3 inch Model 36 S&W for my wife

[Cactus Farmer]

I traded for a 3" 36 S&W for my wife. She thinks she shoots better with a wheel gun. She 's giving up 3 rounds of ammo but I do think she shoots it better plus it's a point and shoot,no safety,no slide,no nonsence gun. I'm thinking about HBWCs loaded upside down for her carry ammo. I've shot them before and they are devastating on jack rabbits. Any thoughts from the board?

[gon2shoot]

My wife went back to a short bbl security six, dont make her mad if you are less than 50yds away.
She is more comfortable with it and she shoots it well, put the first 2 shots where they need to go and save the rest of your ammo.

[dubber123]

Those HBWC's sure expand well, even to low speeds. I always used the Hornady swaged ones. One thing I never tested was how well they penetrate. I shoot a Lyman 358439 HP cast from 50/50 WW's/Pure lead from my 1-7/8" S&W 640. They expand very well and penetrate well too.

I have one of those 3" mod. 36's, they are worlds easier to shoot than the 1-7/8" models.

[Cactus Farmer]

I carry a Model 60 357 Mag, 2 1/8" barrel. The first shot with a Winchester 125grn bullet was an eye opener. Ever been swatted with a big flyswatter? That's what I thought it was like. If I feel that,what is a perp going to feel? He will check for blood even if I miss 'cause he got hit by something! I hope she can shoot it as well as she shoots her Hopkins & Allen 32 S&W top break. She is deadly with the little gun. ;>)

[williamwaco]

I have a 3" M-36 with steel frame.
I like it very much.

It is my favorite hideout but it is gradually loosing out to the Kimber Aegis.

[olafhardt]

After I got a 1 7/8 637 I traded off my 3" 36 and 3" 37. Just liked the snubby better. My 363" was dead on with 158have grain standard loads. They got to be hard to find before the madness.

[Char-Gar]

Use a solid base wad cutter and run it 850 to 900 fps. You want a defense bullet to reach to the vitals and a full wadcutter will do that and do lots of damage on it's way.

[StrawHat]

Use a solid base wad cutter and run it 850 to 900 fps. You want a defense bullet to reach to the vitals and a full wadcutter will do that and do lots of damage on it's way.

+1

The reversed HBWC is a nifty looking round but lacks penetration. Great expansion, little worthwhile pentration. Cast the DEWC a bit harder and you will be good to go.

[gmsharps]

I bought my wife one of the 3in Heavy BBLs M36's in 1970 just before I went to Vietnam. She still has it. We had to get a slightly larger grip to be able to hold it very well but that was the only mod. It shoots very well at distances it was designed to do. I've used reverse wad cutters before.t They do not over penetrate and have minimal recoil. It may lack in stopping power but a hit is better than a miss.

gmsharps

[Dan Cash]

Having played with the hollow base wad cutters I concluded that they have no place in a defensive loading. You have to have some penetration to kill or disable an opponent. Listen to the guys advocating for a plain wadcutter or 158 grain semi wad cutter. Don't worry about expansion 'cause it is not going to. Put the bullet where it needs to go; cut a clean, deep hole to let the cold wind of death enter and all will be well.

[Rick Hodges]

I carried a 3" Model 36 as a backup and off duty weapon for years. I am truly sorry I ever traded it. It was accurate, easy to shoot and easy to carry. I used the FBI duty load of a 158gr. lead HP in a plus P Federal load. Probably not a good idea to shoot a steady diet of these, but the steel framed revolver digested them just fine.

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

+1 on ^

Dont worry about the HBWC, it was then and is now a simple fad. It looks good but does not work well.
Outside of handshake distance, they tend to tumble. The 158 grain SWC HP, also referred to as the "FBI load"
is considered the most effective 38 Special load. My 3" M36 is loaded with them.

Jerry
Carolina Cast Bullets

[HATCH]

I practice with 105 dewc with 2.6 grains bullseye.
But i carry 125 grain silvertips plus p rounds in it.
Don't get me wrong. Getting hit with 100 grains of lead going 650 fps is going to slow down most attackers provided they aren't wearing layers of clothing.

[WARD O]

I purchased Federal Personal Defense ammo and that is what I carry in my 3" Model 60-4 and my 3" Model 337-3 -- my two favorite carry guns.

ward

[km101]

Anything that she can shoot well is the gun for her. If she likes it and is comfortable with it let her go. The extra round count doesn't make much difference. In defensive shooting it is normally all 3's! According to FBI statistics it's 3 feet or less, 3 rounds or less, in 3 seconds or less.

I would NOT use reversed HBWC's for defensive carry. I tried this back in the 70's and had the middle blow out of some of them. Even had the hollow tube stick in the forcing cone once. And this was only an 850 - 900 fps load. These are soft swaged bullets and are too fragile for defensive use. And at more than 15 ft. they are likely to tumble or keyhole. Not recommended!

[Scharfschuetze]

I've carried a Model 36, 37 or Model 60 for something like 38 years now (both in LE and as a citizen) and I've played with lots of different loads for them. I like 'em and still have two Model 60s, one in 38 Special and one .357. The hollow base WC idea looked good to me as a young policeman, but (as noted in posts above) I quickly found that it was not very stable in the slow twist of the Smith & Wesson barrels. At anything beyond room range, they showed obvious signs of starting to tumble which as noted above, may interfere with penetration. While longer ranges are probably not germane to defensive use and this thread, I quickly dropped the idea as I wanted my loads to be accurate at beyond household distances. My favorite load for the little Smiths was the 158gr HP SWC often marketed as an FBI load in the 80s. It had some kind of nlyon coating on the lead SWCHP. Sadly it's no longer available that I know of.

From my experience, don't plan on your wife's Model 36 (or most other pistols for that matter) to be a one shot stopper on a bad guy no matter what bullet you select. Teach your wife to keep shooting center mass until the threat is stopped, either running away or on the ground.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I once bought a 3 inch model 36 with a square butt in a yard sale. I loved the gun. It was no trouble keeping a soda can rolling at 20 to 25 feet. I was working a trade for a collection of single shots and my 36 went in the pot. I have not had a good chance at one since. I just shot some 38s with reversed wadcutters that were given to me. Don't wast your time. I read a test on these over twenty years ago. In the test some would not penitrate a heavy overcoat.

[bhn22]

Here's some excellent reading on wadcutters: http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_...7dbd9-932.html

[MtGun44]

This is my solution to essentially the same problem. Ballistic gel penetration is almost exactly
twice what you will get from wet newsprint. Expansion is identical. Base to front is about 1/2", so
4.75" x 2 = 9.5" expected penetration. Not the ultimate, but I think the HBWC will be less.
These also shoot to fixed sight POA, and make a 2" group or better at 10 yds.



Bill

[PS Paul]

Like KM101 states, the gun she's most comfortable with and shoots well....

I've sold many hundreds of guns to first-time shooters over the years and you would not BELIEVE (well, maybe you would) the info fed to some of these folks by well-intentioned friends and family members.

Lots of women new to the shooting game ask initially for the "hottest and newest" (and usually most complex) .45's who have never handled, let alone shot, a handgun ever. Frightening. A lot of that most recently.....

Always try to give the wheelgun a good showing to these folks and a lot of women who are new to gun-ownership seem to understand when I tell 'em my wife and kids have a house revolver to protect them. and me.

If it fits, they like it and she is comfortable with it, by God THATis the best gun they could have.

Besides, who wants one of them new-fangled whiz bang auto-loading monstrosities anyways? he he