.22 revolver for training

[OlongJohnson]

So, I've been searching all over, and haven't found an actual photo of the sight picture on a 43C.

Is it basically the same as an M&P 340? I'm thinking one of these might be a neat sub-caliber trainer for the 340.

[Sal Picante]

I have the K38 from that era.

Chris

There are 2 K38's at the LGS... I'm tempted...

[mtnbkr]

There are 2 K38's at the LGS... I'm tempted...

What are they running price-wise? I got mine as a F2F internet purchase that was, even then, wayyyy below what I'd expect a near mint K38 to sell for (with box, original grips, ammo, aftermarket target grips, etc). I've never seen another one with which to gauge prices.

BTW, Cabelas here in NoVA has a K22 like yours for $1899. no clue if it comes with a box or not. I'll stick with my early 70s vintage K22...errr..M17-something-or-other.

Chris

[oregon45]

I paid $699 for the 5-screw K22 pictured above, which seems to be the going rate in my area. Local shop has a Model 14 (later model K38) for $600 right now with the factory target grips. Depending on age, condition, and accessories I'd say 5-700 dollars is the general ballpark for a shooter-grade Model 14 or K38 in my area. Internet prices are all over the place.

[Wheeler]

So, I've been searching all over, and haven't found an actual photo of the sight picture on a 43C.

Is it basically the same as an M&P 340? I'm thinking one of these might be a neat sub-caliber trainer for the 340.

My apologies for the pocket goo. My 43c gets carried a lot. 😁

[Wheeler]

I am familiar with the sights on the 43C. I don't consider them comparable to the 640 Pro because the 43C has no proper rear sight, only the traditional J-frame trough. For my purposes--training to manage the DA trigger stroke with a 22lr revolver--a big dot at the end of a short trough is less useful than the serrated Baughman ramp front / target-rear sight picture on my 317 3".

It’s not so much the perception of usefulness as putting forth the effort so that the differences don’t matter.

Sights are rather subjective. I despise the FO sight on my 317 but I can do good work with it because I’ve put forth an effort to move past my dislike and don’t get wrapped around the axle about what is proper.

YMMV of course.

[Otaku.edc]

My apologies for the pocket goo. My 43c gets carried a lot. 😁

How is the experience of 43c as a pocket gun? Either getting one or a 340 as a pocket gun in the next month.

[Totem Polar]

The pictures above show what I call the traditional J-frame trough sight. Here is a comparison between the sights on my S&W M331 no dash 32 H&R (top, essentially the same as the 43C sights pictured above)

Not to violate Ben Franklin’s rule about contrdictiing people, but those 331 sights are no closer to the 43c sight picture than stock Glock plastic sights are to Kyle Defoor Ameriglos. I mean, they’re totally different. The sights on your 331 are pretty much standard j-frame ramp/square notch fare, like a 642 or similar. The 43c is not.

No argument from me that the bigger adjustable sights are not a step up. For a great j-frame sight picture on revolvers so equipped, the wider notch rear blade can be an option:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/13...d-instructions

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10...-black-j-frame

My apologies for the pocket goo. My 43c gets carried a lot. 😁

Thank you. Now we can at least try to all be discussing the same thing.

[Wheeler]

How is the experience of 43c as a pocket gun? Either getting one or a 340 as a pocket gun in the next month.

I've been carrying it regularly for about two years now. It's much like carrying any other 11 ounce J frame. I didn't really start tracking ammo through it until this past spring. As of right now my log shows 1080 rounds of various ammo with 17 failures, mostly ammo related. That's a 1.5% failure rate for those that like the statistics. My log also shows a total of 198 CCI Stingers with no failures. That's a 0% failure rate for those that like to point out the unreliability of rimfire ammo. Those are from various lots as I usually purchase a couple boxes at a time. As you can tell it has been reliable with good ammo. I purchased it used and would guestimate the round count at closer to 2500 rounds total. The previous owner installed a Wolff mainspring.

I removed the hook from a set of the Bianchi Clip Grips and have settled on those are my preferred grips for the 43c. I'll probably do the same to my 351c but want to experiment with a set of the Taurus stocks first. I don't much care for the OEM S&W stocks. It rides well in a pocket and does ok in an ankle holster. I attribute that tore to the relatively cheap nature of my ankle holster than to the gun.

I hope this helps.

[Otaku.edc]

@Wheeler: it does, thank you for the reply!