I carry my glock 23 all the time with me but sometimes it just gets way to uncomfortable. What is a good size revolver i could get that would be easy to carry. I would like some calibur that packs a punch.   What do you guys recommend?    Thanks

Are you talking about a snubbie?  Full size .357s can be a bit difficult to conceal.

I recently picked up a S&W 637.  It's a J frame, 5 shot .38 +P.  Should conceal very well, and it's pretty light, even when loaded.  Decently accurate, and the trigger is really nice for a DA revolver.  I do like having the exposed hammer so I can thumb it back.  The SA pull is very very nice.  Decently accurate at ~7 yards.  I've only shot about 40 rounds out of it.  

There's the 642 with the shrouded hammer.   There are a couple models in .357, but honestly, that would be too punishing on your hands to shoot very much.  

Here's my toy:

On the buget end your can get a 5 shot .38 special Charter arms or Taurus and they always go bang when you pull the trigger

I have both the S&W 642 Airweight and a Ruger SP101 .357

The Smith is a really light gun.  For me, it's a close range gun compared to my Glock30 or 1911 which I can shoot at longer distances accurately.

I prefer to carry the G30 'cause it's .45, but I don't feel undergunned with the .38 +P loads in my Smith.

I went through various grips and settled on the Crimson Trace rubber grips.  They feel good in my hands and I have the assistance of a laser.
I practice with the laser and without it.  It's an accessory not a primary aiming device.

I've carried it in my pocket with an Uncle Mike's pocket holster, belt carry with either a Don Hume JIT, GALCO Slide Master, GALCO Summer 'something' IWB, a bellyband (not too fond of that one), Uncle Mike ankle holster, and my ALL TIME FAVORITE...Ken Null SKR (shoulder rig).
It has carried well with all of these holsters.  I actually only use four of the methods above...SKR, UM ankle (I'm going to get a real nice ankle holster one of these days), either GALCO belt holster and the pocket holster.

I have a redgun S&W J-fram model, which I modified to take factory grips so I can practice without the real gun, and I also practice with the actual gun itself.

Someday if my wife ever comes around to the idea of getting serious about handguns for protection I'll pass this one along to her...but I'll hate doing it!


The SP101 is bigger and heavier, but packs a wallop!  I have the shorter barrel and kinda wish I had gotten the 3" or so barrel.
I have used it for a field gun carried in a Bianchi Accumold holster.
I tried several grips and finally stayed with either the Butler Creek (?) or the Pachmeyer, I don't remember right now which ones.

For speedloaders, I use SL Variant (which are hard to come by in the states now), and Jetloaders.
The Jetloaders fit the Smith really well, while either one works for the Ruger.
If I want to carry even more ammo but with less bulk, I use the Bianchi speedstrips.

Pretty longwinded...but that's just how I am...Sorry!


Hope this helps.

btw, I'm 6'2" and about 210lbs with fairly big hands so the Smith is a bit small but a sure enough fit and the Ruger is just fine.

Quoted: On the buget end your can get a 5 shot .38 special Charter arms or Taurus and they always go bang when you pull the trigger

I've got a Taurus 605. .357 on a j frame size. I'm happy with it.

I have a  S&W Model 60 Chief's Special stainless (.38 Special) that I carry occasionally. My wife used to carry a S&W 442 (.38 Special). Last week I bought her a S&W 640 (.357) stainless snubbie. She wanted something "stronger" than her .38 special S&W 442.

I have  S&W 637 that I added CTC Laser grips to. I figure I have 5 rounds to hit the red dot on two or three targets and one of the two targets will freak when BG #1 goes down.......BG's don't want to get shot nor do they think it could ever happen for (for the most part) and they sure as hell don't go to the range and practice.

Has it ever happened, No. Could it happen, Maybe. If it should happen have I trained for it, YES.

Don't ever think jusk owning even the biggest hand cannon will win if you don't train, practice and shoot and get the propermind set ingrained should something happen.

Karsten

The 386PD here is not tiny, but it's so light it makes up for that.  Also, with 7 rounds
of .357 Mag I never feel "undergunned".  The thing it just so light it's amazing.....
These are the 125gr Nyclad .38 Spec +P's.  They are a lot less painful to shoot

That is a very nice one. How much do they go for?

I use a G23 for regular carry for now also and I wanted to get a nice, light revolver preferably in .357 too.  I just ordered a Smith 340pd which I think is the smaller version of TexasSIG's gun.

I should have it sometime next week.  A gun like that is not something you will want to be plinking with.  It only wieghs 12oz and I think it would make for a nice back-up weapon.

The prices are pretty high but if you shop around a bit hopefully you can find a good deal.  Someone on the EE had one for sale with a Crimson laser grip for a nice price but I was too late.

Here is the S&W site.
smith-wesson.com/pages/home

S&W 65LS

Quoted: That is a very nice one. How much do they go for?

The 386PD?  I think I paid like $605 or some such.  Too much really.
I bought this one when they first hit the market and all the
Scandium things were the rage.   I don't regret buying it,
just wish I had waited a while.  

I don't know what they are going for now, but that is
pretty much list price if I remember correctly.

Quoted: Quoted: That is a very nice one. How much do they go for? The 386PD?  I think I paid like $605 or some such.  Too much really. I bought this one when they first hit the market and all the Scandium things were the rage.   I don't regret buying it, just wish I had waited a while.   I don't know what they are going for now, but that is pretty much list price if I remember correctly.

IIRC the list for over $800 so around $600 sounds about right, doubt you could buy a new one for $600 and my dealer is VERY competitive.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: That is a very nice one. How much do they go for? The 386PD?  I think I paid like $605 or some such.  Too much really. I bought this one when they first hit the market and all the Scandium things were the rage.   I don't regret buying it, just wish I had waited a while.   I don't know what they are going for now, but that is pretty much list price if I remember correctly. IIRC the list for over $800 so around $600 sounds about right, doubt you could buy a new one for $600 and my dealer is VERY competitive.

There are a couple NIB on gunsamerica for 600-620, and GA is usually priced pretty high.
I honestly don't remember what I paid for the thing, but I'm pretty sure it was around that $600-625
area.    It might have been more, I don't really remember.  


ETA:  Looked it up, list price is $872  Wow, that's steep.  I'm sure I didn't pay that much for it......

Quoted: I like the 642. Centinnial (sp) No hammer and fires from the pocket. Can see one here for the next week, not mine, just the only pic I could find in a hurry. www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976364538.htm

+1
Definately go with a hammerless revolver.  I carry my 642 in a tuckable galco UDC holster during the summer.  Hammerless J-frame revolvers are actually the perfect carry gun in the winter time, contrary to popular belief.  You can carry them in your jacket pocket, finger on the trigger, pointed at the bad guy, without even drawing your weapon.  You can even fire all five shots from inside your pocket without a hiccup.  The bad guy wouldn't even know what hit him until it was too late.

I carried a S&W 642 with a speed strip in my front right pocket.  I carried it in a Don Hume Jit slide and also in a belly band(on duty).  I carried it for about 4 years and just recently went to a Kahr P9 for off duty carry.  I still wear the 642 on my belly band at work, as a back up.  One thing you can say about a wheel gun is, in this case, its gonna shoot 5 times with out a problem.  I also tried the Keltec as a pocket gun and I was very unimpressed.  I was better off with a good pocket knife or a single shot.