My wife typically carries a S&W model 442 "airweight" for a CCW. She's no stranger to firearms and has went through a ton, only to find out that the small J-frames fit her best.
Today, we decided to sling some rounds and pit her 442 against another J-frame lightweight - a dreaded Taurus (insert some ominous music here). The Taurus is a model 605, .357 mag DA/DA, while the S&W 442 is double-action only.
Both guns are like new and in very good shape. When holding them both next to each other there are a few notable differences between the two though. The Taurus cylinder seems to have just slightly more movement on lockup, but the action seems to be much smoother. Neither model has adjustable sights, but the Taurus sights win because they are easier to get into focus quicker. The rear sight window on the S&W is very small and it doesn't lend itself to "pointing" very well - for me at least. Here's a pic of both guns.
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My wife was shooting at around 25' or 2 car lengths...whatever. To be fair, since the 442 is DAO, both revolvers were fired with double action only. Ammo used was Remington .38 special 130 grain MC L38S11. She first shot with the 442 and the grouping was..less than impressive. Then she fired the 605 and she landed all 5 shots within the 2nd ring (2 in the red and the 3 below it). Back to the 442 and she put a little more effort into control and aim. These 5 were much improved from the first round with the 442, but they were still very wide. Back to the Taurus, where she managed to put all 5 shots in the center AGAIN. Note the 3 shot ragged hole just above bullseye, all 5 shots above bullseye in 2nd ring were the second group from the 605. I then picked loaded the 442 and shot 5 shots myself. My results were embarassing..and...bite me.
You can guess which one she has decided to keep as her CCW weapon. I have a new respect for these little-barreled boogers and won't be pissing her off any time in the future.
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Today, we decided to sling some rounds and pit her 442 against another J-frame lightweight - a dreaded Taurus (insert some ominous music here). The Taurus is a model 605, .357 mag DA/DA, while the S&W 442 is double-action only.
Both guns are like new and in very good shape. When holding them both next to each other there are a few notable differences between the two though. The Taurus cylinder seems to have just slightly more movement on lockup, but the action seems to be much smoother. Neither model has adjustable sights, but the Taurus sights win because they are easier to get into focus quicker. The rear sight window on the S&W is very small and it doesn't lend itself to "pointing" very well - for me at least. Here's a pic of both guns.
[Broken External Image]
My wife was shooting at around 25' or 2 car lengths...whatever. To be fair, since the 442 is DAO, both revolvers were fired with double action only. Ammo used was Remington .38 special 130 grain MC L38S11. She first shot with the 442 and the grouping was..less than impressive. Then she fired the 605 and she landed all 5 shots within the 2nd ring (2 in the red and the 3 below it). Back to the 442 and she put a little more effort into control and aim. These 5 were much improved from the first round with the 442, but they were still very wide. Back to the Taurus, where she managed to put all 5 shots in the center AGAIN. Note the 3 shot ragged hole just above bullseye, all 5 shots above bullseye in 2nd ring were the second group from the 605. I then picked loaded the 442 and shot 5 shots myself. My results were embarassing..and...bite me.
You can guess which one she has decided to keep as her CCW weapon. I have a new respect for these little-barreled boogers and won't be pissing her off any time in the future.
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