S&W Air Weight.

[James B]

I have a new 38 special air weight S&W. I can find no information about ammo. Will this gun handle occasional +p self defense ammo?

[Mikey]

I believe the j-frame S&Ws have been +P rated for a few years now.  Best thing to do is call or e-mail S&W and have them tell you directly....in the interim I would simply stick to standard pressue loads, they work well.  Mikey.

[dbriannelson]

If it's new, it can use +P. 

BTW, if it's painted silver, it can be stripped to bare aluminum with aircraft paint stripper.  I found that the paint chips easily. 

-Don

[James B]

Thanks gentlemen.

[Preacherman]

Picking up my new AirWeight tomorrow. Says right on it 38+P Going to be a nice pocket gun.
Preacherman

[p15camborne]

Mine says ".38 S & W SPL.+P" on the barrel.

[Keith L]

The question is more is your hand going to hold up to +p.  One of my shooting buddies has an Air Weight and I can't stand to shoot it with +P.  It bites harder than my 357, either of my 45s loaded hot.  It sure carries better, though.

[Autorim]

In my experience, Keith has it right. I had one of the titanium models and no longer have it - just not pleasant to shoot with any reasonable load.

I now have the 8 shot 317 alloy model in .22 rimfire that I carry when I need something really light. With Lasergrips, it shoots really well and serves my purposes for general carry.

If I want more than that, I move up to the MP9 or the Ruger SP101 in .357.

[Keith L]

I have a Glock 19.  For more power I also have a 4506 that is a good, reliable shooter, and a Model 66-2.  I can practice with them and not wind up bleeding.

[dbriannelson]

I remember cutting up hundreds of Airweight Chiefs at MCAS Futenma back in 1975 or so.  They were being decommissioned as the aircrews were going to .45s.  Made me sad.

I don't carry an Airweight much anymore, but I did 24/7/365 for work way back then.  It was good to have handy.  These days, if I'm in a state where I can carry concealed, it's a 351PD in .22WMR.  Don't needed anything bigger, but if I really, really needed something bigger I'd carry a rifle.

-Don

[Gohon]

Felt recoil is a very individual thing and certainly subjective.  I have a S&W 637 2 inch Airweight with Crimson Trace grips and have no problem with recoil.  Sure there is a bite to it but a box of 50 +P rounds is not a problem.  Just today I was getting in some practice with regular 38 special wad cutters, shooting double action with one hand and even in fairly rapid fire was keeping all the shots in a 6 inch circle at 10 yards.  My 60LS snub nose 357 mag which also has a 2 inch barrel  can be a hand full but still manageable, at least to me.  Now having said that, there are shoulder fired rifles that seem to knock me silly but don't bother others.  So don't be afraid to shoot that light snubby with +P ammo.  Just get a good grip with both hands and wear good hearing protection.  Personally I think more people have blamed recoil as a problem when in truth it is the loud report from the gun going off that is upsetting the nervous system more than recoil.  Hard kicking guns don't seem to kick as hard with qualty ear muffs.  Sounds crazy but it is true. 

BTW, if you intend to use this gun for carry or personal defense, take a look at the Remington 158 grain LSWCHP and the Spear 135 grain Gold Dots.  Excellent rounds for a 2 inch barrel and both are actually designed for use in 2 inch barrels for penetration and expansion.

[Mikey]

Yes, it is true that a good set of hearing muffs helps reduce recoil, at least for me.

I have two airweight snubbies and the first thing I did was get new grips for them.  The Uncle Mikes Boot Grips that came with my Airweight Bodyguard were near useless and the gun would rotate in my hand.  It was difficult to get a first shot on target in a draw and fire scenario - so, I got some Pachmyers and they worked so well that I got another pair for the 2nd snubbie.

These grips also helped reduce recoil and enabled me to keep the gun on target for the full cylinder.  They made the gun much more pleasant to shoot and made it fun to skip cans and the like. 

Most folks pay over $300+ for a quality S&W snubbie but if you get one with the standard (miniscule) wooden service panels (grips) you should spend the extra few $ for a set of grips that will let you use the gun properly.  It helps tremendously and it does not really detract from any concealability.  JMTCW.  Mikey.

[Cottonwood]

I have one that I really enjoy alot, and it gets daily carry!

[federali]

I have a Model 37 from the 1970s. I fired a few Magtech rounds through it just to see if the gun would fail. It didn't. So, when I carry the gun, it is stoked with Magtech. Other than that, I only shoot standard velocity ammo through it. Anything more than a dozen rounds becomes punishing.

[bearmgc]

I had a Mod 37 awhile back rated for +P, but was uncomfortable to shoot. I had no problem selling it. I now have the Mod 642, which I love and use CCW, and big difference.

[jro45]

The question is can you handle the recoil.  The gun can handle it!!!