With the warm weather approaching here (tee hee) I wanted a small handgun for pocket carry, something that will conceal well with shorts & t-shirt. I settled on a Smith & Wesson Airweight J-frame (5 shot) in .38 special, a model 37-2. S&W did a small-ish run of these, and they are new guns without some of the new features that some find less desireable. This one has no internal lock, and forged internals as opposed to MIM stuff in the new Airweights. But like the new J-frames, it is rated for +P. So I've got a good combination of new and old features. It is not a fully enclosed hammerless design like the Centennial style, but it has a factory bobbed hammer that doesn't snag on anything. It is DAO; the hammer cannot be cocked for single action. Trigger pull is long and heavy, and it should smooth out with further use, but out of the box it ain't too bad. This baby is light! With a full cylinder and in a holster the whole shebang weighs a little less than 18 ounces. Very comfy to carry IWB and a t-shirt covers it up just fine. The light weight means you'll feel the recoil a bit. 130gr target loads are no problem but you'll feel it after a box or two of 158gr or +P loads. Not the best choice for extended range sessions, but for carry it definitely fills the bill! I bring along another 5 or 10 rounds in some Bianchi speed strips.
The 638 is the Bodyguard style. They have a peculiar look about them that's kind of neat. The mostly-enclosed hammer can be cocked for single action, although I can't really say I find that to be an important feature considering the intended role of J frames. When I was shopping I deliberately looked for pre-lock models, and there are a lot fewer pre-lock Bodyguards floating around than Centennials. Of course that's not an issue if you don't mind the lock on the new ones. Hard to go wrong with a J frame. 8)
Turned my sig mosquito into a 638-3 airweight this weekend at a gunshow. Used , just the gun not manual, case, or key. Put ~120 rnds thru it yesterday, flawless. Sucker gets HOT fast though. now to find a pocket holster and some carry ammo. trigger/action job and MAYBE some crimson trace grips down the road, but no hurry; it is good to go for it's intended purpose as soon as i get carry ammo and holster.
These are fun to shoot, ain't they? Mine gets a little warm too after just 15-20 rounds. The first time I took mine out I had a bit of a sore wrist the next day, but I do a lot better now. My groups are improving a bit too. If I remember I'll post a pic from this past weekend's range trip. For carry I'm just using a cheap Uncle Mike's IWB and it works pretty well. It stays put just fine without the holster but it's a liittle less confortable. I also have a couple pairs of shorts with deep pockets and it conceals well in there with no holster. For carry ammo, mine currently has the FBI load (158gr LSWCHP +P) from Rem, but today I ordered a few boxes of the short barrel Gold Dots 135gr +P. They're supposedly the bees knees in these little snubs. Heck, you're in FL, call up Mirage Technologies, they've got 50 rd boxes for $15! 8)
