How to make the 442 easy on the hands?

[RdB]

I've read this post, and many like it on other gun forums...

It seems to me that you bought the wrong gun, for all the wrong reasons. You don't have a carry permit. The 442 is a carry gun. Light weight, easily concealable. It is not a range gun.

Your on the right path with the replacement Hogue grips, next should be some soft-shooting ammo (148 grain wadcutters are a great start) This is if you keep the gun.

Next is the trigger. Best advice I can offer here is to always dry-fire a gun, a bunch of times BEFORE buying it. It would've taken only a few seconds to realize that you couldn't pull the trigger.

Lastly, I feel that you should trade/sell the gun. The 442 will NEVER be an easy gun to shoot, and will always be a bear with defensive loads. "J" frames are truely one of the most difficult guns to master.

Good luck

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

Mastrogiacomo...

It was nice of you to put it like that. Thank you.
It wasn't a reason to be rude and "hijack" the thread, but right after Christmas I'm going to buy a new .38 Special snubbie and I'm excited about the whole proposition! I've chosen the one that's going to be "mine". I've made up my mind and it's going to be a S&W "638 Airwieght Bodyguard". Out of all the snubs in my own little collection, I don't have anything that looks like a Bodyguard. I plan to stoke it with .38 Special RBCD ammunition, and I called Rafter yesterday to make sure that the 638 would fit the (WOW) shark skin holster for J-frames that my wife bought me for my 52nd birthday. I thought about it for weeks. Weighed the "plusses and minuses" and a 638 Airweight is going to be my next wheel gun! (<insert the "Happy Dance" here!>) I realize it's not the most handsome snubbie that's ever came down the pike, but it will be a perfect .38 Special CCW for me. I can't believe that I can shoot my .40 cal Glock 27 50-100 times without pain, and then have a .38 Special with NON +P RBCD hurt my arthritic fingers.
I don't know about the rest of you but, looking forward to the purchase of a new gun simply makes me "giddy".

Kentucky Rifle

 

[Greybeard]

Kentucky Rifle quote: I don't know about the rest of you but, looking forward to the purchase of a new gun simply makes me "giddy".

Yep, like some of the rest of us, you are "addicted". I had a 638 up until earlier this year and sold to it a fellow TFLer down in Houston. Last I heard from him, he was still "giddy".

As I recall, I had put some aftermarket grips on the 638 to dampen recoil for some lady shooters, but put original grips back on it before selling. Small factory grips can be great for concealment but basically can, for some, make the 15 ounce 638 fall into the category of "made to carry, not to shoot". One note of caution on the 638: ya gotta watch out for lint and other little stuff building up or getting lodged in open slot around hammer nub. Hope ya enjoy it!

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

Thanks Greybeard!!

I intend to throughly enjoy it. Also, it'll be mostly carried on my hip in the Rafter shark skin holster. I think I've became "addicted" to shark skin.

KR

 

[BigG]

"Shore, honey, .38's a good little woman's gun, and look how small, cute ...

Hee hee. I remember thinking that when I saw the first LadySmith 357 Magnum snubby with the cute (and tiny) rosewood grips... really open the gal's eyes when she touches that off the first (and probly last) time!

Trouble is, shooting is an addiction. We have guns we shoot, and guns we pack. A snub is far from the best first handgun for a tyro but I'll bet many people who think they need a gun buy the snubby. I have steel frame snubs and exact clones in airweight for pocket carry. Most are centennials because I gravitated to the idea that DA was the proper way to shoot a snub due to the tiny grip, as Tamara noted, and light weight makes for a shaky platform. Like some others have noted, I can pop a beverage can at engagement distances and I feel that is fairly proficient for a DA snub.

Part of the aversion to recoil comes from unfamiliarity and part comes from trying to shoot a j-frame single action because your grip is quite different from shooting the same pistol DA. With only about a finger and a half on the boot grip, when you thumb cock the gun you have to hunt for the trigger with your finger pad if you have average sized hands. When the gun recoils, it usually whacks you on the middle finger. In contrast, by using the first joint of your trigger finger on DA you are providing a third finger's support to steady the gun during your aim and follow thru. Try it. I think you'll like it.

Dry fire a lot. It seems to mellow the trigger.

I've wondered whether that is true or your trigger muscles just get built up?

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

I took my 442 out today and dry fired it to look for the source of the problem. The trigger is definately hard to pull but more to the point, it hurt my finger to pull it. I used the dominant and weak hand and it seemed to pinch to the finger on the left hand. It's an unpleasant trigger. What do you suggest? A trigger job or contouring and polishing the trigger? A few of the gunsmiths are rather high for the price and I'm not sure what specifically is necessary. Any way to narrow down what'd I really need?

 

[johnbt]

I don't have anything to add. I wish you lived a little closer to Virginia because I'd like to shoot your gun and let you shoot mine. I have a stock 442-1 with a slick trigger that's easy, and fun, to shoot - for about one box of .38+p lswchp. Remember, the theory is that if something hurts it hurts - the secret is to not mind that it hurts. That's why sighting in hunting guns can hurt, but when you shoot the same gun at game you never, ever, notice the recoil.

Looks like a case of I got lucky and got a good one and the tolerances stacked up on yours when they put it together and made it not so good.

Happy New Year,

John