Small .22 pistol I'm thinking about

I've always said, "Any gun with you beats any gun not."

That said, when we have the luxury of choosing an arm in advance, it behooves us (or me, at least) to pick the best one we can for the anticipated task.

But the theory that "a gun is a gun is a gun" or, "any gun will do for any task" falls flat in 99% of the cases.

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David E said:
That it MIGHT work is one thing. A knitting needle MIGHT work, too. That hardly makes it "adequate", much less a good choice. And I'm sure they were talking about the .22 magnum at rifle velocities, not @ 1000 fps, to use your number.

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" But, in the book (No Second Place Winner) , Bill (Jordan)made a telling point. He said he wished Smith & Wesson would make that same little super-light revolver in .22 Magnum caliber. It wouldn’t have the nasty kick if the hotter .38 loads in an Airweight and he was satisfied with the caliber effectiveness in flesh. When I asked him about the .22 Magnum, I believe the term he used to describe it’s power was “wicked.” This was a man who saw many bullets go through a lot of flesh. When Bill Jordan talked, believe me, I listened. "- Taken from the Taurus website, introducing their new .22 mag snub.
I really like the allow J frames, I'll usually EDC a 340PD with CT grips in my pocket. The Kit gun I'll put on my belt or in my pack if it's SG season or I plan on doing some plinking. SA trigger is good, DA is heavy, especially noticeable on such a light gun; but, I can carry both for less weight than one of my Mark II's. I'm a way better shot with the Mark II.
The Smith brothers-
SmtihBros.jpg
 
S&W did make a K frame .22 magnum..........and I don't recall Bill ever carrying one for defense purposes....

Odd, ain't it ?

:D

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fishshooter said:
The Kit gun I'll put on my belt or in my pack if it's SG season or I plan on doing some plinking. SA trigger is good, DA is heavy, especially noticeable on such a light gun; but, I can carry both for less weight than one of my Mark II's. I'm a way better shot with the Mark II.
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This is my experience also. I can shoot the heck out of the Ruger Mark III but I have trouble getting the 317 to shoot as good as I think it should. I am curious how well does your 317 shoot? Plus I really hate the sights.

KR
 
Sometimes, super duper uber lightweight isn't the way to go !

I'm a pretty fair hand with my 4" Kitgun, tho........but then, it's all steel !

:D

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kr1 said:
but I have trouble getting the 317 to shoot as good as I think it should. I am curious how well does your 317 shoot? Plus I really hate the sights.KR
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The fiberoptic firesight? I really liked that despite not liking the appearance initially. Never shot one though. Do you have a 2" or 3" barrel? It's not really fair to compare a 2 or 3" barrel snub to a 4 inch Ruger anyway.
 
No, but it makes the case that not "just any gun will do."

It's better to take the best gun for the job, which isn't always the smallest or lightest.

It's the one you can HIT with........and have the power to do the task you brought it for.

:)

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nemoaz said:
The fiberoptic firesight? I really liked that despite not liking the appearance initially. Never shot one though. Do you have a 2" or 3" barrel? It's not really fair to compare a 2 or 3" barrel snub to a 4 inch Ruger anyway.
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I have the 3". Got it for the longer sight plane. When I first took my brand new 317 to the range it was throwing bullets sideways. Literally. Keyholes in the targets.

Thread about 317

Like the other threads states, the pointy ends now go pointed downrange but it still doesn't shoot as good as I would expect.

I hate, really hate the freaking floating green ball and the shallow V. Hate it. :barf:

KR
 
Wow! Can't believe that pistol passed QC at S&W. What kind of groups are you getting? You could always send it back to S&W.
 
David E said:
No, it's not heavy enough to work well as a hammer.......

I think he held it close to the bear's ear and fired it........y'know, that close to the ear and all.......it's really, really loud !! :D

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Very good point by the way. Most of the Iver Johnson 32 shorts I remember seeing would probably fall apart if you were using it like a hammer on a grizz's skull. :D ;)


KR
 
But, in the book (No Second Place Winner) , Bill (Jordan)made a telling point. He said he wished Smith & Wesson would make that same little super-light revolver in .22 Magnum caliber. It wouldn’t have the nasty kick if the hotter .38 loads in an Airweight and he was satisfied with the caliber effectiveness in flesh. When I asked him about the .22 Magnum, I believe the term he used to describe it’s power was “wicked.” This was a man who saw many bullets go through a lot of flesh. When Bill Jordan talked, believe me, I listened. "- Taken from the Taurus website, introducing their new .22 mag snub.
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Marketing. Bill Jordan, also a former Border Patrol Agent in addition to his various literary endeavors, was known to carry various magnums, but none of them began with 22.
 
nemoaz said:
Marketing. Bill Jordan, also a former Border Patrol Agent in addition to his various literary endeavors, was known to carry various magnums, but none of them began with 22.
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:confused: What was Jordan marketing ? A item that was not produced when he wrote this ? He wrote that he wished S&W would produce a J frame .22 magnum; I don't see the point in one. If you have the size of a J frame, why not go at least .38 ? Regarding the NAA magnums, I shoot my Black Widow exponentially better than my 1 5/8" barrel version. I would be tempted to take a CLOSE shot at a small critter with the Black Widow. As to their effectiveness as a SD weapon, my retired military/former POW father carried one in his pocket the last half of his 22 years of his second career as a criminal investigator for the Sheriff's office. His primary weapon was a Colt Python. However, he used the NAA in two situations, one on a person during a drug sting, one on a dog while attempting to serve a search warrant, one time it had to be fired, one time it did not, both times it worked. He still carries it for walks around his property. I would ask him to comment here about it, but he would consider the discussion trivial at best. I carry the Black Widow when I cannot carry anything else.
About the 317, it is fairly accurate, my wife shoots it better than I, but the sights do SUCK. I have taken opportunity shoots on SG with it, but I would not take it by itself to bag some squirrels, which I have done with my Mark II. It likes CCI mini mags, both hollow points and solids, and Velocitors. It does not like Stingers. I used to carry it with the first 3 rounds loaded with shot shells. But, after it took all three and a hollow point to dispatch a rattler, i stopped using the shot shells, except for in the barn or on the boat. It's fun to load with Colibris and plink at improvised targets around camp. The 317 is a great "Kit Gun."
 
Sorry, I meant Taurus' marketing department was stretching it a bit. That's not to say they aren't nice guns though. I'd like to have one.

My cop father often carried a 22 mag also when doing undercover stuff. It was a High Standard double barrel derringer. Don't think the NAA was available back then. He also carried a 25 auto. Part of it was that those guns, if found on him, wouldn't necessary blow his cover. He usually carried at least a 38 and most of the time he carried two.
 
fishshooter said:
:confused: What was Jordan marketing ? A item that was not produced when he wrote this ? He wrote that he wished S&W would produce a J frame .22 magnum; I don't see the point in one. If you have the size of a J frame, why not go at least .38 ? Regarding the NAA magnums, I shoot my Black Widow exponentially better than my 1 5/8" barrel version. I would be tempted to take a CLOSE shot at a small critter with the Black Widow. As to their effectiveness as a SD weapon, my retired military/former POW father carried one in his pocket the last half of his 22 years of his second career as a criminal investigator for the Sheriff's office. His primary weapon was a Colt Python. However, he used the NAA in two situations, one on a person during a drug sting, one on a dog while attempting to serve a search warrant, one time it had to be fired, one time it did not, both times it worked. He still carries it for walks around his property. I would ask him to comment here about it, but he would consider the discussion trivial at best. I carry the Black Widow when I cannot carry anything else.
About the 317, it is fairly accurate, my wife shoots it better than I, but the sights do SUCK. I have taken opportunity shoots on SG with it, but I would not take it by itself to bag some squirrels, which I have done with my Mark II. It likes CCI mini mags, both hollow points and solids, and Velocitors. It does not like Stingers. I used to carry it with the first 3 rounds loaded with shot shells. But, after it took all three and a hollow point to dispatch a rattler, i stopped using the shot shells, except for in the barn or on the boat. It's fun to load with Colibris and plink at improvised targets around camp. The 317 is a great "Kit Gun."
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I would respect his 2 cents for sure. Other officers told me the black widow is a great deep cover pistol or as a last dig pistol. A 38 snub is as low as I go.
 
I'm not going to get involved in a .22 revolver stopping power thread. I'm just going to show off two of my babies.


My .22 Smith and Wesson Model 317 for small critters. Absolutely reliable, accurate and fun to shoot cheaply.
HPIM0598.jpg


Second, my Smith and Wesson Custom Model 66 in .357. In my opinion, one of the best .357 revolvers ever made!
Resized66bygreghaugh.jpg
 
Those are some handsome devils, Estela. An especially sweet custom. Sights look like they've been solidified substantially, whatever the upgrade was. :thumbup:
 
The 66 has been tweaked a little.

Trigger job both single action and double action
Bead blasted "battleship grey" finish
Extreme Duty rear sight by Novak
Custom Black Micarta grips by Lone Rider Custom Grips.

All custom work done by my boys at JoJos gunworks www.jojosgunworks.com

This is a real sweet shooter. Handles all loads with ease and feels really nice in the hand.
 
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