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Thread: What is the Lightest Available Reliable Revolver.

  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by JAD View Post
    How is a weapon chambered in a cartridge that doesn’t repeatably put people down reliable?

    I don’t give a shit what the MTBF is for a .22, it’s an unreliable choice for self defense.
    So you roll a rifle 24/7....because, painting with a wide brush, handguns suck at “putting people down”


    What your saying it well understood. I don’t need to put someone down....I need them to stop doing whatever they were doing that made me need to shoot them in the first place.

    Got an idea 8 or so 22 holes will send the message more clearly than no gun at all.

    Again I get what you’re saying. But again. Handguns are a compromise in one way or the other

  2. #22
    Hoplophilic doc SAWBONES's Avatar
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    Another vote for the 340PD.

    Best-overall balance of:

    lightest weight,
    reliability,
    capability and versatility (.38 Special and .357 Magnum ammunition options).
    "Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
    And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
    I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman

  3. #23
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheNewbie View Post
    What I don't like about the LCP is my trigger finger takes a beating.
    This. I have XXXL hands. I could clamp the LCP hard enough to get hits, but not hard enough to keep it from beating my trigger finger senseless in recoil. Ended up getting an infection as a consequence of the tissue damage that stuck around for months and caused major surgery to have to be delayed.

    Piling on, a series of shitty doctors just threw antibiotics at it without culturing it to see what it actually was. When it finally came back (again) and I went in and said, "Here's what you're going to do this time...," they acted like it was the best idea they'd ever heard and I was some kind of genius. I'm not the one who went to medical school, Sherlock.
    .
    -----------------------------------------
    Not another dime.

  4. #24
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    Iirc, the Airlite .22 with the aluminum cylinder, frame, and barrel sleeve was just under 10 oz empty. I nearly bought one a few months ago, and maybe should have now that I know they aren’t produced anymore and considering the super lightweight category they fill. A 43c should be close, though.

    The lightest gun I own is a P32. It works as far as being a lightweight functional firearm. I have pocket carried it in situations where being armed was legal but being caught would have been unfortunate. My brother has one he has daily carried for nearly 20 years. It does work in gym shorts pockets, sort of. Gym shorts pockets tend to twist around and reorient themselves in strange ways. They are not a reliable place to keep something, in my opinion.

    If I am carrying a gun in gym shorts, I am likely either carrying it clipped to the waistband, or in a Smartcarry. I could see pressing the P32 into the clipped to the waistband role, but if I’m actually exercising, I would rather use a Smartcarry and use a G42 or jframe instead because the bulk and weight are distributed better than one spot on lightweight shorts material. I have carried both the G42 and 642 casually in gym shorts pockets or clipped to the waistband. For actually doing anything more strenuous than walking, not a good idea.

    The P32 is not really fun to shoot. It works. I keep it loaded with Fiocchi ball. The 642 can be fun to shoot, merely tolerable for a few shots, or very painful, depending on the load. I only imagine going lighter is going to reduce the available fun and tolerable number of shots. Th G42 is shootable. Mine work with RN FMJ and Hornady XTP, but neither is 100% with Winchester flat-nosed FMJ. I am more likely to carry the G42 or 642 than the P32. They seem to have more utility as actual firearms, are easier to shoot, easier to hit with, and are probably more effective once bullets strike flesh. But I’m not throwing away the P32, either.

    The Jframe can be a great pocket gun, but it is not great in all pockets. If I was bound and determined to carry a Jframe in gym shorts pockets, I would get a 43c or a 317 Airlite and try that.

    The G42 can be a great pocket gun, but not in all pockets. As you know, it is thinner than a Jframe and a bit lighter than a 642. But it doesn’t draw smoothly from all pockets, and can be a challenge to get a good grip on from the pocket.

    I have done a lot of pocket carry. A lot of it was with my beat old 642, but some with the P32 and G42, and years ago with a P11. Grips matter. Holster matters. Clothing material matters. Pocket carry is a big compromise, and truthfully, a lot of the time getting a consistent grip and draw is not easy, and in some situations, impossible. Gym shorts carry complicates things because of flimsy materials, and unless I’m just hanging around in my house and put on the shorts over my boxers to avoid embarrassing my daughter, I don’t just drop a gun in the pocket of gym shorts. I won’t even walk my dog that way because I don’t find it an adequate, secure enough combination of compromises.

  5. #25
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    These "guns for when you can't carry a gun" seem to call for the lightest thing you can find...and shoot reasonably well. I can't shoot the tiny autos, probably because of hand size. Reaching into a pocket I never get the same grip. I'm trying to learn pocket carry with a 642 but it's struggle. One of the J-frame 22s is kind of appealing, because of the weight and under the premise of 'get him off me' as the ultimate goal.

    I'm not much of a rim-fire shooter but both my experience and what I hear and read is that the 22 Mag is more reliable in terms of ignition than its little brother the LR. And yes the Magnum looses a lot in a 2", so does the LR. But you still get a little more from the Magnum and a little more in this caliber could be very important.

    YMMV,
    Dave

  6. #26
    Hokey / Ancient JAD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duke View Post
    Got an idea 8 or so 22 holes will send the message more clearly than no gun at all.
    That’s a false dichotomy. The choice isn’t between .22 and no gun. It’s between dressing around a 28 ounce gun instead of a 10 ounce. It’s a matter of convenience, not of possibility.
    Ignore Alien Orders

  7. #27
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    A vote for the SW 432s if you can find one. 13.5 oz - six shots of 32 HR mag, for which there are different loads. IIRC, Tam, Daryl and some others have them. I find mine really easy to carry.

    Noticeably lighter than my 642.

    My G42 - was unreliable, horribly so, as I bought a new and had it back to the shop. Seems ok now but I find the 432 J fits in my pocket for the just a gun dress up. I shoot J frames decently, spending time to come up to speed with them.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by JAD View Post
    That’s a false dichotomy. The choice isn’t between .22 and no gun. It’s between dressing around a 28 ounce gun instead of a 10 ounce. It’s a matter of convenience, not of possibility.
    For some people dressing around something bigger isn't a realistic option. See the thread about how many people aren't actually carrying all day.

    Others don't want to. And that too is their right. An 8 shot 22 in your pocket is substantially more useful than the "enough gun" you carry on weekends or other special occasions.

    I'm in neither situation. I've learned that the number of people in one or the other of those situations outnumber me. I've seen enough people who can't or won't carry a G19 sized gun, who've been told thats the bare minimum and end up as a result not carrying a gun at all.
    Welcome to Africa, bring a hardhat.

  9. #29
    I've been looking lately at a few different pocket options for lighter carry than an Airweight. For what is worth some positive thoughts from Greg Ellifritz on the 22 Magnum in a snub:

    https://www.activeresponsetraining.n...-the-22-magnum

    Another observation, for me shape seems to matter to perceived weight. Playing with pocket fit of different handguns on hand, for instance, - a Colt 1903 feels as light or lighter than an S&W 638. Objectively the 1903 is near 1/2 pound heavier but the way it sits in a pocket doesn't feel like it.

  10. #30
    To the OP, what is the mission? If you want to have a lightweight gun just to “have a gun”, the 43c would seem to be it as you indicated. For me, since I have one, it’s the 317 Airlite. If I’m in my yard doing some work, I’ve had it or a 642 in pocket. Works for me in that environment, circumstance, etc. I’ve known far more experienced men-Walt Rauch comes to mind-who always had a snub in a pants pocket. Rauch also sometimes carried a .25 Browning (!?!) as a third gun...his first choice-nope, but I wouldn’t volunteer to be shot with it.
    OTOH, I went out to the local deli for fresh bagels early this AM for moms brunch. I slipped on a Safariland GLS holster with a G19 in it, iron sights and NO RELOAD(gasp). On similar occasions, it’s been a G26 or even a G43(!)-but I pocket carry a reload with the 43. Might get kilt in the streetz(so far so good)but also might get hit by an early morning drunk.
    Circumstances and perception dictate choices.
    What this thread has inspired me to do is run a Dot Torture with my Airlite-‘cause America!-and run a Wizard with the snub... I did multiple Casino drills yesterday with a G44, not because I anticipate “carrying it seriously”, but it’s fun and some more cheap practice.

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