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Thread: What is the Lightest Available Reliable Revolver.

  1. #111
    I’m on my 3rd 43c and I’ve never had an issue with MiniMags.
    If the problems continue I’d call Smith and let them fix it.
    They will pay shipping and have awesome customer service.
    I bet they will make it right.

    Some owners have had S&W exchange the cylinder for a stainless one after having issues.
    That would probably add about 2 ounces.

  2. #112
    What happened to the first two?
    Code Name: JET STREAM

  3. #113
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    SE Texas

    Some Thoughts

    Preface: While it has not always been a happy experience, Seecamp pistols set my standards of desirable size and handling qualities, for Smaller-Than-J pocket guns, in the Eighties. The trigger is set quite far-forward, resulting in a trigger stroke for adult-sized hands. (This does not mean that I am recommending Seecamp pistols. Their care and feeding requirements require serious commitment, plus, a faith in point-shooting, so they probably belong in a different thread topic, of their own.)

    Some thoughts:

    If “going bang for the entirety of the ammo supply” is an absolute parameter, I hate to recommend rimfire. If .22 become necessary, well, carry a top-tier, premium load, which is refreshed regularly, from a reserve supply stored in a very dry environment.

    I have seen troubling anecdotes of cross-pins failing in some S&W ultra-light revolvers. (Lighter than Airweight.) While S&W customer service took good care of the owners of these weapons, customer service is not there to help me, on the spot, in the street. When I shopped for Airlites, In early 2018, I did my homework, regarding production history, and colors of the cross-pins, to hopefully avoid the problematic ones. (After I bought my pair of Airlite J-snubs, I did not retain these details, in my memory, or bookmark anything, but I think it all may be found right here, in the forum.

    Airlite, and similar-weight, J-snubs, if they have realistically-sized pocket-carry grips on them, are torture devices, for the base joint of my aging right thumb, even with cheap 130-grain ammo. 148-grain wadcutters are only slightly more tolerable. This has interfered with my warming-up to Airlites, so I almost never carry them. They are small-niche weapons, for me.

    My Performance Center Airweight, based upon an early, cosmetically-flawed 642, and given a different model number, has always been plenty light enough for all pockets, except for pockets in light-weight soft=shell jacketS and rain jackets.

    My wife hated the recoil and handling of her Kel-Tec P-32, so I finished firing the break-in/function-test rounds, for her. I hated the recoil and handling. It has been a paper-weight, since we finished the T&E shooting. Notably, it was reliable, with a range of ammo, but only if we kept the mags down-loaded by one.

    When a reviewer wrote that the P3AT was slightly wider, in the grip area, than the P-32, I decided to take a chance, on being an early adopter, and got on a waiting list. Well, wouldn’t ya know, the reviewer was wrong. I knew it would be a torture device, so I flipped it, unfired and LNIB, for exactly what I paid for it.

    I passed in the Elsie Pea, because it was too Kel-Tec-y.

    I find the G42 plenty light enough, but it requires seriously large pockets. I am still vetting my G42, for reliability, a project which seems to be taking years, as I only occasionally buy .380, a box or two at a time.

    I am liking what I see, when I look at Inoxidable Beretta 21a Bobcats, in spite of their being rimfire.
    Last edited by Rex G; 05-24-2020 at 11:56 AM.
    Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.

    Don’t tread on volcanos!

  4. #114
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    SE Texas
    To elaborate a bit on my near-642, a number of 642 samples were deemed too cosmetically-flawed, due to the degree of color mismatch between the stainless steel and aluminum alloy components. Rather than being distributed/sold, in that condition, they were diverted to the Performance Center, where they were given coated finishes, trigger jobs, and stamped with new model numbers. The best-know of these were marketed as the Model 042, with a bright blue finish that was baked-on. Mine is from a batch with a matte black finish, the Performance Center etching, chamfered chamber mouths, and Mag-na-ported barrels, stamped “M460,” as a model designation, on the frame, but, if I recall correctly, the box labeled the model as “430.”

    The porting may help, just a tiny bit, with +P ammo. I doubt it makes a difference, with standard-pressure ammo. I have no un-ported 642, for apples-to-apples comparison, as my other J-Frames are either Airlite, or all-stainless steel.

    To keep from getting blow-torched, in a FUT, my carry ammo has been standard-pressure.
    Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.

    Don’t tread on volcanos!

  5. #115
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Watson View Post
    What happened to the first two?
    I realized I didn’t shoot my first one much so I sold it.
    Decided that a 43c would be a good trainer for a .38, so I bought another.
    Decided to sell my .38s so I sold the 43c.

    Started looking for a walk-the-dog gun for my wife when her Glock 42 proved unreliable.
    Decided a 43c would be awesome for that.
    She’s not really interested in it but I’m enjoying it a lot.

    In other words I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

    But, all three of mine have been trouble free out of the box, and two were purchased used.

  6. #116
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Desert Southwest
    Velocitors work! Here are the first 8 and a reload from a cold start today.



    Ran 72 Velocitors through it total today. Zero problems. Attempted 8 Minimags and the cylinder stopped rotating after 6 shots. Something about how the brass bulges at the base after it fires leads to the base dragging. It is either not compatible with the gun or a bad lot of ammo.

    So far this gun is the winner of the underwear gun award. I like the LCP, I shoot it well, I just never know when one is going to hit working. If I can actually carry the 43C most of the time I may put up the $900-1000 for a 340PD.

  7. #117

    340 PD

    My 340 PD has been great. Exchanged the rubber grips for traditional wood.




  8. #118
    Member Wheeler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Jawja
    Quote Originally Posted by Doc_Glock View Post
    Velocitors work! Here are the first 8 and a reload from a cold start today.



    Ran 72 Velocitors through it total today. Zero problems. Attempted 8 Minimags and the cylinder stopped rotating after 6 shots. Something about how the brass bulges at the base after it fires leads to the base dragging. It is either not compatible with the gun or a bad lot of ammo.

    So far this gun is the winner of the underwear gun award. I like the LCP, I shoot it well, I just never know when one is going to hit working. If I can actually carry the 43C most of the time I may put up the $900-1000 for a 340PD.
    Seems like the culprit was the ammo then?

    I run a lot of bulk crap through mine and cycle my carry ammo just about every time I go to the range. Occasionally I'll get a wild hair and run part of a box of Stingers through mine on a plate rack or running a modified IDPA 5x5. I've had very good performance with the higher quality ammo.
    Men freely believe that which they desire.
    Julius Caesar

  9. #119
    Quote Originally Posted by JimCunn View Post
    "I’m going to find out if my gunsmith can fit a new cylinder assembly, so I can swap cylinders easily".

    I just did it myself. Averages about 5 minutes per chamber while watching TV.
    What’s the process?

  10. #120
    Check new yoke alignment. Realign if necessary.
    Check individual cylinders for drag. If draggy, adjust the tab on each 'leg' of the star with a file to eliminate drag.
    Timing will usually be OK as is.
    Lockup is usually OK, but can be adjusted by modifying ratchet length.
    Last edited by JimCunn; 05-25-2020 at 08:21 AM.

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