What is the Lightest Available Reliable Revolver.

[Doc_Glock]

I am wondering what is the lightest available, reliable handgun. Use would be pocket carry. I posted this in the revolver section because to be honest, I simply have not found lightweight semi autos reliable enough for pocket carry self defense. Or if they are reliable they end up being too heavy for gym shorts etc. 12oz seems to be the sweet spot. That leaves DA revolvers. If I missed any good light Semi Autos let me know. Caliber is irrelevant to me in this discussion.

Here is a list of guns and weights that I know about along with some notes. Please add on:

NAA SA 8.0oz loaded with 5x40grain-not appropriate for defense.

Ruger LCP 12.0oz loaded 7x90grain-easy to carry, unreliable


43 C 12.4oz with 8x40gr-contender but no experience with it.


Bobcat 21a 13.9oz loaded with 8x40 grain-unreliable.

340PD 14.4oz with 5x158g-contender but brutal to shoot I imagine.


LCR .22 15.7oz loaded with 8x40 grain-too big. Too heavy.


LCR .38 16.2oz loaded with 5x158 grain-too big too heavy.


G44 .22 16.2oz loaded with 11 Velocitors-too big for pocket.


G42 16.3oz loaded with 7x90 grain-reliable, too heavy.


S&W 642 17.1 oz Airweight 5x.38 158gr.-too heavy.

[TheNewbie]

In my personal experience, the Ruger LCP has been reliable and the Glock 42 was not.

I have a few hundred rounds through a couple different Gen 1 LCPs. Never any issues, even when dirty and not lubed for a long period of time.

The Glock 42 is a gun I wanted to like, but like all .380s, with the exception of the LCP, it was not reliable. It seems I am the exception, and I think my grip may have pushed the gun of battery.


My round count on the LCP is minimal, but for what it is, I trust it.


If I were a big guy, I might prefer a different pocket pistol. No doubt a small revolver is likely to be more reliable if shot a lot.

[serialsolver]

340pd with 148 wadcutters is 13 oz on my scale. It’s not brutal to shoot and is my lightest weight choice.

Some of the rubber grips have metal inserts and can add an ounce or more per side.


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[Jim Watson]

Kel Tec .32 6.6 oz.
Mine took a little "fluff and buff" is now reliable.

A lot of people cosider .38 target wadcutters to be adequate in an Airweight, Airlite, Tilite Smith.

[MGW]

A Smith 43c is 11.5 ounces. Decent sights and 8 rounds of 22.

[1Rangemaster]

I have an S&W “Airlite” from years ago, which is around 10 oz. loaded. The 43c is just a little heavier. All in .22 rimfire.
Claude Werner has some good comments about .22 revolvers, and if I had the parameters of light but goes bang, I’d pick one of the Smiths. The G42 has improved, and I would look one for a semi auto with ball or Hornady ammo.
At some point though, IMHO, one has to accept some compromise.

[jandbj]

Kel-Tec P32 & S&W 43c as mentioned above are both great featherweight choices. With the p32, I’d be tempted to invest in the good sights from innovative arms.

[BN]

S&W 342PD is advertised as 10.8 oz. Pretty brutal with +P but almost manageable with wad cutters. S&W 43c is very comfortable to shoot. CCI Velocitors go 970 fps in mine. I just shot 100 rounds through my 43c in about 10 minutes the other day. 2 or 3 cylinders through my 342PD is all I want at one time. Both guns have been reliable for me.

The 43c is my every day all day pocket carry in an A Holster.

[BillSWPA]

I have both a Kel-Tec P-32 and P3AT. Both are 100% reliable, but both required recoil springs 2 lb. heavier than factory standard (meaning that I use 11 lb. in the .32 and 13 lb. in the .380) to avoid a first shot jam when loaded to full magazine capacity plus one in the chamber.

Do not swap the guide rod that came with the gun. If it is plastic, do not replace it with metal - the flexibility of the plastic will help reliability. If it came from the factory with metal, leave it alone.

The simplest solution to the suboptimal sights is a Crimson Trace LaserGuard. Pocket holsters for this gun-laser combination are plentiful.

I discourage the "fluff and buff." It will void the warranty, and Kel-Tec has seen numerous guns that left the factory in-spec, but were taken out of spec by this procedure.

If you go with the .32, it may be worth trying this ammo: https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...t_detail&p=132. I have not yet tried it myself, since I learned about it after I had stopped carrying the P-32 regularly, but perhaps I should.

[Doc_Glock]

S&W 342PD is advertised as 10.8 oz. Pretty brutal with +P but almost manageable with wad cutters. S&W 43c is very comfortable to shoot. CCI Velocitors go 970 fps in mine. I just shot 100 rounds through my 43c in about 10 minutes the other day. 2 or 3 cylinders through my 342PD is all I want at one time. Both guns have been reliable for me.

The 43c is my every day all day pocket carry in an A Holster.

43c looks like a winner. I have heard build quality is spotty. I would also
be comfortable shooting it with a minimal smooth grip (unlike the air lite .357/38)

My LCPs will lull me into a sense of security for a couple hundred rounds then have unexplainable FTEs randomly about every 100 rounds. Don’t trust them.