After buying the .38 I have been told by my cop friend that the piece has been thru two police careers in Chicago and he dropped off a freebie shoulder holster that came with the piece. Considering the age and possible history I'm going to pay S & W the $50 to get an official history. And considering the age of the weapon I'm going to give my friend the two boxes of +P ammo I bought but think it better not to fire thru the older pistol. He is getting a similar but newer weapon chambered for .357 but due to "policy" can only load with .38 .
Again, thanks for all the input and informed opinions.
Abosolutely and positively do not shoot 38+P rounds in a revolver chambered for .38 spl unless the manufacturer says it's OK and it is written somewhere. Good move bargeahead.
I have a .357 mag snubby and I'm finding out that the pistol is just too small for my hands as the trigger releases the hammer only after the tip of my trigger finger touches my thumb on other side of the grip (I have to pull the trigger with the second joint. It's a creepy feeling to have the cylinder rotate, stop and then nothing happens during slow controlled fire as I feel that I've pulled the trigger as far as I can when my index fingertip touches the other side of my hand. Not so much a problem under rapid fire at 10' but dang, what if I need to be 1" accurate at 10 or 15 yards?
I hate to give up the concealability of that weapon but after a few months of firing it I'm finding flaws I never noticed at first. Once I got home from the range today I filled the cylinder with snap caps and found that I could literally rotate through all 5 cylinder bores and not have it release the firing pin unless I yanked the trigger all the way back past when I felt the tip of my finger hit my hand. Weird.
This was after I qualified with the revolver too. I never noticed it before as slow fire was NOT part of my training for a CCW. Either I'll need to bring it to a true, qualified gunsmith that can alter the timing and bring the firing pin release forward (there's many that are nothing more than parts replacers. Shoot, I can do that...) and that is a very pricey proposition or just go back to my favorite auto.... A Glock 23 in .40 S&W fitted with Meprolight tritium sights. I had one that never, ever failed to fire for me after thousands of rounds and I could kick a can around with it at 15 yards with shots spaced in the 2 second range. It's just that much harder to conceal though.
In summary, I just thought I'd give you the benefit of my experience in regards to a small self-defense handgun. Your S&W and your and your wife's body type may never have the same issue I have. A handgun is a very personal thing and what works for one person may not work for another even if the initial impression are good. The grip angle on my revolver is great for reducing recoil BUT my instructor put a laser on my revolver and shooting from the hip involved leaning way back like in the old westerns. That's just one more movement I'd have to make in a super pressured situation that I don't wan't to have to think about. We did the same with his Glock and I was spot on every time. He even said "Joe, you really should think about getting another Glock. Your life may depend on it..." Like a dummy I didn't heed his advice and months later, I realize he was right.
Just a few thoughts is all and I hope that I'm not confusing you and giving you any doubts. I personally feel that training is absolutely the way to go and I hope that you both will attend. After training, keep shooting, and shooting, and shooting. The 4-5 positions of a proper draw need to become reflexive and you both need to build a muscle memory. You both will eventually come to a realization that this is or is not the right weapon for you both.
