A snub-nose .38 revolver
By MARJ LAW
“My hubby Bill comes home saying he bought a new handgun for us to share,” says Patty. “It’s supposedly really small, and I’ll like it. That’s what he says. Now, I know perfectly well that he’s been looking for a backup gun. I ask him why he thinks I’ll use it.
“He tells me the new Airweight Smith & Wesson 642 is a revolver. The Airweight is so small, it will fit easily into his pants pocket. Oh, and I think as an afterthought, he adds that it’ll also be great to carry in my purse because of the size and weight.
“So I ask him, exactly how small and light are we talking?”
“Only 14.4 ounces unloaded,” he replies. “At 6.31 inches, the revolver will fit right into that new carry purse you got.”
Uh-huh. I reserve judgment.
“Why do you think I’ll like it?” I ask him.
“Well, for one thing, it’s a revolver.”
“Why should we want a revolver?” (I know a revolver’s that gun with the round thingie in the middle.)
“Because revolvers are easy to use. You put a round in each chamber of the cylinder, so it’s easy to load. The 158-grain +P round is very strong. If your life is threatened, you just point and shoot. You won’t have any problems.”
“OK, I’m listening. Tell me more good things.”
“Smith & Wesson revolvers have a reputation for reliability. The .38 has great ‘take down’ power. And like I said before, the Airweight is extremely light and small, simple to load, easy to use, easy to conceal, and it’s safe in that the gun won’t fire accidentally. Why don’t we go to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range and try it out? You’re going to like it,” he says.
“Did you go to the range?” I ask Patty.
“Yes, Bill and I went that day,” she replies.
“What did you think of the gun?” Truth is, I’m skeptical. I’m wondering how she, a complete newbie, managed the .38.
“Bill shoots first. He’s a big guy and can only put two fingers on the handle, which he calls the grip. He hits the target a few times and says it’s my turn next.”
“OK,” I think. “Looks easy enough.
“But I pull the trigger and nothing happens. I look at Bill and ask what I’m doing wrong.
“He says to pull harder.
“I do, but still nothing happens.
“He comes over to me and tells me to put my finger up to the joint on the trigger and squeeze hard.
“BLAM!
“My hands fly in the air. Marj, I hated it! And it was painful! Is shooting a lightweight .38 supposed to be that hard?”
Unfortunately, yes. Especially to a newbie and to a person with smallish bone structure.
Patty had a difficult time with the trigger. No wonder! Triggers on snub-nose revolvers often have a 10 to 12-pound pull, and the recoil is very strong. Most newbies don’t want much recoil or a hard trigger.
Patty is not alone. The site Liberty Safe describes the kick on light snubbies as “sharp, significant, unpleasant, distracting and painful.”
As they describe shooting one: “I’d rather smash my hand with a hammer.” And go on to say: “It’s not surprising that with a loaded weight of less than 16 ounces, and no springy-reciprocating slides and fancy barrel-locking mechanisms to absorb or redirect the energy, the recoil of these pocket rockets makes them more than a handful, and more than most shooters can handle effectively.”
They go on to say: “For recoil-shy or new shooters, even standard defensive cartridges can hurt so much that they don’t want to shoot the revolver again, let alone practice with it enough to become competent.”
My Joe agrees with this thought. We have met up with many women and some men over the last decade who have had various snub-nose .38 revolvers. As new shooters, they are discouraged that their guns are so snappy.
To reduce recoil, Joe has suggested they try out wadcutters in their handguns. Wadcutters have less powder and bullets of less grain weight. They typically travel at lower velocities than other rounds. This ends up making the recoil lighter and more manageable. Maybe. Often, even after trying out wadcutters, some of the women and men either stop shooting or they trade their guns for something they can handle.
Ralph talks about the S&W on The Truth About Guns (TTAG): “Frankly, the trigger of any new Airweight is as stiff as a dead carp and cries out for a power assist.
“The upside of the heavy trigger is that it’s very safe and the gun is unlikely to go off accidentally. In fact, during the first range session, a new shooter may begin to wonder if it will go off intentionally.”
He continues: “With its two-finger stock and light weight, every press of a 642’s switch will make the gun jump like a frog with a hot poker up its heinie.”
So, some negatives to these small revolvers like the S&W 642 or the Ruger 5401 are that their triggers are long and hard and the recoil is often difficult to manage. They are double action only, which means the trigger has the job of both cocking the hammer and then releasing it instead of just releasing the trigger as it would in single action. When the trigger works harder, the shooter is going to have to work harder as well.
Gunmag Warehouse notes: “Because the barrel of this gun (S&W 642) is less than 2-inches in length, it does produce rather significant felt recoil and muzzle rise. Loaded with 38 Special, that recoil is not extraordinary, but it is certainly noticeable…
“This is not a precise pistol, but it wasn’t made to be one. Snubbies are designed to be highly concealable and the expectation tends to be that they will be drawn at close range.”
Both the S&W 642 and the Ruger 5401 snubbies carry only five rounds in their cylinders. Five rounds can be problematic even for an experienced shooter. As TTAG Ralph continues: “However, it’s the things that aren’t planned that get people killed. Like a second bad guy. And if I’m ever attacked by angry triplets, five rounds aren’t going to cut it.”
Both the S&W and the Ruger have barrel lengths of less than 2 inches. Both weigh under 15 ounces.
Lucky Gunner concludes: “Smith & Wesson sells a lot of Airweights to people who don’t know any better and for an inexperienced shooter, this is not a good choice.”
After having shot both the S&W and the Ruger, I have to say I don’t like either one very much. In my opinion, the Ruger has a slightly lighter trigger (and 10 pounds to my mind isn’t light at all). However, I prefer the grip of the S&W.
And I agree with Joe’s summation: “The snubby kicks like a rented mule.”
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.