote the training required to attain a modicum of proficiency with them and quickly lose interest.
When I was an LEO, I trained with this Bodyguard and a Centennial all the time. We had a range downstairs in the Sally Port, so when blizzards or torrential rains hit the Mile-High City, I was able to train sitting down (to simulate accessing my Mitch Rosen Duncan's Ankle rig while seated in my Patrol Car), or supine. Like the venerable 1911 or K-Frame S&W, I can't remember a time in my life I've been without a J-Frame.
Knowing and being able to manipulate the piece under stress, or at least have a level of proficiency and knowing the envelope to employ it in are the biggest parts of learning the J-Frame. I am in no way an expert, but rather an "informed user" of this wonderful weapon system.
Whew!
