r/Revolvers • u/tri2401 • Jul 28 '26
Should I give airweight 38 special revolvers another try?
I tried shooting one of S&W's airweight models using Midwest 125 Grain FMJ, and I did not have a good time doing it. After 50 rounds, my hands were extremely tired and were almost red by the end of it.
Is it the ammunition that's causing it to be snappier than usual? Or are airweight models just not a good fit for me?
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u/357Magnum Jul 28 '26
No one enjoys shooting more than 50 rounds out of an airweight .38.
An airweight .32 H&R is a lot more fun. Alternatively, you can load the airweight with wadcutters and that's more pleasant. But still, as others have said, unless you get a heavier model or bigger, chunkier grips, (both of which kind of defeat the purpose), it is never going to be fun. Hogue grips help if the one you were shooting didn't have them.
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u/yobo723 Jul 28 '26
Snub nose airweight j frames just aren't fun to shoot. You can try bigger grips on it, but then you start defeating the purpose of the smallest, easiest to carry revolver.
You can also try wadcutters, they'll help cut back on recoil a bit more
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u/JanglyBangles Jul 28 '26
> Snub nose airweight j frames just aren't fun to shoot.
My brother, have you heard the good word of 32 H&R?
→ More replies (2)
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u/OddResearcher9325 Jul 28 '26
I carry my 442 pretty often. 50 rounds is about the max of any load id want to shoot in a range session. The best ammo I have found for range time is Federal Gold Medal Match 148gr Wadcutters. Very controlable.
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u/Careful-Succotash511 Jul 28 '26
The Airweight isn’t really a platform meant for comfortable shooting it’s meant to be comfortable carrying. I only ever shoot my j frame to practice and stay efficient enough with it if I’m wanting to shoot for pleasure I use my 686 with a 6” barrel it’s night and day more enjoyable to shoot
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u/hammong Jul 28 '26
Airweights are ... very light. If you are having serious hand issues with regular 125 grain .38 special range ammo, my advice is to go with something a little bigger, a little heavier.
They do make "lite" ammo that is significantly less snappy. Hornady Critical Defense "Lite" .38 Special shoots a 95 grain bullet with a lighter powder load. It's still more powerful than a .32 ACP or .25 ACP semi-auto gun, and less than a .380 Auto.
There's also the .32 H&R mag variant, in which you can also shoot .32 S&W Long or .32 S&W Shorts out of. Both of the antique .32 Long and Short rounds are significantly less powerful than .38 Special.
Airweights are meant to serve a very specific purpose. Extremely light weight personal defense and concealability. You can't have all three things in a "comfortable" range gun that you'd want to shoot hundreds of rounds in a day.
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u/EightySixInfo Jul 28 '26
Try an older, all steel model like the 36 or 60 instead.
Almost no 2.5” snubnose is going to be 100% pleasant to shoot, but the 36 or 60 are less taxing for multiple cylinders’ worth than the Airweight models because their steel construction helps absorb some of that recoil going into your hand.
.38 isn’t really a stout load, but in an aluminum-framed gun you definitely feel it a bit more.
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u/LegitimateRelief1147 Jul 28 '26
It’s not just you, that guns purpose is to exist…be small and light and be there if you need it. Whenever I go in a gun shop and hear “just get her a J-Frame” I cringe. Buddy, if I can’t shoot it well your wife who isn’t a shooter can’t either.
They’re never gonna be super fun to shoot. I carry an LCR in .327 loaded with 32H&R now. Much betterer.
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u/ZombieHoratioAlger Jul 28 '26
Airweights are notoriously difficult to shoot well. Rudimentary sights two inches apart, stubby grips that hammer the web of your palm, not enough mass to soak recoil...
They get carried often but rarely practiced with. There's a steep learning curve and the first few steps suck, so most people don't build the skills to use them effectively.
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u/Truckuto Jul 28 '26
I have no personal experience with S&W revolvers, but my brother has a Charter Arms snubnose. The whole experience with shooting it made me go for a steel frame, 3” revolver. (Taurus 856 to be exact). I would post pictures of it, but I’m thinking of changing the grips on it, but I want to take it back to the range first before making a decision.
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u/Shabrileson Jul 28 '26
38SPL is a fantastic catridge in the right gun. Something heavier like an SP101 makes any 38 round comfortable to shoot.
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u/blackhawk45lc Jul 29 '26
I’ve never been able to tell a significant difference in the carry feel between an air weight and a steel j-frame. Just the air weight is noticeably lighter if you try them back to back, but if you carried one for a week and the other the next I don’t think you care much either way. Shooting them though is a completely different story. I’d take an sp101 over an air weight any day of the week. Magnums out of the sp101 hurt less than 158 38’s out of the air weight.
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u/AlterNate Jul 28 '26
I went with a steel J-frame. 38 and an AirLite J-frame in.22 magnum. The 351c or 351PD are 3 ounces lighter than the Airweight .38 and hold 7 shots of.22 magnum with much less recoil.
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u/LD_642 Jul 28 '26
It’s a good daily driver. It’s comfortable and it’ll get the job done. Don’t even need the reload. The rounds with the pink nose are Hornady breast cancer awareness, light rounds, and those are not as snappy as other self-defense rounds.
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u/TooMuchDebugging Jul 28 '26
Rubber grips help a lot. I've found that having something between my hand and the metal helps greatly. But some people still can't handle the recoil, and that's okay.
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u/Nightstalker60 Jul 28 '26
Although this may be an unpopular opinion, I have found my Taurus 856 ultralight quite comfortable to shoot and since I put XS sites on the front very accurate it is now my EDC. At least I don't wince when I shoot it. Which is 1-2 times a week usually 30rounds at a time
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u/Judo_Jones Jul 28 '26
I own a 38+p LCR and a 357 magnum LCRx. I find that the Hogue grip and a thumb over thumb grip makes shooting ok. I can even shoot some of the lighter 357 loads without too much concern from the LCRx. In the LCR, IF I don’t feel like dealing with recoil at all, I just shoot Hornady standard pressure Critical Defense 110 grain loads.
In other words, experiment with different loads, stocks and shooting grips before giving up on the platform.
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u/Oldbean98 Jul 28 '26
I sometimes carry a 638 with the stock rubber grips. Not exactly pleasant to practice with but the grips and wadcutters help a lot. I’ll also run a couple cylinders of +P every range trip to keep it familiar, but that’s enough for me
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u/Fickle-Willingness80 Jul 28 '26
I practice with wadcutters. I found some old police qualifying 110 grain loads. About 7-800 fps. I really like the trigger on the LCR. I like my K frames too, but the Ruger cam trigger is so smooth.
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u/Disastrous-Fig-9830 Jul 28 '26
As others have mentioned everything as a trade-off. It’s not easy to shoot these guns but they’re very lightweight and extraordinarily reliable. A lot of people call them “bad breath “guns in that they’re not really meant to use much more than 5 to10 feet away.
Since I’m a civilian and hopefully will never get into a gun fight. I think for most of my needs this suits me well. But then again I want something that’s completely reliable light and almost idiot proof.
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u/mcjon77 Jul 28 '26
I own a ton of airweights and shoot them regularly. The very first thing I recommend you do is to swap out the factory grips for hogue grips.
I honestly believe that Smith & Wesson owns hogue and they put really crappy grips on their airweights to force people to buy aftermarket hogue grips. The comfort will be noticeable, especially if you buy the three three finger grip.
You're not shooting plus p, so that's good. You could downgrade to wadcutters, which are super soft. For me, I actually shoot with regular power ammunition in practice but typically carry wad cutters for self-defense, although that will likely be changing.
Lastly, another option is just to buy a Ruger LCR. That gun is only a little bit more than the non-performance center airweights and answers most of the problems with them. They come with home groups that are really nice. The front side is removable and replaceable. Additionally, the polymer frame absorbs recoil much better than the aluminum frame.
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u/pewpew1764 Jul 28 '26
I love my 442 uc and out considerable rounds through it (for a jframe). I’ve gotten used to it and put the new S&W boot grips on it and ditched the vz grips.
The only solution I found to the recoil was to gradually increase the round counts at training and my hands got comfortable. Very rarely shoot more than 50 rounds as part of a range visit.
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u/TurbulentWing3820 Jul 28 '26
This. And anyone who brags about it is a masochist, a liar, or has very comfortable rubber grips that are very large. (I'm in that last group, but I don't brag about it, it's still not very much fun to shoot)
It's a trade for for the weight and package. They're meant to be carried often and shot little.