What Are Your Essential J Frame Mods?

[Bonham1911]

Hey Guys,

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer.

As of late I have been carrying a Dan Wesson TCP 1911 in 9mm, however, I recently started having sciatic nerve pain. A 36 once firearm on the hip all day is not helping and is likely the cause of it. I decided, at least for the time being, to carry a J frame (638) in the appendix position.

Was just curious what you guys consider essential mods to make it a more shootable revolver.

Sights - Not sure what I can do here except maybe paint the front ramp.

Grips - What do you guys use? The stock rubber are ok but they bind up my HKS 36A speed loader. I want to balance a good grip with concealability.

Trigger pull - I have installed a Wilson Combat kit. Actually I have only installed the hammer spring which shaved about a pound off the almost 12 lb pull and does make it feel a bit smoother. Would you install one of the rebound slide springs too?

I am open to ideas. Let me know what you guys have done to your J frames.

Thanks!

 

[JimCunn]

Polish the Internals with an Arkansas stone.

Do NOT mess with the sear.

 

[GT_80]

Bianchi Speed Strips, and a set of Smith grips off a Model 60 or similar. Thats about all I ever do to them. Get used to your trigger, and learn to shoot it with the sights on it.

 

[biku324]

Tyler T-grip and nothing else touched.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Spegel Boot Grips

 

[malph]

Not all J Frames are alike. Some come perfectly fine from the factory.

Some need some action work.

I'd be conservative about the action work though.

Most J-Frames are meant to be carried and reliability is more important than the lightest possible pull.

Oh...I'll sometimes put a dab of sight paint on the front sight. My aging eyes pick up the front sight better that way.

 

[rockquarry]

Shoot it enough straight-out-of-the-box (at least a few hundred rounds) to familiarize yourself with the gun and include shooting out to 25 yards. At that point, you'll know the gun and your capability with it well enough to decide on any changes. Don't be surprised if you find it works very well as is and needs nothing else.

 

[Bonham1911]

Not all J Frames are alike. Some come perfectly fine from the factory.

Some need some action work.

I'd be conservative about the action work though.

Most J-Frames are meant to be carried and reliability is more important than the lightest possible pull.

Oh...I'll sometimes put a dab of sight paint on the front sight. My aging eyes pick up the front sight better that way.

Thanks for the advice. I hear you. I am not looking for the lightest pull possible, but almost 12 lbs is a bit excessive.

 

[minconrevo]

Leave action alone if you can; you want to be certain it will fire, regardless of how cold it gets. Cold weather saps spring strength. Some J's have rough action that will need smoothing.

Paint, likely yellow, on front sight is okay but not really necessary.

Previously my #1 choice would be smooth wood S&W with Tyler T (or clone). Now #1 choice is the now-discontinued S&W or Uncle Mike's rubber version of Spiegel Boot Grip. Amazing how they manage to reduce recoil and increase control. Hide well too.

 

[majick47]

Other than painting front sight I'd leave the J frame as is from factory. Choose ammo designed for an airweight J frame. Instead of a speed loader consider a speed strip or cartridge pouch.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I don't like messing too much with carry guns. I would be more likely to change a rebound spring than the hammer spring. I also tend to polish the rebound slide and sometimes even the contact areas that the slide rubs against. As noted above, LEAVE THE SEAR ALONE. A little paint on the front sight. Find some grips that work for you, shoot it more than a little bit and see what works.

 

[rockquarry]

I've tried a colored front sight blade on a Model 60. All my other J-frame .38s have untouched factory front sights. I shoot all these these guns occasionally, some more often than others.

The urge to modify is a strong one, but not always smart and practical. While there are always exceptions and I certainly don't speak for everyone, I've never found any advantage to aftermarket front sight modifications. Staying very simple usually works best. It seems many don't realize this as they don't spend adequate range time becoming accustomed to the original sights.

 

[Old cop]

I've been carrying/shooting a J Frame since my 1968 rookie year and the only mods are either a Tyler T-Grip or a different set of grips to suit my XLG hands & a dollop of yellow finger nail polish on the front sight. The trigger is heavy, usually 10 lbs +, but will smooth out w/shooting & dry firing. This is an expert's weapon and requires regular range time to stay proficient. They're great for pocket carry but pls use a holster to ensure proper orientation in the pocket, and a covered trigger for safety.

 

[petepeterson]

I used bright orange nail polish for the front sight on my 442.
Pretty much left everything else alone.
The trigger has lightened up since when i first had it, so no work there. Just a lot of rounds through it and dry-fires.

 

[lawandorder]

Smooth faced trigger.

 

[S-W4EVER]

S&W has really perfected the J Frame revolvers over the years. I like the boot grips so much that I've retrofitted them to my older J Frames (in wood on my old blued 36 though). I don't mess with the actions, I shoot them double action only and they do smooth up with use. My little 442-2 is the most useful firearm I've ever owned, I don't even go outside without it.

 

[jculloden]

Grips from a new model 60-pro on 60-4
BK grip on the 442 cut for moon clips
36 no dash pristine

 

[Frailer]

I have nothing original to add, but I will often add orange-over-white paint to the front sight. I like the Spegel-style rubber grips—specifically the older Uncle Mikes version, but the newer style is OK, too. I also like a Tyler-T with magnas if I'm feeling nostalgic.

I don't do anything to triggers. IMHO the best trigger job is a couple thousand rounds worth of practice.

 

[mikerjf]

Paint on the front sight.

Find some rubber grips that work and possibly sand them to work better.

I don't like the feel of lighter rebound springs. Get some snap-caps and dryfire a bunch and the stock trigger pull will likely improve to the point you can deal with it.

A nice middle ground between speed-loaders and speed-strips... there are rubber speed-strip-like things that hold 5 rounds in a circle like a speed-loader. They are smaller/thinner than a speedloader and may not drag on the grips, but they are faster to do all 5 than a speed strip would be. There's also a tab on the side that helps with handling it.

Experiment with your ammo to find something that is workable with the light-weight gun.

 

[John Patrick]

Color the front sight.

The factory grips are just too short for me. Hogue's rubber grips are great for shooting but sticky and big. I settled on a long enough but relatively trim set of wood Thai finger grooves grips. I had to do a little carving and sanding to match the hump back's shape.

I bought a set of factory combats but haven't had a chance to try them.

A gunsmith swapped in the Wilson mainspring, and maybe a return spring, but he shot it with various loads to ensure they all fired.

Middle right in this photo of my J frames.