Looking at getting a J frame as an "all purpose" carry gun, for my wife sometimes, and me others. It may well get sweat on a lot if I carry it, how well do they hold up against rust and corrosion?
Which J-frame are you looking at?
The resident j-frame experts here are Glock em Down and LMPD, but I'll give you my opinions...
I wear an aluminum airweight (638 Bodyguard) on my ankle, and sometimes in my pocket and have had no issues at all... obviously aluminum doesn't rust, but the stainless barrel is fine too.
Now, on the other hand, an academy mate of mine had an old J-frame snubbie that was blued steel that was passed down to him from his grandfather who wore it on his ankle and VERY SELDOM shot it. Because of this, you could see what side of the cylinder rested against his ankle because it had some rust and pitting from the sweat.
It's a great gun though, you'll not be disappointed.
The resident j-frame experts here are Glock em Down and LMPD, but I'll give you my opinions...
I wear an aluminum airweight (638 Bodyguard) on my ankle, and sometimes in my pocket and have had no issues at all... obviously aluminum doesn't rust, but the stainless barrel is fine too.
Now, on the other hand, an academy mate of mine had an old J-frame snubbie that was blued steel that was passed down to him from his grandfather who wore it on his ankle and VERY SELDOM shot it. Because of this, you could see what side of the cylinder rested against his ankle because it had some rust and pitting from the sweat.
It's a great gun though, you'll not be disappointed.
I haven't carried mine yet (too young) but I've had it for 4 years or so and never had a problem with rust. I've always carried it riding four wheelers and through mud, rain, dust and wrecks it's held up great. I'll probably be buying a M&P 340 I want the hammerfree profile and the ability to shoot .357. I also thing the closed top would prevent pocket lint and dust out of the action. I've had to open mine up before to clean it out.
I would suggest that you look around and find an "older"ALL stainless J frame...maybe a model 60, 640 or 649. Their Airweight stainless cylinder/barrel/crane counterparts (637, 642, 638) are "ok" too, but I would avoid them...especially the "newer" Airweights.
Here's why...
The stainless steel models I mentioned first are all stainless steel. The stainless Airweights, while they do carry a lot more comfy than the all steel models, have some type of matte finish that tends to come off rather easily when exposed to sweat and/or solvents.
You might wanna keep that in mind.
A lot of this depends on how you are gonna tote it as well. If it's gonna be in a good QUALITY OWB or IWB holster, you should be ok. Just wear a "wifebeater" shirt or something to give your mighty J frame a "barrier" from your sweaty corpse.
And for the record, NOBODY sweats more than I do!
And I've been carrying an Airweight Bodyguard (circa 1985) with blued barrel, cylinder, crane since October 2008 in a DeSantis "Nemesis" pocket holster, and just recently in a Milt Sparks PCH-R pocket holster. There is not one, single speck of rust on the steel parts ANYWHERE!
As for the frame? Well, this Bodyguard is one of the older ones (1985) that has the glossy finish on all the aluminum parts like S&W used to do.
Any other ??? just ask!
Here's why...
The stainless steel models I mentioned first are all stainless steel. The stainless Airweights, while they do carry a lot more comfy than the all steel models, have some type of matte finish that tends to come off rather easily when exposed to sweat and/or solvents.
You might wanna keep that in mind.
A lot of this depends on how you are gonna tote it as well. If it's gonna be in a good QUALITY OWB or IWB holster, you should be ok. Just wear a "wifebeater" shirt or something to give your mighty J frame a "barrier" from your sweaty corpse.
And for the record, NOBODY sweats more than I do!
And I've been carrying an Airweight Bodyguard (circa 1985) with blued barrel, cylinder, crane since October 2008 in a DeSantis "Nemesis" pocket holster, and just recently in a Milt Sparks PCH-R pocket holster. There is not one, single speck of rust on the steel parts ANYWHERE!As for the frame? Well, this Bodyguard is one of the older ones (1985) that has the glossy finish on all the aluminum parts like S&W used to do.
Any other ??? just ask!
I have a S&W 649 that I carried on duty for several years as a backup. I carried it both in an ankle holster and a holster attached to my vest, under my shirt. It was exposed to sweat, rain, dust etc. with no rust issues.
If this is to be your carry gun you'll want all stainless steel One it can rust, but you've really got to abuse it for that. Second, this is going to be a gun, even though carried, you'll be shooting alot, steel holds up better than aluminum, and also keeps the wear and tear down on your hand as well. Third, practice, practice, and practice some more, its not about the hollowpoints or +P loads you'll carry, its about shot placement, if you can put them where it counts, everything else is icing on the cake.
I carry a Smith 642 everyday for over two years now and the only issue I had with rust was on the screws that hold the grips on. If you routinely maintain the gun and wipe it down with a little oil it will last a lifetime with no problems.
And for the record, NOBODY sweats more than I do!
im sure this was an unscientific survey
i wear mine almost daily in a outside the waistband leather holster. biggest enemy my finish has seen was the one time i hit it with gun scrubber... that wasn't so good for the clear coat......
This has been my experience as well..
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