I travel to other states a lot, I have always carried my Glock 19 in an IWB holster when able to carry.  But often I am in a good area and feel a pocket carried revolver would be a good idea, a little more comfortable and faster for me.

I like the small S&W 5 shot revolvers, the problem is that there are so many of them to choose from.  I know I'd like the ability to shoot .357mag, no hammer, light weight (air weight?), and black if possible.  But even with that criteria, I still see a lot of models and I am not sure the difference.

Also, why do some say they can shoot .357mag while others don't?  Is there a way to lock out a .357mag round from the cylinder so no one puts one in by accident?  Is .38sp comparable to a 9mm?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is a whole new world to me and I'm like a kid in a toystore

357 Mag in a 5-shot snub nose air weight frame revolver is brutal, kills on one end, maims on the other.  38 Special +P is unpleasant in such a light revolver but 357 Mag will leave your hand in pain and maybe even numb depending on how recoil tolerant you are.  Given what you are using if for a 38 Special +P would be a fine choice.  A 357 Mag is a better round but in a snub nose air weight revolver the enhanced ballistics probably does not off set the increased difficulty of shooting it.  You can't miss fast enough or hard enough to win.  38 Special +P is not as good at 357 Mag or even 9mm but in the light weight package is more than adequate.

If you like black I would suggest a S&W 442 Pro.  It's a 5 shot 38 Speical +P air weight hammerless revolver that is all black.  The Pro version uses a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating on a stainless cylinder and barrel (the regular 442 uses carbon steel).  The frame is an aluminum alloy.  The cylinder is cut for moonclips.  Moon clips are not required; it will fire and eject just as reliable without them but you have the option to use them if you want.  I carry mine loaded with a moonclip and reload with a speed strip for ease of carrying.  The moonclip ensure a quick smooth ejection with no chance of a empty case getting under the star.  If you like stainless you can get the 642, same gun in silver.  The 642 comes stainless and they make a Pro version of that too.

The Pro version of either the 642 or 442 comes without the internal hammer lock.  I believe their is a non pro version of the 642 that also comes without the internal lock.  That would be my suggestion other will probably have suggestions too.  If your set on a 357 mag do yourself and you hand a favor and get  steel frame gun.  The weight will make it shootable.

For S&W I can't really tell you much about the difference in them other than generalizations.  The lighter the weight the more recoil you'll have, but they'll be easier to pocket-carry.  I went the Ruger route myself and picked SP101 from comparing the LCR & the GP100 performance.


Why are some 357?  Because 357 is kinda "reverse compatible".  Meaning if you have a .357 you can load in .357, .38 +p or .38
However in a .38 you can't use .357  (you may be able to use .38 +p but always check first!)


As for locking out .357 ... it's honestly just easier - and smarter - to pay attention to what you're putting in your handgun in the first place.   Unless you're expecting Ammo Unicorns to come down and reload your handgun without you noticing or something like that.  I know with mine, I always practice Treat Never Keep Keep ... and I always know what kind of ammo is inside it.  If in doubt, just take the rounds out and look at them.

Also, I'm not sure about S&W but with mine... I can always feel a difference in trigger pull between the .38 and .357 - the pull seems harder on the latter.  



Ya.  Even with a midweight handgun, the recoil from .357 can be a bit "snappy".  I personally changed my grips out to Hogues and that helped a little, but for the most part I just had to get use to it.

I would look at the 442/642 (the 442 is black and the 642 is stainless). They are .38 Specials but the .357s are several hundred $$ more and there is no real benefit. I went with the no lock version of the 642 (wanted stainless for the rust resistance) and have been very happy with it. If you do want .357 the MP340 or 340PD are probably what you want.

No lock 442 here. You'd need a hammer to get the cylinder closed with .357's in it. There are some pretty decent .38+p rounds out there that will offer .357-esque performance out of a short barrel.

A few years ago I bought my wife a Charter Arms Pink Lady. Gawd, I LOVE that revolver and at 12 oz. it's a dream to carry. The down side is it does have snappy recoil. I load her a +P load consisting of a 151 gr. cast SWCHP running a bit over 850 fps and it took quite a bit of shooting to get the hang of how to grip it in order to deal with the recoil. BTW, I'm not trying to sway you away from a Smith, just relating my experience with a similar revolver.

I have for quite some time owned an old Ruger Security Six in 357 and have occasionally fired some factory 125 gr. self defense loads. Loud, fire belching, wrist torqueing recoil! I can't imagine shooting a load like that through a small frame revolver.

I guess what I'm saying is I'm of the opinion you'd be just as well served with a +P rated .38 Special, and personally I trust a handloaded .38 over a 9mm, mine included, any day due to their ability to handle much heavier and better penetrating bullets.

 Good luck!

Wow, lots of great information here, thanks everyone!

My desire for a .357mag was just because I thought it would be the best option (like I mentioned, I am a complete newb to revolvers).  If .38spl +p is going to be good enough, I will stick with that.  The point of this revolver is to be either a backup, or something that I take with me in my pocket when I normally wouldn't be carrying at all.

It seems like the 442 Pro would be my best option.  I like the black better than the stainless looks-wise, but will I have rust issues since it will be closer to my body when in a pocket?

Newb question:  If the 9mm performs better than the .38spl, why is .38spl so popular in revolvers even today?  Why not use the 9mm since it's smaller and performs better?

As far as rust goes it varies from person to person and can be mitigated but frequent maintenance. Some people sweat more than others and some people's sweat seems to be more corrosive than others. How you carry can effect the exposure to sweat as well. Here in FL it is hot and humid most of the year and I like silver revolvers anyways. I have pocket carried guns with blued parts (KelTec P32 and Ruger LCP) in the past and have not had significant issues. I think the 442 Pro has a blackened stainless cylinder too so it's just the barrel and some small parts that are carbon steel. Oil it regularly and you should be fine.

As far as 9mm vs .38 Spl goes, the 9mm is rimless so it doesn't extract well without moon clips (which have both advantages and disadvantages) or a more complicated extraction mechanism. With the proper bullet/load selection the .38 is perfectly acceptable. Maybe 9mm Federal would have been a better choice but it didn't survive in the court of consumer opinion.

9mm Federal is sort of still alive in a nitch usage, although under another older name.  I have been shooting alot of USPSA Revolver division.  With the rule change earlier this year making 8-shot revolvers legal in the division when scored minor, 38 Short Colt is the go-to cartridge in S&W 627/327 and similar 8-shot 357 Mags.  We run them a lot hotter than 38 Short Colt was originally intended to make power factor (my present load is a 160gr bullet going ~875fps) , but we are doing so in 357 Mag guns that can take the pressure.  Other than loading them with 0.357 bullet it is essentially 9mm Federal.  The cases are nearly identical dimensions.  Same rim diameter, with 38SC being ~0.011 longer.  Obviously sized to accept the appropriate bullet but that is only 0.002 different.  Case capacity is nearly identical from a reloading point of view.  Those short cartridges sure make ejection and reloading smooth and easy.  Alot of ICORE and Steel Challenge shooters also use 38SC in their revolvers.

Thanks again for all the good info.

So it looks like the 442 Pro is actually just called the 442 Moon Clip on Smith and Wesson's website.  I like the idea of moon clips so that will work well.

One more question, how do the M&P revolvers compare?

The 9mm performs "better" only because it operates at roughly twice the pressure of the .38 Special. Another rarely mentioned benefit of the. 38 over the 9mm is it will handle significantly heavier bullets. A 158 gr. bullet has long been the standard weight for the .38 and it can easily be loaded with a 200 gr. bullet if a fellow is after some insane penetration for some reason.

Interesting. What's old is new is actually really old and then new again

You do not want a 357 J-frame.  You might think you do, but you don't.  Even the all steel three inch versions are brutal.  

Any of the Smith j-frames are fine.  I use a 638.  I would be just as happy with a 642.  The Ruger LCR series are also worth a look.  I have one in 22 that I use as a fun gun.

442/642 with Speer 135gr +P Short Barrel Gold Dots.  If you really want the .357 then look at the 640 series. You don't gain much shooting .357 in short barrels especially when weighed against the increased recoil, muzzle flash, noise, etc.  Check out Ballistics by the inch  That said, I recently picked up a 3" 360PD for hiking but I doubt I'll ever load it with .357.

I just picked up the Talo 642 from the performance shop.  It has the basket weave wooden combat grips vs the rubber boot grips.  The trigger is night and day different as well.  I was all set on buying a standard 642 or the pro version until I picked up the performance center model.  The trigger is even better than the one on my Model 60 that I replaced the springs on.  
My model 60 is a 3" 357 magnum.  Even with it weighing in at 23oz, shooting 125gr defensive loads or the 158gr loads are more than a handful.  This little 642 only weighs around 15ozs and it handles the standard 38spl fine and with the larger grip it helps with the +p loads quite well.  

As for the 9mm vs 38+p debate I will say this.  My last day at the range I shot some of my hand loads of a 158gr SWC (actual weight of 162grs) over a near max charge of Unique for a little over 900fps(905fps avg).  I also shot my 9mm carry load of 125gr Federal HST out of my Sig P290.  The average velocity across my chrony averaged just a little over 1000fps at 1020fps.  So if you do the math and compare the muzzle energy they are both within a few ft lb of energy of each other.  They are both about the same diameter .356 vs .358.  If you were to compare a full size 9mm then of course you would see better results.  The one advantage my 9mm has over the snubby is the faster reload as well as capacity.  5 rounds in the revolver vs. the 6 +1 in the Sig.

Concur with Doc.  A 442 loaded with any of the 38spl short barrel defensive loads (Speer, Hornady for sure.  I believe Remington and Federal also make short barrel SD loads...) is really hard to beat.

I am the opposite, I usally carry my 3" WC GP100 owb and my S&W 9mm Shield IWB in the "nice" areas.
Good luck.

The 357 Magnum has a longer case and wont chamber in a 38 Special.   I like the idea of being able to use more than one type of ammo in the same gun so a 357 Magnum appeals to me.   While S&W makes a light wight 357 five shot snuubie, the recoil will be nasty.   For your uses, any of the hammerless S&W revolvers will be OK.   I prefer the hammerless, or more correctly, concealed hammer, models for pocket carry.   Less chance of crap getting into the action.

The short light weight revolvers require more practice to shoot them well.   I would just get a Glock 26, which is what I carry now.   You are already familiar with the Glock.

Yes, the 38 Special is very close to a 9mm with the right loads.   I like the idea of a 9mm snubbie revolver.   Taurus is making one.   Other companies used to, but the demand is low.   S&W used to make the Model 32, a shorter frame snubby.   That one in 9mm would be just right IMHO.   For a really small revolver, Taurus is making a 380 5 shot.