WTB .38 Hammerless Pistol
- Thread starter cotty16
- Start date
I know some of the S&W's were having problems with them cracking. Right at the bottom of the barrel on the hot side. I do believe this was an AirLite issue though. Just something to keep an eye on. I'm pretty sure they fixed this, but if you're looking at used possibly....look for a crack. S&W will warranty it, but still something to keep an eye out for.
I just did a quick google image search "S&W AirLite crack" and it came up with plenty of pics. So if you need further help, just google image search.
Agreed. First I have heard of this. Granted, I carried mine for a couple years and didn't shoot it a ton. It killed some groundhogs. One cat. And has had a few boxes ran thru it. I didn't buy it to shoot targets. Maybe that is why I have had no issues. Rated for +P rounds and shooting them all the time are two different things I suppose.
My 44 AirLite cracked after one box of buffalo boar ammo. My wrist still isn't right and my ears are still bleeding...it was only 7-8 years ago. I hated that pistol!!!
Felt really good in my hand and everything, but I couldn't hit the ground I was standing on with that gun. I actually can't shoot any revolvers without the help of Crimson Trace. Something about them...I just can't shoot them.
Guess they aren't for everyone. Good thing Cotty is a manly man. Good thing Mrs Cotty is too compared to you Giles. Lmao
44? 44mag?
Lol. Yea, it was a 44 mag (329?) I bought for bear protection while fishing. I wanted something small and light...I couldn't of committed suicide with that damn thing! I can shoot plenty of semi auto pistols with ease...something about those damn revolvers though. Only one I owned that I could actually hit a target, repeatedly, was an old 3 screw with bone grips.
FWIW Giles, Mrs Cotty is what I would call petite.
Serious note- were the issues just on 44mag or 38 too?
Serious note- were the issues just on 44mag or 38 too?
Huckleberry Finn
Senior Member
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Can't shoot an 870 or a revolver, what can you shoot man?
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What I want to know is why is .38 the cheapest? The Ruger LCRs in .22mag and 9mm are pricey and I could buy 2 more38s for the price of a SW .22 mag. Or .22lr for that matter.
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What I want to know is why is .38 the cheapest? The Ruger LCRs in .22mag and 9mm are pricey and I could buy 2 more38s for the price of a SW .22 mag. Or .22lr for that matter.
I'm not sure Phil, was just offering up what I knew. I'm sure it wouldn't take much researching to find out about specific models. It was a pretty known problem I thought.
Huck...it's only one 870 that hates me!
Huck...it's only one 870 that hates me!
Giles I'm not passing judgement on you but trying to help.
I'm going out on a short limb here by saying 'it's not the gun but the shooter'. I'll say you have couple shooting bad habits problems that are common with pistol shooters and you don't know you have the problems. But the inner problems can and will be over come if you give it a honest try with a good pistol trainer.
I'm living proof of this training. In 1978 I started shooting pistol and I was a terrible shot. My friend Dale seen this and offered to train me. I had 2 pistol shooting problems. 1st was I had a inner fear of the pistol going off and hurting me with the recoil, 2nd was I closed my eyes when I shot. Neither of these 2 things is conductive to accurate shooting. I didn't know I was doing either of these 2 things.
So Dale would load the pistol and have me shoot and I never knew if the pistol was loaded or empty. This showed me directly my problems and I over came the 2 problems. To this day I still need to talk myself through each shot. And I'm proud to say I've become a damn good pistol shooter. But it took time and a lot of shooting to do so. When we are out shooting and someone is having problems shooting a pistol my son says 'give the pistol to my dad to shoot'. I shoot it and generally it shoots good, then you can work with the shooter to improve but most of the time it doesn't help much.
Now Giles this statement is not pointed directly at you but men in general. With that being said 'some men are very difficult to train to shoot'. The main problem is some men think they know everything already and just can't overcome the fact they don't know as much as they think they do. Women and kids are the easiest to train as long as they have the desire to learn and aren't forced into it. But some young boys are difficult as they think they know everything already especially when in a group girls. They want to show the girls they are better, and when the girls advance past them most boys find a reason to quit.
So with proper training you will find you can shoot a pistol rather good. The other thing that caused your problem was is you tried to shoot a very light pistol with a powerful load. It just isn't going to work with a new shooter. If you would have shot light 44 Special loads out of the same pistol to train you would have found it was very accurate.Then worked your way up with more powerful loading. But this is easy to say for someone who reloads all his own bullets.
I would have recommended to start with a 22LR, then advance one at a time with 38 SPL, 357 Mag, 44 SPL, 44 Mag regular loads, then heavy weight 44 Mag loadings. Only advance when you became a good shooter with the last load and if you can't advance then to stop there until you do become a good shot.
Gee this post got long. So work at it and you will overcome it.
Good post man. I know it's me and not the gun. I wasn't blaming the gun at all, hope that's not what anyone thought.
That's a good start so with some good training you will be on your way to a being a good shot.
Any recommendations for a holster for the SW 642? Been looking on Amazon, but not really sure which one is best. Not wanting an ankle one... That's about all I know.
I have an OWB but inside the belt holster for mine. Jaqslide or Jakslide I think it is called. Forget the manufacturer.