Revolver guys: finally got my Andrews Leather "Slim Loader" pouch.

[getsome]

Boscobarbell you are braver than I am shooting that 340 scandium with full mag loads, that's going to absolutely leave a mark....If you want a nice easy shooting 6 shot small revolver look no further than the Ruger LCR .327 mag and shoot H&R .32 Mags in it....Nice easy shooting round and plenty stout enough for CCW and if you feel the need to stoke it with .327 Federal mags you can do so....I found a nice used one a while back and like it a lot....As for the Beretta Pico, I love mine and carry it around the house and forget it's in my pocket.....Don't get me wrong, I like my Kahrs but if you want a super small, thin .380 that's reliable out of the box the Pico is the one....

[King Rat]

If this batch doesn't work out I'll look into the Silvertips in .357. But I won't go down to .38...or if I do, it will be with a Taurus, which will at least give me another round to make up for the ballistic drop off. Or I'll go to the .327 LCP, which is another 6-round option. Besides which, I have a J-frame in .38 anyway (642), so my M&P 340 would seem to be redundant if it's loaded with 38.

When my friend Bosco said he was going to sink his teeth into some 357 with his Smith Snubbie, I did not say anything, just got a big grin and thought OK, Bosco, take on that monster. Any one ever keep up with the famous rodeo Riding Bull "Bodacious"? Crazy Bull would just tear cowboys apart. Took the King of riders and broke every bone in his face. A bull that most cowboys said NO WAY. They finally sanctioned the Bull out of competition. Just too bad to ride. Bull was Sports Illustrated athlete of the Year. A whole documentary on him. I mean he was one Bad A** Bull! He had this power to jump high into the air and come down like a swimmer does a cannon ball and smash the riders face into his back. And the Bull had no problem with jumping the fence and going after the crowd either.
That is my feeling on the 357 with a J-Frame snubbie.

As far as the 380 pocket gun, I have said so many times that PrecisionOne is such a lovely round. Rated number one by Shooting the Bull until the Leheigh came ahead. Then later PrecisionOne came out with PlusP. 50 fps faster. And the Pico and Kahr just love that ammo. It shoots very Mild. I buy a box of 250 rds at a time. And for me, all my 380's get the best accuracy.

I have shot the Ruger 327 LCR. Loud round and still a lot of recoil. But as Getsome said, the 32 magnum would be IMO a ideal round. And the LCR's are such nice shooting guns. Also shoot some ARX Plus P in the 38. Mild and good ballistic results.

I love the LCR9mm. Good ballistics, this side of pleasant before going harsh and shoots the ARX Plus P and makes a sweet shooting gun. The good new is that IMO a snubbie requires a lot of consistent shooting. You have to shoot them often and the cheap 9mm answers that call. I would Like to have the LCR327 just for carry and again shoot the 32 mag. The 327 is a stout shooting gun and is LOUD. And a lot of muzzle flash. It would IMO blind you at night, and send your opponents and your ear drums into the next county.

I really believe a hidden secret for shooting the DAO and small barrel guns well is the LCR22. IMO a must have if you want to get serious. The trigger is a little heavier, but after shooting so many rounds I honestly do not even notice it. And so much fun to shoot. I love that little gun. And thousands of rounds of 22.cal is cheap.

Hey! Congrats on attempting to ride BODACIOUS! Don't fret, you are not the first cowboy he as sent back home.

[Planedude]

I found a great deal on my S&W 642 several years ago because the OG owner thought it was "too much gun" for him. At the sale, he handed it to me loaded, barrel first... If his finger had moved anywhere near the trigger gaurd I'd knocked him on his arse.
I pushed the barrel to a safe direction, opened the action and five 158grn +P semi-jacketed HPs fell into my palm. Too much gun? More like waaaay too much ammo for such a newbie shooter. His ammo miscalculation helped make the little S&W a sweet deal.
I pocket carry it often, loaded with Hornady 125grn (standard pressure) .38 rounds. I find these rounds and the Winchester 130grn FMJ target ammo recoil the same and shoot to the same point of aim making practice cheaper and easy. I figure if I do my part with the marksmanship, the Hornady's are plenty good enough to stop the threat. Another consideration for me is the off chance that my wife might have to use the gun and the Wilson combat spring kit, Crimson trace laser grips and standard pressure ammo all would help her shoot under stress much better. My wife is a decent shooter, but hates a hammerless snubbie, preferring her Kimber micro 380 over anything else...
I carry a 124grn HP ammo in my old NYPD K9 (also not a +P round) so I'm kind of right there when I carry an autoloader too. I do my best shooting with the K9 (weirdly good shooting) but the IWB holster kit is not usually right for most of my running in the world. The snubbie in the pocket is my quick and easy out the door "go to" carry gun. Kitting up to go is 15 seconds with the S&W and several minutes (with wardrobe considerations) for the K9.
For me its about options...
Your mileage may vary.

Oh! You can keep the bull. That sport is just plain NUTS!

Peace.

[boscobarbell]

Boscobarbell you are braver than I am shooting that 340 scandium with full mag loads, that's going to absolutely leave a mark....If you want a nice easy shooting 6 shot small revolver look no further than the Ruger LCR .327 mag and shoot H&R .32 Mags in it....Nice easy shooting round and plenty stout enough for CCW and if you feel the need to stoke it with .327 Federal mags you can do so....I found a nice used one a while back and like it a lot....As for the Beretta Pico, I love mine and carry it around the house and forget it's in my pocket.....Don't get me wrong, I like my Kahrs but if you want a super small, thin .380 that's reliable out of the box the Pico is the one....

I have been weighing the LCR for quite a while. Having trouble getting past the look of a plastic revolver...but when I had one in my hands, it sure felt right. And I like what I hear about the .32 family of ammo. Just hate to add ANOTHER caliber to my cache...especially when I'm so loaded up on .38/.357 now.

And you are so right about the Pico. It's the pistol I never really wanted to like, but it just kept amazing me with how reliable and easy to shoot it is. And not ammo-picky in the least, either. The Underwood +P rounds really do close a lot of the gap between 380 and 9mm, too.

[boscobarbell]

Hey! Congrats on attempting to ride BODACIOUS! Don't fret, you are not the first cowboy he as sent back home.

That is a great story! Thanks for making my humiliation a bit more bearable....

[boscobarbell]

I found a great deal on my S&W 642 several years ago because the OG owner thought it was "too much gun" for him. At the sale, he handed it to me loaded, barrel first... If his finger had moved anywhere near the trigger gaurd I'd knocked him on his arse.
I pushed the barrel to a safe direction, opened the action and five 158grn +P semi-jacketed HPs fell into my palm. Too much gun? More like waaaay too much ammo for such a newbie shooter. His ammo miscalculation helped make the little S&W a sweet deal.
I pocket carry it often, loaded with Hornady 125grn (standard pressure) .38 rounds. I find these rounds and the Winchester 130grn FMJ target ammo recoil the same and shoot to the same point of aim making practice cheaper and easy. I figure if I do my part with the marksmanship, the Hornady's are plenty good enough to stop the threat.

My problem with the tamer .38 loads--and this is probably me overthinking things--is that you are then dealing with ballistics that is in the same ballpark as good SD .380 loads (and a good bit below the +P offerings). So then I ask myself, why carry 5 of those when a lighter, smaller .380 will give me 7, with tactically faster reloads to boot?

(btw, I have a 642 as well. Timeless little gun.)

[Bawanna]

I'd carry both your snubbies before I'd stoop to a 380. One with a speed strip would be more than plenty.

Quite some time back I rented an LCR with my son to try out. 357 standard pressure. I shot one cylinder and put it down, had enough. Couldn't hit anything and it wasn't fun. My son finished off the box but didn't care for it either. It did feel good in hand but the looks to me were kind of a turn off. And I really like most Rugers. Especially revolvers. Never loved the P89's and 90's much but the work fine and most who have them love them.

[King Rat]

Yep, went out today and stooped so low as to shoot my lovely P380. The New one I posted on right before the range closed down. The indoor range re-opened up Friday. They said there was a line around the building. Today I had it almost to myself. Go figure. Shot 100 rds of American eagle and 50 rds of the PrecisionOne Plus P. Even with the Plus P these guns are such sweet shooters and conceal so well. When I hear someone put down the 380, I always get a visual in my mind of them getting pumped with 7-8 fast rounds of this ammo and what they would have to say about this round then? My guess is they would not have much to say at all.
Regardless this now make the New P380 with 350 rds of flawless shooting. Talking about revolvers already has my itch going and will be hitting the range tomorrow with the LCR9mm. I am beginning to feel normal again. (Well, as normal as possible for myself).

PS what ever you do, please do not get rid of the Smith. I would bet you would regret it.

[DavidR]

Yep, went out today and stooped so low as to shoot my lovely P380. The New one I posted on right before the range closed down. The indoor range re-opened up Friday. They said there was a line around the building. Today I had it almost to myself. Go figure. Shot 100 rds of American eagle and 50 rds of the PrecisionOne Plus P. Even with the Plus P these guns are such sweet shooters and conceal so well. When I hear someone put down the 380, I always get a visual in my mind of them getting pumped with 7-8 fast rounds of this ammo and what they would have to say about this round then? My guess is they would not have much to say at all.
Regardless this now make the New P380 with 350 rds of flawless shooting. Talking about revolvers already has my itch going and will be hitting the range tomorrow with the LCR9mm. I am beginning to feel normal again. (Well, as normal as possible for myself).

PS what ever you do, please do not get rid of the Smith. I would bet you would regret it.

OMG! You rely on a 380?!?

Glad to hear the new one is good to go.

[getsome]

I carry my Pico around the house and for those very few times I have to wear a suit and it's ok but I fell much better with a 9mm but that said, some time ago I did a redneck wet newspaper test with several self defense .380 rounds and they all penetrated about 10-11 inches so I think that would definitely get a bad guys serious attention and I sure wouldn't want to stand in front of one but bigger is always better but if a .380 is all you can carry and you have good ammo it will do just fine in a pinch......