Sad days at the range forces me to change EDC

[Doug M.]

If one wishes to stick with revolvers and more or less conventional sights, I have found the XS Big Dots to be pretty darned good (and on auto-pistols, too). I too am developing cataracts and when I do not have a Big Dot, the answer is a red dot. It does not matter how old it makes you feel - it is the performance that matters.

Old? Heck, I started recovering from my various hospital excursions (bypass last November, GI bleed 3 weeks later, and the Hernia surgery in April) and apparently pushed something too hard and literally pulled a butt muscle. Mumble, mutter, cuss.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Been a revolver shooter for 35 years ...

I decided to try the M&P Shield 2.0 in 9mm ... Well that white dot front sight was easy to see and I did pretty good.

You answered your own inquiry.

So did you take a Course like Gunsite Academy, Thunder Ranch or another with a revolver? Because most Law Enforcement professionals went to 9mm pistols in 1990 or so.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

I’ve pocket carried because it is easy.

... We talked about maybe trying the 36 single action or the Cobra single action but I’m not sure it will change anything since it’s the sights and not trigger work.

It’s time to embrace optics. And it gives me an excuse to lose some weight to slim down the waistline for IWB

Pocket carry is great for your second revolver we call it BUG. After I retired I stopped carrying a BUG. First a Bad Guy is not going to let you go in your pocket when he is robbing you. One reason is because when we stop Bad Guys we do not let them go in their pockets.

One Case I am familiar with the Good Guy/Victim had a SIG .380 in his pocket. Whatever transpired the Bad Guy shot him dead and took his wallet and watch. The Coroner was the one one who found the deadman's SIG .380 still in his pocket. Good Guy never had a chance to draw.

Shooting revolvers Single Action is a bad habit. Okay for plinking but for Training you always shoot Double Action especially if you plan on using revolver for Self Defense.

If you take any Training you will learn how to embrace the OWB Holster. I did not like IWB 50 years ago and I don't like it now. Not easy to draw if you are seated in a car IWB. With OWB you can go with a cross draw holster.

From a Lawman career I have about a dozen criminals who still said they will kill me when they get out of Prison. That is why I take this stuff serious.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

30 years ago I shot better with a semi auto and 30 years later I’m still better with a semi auto. But I’m not terrible with a J frame ...

Spot on. When the Chief approved me for the semi auto for on duty carry I stayed with it.

Everything is better with a semi auto.

 

[kbm6893]

Pocket carry is great for your second revolver we call it BUG. After I retired I stopped carrying a BUG. First a Bad Guy is not going to let you go in your pocket when he is robbing you. One reason is because when we stop Bad Guys we do not let them go in their pockets.

One Case I am familiar with the Good Guy/Victim had a SIG .380 in his pocket. Whatever transpired the Bad Guy shot him dead and took his wallet and watch. The Coroner was the one one who found the deadman's SIG .380 still in his pocket. Good Guy never had a chance to draw.

Shooting revolvers Single Action is a bad habit. Okay for plinking but for Training you always shoot Double Action especially if you plan on using revolver for Self Defense.

If you take any Training you will learn how to embrace the OWB Holster. I did not like IWB 50 years ago and I don't like it now. Not easy to draw if you are seated in a car IWB. With OWB you can go with a cross draw holster.

From a Lawman career I have about a dozen criminals who still said they will kill me when they get out of Prison. That is why I take this stuff serious.

All true, but if you already have your hand in your pocket on an enclosed hammer J frame, you can shoot right through the pocket. Walking through a parking lot with your hand in your pocket looks perfectly natural. No way somebody gets the drop in you if you already have your gun in your hand in the pocket.

I was getting rid of an old coat a few years ago and stapled a B27 silhouette target to the stand at my gun club. Ripped five from the pocket into that target at three feet. No problem at all.

 

[Grimjaws]

I’m stubborn

So I am going to try again only with a different j frame. I made a custom belly gun using a 637-2 with a 642 hammer and some Pachmayr grips. I forgot all about it as i’ve been carrying the 442 past few years.

I swapped back the normal hammer it came with.
So next range trip start with single action at 7 yards
then if I can get decent groups move to double action

The biggest difference is the brightness versus the two blued revolvers
Front sight is stainless so easier for me to see plus I have a dab of orange paint.
442 has a dab too and the 36 I got off this forum had some red paint so left it.
Doing some dry firing outside in the backyard in the sun mixed overcast I can see the front sight better versus the two others.

I did notice the trigger on this 637-2 has a much lighter feel to it versus the 442 or the 36. Even single action it just seems lighter and i’ve got the stock springs in it.

So with the lighter pull and easier sights let’s see

I’m not ready to give up on my beloved snub noses until I’ve tried each one and figure maybe the brighter sights could be a difference maker

 

[AJ]

So I am going to try again only with a different j frame. I made a custom belly gun using a 637-2 with a 642 hammer and some Pachmayr grips. I forgot all about it as i’ve been carrying the 442 past few years.

I swapped back the normal hammer it came with.
So next range trip start with single action at 7 yards
then if I can get decent groups move to double action

The biggest difference is the brightness versus the two blued revolvers
Front sight is stainless so easier for me to see plus I have a dab of orange paint.
442 has a dab too and the 36 I got off this forum had some red paint so left it.
Doing some dry firing outside in the backyard in the sun mixed overcast I can see the front sight better versus the two others.

I did notice the trigger on this 637-2 has a much lighter feel to it versus the 442 or the 36. Even single action it just seems lighter and i’ve got the stock springs in it.

So with the lighter pull and easier sights let’s see

I’m not ready to give up on my beloved snub noses until I’ve tried each one and figure maybe the brighter sights could be a difference maker

Keep working with you snubbies. Eventually you will get he right combination. I have three different snubbies that depending on the time of year that I will carry.

 

[BE Mike]

I've found that laser sights can be a good training tool for point shooting and dry fire. Using an unloaded gun in a safe place (good backstop) the laser can help identify where the gun is pointed after a draw from concealment.

 

[wrkerr]

Takes a big man to admit that and make the necessary change. I too love revolvers but I know at the end of the day it's about having the gun you can shoot best if you ever need it. You made a wise decision and provide a lesson to many of us in the process.

This is where I'm at. I hate to retire my much-loved M49, but being an older model with a 1/10" front sight, my 72 year-old eyes cannot find it without a lot of effort! So for the past 2-3 months I have been extensively working with my Shield 1.0 9mm, whose front sight I can actually see! Still not where I'd like to be, but it's working.

Over time our capabilites change. Adapt or die.

 

[gjgalligan]

Sucks getting old.

Getting old beats the alternative.
(up to certain point)

 

[Old cop]

I qualified for LEOSA certification this past June w/a score of 96.4% using my Smith M&P 2.0 Compact. Shot the same score w/my former service gun, a Model 10-7 snub, but reloading was a bit on the slow side w/the M10.

 

[gunbarrel]

If you really want to keep shooting revolver for self-defense, you may want to consider a S&W Governor, or a Taurus Judge loaded with .410 shotgun shells. Here is some info:

Checking out the .410 Bore: We Test Seven Loads for Defense - Gun Tests

The info is from 2011. Defensive loads have improved quite a bit in 12 years.

 

[roo_ster]

I would suggest that perhaps instead of a new gun, some NEW GLASSES would be a better all-around solution.?

I used to get by with single-vision glasses for nearsight (cant see far) & astigmatism. I got older, so I became farsighted (can't see close), too.

I ended up with TRI-focal glasses. I have two sorts: Standard & Occupational.

STANDARD TRIFOCALS
Look like bifocals with distiance-vision for most of the lens and an upside-down D-shaped lens insert toward the bottom. Very bottom lens for reading/up-close and an intermediat lens atop that goes up to the 50% lens height and is good for computer screens and front sight posts. These are good all-arounder glasses. Not optimised for shooting, but usable to get a good front sight picture with a heads-up stance.

OCCUPATIONAL TRIFOCALS
These have mostly distance-vision lens, but with just a reading insert on the bottom of the lens and an intermediate lens at the top. This allows for a heads-down crouch stance.

Progressive lenses don;t work well for me, because:
1. Lose much of lens utility (see southeast and southwest corners of lens in first figure. That is just a blurry waste of lens real estate.
2. Finding intermediate spot good to see a screen or front sight post is time-consuming and the sweet spot is v-e-r-y t-i-n-y.

 

[Abbynormal]

Go to the eye doc and get a cataract exam. I got mine and had the two operations and have the best vision I've ever had.

Got corrective lens glasses a few months later and see 20/20 in each eye. Right eye is set for long distances and the left is for close reading.

I'm shooting better than I did 40 years ago. I AM as good as I claimed now!

 

[Grimjaws]

UPDATE life got in the way

Well that experiment has been put on hold. Talk about an expensive couple of weeks. In order they occurred
- plumbing issue behind walls of shower tub upstairs
- mailbox run over
- outside meter electrical box being so rusted it I’m getting brown outs so local electrician and electric company gave me a jury rig to get me through until it is replaced next week
- tankless hot water system dead and needs to be totally replaced
We installed it back in 2008 so it gave us many years of use. Of course, this happens when family are staying with us from out of town. Nothing like a pot of hot water to wash up.

Due to so many expenses I’ve gone back to carrying my snub nose 637-2. I can do single action if need be and the trigger on this snub from the factory is one of the smoothest I have

Luckily I can still shoot with plenty of reloads

 

[IrishFritz]

I'm 77 and have been wearing glasses since childhood. Last year I sold my 2 1/2 66 and now carry either a 4" 19-3 with red & white or a 6" 19 with red & whites. I have Kramer holsters for both. I have a medical condition that is slowly robbing my ability with a handgun. I've had to retire my S&W 57 because I can no longer manage the recoil. I've had to accept that after 7 yards I need a rifle or a shotgun. So, my house defense guns are a Mossberg 500 12 gauge loaded with a mixture of OO buck and slugs, my other is a vintage Marlin 336 lever action 30-30. I'm still pretty good with either. It's not that we have to make choices as we age, it is that choices are forced upon us and we have to make do with what we have left. Getting old really is not for sissies.

 

[Guevera]

In all the talk about carrying firearms and pocket carry, I hope to goodness everybody has a proper pocket holster that protects the trigger guard. My preference is for Pocket Concealment Systems which provide a secure and easily-concealed product, here with a Colt Pony Pocketlite DAO and a J Frame. Disclaimer: I have no interest in these people other than that of a user of a superior product:

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Practice makes perfect..........You have to practice enough to "stay in the groove" with SHORT or LONG barreled guns.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

White paint might help considerable.

 

[Big guy]

I am 73 and have had to make allowances for my eyes getting older. Getting old is unpleasant but it beats the available alternative.

I'm not so sure , I have never seen anybody come back!!