Author Topic: Snubnose carry gun (Read 3320 times)

MACHINIST · « **on:** October 28, 2009, 07:59:54 AM »

I am thinking about getting a snubnose .357 for a general kicking around the woods gun for around the house.It will be used for coyotes and other small vermin.Not deer or bear I have a smith 29 and a Dan Wesson 44 for those.I was just wondering how the accuracy of a short 2 or 3 inch barrel .357 is going to be?I meen a coyote is not that big and I want to be able to get a shot off accurately.I want a shoulder rig very light weight .What would you guys and gals suggest?

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #1 on:** October 28, 2009, 09:50:16 AM »

This spring I bought a gun for the same purpose you describe... I bought a Smith model 60 with a 3" barrel.... I am not sure if it comes in another length or not. It is as accurate as I could want from a small pistol. When I am hunting with a handgun, I take my bigger more accurate models. The one thing I love about this pistol, is the weight and size. I always have it with...

Another might be the Smith 66, but it is a bit bigger and there fore heavier... $:-\$ $:-\$ Have lots of pistols, and this one fills a very important niche' for me... Love it...

MACHINIST · « **Reply #2 on:** October 28, 2009, 10:04:11 AM »

Thanks for the reply.I would also love to here about Taurus,Colt or any other that might fit the bill.

Graybeard · « **Reply #3 on:** October 28, 2009, 10:05:56 AM »

I bought one of the original S&W 60 3" with adjustable sight guns back when they were .38 Special only then traded it for the .357 mag version when it came out. Mine wears CTC laser grips and I can shoot it far more accurately with them than with the irons on it but in either case a coyote at 25 yards is dead for sure.

MACHINIST · « **Reply #4 on:** October 28, 2009, 02:29:43 PM »

Quote from: Graybeard on October 28, 2009, 10:05:56 AM

I bought one of the original S&W 60 3" with adjustable sight guns back when they were .38 Special only then traded it for the .357 mag version when it came out. Mine wears CTC laser grips and I can shoot it far more accurately with them than with the irons on it but in either case a coyote at 25 yards is dead for sure.

Now that sounds like fun.I hate shooting coyotes with my bow between the arrow and broadhead I am shooting 25 bucks at them.Normally the reach around and snap the arrow if I don't get a pass through and I am getting sick of it.

snowbelt45 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2009, 06:51:51 AM »

My S&W Model 65 with a 3" barrel is my short range carry gun. Quick to point and easy to carry , and accurate out to 20 yards. 158 SWC used mostly, and cheep to plink with!

Snowbelt

NickSS · « **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2009, 11:44:26 AM »

I have a SP 101 Ruger that has a 3 inch barrel that I use for the same purpose. It shoots quite well at 25 yards and it should not be too hard to hit a coyote out to nearly 50 yards with it if you know how to shoot it.

drdougrx · « **Reply #7 on:** October 29, 2009, 02:41:18 PM »

I've also got a SW M60 3"...looks like a baby 686. Put a rubber grip on it and it's very accurate and great to shoot and concealable in necessary!

cybin · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:02:06 PM »

I have a taurus model 685 (I believe) .357 with a 3" barrel--only holds 5 shots, but if you don't hit the dog with the first one--well your a better shot than I am to hit it on the second shot--those dogs can move when shot at. Also will take a bit to get back on target as there is a bit of recoil with .357's--.38's are pretty easy on your hands so easier to get back on target.

cybin

Noreaster · « **Reply #9 on:** November 01, 2009, 11:47:48 AM »

Way back in the day I had a model 60 with a 2 1/4 inch barrel, and more recently I had a SP101 for the same purposes you mentioned. The Ruger was just too heavy for general carry, but made a great woods gun. Coming in from the morning bow stand one day I took a snowshoe rabbit with a head shot no problem, (best thing about revolvers you can carry a couple of full boat 357 mag rounds and follow it up with some soft 38 special, quick turn of the cylinder and your shooting a different gun.) The Smith was alittle easier to carry, (seemed slimmer, maybe lighter.)

I now own a Glock 33. Thing about woods carry in NH is you can only have five rounds in the gun. Kinda hate to download a 10 shot mag.

Cayoot · « **Reply #10 on:** November 03, 2009, 02:10:26 PM »

I had a Ruger Speed Six (.357 Mag with 2 3/4" bbl). Cotton pick'n thing was so accurate that I even used it in Bullseye competition a couple of times.

When my eldest son was staioned down in Fayetteville (ms) he needed a gun to keep in his truck when he was off post. I thought I loaned but somehow he got the opinion that I gave it to him.

The gun now resides with him in New Mexico.

That was a great .357!

P.A. Myers · « **Reply #11 on:** November 04, 2009, 03:22:10 AM »

My old model 49[j frame] was a bit of a belly gun. It had what I call 'barroom accuracy'. My 636 you can actually sight and shoot very well with practice.

deerhunter · « **Reply #12 on:** November 17, 2009, 05:47:17 AM »

I have a Ruger SP101 2.25" in .357 that I love. It handles the recoil of full house loads almost as good as a K frame 4" revolver.

Although I occasionally plink with it at 100 yards, I think 25 yards is about as far as you want to go if you need to have all your shots in an 4" circle. At 50 yards, you would hit a coyote, but not be able to place it where you need to.

My club has a 18" square steel gong at 100 yards and I can hit it 2 to 3 times out of my five shots every time.

Squib · « **Reply #13 on:** November 21, 2009, 07:14:47 PM »

late post but

I have had a few small handguns and I actually went from small auto/large auto depending on my clothing to a taurus 851 (shrouded hammer small frame), mine is 38 not 357, but other than a different cylinder and 2 ounces they're the same... and mine is great, over 1,000 through it but that's not 1,000 magnums either... I think you can get your money worth from taurus (I find that on single action the trigger is quite agreeable, almost impossible to cock with sweaty hands though)

to me they look like j-frames without paying for the name, and they look a little uglier
but they look sturdier too, hold one of each in your hands at a gunshop and start poking on the cylinders, test the triggers some.
name isn't everything. however j-frames have so many aftermarket options you almost have to go that way for customization
you're left behind in that regard with taurus (the only thing I've found worth doing to mine is hogue grips.. but it shot palm sized 10-shot groups with the factory so it wasn't REALLY necessary. like I said it's not gonna wear out like a magnum but what company makes great thirty eights and crappy magnums???

Flash · « **Reply #14 on:** November 21, 2009, 07:46:08 PM »

Quote from: MACHINIST on October 28, 2009, 02:29:43 PM

Quote from: Graybeard on October 28, 2009, 10:05:56 AM
I bought one of the original S&W 60 3" with adjustable sight guns back when they were .38 Special only then traded it for the .357 mag version when it came out. Mine wears CTC laser grips and I can shoot it far more accurately with them than with the irons on it but in either case a coyote at 25 yards is dead for sure.

Now that sounds like fun.I hate shooting coyotes with my bow between the arrow and broadhead I am shooting 25 bucks at them.Normally the reach around and snap the arrow if I don't get a pass through and I am getting sick of it.

A coyote with a bow? I always found them looking at me long before I ever saw them. I can't imagine getting close enough to attempt a 25 yard shot on a Coyote around here. Getting back on track here, the SP-101 hands down!!!

P.A. Myers · « **Reply #15 on:** November 22, 2009, 01:27:55 AM »

I have a ruger snub in 45. Turns coyotes and racoons into sub-atomic particles at 25 yards. Big flash, noise too.

jcn59 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 27, 2009, 05:24:56 PM »

I usually stuff a 4" model 10 pencil barrel or a 4" DW in my front or back pocket. Both seem to carry okay. The DW shoots better. A tad more than 20 yards off bags.

Squib · « **Reply #17 on:** November 27, 2009, 06:01:29 PM »

jcn that grip looks strange/customized for you? I bet it does shoot good

bow do you conceal that big knob of a handle though?

Dee · « **Reply #18 on:** November 28, 2009, 03:49:21 AM »

When I was a rookie in the early 70s old heads still carried what they called "belly guns". Being young, I thought that was quite silly. One older hand had been in a fight across the hood of a patrol car, and had won the fight decisively. The booger had a 1911, while my friend had a Model 19 Smith in 357 mag.
The fight got very lively, and both fired a number of shots at this range, and I am quite serious to the fact it was literally across the hood of a patrol car, with no one involved backing down. Long story short, the booger took one quite literally to the chin, with the exit wound to either the left or right of the spine, I don't remember which. Either way it stopped the fight. From that day on, my friend strapped on his Model 19 everyday, and his gun belt now sported a small holster in front by the buckle, with an Air weight Chiefs' Special 38 in it.
By the way, after all those years and two very serious fights, I carry a "belly gun" EVERY WHERE even though the badge was hung up over 16 years ago. It is a Model 60 Smith with 125 grain hollow points. The auto usually stays by the bed. If it ain't over in 5, I'm leavin, but for those 5, I will stand and fight, and plan on winnin.

jcn59 · « **Reply #19 on:** November 28, 2009, 04:40:26 AM »

Squib,

The reason the grip looks strange is that it was hiding inside a block of walnut for a hundred years and I liberated it. Thanks for noticing.

A DW has an unusual type of grip arrangement & there is not a wide assortment of options on the market that will fit.

jn

Squib · « **Reply #20 on:** November 28, 2009, 10:16:21 AM »

Dee- I know the quick answer is carry stainless steel... how do you keep the crotch sweat off it?

JNC- good work

Dee · « **Reply #21 on:** November 29, 2009, 02:28:15 AM »

I said belly gun, not crotch gun.

One does not need to be digging around in one's own drawers during a fight.

An inside the waist band holster moved about 1/4 lap forward from either hip is all that is necessary, and is actually a quicker access.

Squib · « **Reply #22 on:** November 29, 2009, 02:58:21 AM »

... I always figured that if I am stupid enough to have an ND (never have) especially in my own leg or testicles, then natural selection is working as intended. maybe that's just fatalism but I believe in it. remember that I use a holster on a snub (I'm not really worried about the trigger, I'm worried about the cylinder unlatching) and my snub is a concealed hammer (cockable but it's extremely difficult to do after a reload or two, like striking a match with my thumb- it won't get an easy sa ND into my flesh)

now if I was 16 again and eco friendly then I'd have problems (not liberal, dirty joke)

Dee · « **Reply #23 on:** November 29, 2009, 07:40:20 AM »

A properly made inside the waist band holster does not give access to the trigger. In some 37 years of carrying this way, and inside on the hip also, I have never had a cylinder unlatch. As you should know, and I assume with you past that you do, practice, practice, practice. Fights in my experience were although always a possibility, but came unexpectedly both times.
React to training, and stand your ground, is the way to get things over with. When I was quizzed by rookies, and even veterans whom had not had a fight, about toughness, I always advised them that I did not consider myself tough, but instead willing to take the steps needed to win.
Gunfights are won by stand and fight marksmen, not sprinters, and vaulters. It is most always over in seconds. Have yours as ready as possible always, and the belly gun is tried and true for well over a hundred years. BUT! It is all about preference.

S.B. · « **Reply #24 on:** December 27, 2009, 02:08:59 AM »

The shorter of these two is a 27-2 S&W in .357 mag. I would personally put it on my have to have list for your specifications and yes, I know it exceeds the barrel length you've listed.

Steve

454Puma · « **Reply #25 on:** December 27, 2009, 07:13:55 PM »

cybin
Yep I can atest to that as I did try and shoot one with my SP 101 while dove hunting. First shot was at around 50 yards and I shot over him. Next four were at a yote that was in high gear! Sprayed him with dirt on two but that was as close as I got!

DaveShooter · « **Reply #26 on:** December 28, 2009, 12:29:19 PM »

IMOP, I like the mod 60 S&W, but I think I will take the all steel Ruger Sp101. I have had both through the yrs. Ruger is tough as nails and is easy to work on compare to Smith's. I currently pack a 3 1/16-sp101 in 327 loaded with 6 rounds of fed 85 gr per-defense ammo. The little 32 h&r mag round is very underated round for protection.
Shot placement is the key on any weapon revolver or pistol.

Dee · « **Reply #27 on:** December 28, 2009, 01:21:09 PM »

I have tried both, and prefer the Model 60 S&W, WHICH IS ALSO, all steel, and I don't find it hard to work on at all. BUT! With that said, to each his own preference, as I like the slightly lighter, and only slightly smaller Smith 60. As far as caliber, the 357 mag is unmatched, and has the record to show for it.
I would however, also agree on shot placement. It is indeed the crux of the fight.