Looking for some carry revolver advice

[TGS]

This is an Airlite S&W revolver, and N-frame bore axis is quite high. I would not fire Magnums through my 327 PC snub-gun, unless perhaps “-P” loads, and only with my healthier left hand. I wrecked my right thumb, hand, and wrist by firing .44 and .41 Mags in the mid/late Eighties.

Respectfully sumbitted; not meaning to be argumentative.

That's a good point. Not to beat a dead horse, but there's also the part where Dr Roberts tests differ wildly from Lucky Gunner's, and that 357 provides negligible difference in snubs to begin with.

About the only 357 I'd put through a snub is the new-ish Gold Dot Short Barrel, and even then its more of a +p than a real magnum. Given they already make a 38+p Gold Dot SB, I'd guess that Speer would have made the 357 SB version as Magnum-ish as possible, and that its current specs/performance is reflective of how much Speer could squeeze out of a snubnosed Magnum.

[Rex G]

So, looking for a little feedback.

I'm carrying a S&W 327 PC 8-shot snub revolver. It's a heavier ultralight, coming in at 23 oz loaded, 20.5 oz empty. It's a bigger frame revolver but with my Nill combat grips it really conceals nicely.
I have a TK Custom bobbed speed hammer, full action job by TK (w/extended firing pin) and a silky smooth pull at about 8.5 lbs (from an original 11 lbs or so). With this action job, the gun still lights off everything.
Due to the mass of the gun, I can comfortably shoot 38 wadcutters all day long with no issues. Most 357 loads with good ballistics out of a 2 inch barrel are slightly painful with this gun (and not practiced much) and/or demonstrate poor expansion characteristics. Wadcutters are obviously a compromise. I shoot the gun a lot and I prefer to carry what I practice with.

I prefer revolvers to semi-autos because I'm not in gang areas and I consider a surprise up-close-and-personal encounter much more likely than ending up in a shooting. Revolver allows contact shooting, pocket carry in a coat, etc. The usual arguments.

On to my question.
For this N-frame revolver, the heavily bobbed competition speed hammer increases the velocity of the striking surface and combined with the extended firing pin allows you to achieve lighter trigger pull weights while maintaining reliability than you can achieve with only springs and/or a basic action job. One of the benefits of a larger frame S&W with its leaf spring vs a J-frame is the ability to tune the trigger to a much better weight while keeping it reliable, as long as you do a complete action job, reduce the hammer mass, etc. I can pretty easily get the trigger pull to an even better approximate 6 to 6.5 lbs while maintaining a good rebound, but that limits me to factory federal ammunition (should be no need for handloaded well-seated federal primers) for guaranteed ignition reliability.

I would only carry the federal gold medal match wadcutters at that point.....but I would have 8 of them. Does that seem sufficient? Obviously the gun would still be extensively tested with the chosen federal carry ammunition just to be safe.

Should I leave well enough alone and keep the 8.5lb trigger with hotter non-federal ammo (basically Buffalo Bore hard cast wadcutter) or standardize on the federal match wadcutters ONLY with the lighter trigger. I know it is personal preference as much as anything, but I figured I would gather some group wisdom on this.

I, too, have an S&W 327 PC snub-gun. For a while, last year, both of my shoulders, and my left arm, were quite gimpy, for a while. This year, my left shoulder and left arm are better, but my right shoulder has good days and bad days. Light-weight weapons can be my friends.

To address your post, in order:

It makes sense to carry a load with which you are comfortable shooting in quantity.

Gangs can ride in planes, trains, and automobiles, and are known to “go hunting” in white-bread areas. Having said that, eight cartridges, in your weapon, is more comforting than five. Eight is sufficient, until it isn’t. Twenty rounds is sufficient, until it isn’t. Training should help one to avoid wasting shots. Try to attend training that puts one in “stress shooting” situations.

Personally, I happen to really like the PC-contoured hammer spur. I have no opinion of the third-party hammer you have described. Some of my Rugers have spur-less hammers, and I have an S&W K-frame factory spurless hammer, which may well find its way into a nice sixgun, someday. I am, also, happy with factory springs. Until January 2018, I worked for a PD that required stock trigger systems in any weapon we carried, on or off the clock. Since then, I have simply felt no need to change anything.

I do not like the idea of using springs that will not light all available ammunition, and cannot imagine why anyone would need a trigger pull less than 8.5 pounds.

I am “comfortable” carrying Federal Gold Medal Match wadcutters in my J- and N-frame Airlite snub-guns.

Disclaimer: I do tend to have another weapon with me, especially when carrying a Airlite snub-gun.

[Stephanie B]

My wife and I use the 130 grain +p Winchester bonded Rangers in her 2" and 4" .38s. Its my favorite followed by the 125 + p golden sabers.

That's for .38s though. I see no reason not to use .357s in full sized guns.

I use the same load. There may be slightly better ones, but I'm not a chaser of the new hotness.

Anyway, the gun in question may be fulll sized, but it's not full weight. I'm going to suggest that firing a full-charge .357 out of a 20oz Model 327 is a little more of an event than firing one out of a M627 which is 18oz or more heavier. Because Newton's a bitch.

[HopetonBrown]

Okay, so in the year 2019 where we're in a Renaissance period of cheap, reliable plastic semi autos that can carry 2x as many reliably expanding 9mm rounds in something that costs 1/4 the price of a fancy tuned revolver, inside a plastic holster that can ship without wait that makes the gun virtually disappear, we're going to trade that all in for the problems of 1985 because we're *that* concerned with contact shooting and firing from coat pockets?

[Alpha Sierra]

This is an Airlite S&W revolver, and N-frame bore axis is quite high. I would not fire Magnums through my 327 PC snub-gun, unless perhaps “-P” loads, and only with my healthier left hand. I wrecked my right thumb, hand, and wrist by firing .44 and .41 Mags in the mid/late Eighties.

Respectfully sumbitted; not meaning to be argumentative.

I read N frame and I assumed it weighed north of 35 ounces.

[HopetonBrown]

Paul Harrell (whoever that is)

Just another YouTuber who lasers himself on every reholster.

[FrankB]

Just another YouTuber who lasers himself on every reholster.

You’re joking, right?

[Speederlander]

I read N frame and I assumed it weighed north of 35 ounces.

No. This is the 20.5oz airlight. Quite easy to carry even with the fatter cylinder.

[03RN]

I use the same load. There may be slightly better ones, but I'm not a chaser of the new hotness.

Anyway, the gun in question may be fulll sized, but it's not full weight. I'm going to suggest that firing a full-charge .357 out of a 20oz Model 327 is a little more of an event than firing one out of a M627 which is 18oz or more heavier. Because Newton's a bitch.

Fair points. A couple of my preferred .357 carry loads are 125 grain bullets at 1250fps from a 4" barrel. Stout in a 20oz revolver but not an issue compared to some of the hotter loads. Especially with full sized grips.

[03RN]

That's a good point. Not to beat a dead horse, but there's also the part where Dr Roberts tests differ wildly from Lucky Gunner's, and that 357 provides negligible difference in snubs to begin with.

About the only 357 I'd put through a snub is the new-ish Gold Dot Short Barrel, and even then its more of a +p than a real magnum. Given they already make a 38+p Gold Dot SB, I'd guess that Speer would have made the 357 SB version as Magnum-ish as possible, and that its current specs/performance is reflective of how much Speer could squeeze out of a snubnosed Magnum.

In terms of Magnum loads in snubbies. I didn't take in that previous tests implied that +p loads we're just as good, or so close in short barrels to make Magnum loads a waste but that in j frames they were so uncontrollable that the much more controllable .38s made up for their ballistics. In a full sized gun (even lighter ones ime) magnums still out perform the best .38s while still being controllable.

If you think about some of the .357 loads like the golden saber, the bb short barrel 125 barnes, etc they only have a little more umph than +p 9mm.