Perhaps I should have given a little more of my background before starting this, and certainly before this post.
I started my LEO career carrying a DA revolvers (M28-2 & M-60). Never liked the M-60 but shot the HP enough to wear it out in 6-months of constant Magnum practice. It needed a gunsmith for timing, indexing, etc. I was carrying a M-58 in place of the M28-2 as I ended my probation period and my department decided to let deputies carry semi autos (1911 or Browning HP) if they qualified. I had been reading Jeff Cooper's stuff and had recently bought a MKIV Series 70 GM. I qualified with it easily and for the rest of my LEO career and for 15 years after I carried one model or other of Colt 1911. That didn't mean my DA revolver days were over. I shot NRA PPC competition for two years in the mid-1970s. When IPSC came along I gave up PPC and concentrated on the more realistic practical pistol matches. The club I belonged to also had "steel combat" matches and I would occasionally shoot them with either a custom 5" M24-3 or a custom 5" M25-2. By the time IDPA came along I had a 5" 625 that I competed with until they outlawed them. In later years I shot IROC matches with 625s, both 5" and 4".
I mention all that because I just don't buy the old saw about Moonclips bend easily. I've shot in dozens of matches with 45 ACP revolvers. I've dropped Moonclips every time I reloaded. Some were stepped on and buried in the sand, some got tossed to me from across the range and sometimes I even caught them. Lately I've carried the previously mentioned 386 in a Maxpedition Good to Go bag with a couple 7-round Moonclips in a side pouch. I have never in all these years bent a full moon clip for any gun I owned. Give it a rest guys. (smile)
As for ammo choices, right now I'm carrying Buffalo Bore's Heavy +P 158g SWCHP-GC. It gets about 1050 fps out of the Night Gard's 2.5" barrel and the shorter 38 Special cases eject cleaner given the gun's short ejector stroke. I have a 38/44 handload (got a couple Heavy Duties in the safe to play with) that duplicates the Buffalo Bore loads performance and that's my practice ammo. My hands can manage controlled pairs pretty well but I confess, they hurt for a couple days after a practice session. I may have to re-think this ammo choice. For the 325 PD I have always shot Browning's original formula for the 45 ACP, a 200g bullet @ 900 fps. That load was a dandy in the M25s and 625s when I was younger. Now 185g bullets are feeling a little more controllable. I've never gotten into 185s before so if anyone has any input about good loads in that bullet weight, I'm listening.
Dave
I have battled hand, forearm and back problems for the last couple of years. My body has convinced me that my days of carrying service size pistols is closing fast.
I also have difficulty operating striker fired handguns. Hammer fired pistols are easier but a bad hand day means auto loaders are a no go. I’ve tried different techniques but things I could do I the past without thought are difficult and painful now. I will not carry something that I cannot properly operate.
I now carry a 2” barrel 38 special revolver iwb. A 340pd or agent are dedicated pocket guns. Bigger revolver are limited because when that bolt of lightening hits my hip and goes down my leg I know I’m restricted to an alloy frame snubby for a couple of weeks if not longer.
I carry d frame Colts. An old cobra or new cobra. Which one depends on my back. The new cobra is loaded 158 lead swc hp +p. The olde cobra is loaded with Hornady 158 xtp or 148 wc. A speed strip is always in the pocket. Occasionally a speed loader on the belt. The speed strip and speed loader have rounds that are easy to get in the cylinder.
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I own 3 revolvers, two of which I shoot quite often. None are small enough to carry easily. I considered a S&W Model 66, a 3 inch .357 but the weight at 33 oz was just too much for the capacity.
Last year Ruger introduced the 3 inch version of their LCRx in 357 magnum. I haven't bought one but it checks a lot of my boxes. At 21 oz, it's 12 oz lighter than the Model 66, has a steel frame, a nice action, and adjustable sights. I wouldn't consider it for magnum loads, but it would easily handle a stout 38 +P.
Real guns have hammers.
@ Dave T, I would say you have had exceptionally good luck with moon clips. They don't generally bend when dropped, they usually get bent when loaded and carried in a non-hardshell carrier, ie pocket, etc.
Just my experience.
"And for a regular dude I’m maybe okay...but what I learned is if there’s a door, I’m going out it not in it"-Duke
"Just because a girl sleeps with her brother doesn't mean she's easy..."-Blues
I was planning on gifting my Mother-in-law one of my VP9’s as a house warming gift. She’s shot it before and liked italot but once we sat down and I was teaching her how to manipulate it she was unable to (similar situation as the OP). I’m gonna take her out with my J frame and a K I have and see how she does with those.
A gun is a gun, some have more bullets in them, are quicker to reload and may be able to be shot more accurately at greater distances but they all basically do the same thing. Give you the ability for some stand off while projecting force / violence. If one gun works better for you for whatever reason, use it & rock on with your wheel gun! Also, coming into the 4th decade of “half plastic 9mm’s” in fairy common usage I’d hardly call it a fad anymore.
Last edited by TCB; 07-08-2019 at 06:36 PM.
I’ve been “revolvering” since ’78. Transitioned to pistols in early 90’s. Since the transition, the problem I’ve had is getting similar triggers. For me (YMMV), a DA revolver doesn’t pair well with a striker or SA pistol. For me, having similar triggers helps me build muscle memory. Solution I found is a Langdon Elite 92 paired with S&W J frames. The shape and arc of the triggers are similar. My limited ability can work with the similarity.
As a grow older, I continually the search for the perfect “old man” gun. I shy away from large revolvers for carry, juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Again YMMV. The form factor—weight, and capacity of an L or N frame and large Rugers—do not have the same benefit as J or K frames. The Beretta slide is easy to rack. More importantly the trigger has me in a happy place. When I policed, I responded to shootings where shooters missed targets standing less than a foot away. Poor trigger control caused by watching too many movies the diagnosis.
For me the current grow old gun is an M&P 340 paired with a 43C. I carry the 340 every day. If I need a reload I carry the 43C weak side pocket. Makes weak hand shooting easier. For practice, instead of a heavier gun, I went the other way and got the lighter 43C, an almost double to the 340. The .22 is cost efficient and easy on the hands. I use the 43C to practice drawing and shooting inside 5 yards. The 340 from 3-25 yards. 150 rounds of wadcutter and 150 of .22 per a session.
As has been said many times, getting old is a bitch. Good luck.
I for one will be interested in how running lightweight revolvers solves or at least remediates your issues with arthritis. I've been carrying a revolver on one form or another for twenty-ish years. I currently EDC a S&W 43c. If I decide I need 'more' gun it's almost always another revolver and I still have the 43c on me. It goes from my primary to my secondary, should I end up carrying a long gun it then becomes my tertiary, etc.
So a few years ago I decided to shoot IDPA for at least a year with a 4" model 12. About halfway through that year I noticed that it was getting tough to get through a match due to the impact the recoil impulse was having on my wrist and forearm. While I don't suffer from arthritis I do have to deal with carpal tunnel from repetitive motions at work. I finally had to back off running the Airweight for an entire match. My concession was to shoot the first stage or the last stage with the model 12 and the rest of the match with a model 67.
I said all that to clarify the following observations.
Revolvers aren't necessarily the correct alternative for arthritis and lightweight revolvers are rarely if ever the answer if the user plans to do any significant shooting. I was having a hard time getting though a 150ish round match that lasted 4-5 hours, so you will have to pay attention to what's going on with you during your practice sessions. Of course using a lighter load that has less recoil will alleviate some of that abuse. Please keep us posted on your observations during your practice sessions.
On a completely unrelated note, I do wish I had known you were trying to sell your 386.
Men freely believe that which they desire.
Julius Caesar
My arthritis comes and goes, so I can sympathize. I will ramble some here.
Your 642 probably won't be pleasant to shoot. I can only fire 1 or 2 cylinders before I decide I've had enough. Wadcutters are better than common self defense loads. +P is brutal. I just ordered a S&W 43c .22LR. I'll see how that does.
You should go over to TPI http://www.totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/ and read Claude Werner's (aka Headhunter) Old Man Gun thread.
Back when I was shooting revolver in IDPA I found that recoil in a 625 was heavier than the same load in an autoloader because the operation of the slide soaked up some of the recoil.
If you have trouble locking the slide back, you could consider some modifications to your auto pistols. Reduced power recoil springs, oversize slide lock or a slide racker.
Good luck and let us know what you find.