S&W J Frame Weight Differences or Naked Gun(s) . . .

Two questions were asked – and I will try to answer them here . . .

Do frame materials make that much difference in weight? – And how much weight difference are there with different grips?

First a 637-2 aluminum alloy frame/stainless steel cylinder with Ergo Grips . . .

And the same 637-2 naked . . .

It comes in at 12.8oz naked – the grips add 2oz of weight to the mix . . .

Second is a 642-2 with OEM “Boot” Grips – aluminum alloy frame/stainless cylinder . . .

The “Boot Grips add about 1.6oz to a naked 642’s 12.6oz naked weight . . .

Third is a 642-2 with Ergo Grips . . .

And the 642-2 naked . . .

It comes in at 12.9oz naked . . .

Fourth is a 3″ 36-1 steel frame/steel cylinder with Pachmayr Grips . . .

And the 36-1 naked . . .

It comes 1lb 4.5oz naked – The grips add 4.4oz to the mix . . .

Fifth is the 360-1 scandium frame/titanium cylinder with OEM “Uncle Mike’s” Boot Grips – now that was a great marketing ploy to get S&W to put your grips on their “stuff”! . . .

And the 360-1 naked . . .

It comes in at 11.6oz naked . . .

S&W snubbies come in many flavors – and they can be in a bunch of different calibers depending on YOUR specific needs and purposes. S&W is even making one in .32 H&R Magnum – OH BOY! – These five are all .38 Special except the 360-1 which will also chamber .357 Magnum – which I haven’t gotten time to shoot it yet and still not sure about full power Magnums in something that light. Summertime carry in my .38 Special snubbie world is Remington 125 grain jacketed hollow point +P – even with the short barrel velocity loss you may actually get enough for expansion – maybe. Wintertime carry is 148 grain wad cutters – they cut a nice hole through cloth and keep right on chugging along.

Actually got all the S&W J frames together for a group picture – from the top going clockwise – 637-2 with Ergo Grips / what I usually carry OWB for a revolver ( or a government model 1911 in .45acp ) – 642-2 with OEM “Boot” Grips / just vanishes in an ankle holster – 36-1 with a 3″ barrel with Pachmayr / it gets carried in lieu of the 637-2 when it starts getting whiny about never getting any “love” – and seriously folks – if you ever run across a 36-1 with a 3″ barrel? – grab it – with the Pachmayr Grips it is the best pointing – best balanced revolver I have ever owned or handled – it’s simply sweet – 360-1 with “Uncle Mike’s Boot Grips” – gonna have to shoot it some to see where it lands in the mix – 642-1 with Ergo Grips – had a hard time getting it out of my pocket for the group picture – it’s like I don’t want to be outside – I’m supposed to stay in your pocket until I get to come out and go bang – bang – bang – bang – bang – the only way it would get in the group for the picture was I had to promise it a trip to the range this week – LOL!

And one last pic of the 637-2 with “summer” ammo – 5 rounds of 125grain Remington semi jacketed hollow point +p – it actually breaks 1 pound . . .

I am going to order a set of Ergo Grips for the 360-1 – even with a 3″ barrel / the really sweet front sight – the adjustable rear sight – and the added weight of the Ergo Grips it only comes in at about 13.6oz – which is not really enough weight to soak up recoil shooting .38 Special let alone full power 158 grain .357 Magnum loads . . .

To put this in a little different perspective, what you see below is a Taurus 605 ( First Series ) – all steel 5 shot .357 Magnum – plus or minus Taurus’s take on a S&W J frame – sweet little revolver – good smooth trigger in double action – a little heavy but shootable – clean crisp single action trigger break – their version of “Boot Grips” – at 23.3oz .38 Special wad cutters – and even 125 grain +p rounds are doable – not a lot of fun – but it works – PPU 158 grain semi jacketed .357 Magnum – simply put – No!! – PPU loads to full SAAMI secs on their .357 – about the average you will find out here is around 1400 fps – PPU is at 1608 fps with their 158 grain .357 – real old timey loading – they REALLY come out screaming . . .

The issue with really light weight revolvers is not the first shot – it’s the subsequent shots – I took one of the 642’s with OEM grips and one with Ergo Grips – 158 grain lead semi wad cutter +p hollow points – us old farts remember them as the fbi load -and off to the range I went – 5 shots rapid fire / reload / five shots rapid fire – using HKS speedloaders – shot the Ergo Grips first and really had no issues – the last three shots of the second string were skidding around a little but were still hits . . . the two 5 shot rapid fire strings with the OEM “Boot Grips”? It was all I could do to fuck fumble through the reload and those 10 rounds total? The first shot was right there – the remaining 9? – they were all on the paper – but all OVER the paper – it was a 2 foot x 4 foot silhouette at 10 yards – I had to use my left hand to get my truck in gear and drive home – it really sucked – hand hurt for 3-4 days afterwards – BUT – that made a true believer in Ergo Grips out of me . . .

Really tiny and light weight revolvers are a hoot – but only hits where they need to be count! I figure 125 grain +p will be where I end up with in the 360 – but of course I have to know so I will crank off some PPU loads out of it – LOL!

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

From Sleepcore : Chromacolor Dreams

Had an RCA XL100 and used it until about 5 years ago – used it with an add on tuner device that grabbed the digital channels and converted that output to channel 3 or 4 – don’t remember which – the converter died but the 40+ year old RCA XL100 still lives on – gave it to a guy whose kids use it for old video games ( he is a collector ) that they like to play – amazing electronic stuff was built over the years . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

All Hail The State : The Giver of ALL Good Gifts and Graces – or – Welcome to 1984

From the article over at The Federalist :

( click any where on the highlighted text to go read it for yourself )

15 Times 2024 Was Orwell’s 1984 / “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end, we shall make thought crime literally impossible because there will be no words in which to express it.”

And for YOUR midweek enjoyment . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

A Few Simple Words of Wisdom From tim walz

But first – the best picture I have found SO FAR of the beloved Governor and democrat Commie Fuck Cock Sucker vice – – HEAVY ON THE VICE – – presidential candidate . . .

Quite photogenic – isn’t he?

And now onto a simple quote – just a few simple words of wisdom – from the fount of wisdom known as tim walz – I thought something about “fuck me running” when I read it – but alas – who am I?

“One Man’s socialism is just another man’s neighborliness”! – tim walz

And a few pics from By Other Means ( gleefully sniped I will add ) just to help you grasp through a visual medium “socialism” . . .

Why is it the neighborliness of these commie fuck cock suckers ALWAYS end in a fashion such as this last pic below?

Why is it do YOU think these meat sacks are so desperate to separate YOU from the tools needed to protect yourself, your family, and your nation from them and their ilk?

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

My Magazine is . . . Wonky!

Bruce – when I fully load my mag it’s fine . . .

But the last round or two won’t go all the way up and engage the lips – Help!

Must resist the “little blue pill” jokes – must resist . . .

First let’s look at what the spring has to do to function correctly . . .

This next pic gives you a rough idea of the little bit of space the compressed spring gets to live in – app. 7/8 of an inch or so – then when you fire and the slide reciprocates back and forth the spring must push the follower up fast enough to have the next round in place so that the slide can scoop it up and chamber it . . .

So let’s get the springs out – press the little button in the base plate with a punch or a small Phillips screwdriver and carefully slide the base plate towards the front of the magazine . . .

And keep your thumb over the bottom of the magazine to keep the bottom plate/keeper from taking flight and making a bid for freedom – they will travel a considerable distance across the house – don’t ask how I know – LOL! – and eye protection is a good idea while doing this as they can really take flight with considerable speed – Again – don’t ask . . .

The two used springs – the one on the left hung up every time – the one on the right hung about one time out of seven – if you have two mags the same age and one of them is hanging up just go ahead and replace both . . .

Here is the worst one . . .

And here are the 2 replacement springs from Brownells.com . . .

New spring ( top one ) vs the obviously bad one . . .

New spring ( top one ) vs the other used spring – not easy to see in the pics – but it is not “right” any longer – and no, you will never “re-bend” the old spring for it to be right again – trust me on that one – just throw them away . . .

Putting the mags back together? Have you cleaned the mags yet?? Might be a good idea while you have them apart – just saying. Cleaning them is simple – a little spritz of a CLP type product into the mag body and pull a cleaning cloth through them a couple of times. Just put the top of the spring on the bottom of the follower – slide it up into the mag – compress the spring into the mag – bottom plate/keeper on the spring – press it and spring into the mag with your thumb and slide the base on until the button pops into place – load and unload it a few times – the first time might be a little tough – the top of the spring has to settle into its “spot” on the under side of the follower – then get to the range and run each one several times to make sure that they will run when needed.

What you end up with is two basically new mags for about 30 bucks – $7.50 x 2 springs + shipping, handling, and taxes – beats roughly $32 bucks for 1 new mag!

If you take them apart and clean them once in a while magazines will last an incredibly long time – dirt and moisture are the things you need to be aware of . . .

And there you go – two refurbished mags – the way they came with this pistol is one has a flat plate and the other has the “pinky” extension plate – no extra round just extra real estate so if you have larger hands you can get a three finger grip on the pistol.

And a couple of short videos to look at and see just how mag springs are fashioned . . .

Have Fun! – Run the gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!