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Barrel length on J-Frame
v35
Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
A while back I asked opinions on installing a 3" barrel on a Model 37.
No question here. It's an informational followup to an earlier question I think can be of value to readers.
One reply was that it would change a pocket pistol into a holster pistol.
I did the change and added Hogue large Monogrip (not Boot style)
grips.
The changes converted the gun from one you didn't want to shoot to one you did want to shoot.
The grips alone made a huge difference in shootability and detracted little from concealability.
Previous grips on this gun were Boot grips and Lasergrips.
No question here. It's an informational followup to an earlier question I think can be of value to readers.
One reply was that it would change a pocket pistol into a holster pistol.
I did the change and added Hogue large Monogrip (not Boot style)
grips.
The changes converted the gun from one you didn't want to shoot to one you did want to shoot.
The grips alone made a huge difference in shootability and detracted little from concealability.
Previous grips on this gun were Boot grips and Lasergrips.
Comments
Commenting on above, from experience, I can say that swapping out "boot" grips for more conventional ones makes all the difference in taming recoil, and I've made this point many times in this forum when the topic of snubnose recoil comes up.
In short, having some real estate for your little finger to squeeze causes all the muscles of your forearm to tense together in grip, leading to a far stronger overall grip. Also, having your little finger "anchor" the gun all by itself reduces muzzle FLIP considerably. The net effect is much less gun flip and greatly reduced perceived recoil.
On barrel length vs carry, that's going to depend on how you carry. In something like a belt or shoulder holster, its all about the cylinder and grip sizes, and there is effectively no difference whatever in carryability between a 1-7/8" and 3" bbl gun.
In a pocket holster another inch of overall length matters more, but whether or not it "matters" is going to depend mostly on your pocket size. If your pockets are really small, this could be an issue. . .but if your pockets are large, then having an extra 1" tube will bring the gun 1" closer to the pocket opening, and that's potentially an advantage in drawing the gun!
Obviously, increased sight radius doesn't hurt for easier aiming, but IMO, snubnose is mostly used at "point and click" distance anyway, so real world benefit probably isn't all that great.
In terms of actual ballistics, you do get some improvement with a longer barrel, but how much depends on what load you're talking about. For a typical .38+P defensive load, going from 2 to 3" barrel will give you another 100-150 fps. That's a pretty decent boost.
On the other hand, .357 magnum is so gimped by a short 2" tube that adding just one more inch can make a night-and-day difference. There, just going from 2 to 3" can add another 150 to fully 300fps more velocity, depending on load. Its mostly for this reason, that I think .357 is wasted in anything under a 3" bbl.
Best get your hands on steel framed Model 10. Or one of it's variations, if you intend to do any amount of 38 shooting.
Don't push your luck, with the 37. Smith made it as a very lightweight backup. To be carried alot, but to be fired sparingly. Years ago I ruined one, by shooting it too much. It was so out of time, that folks standing next to me, were hit by bullet splatter.
Best get your hands on steel framed Model 10. Or one of it's variations, if you intend to do any amount of 38 shooting.
I think the whole point of something like a model 37 is for concealed carry. Steel medium frame gun like model 10 (14, 15, 19, etc) is, of course, much better for lots of shooting, but its sort of a different class of gun. EG, slipping a model 10 into your pocket is probably not practical.
Original 1950s era Smith 37 was pretty weak, as was the Colt aluminum frame version of this. Both of these are subject to stretching of the ordinary aluminum frames, even from normal use and they'll eventually start to spit lead or even bind completely up. Overpressure (+P) ammo makes it happen with fewer rounds. So yes, these are guns you carry a lot and shoot a little (if you even shoot them at all!).
Personally, I'd be reluctant to carry one. Not because the gun itself is dangerous, but rather because you do want to practice on a regular basis with what you carry, and I think doing that will eventually wear out the gun. Maybe practice with really low-energy wadcutters or something like that might be OK.
If you wanted to practice often with something like this, the current versions of these airweight Smiths have both better metallurgy(Al alloy) and are built on beefed up frames, and they're quite tough. I've seen independent "torture" testing of these with 5000 rounds of +P ammo, and the guns hold up just fine. Smith claims they'll hold up to unlimited .38+P, and I believe them.
My own personal 637 has at least 500 ordinary .38s through it (probably closer to 1000), and at least another 100 38+Ps and it still runs 100%. I have zero concern that the gun is going to wear out from use during my lifetime.
FWIW, I also took off the stock Uncle Mike's boot grips, and replaced them with thin profile full handed hard rubber Siles. They're not as "cush" as the Hogues (which are excellent too), but a little easier to conceal.
He replied and I still have the letter where he fired 500 rounds of 38-44 loads so to go ahead and don't worry.
Researching the alloy S&W used then in the Metals Handbook (356??) it was plenty strong.
The first mod done was to remove the boss, housing the front cylinder pin latch and installing a 3" ejector rod to fully eject empties.
The second was to install a hardened bushing in the recoil shield
which was gouging out from the strong, cylinder lock rod spring.
While it hasn't been shot much in 50 some years, it hasn't loosened at all. Trigger pull now is beautiful; single and double action.
Glaser loads make a light gun lighter; in its' present, loaded w/Glasers, configuration it weighs 10 ounces with aluminum cylinder and 13 with a stainless cylinder.A loaded Keltec P3AT weighs 10.5 ounces.
Don't push your luck, with the 37. Smith made it as a very lightweight backup. To be carried alot, but to be fired sparingly. Years ago I ruined one, by shooting it too much. It was so out of time, that folks standing next to me, were hit by bullet splatter.
Best get your hands on steel framed Model 10. Or one of it's variations, if you intend to do any amount of 38 shooting.
excellent point. I am not a fan of guns with aluminum frames. Aluminum has no endurance limit, which means that basically any amount of stress repeated over time is going to cause it to fail, and the fail point is wholly unpredictable. Just because one gun performed well for x number of rounds with y load is no indicator for performance of the next, like it would be for a steel gun. It would probably be best to have a similarly configured model 36 that you can use to practice with and just use the 37 for carry/protection.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
As an example of one, I see 48kpsi uts, yield 24kpsi yield, fatigue limit based on 500,000,000 cycles @ 21,000psi.
Consider also that before magnum revolver frames,frames were soft, malleable closed die forgings (Colt & S&W).
Add to that the undesirable property of notch sensitivity of steel that can multiply applied forces to 200% depending on fillet radii and machining marks.
Failures to revolver upper straps in forward and rear interior corners are such examples.
Aluminum alloy castings and forgings also hold airplanes together.
The bushing was a valid improvement I did long ago on company machines. I removed the cylinder and made a boring tool to closely fit the crane hole which was used as a boring guide. The bushing was a light press fit and has never moved.I showed that change to the chief engineer at S&W but don't know what they did with it.
I always believed the short ejection rod was a huge mistake and replaced mine with the 3" inner and outer rods after removing the front latch housing on the short barrel.
Jim Cirillo showed me a steel Chief he broke over some miscreants' head as Jim couldn't reload in time due to the short ejector rod.
I bought extra used barrels, cylinders, hammers, springs & triggers on line to restore the 37 to original configuration if I don't like a change. Unlike Colt, Most parts go right in without alteration.
I can send you pics if you email me at: 1flybob@comcast.net
The old address is incorrect.