I have several 9 mm automatics. Large and small. I have a couple of small frames for conceal carry. I wanted a .38 to put in an ankle holster. I have an ankle holster for my compact 9 mm.
It will fit my .38 nice and snug and easy to retrieve it as needed. I will carry my .38 as a back up for my 9 mm that is in pant holster.
.38 special+p revolver with 130 grain Telos for self defense and 105 grain FMJ for target practice (Federal).
When it comes in I will take it to the range to get a feel for it.
Any pointers about shooting a revolver, hand position, aim with iron sites, and control with shooting multiple rounds down range.
I am excited on this new type of self defense weapon.
Most important aspect of hand position is to realize on every shot a blast of flame exits the gun in front of the cylinder. This means keep your fingers below and behind that vertical line at the front of the cylinder. A little search on YouTube can bring you to demonstrations of the damage potential of that exhaust.
The “vice grip” hand position is a good place to start. As you did with your semiautomatic, one hand shooting from either side is a desirable skill to develop. Get a good speedloader and practice with it (a lot). Enjoy!
For familiarization shoot 148gr wad cutters. Very low recoil and report, which are probably the biggest hurdles when transitioning snubs.
Coloring the serrations on the front sight with bright fingernail polish makes it easier to pick up the sights.
Shoot it a lot. Extended range sessions usually won’t be much fun, so make up for it with more and shorter range workouts—-include your Roscoe on every range trip until you get comfortable with it.
Resist customizing—this isn’t a Glock. Simple use will tend to smooth out a revolver trigger—-especially on S&Ws. Keep it clean as a dog bone to resist fouling on clothing. OTOH if you’re having trouble consider aftermarket stocks. I’ve got rubber Pachmayers on mine and they did help tighten my groups quite a bit.
Practice smooth reloads. Those short ejection rods take a bit of finesse to clear the brass. If you’re going to use speed loaders then don’t load your revolver a round at a time by hand—use your speed loaders 100% to train your muscle memory to make it natural.
My very first hand gun was a .38 Spcl. black Taurus 856, 5 rounds. I remember straight from the factory, right out of the box, it was prepped with oil it, which the old salesman at the shop was impressed by.
Not sure if it was due to my newness, but during rage time - I could feel the blast throughout my hand. Still I like their grips.
That bobbed hammer is a good feature though might not allow for single action - that’s still ok. My main outdoor woods carry is a snub nose .38 light weight shrouded hammer.
I normally like semi’s but as one mentioned, things which stood out for me is beware of the small fire flashes out to the sides; accuracy my require more training. Definitely make use of 5-6 snap caps. But I also like the benefits of a .38 revolver.
My two favorite .38 ammo:
For the great outdoors ( flat level tip similar to Keith style, for deeper penetration):
Buffalo Bore 38 Special +P OUTDOORSMAN - 158 gr. Hard Cast, 1,250 fps. Although I read that Underwood Co. makes a similar version.
For my EDC (lighter recoil, but it’s FMJ):
Magtech 38G Range/Training 38 Special Short 125 gr Lead Round Nose (LRN)
UPC: 754908164417. Their being “short”, make a difference or me.
Here is the speed loader I got for the new revolver. It holds 18 rounds for 3 reloads. My ankle holster has an extra magazine pouch which this reloader will fit perfectly. 6+18 sounds good to me.
For defensive +P loads, the old Treasury and FBI loads had a great reputation 158gr, +P hollow point, lead semi-wadcutters. They’re still in Winchester’s catalog.
Several years ago a friend handed me his 357 snub-nose to try at the range. I don’t know what manual of arms you use with your pistols, but I was a thumb on top of the safety 1911 shooter. When my thumb felt the cylinder release my instinct must of told me this feels like a great place to be. Let me tell you the recoil from the first and only shot sliced my thumb wide open. There was blood going everywhere. So as far as grip, my advise is to keep your fingers and thumbs away from the cylinder release in addition to staying away from the front of the cylinder.
I agree. Here’s a couple of links to check it out:
The Amazon link didn’t enbed correctly, but will take you to their page. Their video is a guy converting it from an 18 round to a 6 round speedloader. Kind of defeats the purpose of buying the 18, but whatever.
Edit: I just read the 1-star reviews. They are worth reading IMHO.
Revolvers are awesome. They’re great for dry fire, because the hardest part is mastering the double action trigger, and that doesn’t need ammo, just practice. Once you get good at a revolver trigger, your pistols will feel really easy to shoot.
Regarding grip, I tend to use a support-thumb over the back grip. You’d never, ever do this with a semiauto, but with a revolver, assuming your hammer doesn’t hit your thumb (which it shouldn’t with that bobbed hammer) you can get better recoil control.
The grip angle on most revolvers is different than most semiautos, so do a lot of draw practice and dry fire. You’ll get to a point where you can just instinctively bring the gun up and be on target.
For me, I carry a speed strip or two, but not a speed loader. I recognize that I will not be reloading during a gunfight. If I can’t stop the fight in one cylinder, I’m probably done. However, with good practice, and strong ammo, hopefully five or six are enough. The speed strip is for after the bad guys have stopped, and I’m standing around waiting for police. I don’t want to be waiting there with an empty gun while more bad guys show up, drawn to the commotion.
My defensive load of choice is Privi Partisan (PPU) 158gr SWC. A bit more steam than standard velocity but less than +P because my Rosco isn’t built for a continuous diet of +P.
I use a bore snake since it works well cleaning lead out of the grooves (I haven’t found bore snakes that thorough with copper fouling) and I can avoid cleaning from the muzzle since worn muzzles mess with accuracy and hey, I’ve only got 1-7/8” of barrel length anyway. The chambers get the rod, patches and silicone bronze brush treatment though.
Don’t do the (TV) revolver swing the cylinder close you can bend the crane of the revolver.
Highlighting the front sight may be helpful.
Check the point of aim and point of impact with various weight bullets. A wad cutter is a good defensive round. Buffalo bore made a 150 gn hardcast wad cutter. I’ve had 100 gn bullets shoot about a foot low at 15 yds.
Grip the gun as high as possible. I cross my thumbs on the back strap. I shoot DAO because that’s probably what you’d do if you had to use it in a gun fight.
Check out Jerry Miculack and you’ll see how fast a revolver will run.
Enjoy the journey. Start slow and then gradually speed up. They also make a lot of 22 revolvers which are cheap to shoot. Good luck and enjoy. Always read the safety manual and practice.
