Thursday, August 2, 2018

Practice 2018--The Snub Nosed Revolver

I carry concealed 100% of the time where it is legal for me to carry and I always carry a pistol when I am at home, at least until the house is fully secure for the evening. As a result, I suspect that the firearm I carry most of the time ends up being my S&W 342. It has a titanium frame, is one of the lightest .38 snubs available, and carries very easily in a pocket holster. 

Heavy double action triggers are the primary reason most people believe that short-barreled, small frame revolvers are “inaccurate.” In reality, they are as intrinsically accurate as any other firearm. The short sight radius does come into play; however, you can have a perfect stance, grip, sight alignment/picture, and toss it all out the window if you cannot pull the trigger while simultaneously keeping everything else in place. 

So . . . a trigger job might be in order; however, ensure that the gunsmith you chose is well versed in tuning revolvers. Once you have a decent double action trigger, you must practice with your snubby just like any other pistol. I make it a habit to shoot my S&W 342 at least once a quarter during a practice session. 

During this particular practice, I shot the IDPA 5x5 classifier. I was drawing and reloading from my pocket reflecting the way I normally carry the pistol. It goes without saying, but here it is anyway: Do not try this yourself without proper training. Shooting yourself in the groin will likely hurt a lot, may result in death or serious bodily injury, and result in people pointing at you and laughing. 

The 5x5 is shot on a single target placed 10 yards from the shooter as follows: 

String 1: Draw and fire 5 shots freestyle.

String 2: Draw and fire 5 shots using primary hand only.

String 3: Start with only 5 rounds in your pistol. Draw and fire 5 shots, emergency reload (slide lock) and fire 5 additional shots freestyle.

String 4: Draw and fire 4 shots to the body and one shot to the head freestyle.

My times put me in the Sharpshooter range, principally due to the slower times associated with drawing and reloading from the pocket. Down 2 points is acceptable accuracy; however, my goal for every round fired is to do the Same Thing, the Correct Way, Every Time. In this instance, I failed twice.

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