Little Big Gun

[Scott Tschirhart]

Fourty years ago I carried a full sized Colt 1911 on and off duty. I didn’t think it was a burden or terribly difficult to conceal.

These days I don’t want to carry that kind of weight, but I still want something that is effective.

I tried so many guns. Lightweight 9 mm compact pistols were easy to shoot and carry but I never had a great deal of faith in the cartridge.

Lightweight.45 compact pistols were as difficult to conceal as a full sized Government Model.

J frames were wonderful to carry but the .38 isn’t a legendary stopper and.357 in a lightweight J frame is no fun to shoot.

I finally settled on an Smith and Wesson 640. It’s all stainless and the weight feels good in my hands. But it was still a difficult gun to shoot in .357.

So, I put in some work.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Modifications:

I put a set of Hogue grips on this gun that are big enough to get a good handle on it without being so big that it couldn’t be comfortably concealed.

Next, I took a Dremel tool to the trigger and rounded off the parts that were in any way sharp. All the outside edges were smoothed.

I polished the innards and reduced the trigger return doing a coil or two. I ended up with a very manageable trigger.

I changed out the front sight for one from XS that I could actually see.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Then I worked on the operator. Every weekend had me firing hundreds of rounds of light .38 Special loads. Mostly three grains of Bullseye under machine cast 158 gr bullets.

Every morning when I take the dog out, I empty the gun and squeeze off 10 dry fire cycles at a tree in my back yard. Later I added doing quick pairs on a much closer tree.

The goal was to make full power .357 rounds pile up on my steel target at 10 yards and stay on a plate at 25 yards.

This morning I got there. Five rounds of Remington 125 JHP magnum at ten yards.

[JimT]

I have just shot mine "as is" .... I think maybe I need to bring it down to your place one of these days and you tune it up for me. I do OK with it. My carry load is heavy enough that 3 fast shots can give a blood blister on the web of your gun hand. But it's accurate enough. I killed a big Jack Rabbit up at Tedd's place a few years ago ... about a 30 yard shot.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Shooting mine as it came raised a heck of a blister on my trigger finger and was not fun at all.

It doesn’t take much to make it more comfortable

[JBowen]

It’s always good when a plan comes together.
Nice revolver and shooting.


JBowen

[Ysabel Kid]

That front sight seems to jump right out at you. My eyes now appreciate a very bright front sight!

[Scott Tschirhart]

That front sight seems to jump right out at you. My eyes now appreciate a very bright front sight!

On a short gun I do too. The factory sight was really hard to get a good sight picture even though I painted it bright orange.

The gun is quite comfortable to shoot with standard .38 Special. I probably put 5-600 rounds through it learning how to handle it. But until recently I couldn’t really group heavy .357.

[Bill in Oregon]

I am impressed with your dedication and discipline, Scott. At about 5'8" and a slightly tubby 170, I am not really big enough to comfortably conceal a 1911 -- nor do I want to pack one any more -- and like you, have a hard time bonding with the 43X and other 9mm compact semis. I have carried the shootable Bulldog in .44 Special, but have never had full faith in the quality of that revolver. I've tried .357s several times, starting with the bigger ones, a Model 28, a Model 686 and finally giving up after trying to ignore the abuse from a Model 66 with 2 1/2-inch barrel. But I found the little J-frame airweights in .38 Special no darned fun either. Your choice of the stainless 640 makes a lot more sense --especially with the larger front sight. I think I would feel adequately protected with one of these loaded with the best .38 Special Plus Ps. Thanks for giving me food for thought. I still have to take the darned concealed carry class again here after moving back to NM, my old license having expired. In the interim, NM has enacted a seven-day waiting period on all firearms purchases unless you have the license. I recently had to wait a week to pick up my CZ double-barreled 20-gauge bird gun from Sportsman's, for gosh sakes.

[Scott Tschirhart]

My friend, I carried it with 125 gr Remington .38 Special Plus P while learning the gun. It took a while to smooth things out to be able to shoot full house .357 in it comfortably.

But I reckon that a 125 gr Remington magnum placed close somewhere above one’s belly button should take most of the fight out of anyone.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I’m going to continue to shoot a little.38 special every time I get to the ranch. That ought to keep me in good form.

[marlinman93]

I carried a S&W Model 60 for several decades. 5 shot .38 Special, and never felt undergunned. I just liked the way it felt, and the size. I shot it well and could put 5 shots under 6" in rapid fire at 50 ft. so it gav me a lot of confidence.
I gave it to my oldest son a couple years ago and switched to my Kahr E9 9mm with single stack 9 rd. mags and one in the chamber. It's larger and heavier being an all steel pistol, but pretty flat so easy to conceal. But I still carry my 1964 Colt .45 in colder months when I'm wearing more clothing.

[LeverGunner]

Nice work.

I carried a 642 for a few years, and I got very good with it. I could hit a 6" steel plate with it at 25 yards, and a 12" at 50. Mostly all I did to it was replace the trigger return spring which is actually called a rebound slide spring.

It shot a bit to the right, and I had to aim to the side of the 12" plate to hit it. I called Smith & Wesson, and had to argue with the guy on the phone about how well I could shoot it. He said it was a belly gun and so forth. I explained that I could shoot because, unlike most folks, I made an effort to practice. They paid shipping to return the gun, and turned the barrel a smidge to get it aligned and returned it without charge.

[Walt]

I have found that replacing the trigger rebound spring with a reduced power version from Wolff is preferable to cutting coils off the original. A shortened spring can cause the trigger to bounce forward as the hammer drops.

[Ysabel Kid]

That front sight seems to jump right out at you. My eyes now appreciate a very bright front sight!

On a short gun I do too. The factory sight was really hard to get a good sight picture even though I painted it bright orange.

The gun is quite comfortable to shoot with standard .38 Special. I probably put 5-600 rounds through it learning how to handle it. But until recently I couldn’t really group heavy .357.

Looks like the grouping issue has been well-solved!

[Scott Tschirhart]

I was having a really hard time picking up the front sight and elevation was a big problem until
I put the XS sight on

[horsesoldier03]

Very nice Scott, looks like a good solution!

[Steve in MO]

Scott, what made you go with the 640 as opposed to something like an SP101?

[Scott Tschirhart]

Scott, what made you go with the 640 as opposed to something like an SP101?

The SP 101 is a bit larger and doesn’t fit my J frame holsters. Nothing against the SP101. It’s a great gun.

[Bill in Oregon]

I confess to liking the three-inch barrel option -- and the six rounds of .327 option -- of the SP101, but it is five to six ounces heavier and you would have to fabricate your own snake loads for the smaller caliber.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I have a .327 snubby, But it isn’t a .357 Magnum.

[TraderVic]

I snagged a Ruger GP100 3" 357 Wiley Clapp exclusive back when Lipsey's first introduced them. I purchased a Simply Rugged pancake holster (OWB) for it. At 36 oz (empty), it's noticeable.
I've been looking intently at an SP101 2 1/4" Wiley Clapp as an alternative. The Wiley Clapp exclusives sport Novak front & rear fixed sights.
Anyway......Scott, your dedicated approach to finding the answer(s) to an effective and comfortable "carry revolver" is inspiring.

[Grizz]

I have a .327 snubby, But it isn’t a .357 Magnum.

my daughter has a Smith stainless 2" snubbie 357, the DAO, i don't remember the model #s. Blaine and i shot some 180 gr loads at steel plates. It dinged them good and every shot was a dead deer, if it was a deer. And no forcing cone cracking. Might be a little too too for close combat, IDK. But it's fully capable of 2fers, if that's necessary . . .

[Scott Tschirhart]

This is what my rig looks like. It’s simple and everything rides comfortably under an untucked Dickies work shirt. Works with a vest or sports coat when it’s cooler.

[JMick]

I like that rig, Scott

[Rexster]

Wonderful weapon, Scott, and that holster looks really nice!

At age 63, and 6+ years into retirement from the PD, something lighter and more compact than an all-steel, full-duty-sized handgun is a desirable thing, for much daily carry. I trend SP101, more than J-Frame, largely because some design guy at Ruger, who spec’ed the dimensions of the SP101 grip, seems to have had hands shaped just like mine. Plus, such ‘smiths as Jack Weigand and Marc Morganti have massaged the actions of some of my SP101 fiveguns. Life is good!

[Scott Tschirhart]

At 62 I still need a powerful gun on my hip. But I also need a gun that I will always carry. These little five guns work in that role.

I no longer go looking for bad guys. They would have to come looking for me. But, you never know when you might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[JB]

I've recently jumped on the 32 H&R mag bandwagon. Six shots in a j frame sized gun and less recoil than hot 38's in an aluminum framed gun. At first I wasn't sold on the 32 H&R, but if at all possible I run from trouble and figure shot placement is still king.

[Rexster]

I've recently jumped on the 32 H&R mag bandwagon. Six shots in a j frame sized gun and less recoil than hot 38's in an aluminum framed gun. At first I wasn't sold on the 32 H&R, but if at all possible I run from trouble and figure shot placement is still king.

I accumulated three .32 H&R-chambered revolving pistols, starting about 2004 or 2006, until about 2016. The first was a new 4” Ruger SP101, then, the next two were pre-owned S&W Model 631 snub-guns. I may end up carrying them, especially right-side carry, as my right hand is aging less well. For a while, I was thinking of rendering the hammers spur-less, but, I have already stopped the longer-stroke double-action trigger pulling, with my larger Ruger GP100 and S&W K-Frames, due to arthritis flaring-up in the second knuckles of my triggers fingers. The differing sizes of the smaller SP101 and J-snubs, and the resulting differing finger positions on the triggers, stresses those knuckles differently, so, at least for now, the li’l guns remain my faithful friends. (The SP101 fiveguns I now carry are .357, not .32 H&R.)

[JimT]

@ LeverGunner - as John Linebaugh used to tell us, "It's the man, not the equipment." Use what you are comfortable with and have confidence in. Don't pay any attention to the naysayers.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Nothing wrong with a good.38 or .327 load. I would rather have either with a good hit than a bigger gun with poor placement.

This is why I carried .38s until I built up to shooting the .357 well enough to be confident. I didn’t feel like I wasn’t fully armed.

[Rexster]

At 62 I still need a powerful gun on my hip. But I also need a gun that I will always carry. These little five guns work in that role.

I no longer go looking for bad guys. They would have to come looking for me. But, you never know when you might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Darryl Bolke, retired LEO, gun mag/article writer, and still training folks, says that there are guns for going to look for trouble/get into trouble, and then, there are guns for getting out of trouble. He says that a snubby is a “Get Out of Trouble Gun.” His LE career included investigating officer-involved shootings. (Ontario, CA PD.)

[Griff]

@ 74, I still feel the need to have a more powerful handgun on me. I will either carry a 1911 Combat Commander, 45Auto or a mdl 65 4" .357, but only feel the need for the same half jacketed .38+P I carried as a LEO. My usual rigs are a Milt Sparks "Summertime Special" that I had the belt loop sewn shut for the CC or a Bianchi "Black Widow", while for the S&W it's a Safariland pancake.


If I have a picture of the old Safariland, I can't find it. But, HEY, it matches the Speedi-load carriers!

[JB]

At 62 I still need a powerful gun on my hip. But I also need a gun that I will always carry. These little five guns work in that role.

I no longer go looking for bad guys. They would have to come looking for me. But, you never know when you might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Darryl Bolke, retired LEO, gun mag/article writer, and still training folks, says that there are guns for going to look for trouble/get into trouble, and then, there are guns for getting out of trouble. He says that a snubby is a “Get Out of Trouble Gun.” His LE career included investigating officer-involved shootings. (Ontario, CA PD.)

Darryl is also a proponent of the 32 H&R snub nosed revolvers.