Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Gone Shooting - J Frame Day


I went shooting again Monday. The weather was perfect although a little cool for May, in the 40s when I left the house.

This time I took my Smith & Wesson "J" frame revolvers with me for practice. The Bodyguard and then later the lightweight Centennial I used quite a bit for several years. The Bodyguard 649 (upper right) was actually my first carry gun and my only one up until 2000. Now I hardly use any J-Frames at all.

For the last couple of years I haven't carried them except the lightweight 342PD (left) that sometimes I keep in my pocket around the house. Occasionally I will carry it instead of a reload for my main gun.

The third J-Frame is a 1953 vintage Chiefs Special (lower right) that's had a hard life. I've never carried that one. It's mostly retired now and is a backup to my backup.

Snub-nose revolvers are probably the hardest handguns to shoot accurately and I wasn't doing too well Monday. I was barely keeping the shots in the black (5-Inch). I hadn't practiced with them in a while and it showed. I actually did best with the 342PD. It's a lightweight gun but it always been the best shooting J-Frame I've owned. All three revolvers are unmodified but the trigger on that one was a little better from the factory. I was pretty rusty with these three and no doubt need to get them back to the range soon.

2 comments:

The Displaced Louisiana Guy said...

Yes! I loooove me some j-frames. I don't carry them all the time, anymore, but they do still get carried a good bit.

If you don't count my 3-inch j-frame, my best shooting one us my Bodyguard (a 638). Because of the 'hump' on the back of the frame, i can grab the gun slightly higher than a centennial or standard configuration j-frame, resulting in a lower perceived bore-axis. It works for me, and helps with follow ups.

I also noticed some years ago that at 25 yards and out, you can really see where your j-frame shoots. My bodyguard consistently puts bullets right of the point of aim (about 5 inches) and my wife's model 60 puts them to the left and low (about 3-4 inches). Every one of them seems to shoot to a different point of impact, and until you find it and learn that particular gun, the accuracy will give you fits!

Nice pic. Thanks for posting.

Wilson said...

Thanks for the comments. I have to agree with you that none shoot the same, even with same barrel lengths. They are about the hardest handguns to shoot well and definitely require extra effort.