Shot 70 rounds through it today.  I did pretty well at 7 yards but I'm definitely needing more work at longer distance and 1 hand.  Ugh.  I'm definitely shooting right at all distances.  What did you guys say about that in the past????  (Rick A., etc)



7 Yards


The line is separating my one handed group from 7 yards.  I shot 5 rounds with just my right hand.  And 10 rounds using the hand held flashlight method where you press the back of your hand of your support hand to the back of your firing hand.  I forget what that's called.  Not Harries is it?  I think it is Harries.  With your support elbow low.  I definitely shot better that way than just bladed with my firing hand all on it's own.  Blaaaaaa.


And then I did 25 yards.  Definitely need work here boy, with this handgun....  I shot 10 but only 8 on the paper.  


I think that 7 yard target is about as good as I've done with it.  Although it would be nice to be more consistent and not as right.  

I shot mostly PMC 130 grain.  A little bit of WWB 130 grain, 7 rounds of Federal AE 158 LRN and 5 rounds of Hornady 125 XTP, American Gunner load.  That's mainly my carry load.  It has more felt recoil than any of the others.  In the past I thought the PMC was the softest recoiling but actually I think the WWB is.  

And 70 rounds leaves a blister, but really, it wasn't too hard on my hands.  It's what I'd call stiff, but not bad.  My G26 has like 1/4 of the felt recoil though.  LOL.  

J frames are hard to shoot well. Shooting to the right means too much or too little of your finger on the trigger, I think.

You'd probably see an improvement with a spring kit. Apex has a $25 duty/carry kit that cuts three pounds off of the trigger weight without reducing ignition reliability. It's like the first thing I do when I get a J frame.

It is heavy.  Like 13#'s.   I was just fondling my Colt DS before we went today and man that trigger is way nicer.  But it's out of time and I need to send it to Colt or someone before I shoot it again.

But the 442 does carry easier.  And I like it.

What I do with a j  is once you get used to it you can stage the trigger where you can feel the action sort of lock up ( for lack of a better term) at which point you can refine the sight picture and carefully finish off the squeeze. I will say I can shoot mine pretty well ( one hole groups about 2" in diameter at ten yards, about 6 inch groups at 25 yards and can usually ring an ipsc size steel target with 8-9/10 shots at 100 yards. Mine however is a steel framed gun and those five or so extra ounces of weight really help the shoot abilities, and I have been a revolver guy for about 40 years.
There is a reason they call the j frame an experts gun- they are tough to shoot well.
Start with a target with a small aim point - like a playing card at 7 yards. With practice you will be able to keep five in the card at that range. Also if you really want to get better shoot the j at least once a week ( about 50 rounds max each session) backed up with about five times as much dry fire
And keep at it for about 6 months, and do not shoot any other pistols. Become one with the platform and the improvement will come

As the previous poster mentioned, you will learn to "stage" the trigger with a little practice.  I have no problem keeping a pie-plate size group at 25 yards, but then again I have been shooting J-frames about 10 years now.

As for the blister, wear a mechanics glove with the trigger finger cut out if you plan on shooting a lot in one session.  It will keep your hand from getting beat up.  I also recommend sticking with the 130gr ammo for practice, as the 158gr stuff will beat you to death in a Airweight.  I particularly like the PPU 130gr FMJ.

Enjoy your new 442

Shooting to the right might be caused by too much trigger finger on the trigger.  Try moving out on your finger and see if that moves the groups left.  Another thing that might help if the trigger finger is the culprit would be a fatter grip that fills your hand up a bit more.  One that covers the back strap might help with a more straight back pull depending on your hand size.

Still not bad shooting for a snubby. 

TheMercenary.  It's not new.  It's just not the only gun I shoot and carry.  And getting better with it would be a good thing.  Although I think my 7 yard group was a bit better than some in the past.  Or maybe more like some better, some about the same.     The blister is nothing to worry about.  It doesn't even hurt.  That's the first time it did that though.  I did take a gouge out of my right thumb once from the take down lever.  LOL.  

MCB, it has hogue tamer grips.  I might try a little less trigger finger, but that might make it a bit harder since the trigger is so heavy.   I'll see.

But yeah, more dry firing and more shooting would be a good thing.   I would like to close up that 25 yard group for sure.  And maybe learn to not shoot so far right at 15 yards.  Oh and definitely need 1 handed work.

Too much lead hand, you're using your right hand to not only point the snub nose, you're then pulling the trigger with the point hand.

Left hand ='s lead hand:
The right hand is there to align the sights and pull the trigger straight back. The left hand is there to move the firearm and hold it still.

Your left hand has an index finger. Instead of putting your left index finger under the trigger guard put it out in front of the trigger guard. The end result is the left index finger is using it's strength to pull/hold the small revolver straight back. The other thing pointing the left index finger does for you is where ever the finger points the revolver points.

Large framed/gripped revolvers allow you to use the hold you have in your post above. Small revolvers not so much and the end result is the firearm is moving around in your hands.



Jerry typically uses his thumb on his left hand (you thumb is down/tight) to aid in controlling a firearm. The high left thumb not only counteracts any wrong trigger pulls. Where the left thumb points the firearms points. As you can see with smaller firearms jerry keeps his thumb the same but he moves the left index finger to the front of the trigger guard.

Doing this will allow you to hold the small revolver better. Have better trigger control. Have a better more natural point and your groups will tighten up.

I used the same hold as jerry's pictured above earlier this year and did a 500 round test using 5 powders and 10 different bullets, all p+ loads using a 2" bbl'd charter arms undercover. There were all hot loads (900fps/975fps from a 2" bbl) and with the use of the correct grip I was able to do the 500 round 4 hour test.

Anyway move your left index finger up and out and try some dry fires.

Yeah you'll want to keep your thumbs down when shooting revolvers instead of thumbs forward like you would with semi-autos. Or else the cylinder release button will dig into your thumb. I did the same thing when first shooting my S&W 642 38 Special J-frame. As far as accuracy goes, it's a close range weapon. I mean I use mine for a pocket/backup gun. Not saying you can't be accurate with it, but it is more challenging. Dry fire practice helps to get used to the trigger pull. 

As far as I'm concerned at 70 rounds YOU ARE THE MAN!

I seldom shoot mine more than 10-20 rounds because the recoil is so brutal.
Finally found some 130gr loads that are much easier on the hand than the 158s I had been shooting.
Oddly enough, I get the blister on the bottom of my trigger finger because the recoil slams the trigger into my finger.
Bigger grips make it easier to shoot but harder to conceal, so it's a trade off.

As far as the trigger pull, I've found that after 200-300 rounds the trigger lightens up and smooths out nicely.
I like factory springs in self defense guns, but that's just me.

The Hogue Tamer grips make it not bad at all.  But I don't do +p's.  No way.  Strangely enough, my carry ammo hits the hardest out of the standard pressure stuff I shoot.  Hornady XTP 125 grain American Gunner.  

I carry mine IWB strong side and it is super easy to carry there.  I get the fact that it's best role is probably a pocket gun.  And maybe someday I'll put boot grips on it and have it do that, but it doesn't work for me that way right now for a couple of different reasons.

It's got plenty more of 200-300 rounds through it and the trigger hasn't lightened up that much.  And I've dry fired it a ton.  It's a 13# plus trigger.  I'm with you though, I'm not real excited about a non factory trigger set up.  It might behoove me to actually try it on this one though.

You can keep the gun just as reliable as stock with the extended firing pin in the Apex kit. It's a must in my opinion. So if your concern is reliability, don't worry about it. If your issue is with the legal liability of it, then I guess that's a topic for another thread.

I must say, on that 25yd target, that low shot would have ruined a bad guys day for sure.

LOL.  The target was actually set on the frame as you see it.  I wasn't sure if you were meaning the low shot on the guy, or the low shot on the paper.  Either way, yeah, not the GONADS!!!!!  

You're doin' okay.

I gave up double action revolvers for almost a decade. A lot of double action first shots with autos (some of the most atrocious double action pulls imaginable) had made me pretty good at it. These days there's zero difference in shooting double action vs single accuracy wise.

As others mentioned, thumbs down is best. I squeeze my shooting hand thumb down with the support thumb. Also agree with most of the support being with the support hand as well.

About 150 rounds is my limit with the little things. I do love to shoot 'em. Fifty rounds a session tends to be ideal. I love +p's. They're a lot of fun for a cylinder or two.

I can manage fist sized groups out to seven yards in rapid fire and 4-5" in slow fire at 25. It's about what I can do with most so the little guys are pretty confidence inspiring. In general, a pie plate group at any distance is what I would term acceptable.

Let us know how it goes.

My hold is as depicted on the right.

It's become my default for everything for consistency's sake.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I grip it too.  I thought I remember you giving me a tip on it shooting right last time I posted a report and I forget what you said.  I may have to try and use LESS finger.  IDK.  

I did your oil down the trigger with it upside down kind of to let it get into the internals and it did smooth it out some.  Thanks for the tip.  I don't think it lightened it up much, but it feels smoother and lighter.

I think your shooting is fine for a 442. That's about what I can do with my 642 and I'm content with that. I put some larger grips on mine along with an Apex spring kit, but I still consider it a close range defense gun and don't expect one-hole groups.

442s are nice wheel guns. Do the spring kit, cylinder and slide enhanced firing pin (just a bit longer), and hogue tamer rubber grips... then find a loading designed for low recoil.
You will get where you want to be pretty quick with this combo