Wanted: Personal experience micro 9mm vs light weight J-frame .38 Special

[EdC]

Ditto on figley's experience. Own PF9 and 642/442. The PF9 is snappy, but not nearly as much as the Airweight snubs, for me. Plus, there are 3 extra rounds (7 + 1) and it's easier to carry in a pocket for me, because it's significantly flatter.

I love snubnoses, but from a practical carry standpoint, I lean toward the micro 9's.

 

[SSGSAD]

Hey, Indy Guy, I have an OLD Taurus model 85, STEEL, and I shoot it with +p and regular, and handloads... I have Pachmayr grips on it, and I LOVE it ..... I would like to meet you, at ITP, and we could shoot some .... I will bring .38 reloads, and some blazer.... I am usually off, Mon. and Tues. Let me know .....

 

[Disposable Heart]

I shoot my db9 better than i do 38 snubs and it is smaller and has 2 extra rounds

This^

I seemed to shoot my PF9 better than any snub I had at speed. Slow fire, still better with my PF9 than any Airweight, Taurus 85 (though the single action was always nice for range days, meaningless at speed), etc... A few extra rounds depending on the model, with quality ammo will always be welcome in the arsenal compared to a wheelgun with quality ammo IMHO. NOW, that being said, I would prefer a wheelgun as a "car" gun (or one friend called it, dodge gun, to help you get out of Dodge during a jacking) as I can plant it into someone and fire without it going out of battery (though human gunk could complicate lockwork).

Most of the shooters that came out to our range tended to shoot slightly better (not as BAD as a shotgun looking pattern at 7 yards) with micro 9s than snubs. I could ragged hole at 7 with my PF9 but that was VERY slow going.

Both have their purpose and reasoning. For out and about, I would prefer a larger pistol, but either micro or snub will work, but a preference towards the micro. YMMV

 

[38special]

I have carried my Smith 637 airweight for as long as I've had my LTCH. I also have a PF9 and carry it occasionally.

Neither are particularly enjoyable to shoot. They're small, lightweight and have a lot of recoil. They are not designed to be pleasant to shoot. They're designed to have a decent amount of power, be reasonable easy to carry and conceal and be reliable. They're all of those things.

Want a gun that's easy to shoot and pleasant on the hands? It's probably going to have less power or be larger than the J-frame or a small 9mm. Want a gun that's small, lightweight, easy to carry and gets the job done when you need it? Use the snubbie or a small 9mm.

Just know why you're using the gun you're using. They all have specific purposes.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Hey, Indy Guy, I have an OLD Taurus model 85, STEEL, and I shoot it with +p and regular, and handloads... I have Pachmayr grips on it, and I LOVE it ..... I would like to meet you, at ITP, and we could shoot some .... I will bring .38 reloads, and some blazer.... I am usually off, Mon. and Tues. Let me know .....

I really appreciate the offer! I'll certainly keep that in mind. However, I'd just as soon carry a small 9mm than I would a steel snub-nosed revolver. Weight / comfort is the issue with me, as I almost always pocket carry my J-frame. If I wanted to almost give up pocket carry, a steel revolver wouldn't be a big deal.

I have carried my Smith 637 airweight for as long as I've had my LTCH. I also have a PF9 and carry it occasionally.

Neither are particularly enjoyable to shoot. They're small, lightweight and have a lot of recoil. They are not designed to be pleasant to shoot. They're designed to have a decent amount of power, be reasonable easy to carry and conceal and be reliable. They're all of those things.

Want a gun that's easy to shoot and pleasant on the hands? It's probably going to have less power or be larger than the J-frame or a small 9mm. Want a gun that's small, lightweight, easy to carry and gets the job done when you need it? Use the snubbie or a small 9mm.

Just know why you're using the gun you're using. They all have specific purposes.

Very very true. I completely understand and completely agree. I bought the revolver to be a "carry lots, shoot little" firearm. Well, mission accomplished! However, if I'm going to carry a gun, I also need to shoot the gun enough to know how it (and I) perform. In other words...practice.

I think that I just need to try a set of those Hogue grips and see how much of a difference that makes.

It also doesn't help my cause that I'm almost 6'4" and have proportionally sized hands. The little itty bitty boot grips look fantastic and conceal very well but I'm thinking that they're rather counter productive.

*sigh*

-J-

 

[indysims]

I firmly believe that Kahr's polymer frames are over matched by anything other than 9mm, both in their full sized and especially their micro pistols

I'm glad I bought the 9mm but I've never thought much of the 40 caliber for a CC weapon.

I'm in the same boat as you, I want to be able to shoot what I carry effectively. Getting decent groups with the snubby at 7yrs is hard and takes practice. In the real world examples that play through my head, where I might have to defend my life with the snubby. I can't see the target being further than 4-5 yards away (mugging, carjacking, etc). That minor difference in distance makes a huge difference in my accuracy with the 851.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I'm glad I bought the 9mm but I've never thought much of the 40 caliber for a CC weapon.

I'm in the same boat as you, I want to be able to shoot what I carry effectively. Getting decent groups with the snubby at 7yrs is hard and takes practice. In the real world examples that play through my head, where I might have to defend my life with the snubby. I can't see the target being further than 4-5 yards away (mugging, carjacking, etc). That minor difference in distance makes a huge difference in my accuracy with the 851.

My experience with Kahr: I absolutely LOVED my CW-40...until it broke. Accuracy was quite good. I never had any issues with feeding, firing, extracting, or ejecting; even during the 200rd break-in issue. Being a light gun, though, about 100rds a session was all I could muster before hand fatigue began to ruin my practice. And, since all of my shooting was on controlled / square ranges, I admit that I was never able to REALLY practice with the CW-40.

Then part of my frame broke. To Kahr's credit, they fixed it (new frame) at no charge to me. Shipping also didn't cost me. And, thankfully, I have a buddy at work who is an FFL; didn't charge me a transfer fee due to the gun having a new serial number. THEN, after I got it back, I attempted to put another 100rds through it to be sure it was functional. I began to have VERY strange issues where the mag would dislodge when it would have 1rd left. Contacted Kahr again; they, again, took the pistol back, diagnosed a bad mag catch, and shipped it back to me at our condo.

200 perfectly trouble-free rounds later, I sold it, at full disclosure of issues, to a fellow INGO member.

About this same time, a buddy of mine purchased a Kahr P45, slightly used, from a LGS. Again: Accuracy was just fine. Trigger was just fine. But every time a loaded mag was inserted into the mag well, the slide stop would let go and the slide would come home. This generally loaded a round, but not always. Also, the slide stop lever wouldn't ever sit as close to the gun's frame as it should. Every. other. Kahr. we looked at, including my own CW-40, the lever was sitting almost right on the frame. His pistol, the gap was much wider.

He ended up trading it back to the same LGS where he bought it; and got more for it in trade than he originally bought it from.

That buddy of mine has sworn off Kahr. Me? I've just sworn off non 9mm Kahrs.

-J-

 

[sharpetop]

This thread sounds like you are trying to justify the purchase of a new gun. If you don't like the 642 sell it. If the price is reasonable, it will sell within a day or two. Hell, I might even buy it if the price is real resonable. I really like my 642 and I could use another one as a birthday gift for my LEO son-in-law.