I'm a relative newcomer to revolvers, so to speak, which is why I have some questions.  

I'll apologize in advance about repeating any information about what guns I have in other posts, and some of you will already know some of this.  But I'll include it for the sake of discussion.  

I took 2 revolvers to the range today that are new to me and I've never fired.  

My Smith 442 and a Smith Model 19.  

About the 442: I'm very stoked about it.  I shot it better than I do my Detective special, which I find kind of odd because the DS is like 10 ounces heavier (The colt needs timing work done on it and maybe it has a negative affect on accuracy, IDK)   But the 442 has hogue "tamer" grips on it and probably helps felt recoil.   I did not shoot any +p's.  I shot at 7 yards and was pleasantly surprised at my groups.  I kept 40 shots within an 8" black bull.  Mostly wadcutters, some 132 grain PMC FMJ, and about 7 rounds of 110 grain hornady HP's.  The big question is that I was shooting high right quite a bit.  Anybody else do this or does anybody know what this might mean?  I didn't know if it's the load or me.  Maybe both.  The few 110's I shot did seem to hit lower a bit.  I'll have to try some different loads to see if they shift POI.

What I'm really excited about is it was not unpleasant to shoot in any of those loads.  However, of course wadcutters are the lowest of all recoiling rounds and those 110's aren't much hotter.  The 132's feel a bit more stiff but nothing terrible.  I was very concerned about how I'd feel about a 15 ounce gun.  I really don't like recoil.  I'm not overly excited about the prospect of shooting +p's in it and my carry ammo is just .38 special.  I have some hornady 125 grainers I think they are.  Or is it 130's.  I'll have to look at the box.  I should've taken those to the range to see POI, but I'll do that next time.  

The downside is that dangit, I just turned 43 and it's getting harder to get a crisp front sight and still be able to see anything past that.  I find myself struggling with this and just letting the front sight be a little blurry.  I know the front sight is supposed to be crisp but it just feels harder to do now than ever before.   Seems like it takes longer to focus on the front sight and when I do finally get it crisp, I can't barely see anything else.  LOL.  What the heck.  It wasn't always like this.  Anyways....


Now to the 1965 Model 19  that was my Step Fathers service revolver when he was a CHP.  6" Barrel.  

OH MY GOODNESS.  I had high hopes for this gun and it did not disappoint.  I shot a very respectable 7 yard group.  All double action.  Which I dare say looked a whole lot better than most of the groups I've shot with any service type semi auto pistol I've owned.  And that's the first time out with the thing.  With the exception of a Kimber 1911 Custom II  I had that shot like a laser that shot better than this, but for me, I was excited about how easy this thing was to shoot well.  I'm sure others can do better, but I was happy with it.  I guess that long barrel does have a purpose.  hehehee  All shots were with 132 grain PMC FMJ .38 special.

As I mentioned, shooting a double action revolver is not something I've done a whole heck of a lot of.  And I was always kind of like, ugh, after shooting my DS.  So this gives me hope.   Here again though, the darn eyes suck.  I'm going to talk to my eye doctor about it when we have an appointment, which will be soon.  Not sure if he can adjust glasses to remedy this or not.  But I've brought it up with other guys in the AR forum and got some input there.  Either way I guess this is common for us 40+ dudes.  

My 14 year old son shot a super old Ruger MkI and also kept if not all, at least most of his shots in an 8" black bull (Pics of the targets and guns and shooting to come).  This was only his second time of shooting a handgun on his own.  It's been mostly rifles up to this point.  

We ended up the day with a dual of shooting at 5 clay pigeons at about 10 yards.  He had the Mk1 and I had the snubby and he pretty much smoked me.  LOL.  I'm not so fast with it and the high right thing was even more apparent at 10 yards.  But once he emptied his mag I cleaned up some of the parts he left over when I slowed down a bit and adjusted a little.  



So, I had a really fun time with these revolvers and I'm glad to finally see some better shooting with this style of weapon.  And any day at the range with your son is a good day.  

JJREA.... down here, the Federal 125grain NyClads have a pretty good stop record ... they shoot very comfortably in my 442



http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/handgun.aspx?id=828

I might have to try some of those.

I guess I have to work on his stance.  But those old Mk1's are heavy.  I swear it weighs as much as a 1911.


My wife was my caddy and photographer.  What a gal!


At 25 meters cleaning up the remaining clays on the berm.  Which is more like 30 meters.  And I was hitting pieces double action.  The gun makes you think you can shoot!

Welcome to revolvers - many shooters simply do not appreciate them anymore.
The eye thing is a fact of life in your 40's sad to say. Get a pair of reading glasses that make the front sight sharp - place said sights in middle of blurry black blob that is target pull trigger without disturbing alignment. That is pistol shooting in one sentence. You can have a crappy stance grip etc but do those things and you will hit  !
Nothing can fix complete your eyes.
I tell people shoot slow careful shots no more than 100 rounds max per session. Do NOT speed up until you have a one hole ( say under 1.5 inch ) groups at seven.
Speed up until your group doubles to three. Then when shooting as fast as you can and keeping the three inch group standard. Double the target distance and repeat the exercise adding an inch to the group size, then repeat and so on. Seven yard groups at speed of three inches, four at fifteen and say five at 25 are a good start. Most people simply try to make pistol shooting all about speed. Wrong place to be starting out.

Thanks for the input!!!

I'm definitely slower with these than autos.  But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing at this point.  And not terribly slower.  But slower.  I just wish I could shoot my snubby like I can the 19.  Not gonna happen though.

Nice revolvers! The 19 is definitely a sweet shooter and the 642 certainly does well for its size.

When I first got my 642 I shot high and right also. I found that the mine requires a six o'clock hold, and that I have to make sure to get that front sight post down into the rear sight channel so that the top of it is flush with the rear sight. Practice dry firing to make sure you aren't breaking right with the DA pull--I found that it is more likely to shoot right with my 642 because the trigger breaks further back towards the palm and I get more finger on the trigger (smaller "backstrap" to trigger length.)

The S&W 19 was THE revolver to have if you were in law enforcement in the 1960s and early 1970s.  Bill Jordan consulted with S&W on the development of the Model 19 and it was just about the perfect duty revolver in .357 Magnum.

You know what, you're right.  I now remember for some reason it was real easy to leave the front sight a bit above the U channel regularly, and I have no idea why I was doing it. When I'm dry firing at home I never feel like I have hard time getting the front sight down in there, but it did seem to naturally line up that way and I ended up not being all anal about it.  So how did you remedy the "too much finger" thing to not shoot right?  Just be mindful about it?  Ever since I started shooting DA revolvers I switched to using the first joint of my trigger finger.  Before that I was always a finger tip guy with my autos.  And rifles.

Yours looks like the better looking sister to mine.

This is just what works for me, but: I try to focus mentally on the "straight back" aspect of the trigger press to maintain that correct rearward pressure. It may be something else causing you to shoot right but my first 642 shooting experience mirrored yours. I still use the joint in my finger shooting DA.

Well it's a great tip and the next time I go I'll try to keep these things in mind.  I'll do that dry firing too.  Thank you!!!

that's good shooting you'll do better as you learn to stage the trigger this should be asy on the 19 IDK about the j frame.

Wow - never seen a gun range on the beach before...what with the white sand and all.....looks like you had a good time!

Yeah, feels just like Naples, Florida.  Hence the jackets.    Actually, to be honest with you, if I had a choice I'd rather shoot in 37 degrees than 97 degrees.  I guess I'm goofy like that.  Heat is harder on my body.  But my preference is  between the temps of 50-70 degrees.  With no wind of course.  LOL.  

I was once down to only one gun.  Kept a 6 inch M19.  

Try an aperture on your lens.   Will clear up the sight picture.   There are some on the market.  You can make your own to try it.   Use a piece of electrical tape and poke a round hole in it.   I put mine in the top corner of the lens and just tip my head a bit to aim.   You have to experiment to get the right size hole.   I have a 1/16 inch paper punch and it works OK.  

Merit, Lyman and others make stick on apertures.

Also, look at other sight systems.   I am 65 and can still see the stock Glocks sights well enough for a CCW.

I think I can see them well enough, just not as crisp as I once could.