Smith & Wesson model 37 cheif special

[tazman]

I recently had a Smith & Wesson model 37 no dash airweight, nickel, round butt, snubbie follow me home.
The gun was purchased new by the original owner in 1984 according to the receipts the man showed. It has been fired very, very little and looks new. The original owner claimed he put less than a box of ammo through it. I can fix that part.
I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet except for a few rounds at the gun shop/range where I bought it. I put 20 rounds through it to check function and see if it hit anywhere on paper.
It went bang every time and all rounds printed near point of aim but high about 3 inches or so a 20 feet. I am going to get to the range and give it a workout this week.
I swapped out the factory wood grips for a set of gripper style rubber grips I had on hand to help with manageability. I was banging my knuckles on the trigger guard when I test fired it.
Is there anything I need to check or watch for with this gun besides not using +P ammo?

[JeffG]

Nice Tazman. Nothing of benefit to offer on what to watch for. We picked up a Model 36 round butt last year, have really enjoyed it. It also works on the knuckles. I had an empty 100 round MTM case that needed filling yesterday so loaded up some 148 gr wadcutters for it ahead of some Green Dot.

Enjoy

[pietro]

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Nothing else is needed - a 3" blued Model 37 Airweight, loaded with Glaser Safety Slugs, has been my youngest daughter's favorite CCW for the past 18 years.

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[Scharfschuetze]

I carried a blue Model 37 for a while in my LEO career. Its light weight was great as a back up piece and with standard velocity 38s it was easy enough to shoot. Your suspicion of +P ammo in the small aluminum framed revolver is justified. I eventually went to a Model 60 as I've always preferred steel, but the Model 37 definitely was a useful revolver.

[bedbugbilly]

Congrats on your new J frame! I really don't think there is much you need to worry about. Do some googling on the Model 37. I did last night after reading your post and I found several sites that said +P ammo could be used. Personally, with the aluminum frame I'd be sticking to standard 38 Spl.

I have two Model 36s - a snub and a 3". Those of course are steel frame. Like you, I switched the standard grips to Pachmeyer (sp?) grips and much prefer those. The snub is my usual CCW and I really enjoy the J frame.

My hands are smaller so I don't have the problem of the trigger guard banging on the knuckle. I think once you get used to your 37, you'll like it. Good luck with it and have fun!

[DougGuy]

I too have a 37 that I owned for over 20yrs before I ever fired the thing. I needed a pistol to qualify for CCW and the instructor had a box of UMC .38 so I went with it. It grouped quite well, shot to the sights, and passed me in the course with flying colors.

The hammer spur has been bobbed off smooth, target grooves polished off the trigger, and the single action cocking notch has been filed off the hammer so it is DAO for each shot. Great little pistol for deep cover, backup to the 1911, flawless and reliable.

There are some ammo choices that will put the lowly .38 very nearly on a par with a .357 if you do your homework you can find excellent carry loads these days.

[Bonz]

Love my Pre-37

154602

[Char-Gar]

I got my first Chief Special in 1965 and have not been without one or more ever since. Here is my understanding of what to feed them;

Any Smith and Wesson made before 1957 is not rated for +P ammo. The use of such ammo will shorten the service life.

With aluminum frame Smiths of any vintage, I use sub-standard pressures for practice and then use standard pressure loads for field or street carry. My practice and plinking loads is 3/Bullseye over a 150 - 160 grain cast bullet.

Steel frame Chief Special will take more pressure, but I still stick to the above guidelines. Although post 57 steel Chief Specials will take +P I don't use them, preferring to use standard loads of 3.5/Bullseye over 150 - 160 grain cast bullets.

These days I have a 2" 1954 steel Chief Special and a steel 3" 1958 and both get the above loadings. The Mustang Combat grips sure make accurate and fast shooting with these much much easier than the factory grips. I have not found the extra bulk of these grips to have much effect on concealed pocket or belt carry.

[Petrol & Powder]

Congrats on your Airweight J-frame acquisition ! The model 37 is a great SD tool but I would go down the same path as DougGuy, bob the hammer, remover the SA notch and polish the trigger face.
The alloy J-frames have been the source of tremendous debate when it comes to standard pressure vs. +P. The textbook and factory approved answer is the older models marked 38 Special are rated for standard pressure 38 Special loads only. The reality is that airweight models can shoot +P but at the cost of service life. The question is how quickly is the service life diminished by shooting +P loads in airweight frames? The safe answer is don't do it. The real world answer is the guns will tolerate a few +P rounds now and then.
The gun will not blow up with a cylinder full of +P rounds but a steady diet of +P ammo will batter the frame. Eventually the top strap will stretch, the cylinder end shake will increase and the ratchet will batter the recoil shield further increasing end play but that damage will not occur overnight.
There was a test years ago, I think by Jeff Cooper, in which thousands of rounds of +P ammo were fired in an airweight with no observable problems. I wouldn't recommend that number of +P rounds but a cylinder full now and then will likely be fine. I'm not advocating that one should abuse a gun but the alloy J-frame is a tough little gun.
I've been carrying and practicing with a S&W airweight for well over 20 years and the gun has fired hundreds of +P rounds with no apparent damage. I don't practice with +P rounds but I'm confident that it can take a few now and then.
There is no good reason to abuse one of these fine guns but they aren't as fragile as some people believe.

[tazman]

That's good to know. I had been wondering about that very thing.

[Char-Gar]

Back in the day, I bobbed hammers and did all sorts of extreme things to the guts of the Chief Special and other Smith revolvers. I eventual quit that, and now just shoot them. The argument for doing all these things is to prevent the hammer from hanging up on clothing etc..

The long and short is, I have not found the hammer spur to be a problem with either belt or pocket carry. Some folks assert that is just not true, but I carry my 2" Chief Special in my pocket frequently and practice shooting it from the pocket. My presentation, while not lighting fast is smooth with no hang ups. Below is a pic of the pistol in my pocket holster.

I like the hammer spur intact, as I like to shoot single action and with the larger grips can do very good work out to 50 yards with the little pistol. While considered a short range affair, I feel these little engines can perform at longer distances quite well and I want to preserve all my options. The gun you have with you is all you have, and I want to utilize it's full capabilities.

[tazman]

I took the little fellow to the range today for a workout. When I tried it out, it shot high with 150 grain cast, so I bought a box of factory 130 grain jacketed to try out.
I was amazed at how well they shot.
First shot hit about a half inch below my aiming point at 6 oclock. The rest of that cylinder and the next 10 rounds after that chewed the center 3 inches out of the target at 25 feet.
I am thoroughly pleased with this gun. I haven't shot it double action yet. That is for next time. I needed to see what it could do and it passed with flying colors.

[Boogieman]

Had a 3" model 36 it would stay on a man size target,B27, at 100yds.all day long. 2 handed standing, won me a few bets. Don't know when or why I traded it

[Petrol & Powder]

The snubnose 38 Special is capable of far better accuracy than many people will believe. The limiting factor is often the shooter and not the gun. The tiny grips and short sight radius make them difficult to shoot at long ranges but the guns themselves can be capable of surprising accuracy.

I recognize Char-Gar's experience and intelligence as being greater than mine. I typically agree with his statements but I must very respectfully depart from his view when it comes to hammers on 2" barreled J-frame 38 Special revolvers. While those types of guns are capable of good accuracy they are not intended to be long range tools. In my opinion, a hammer spur on that type of gun is not only unnecessary but it is a dangerous impediment. While it is true that, "the gun you have with you is all you have....."; if that gun is a DAO hammerless snubnose then that is what you work with.
I my view, I would rather have a 2" J-frame that is optimized for close quarters work than one that is a compromise between close quarters work and longer range applications. This is purely personal opinion and in no way a slight directed at Char-Gar, whom I have a lot of respect for.

[Char-Gar]

That is all right Petrol ol pal if you want to chop hammer spurs. Some of my best friends are hammer spur choppers, I just wouldn't want my daughter to marry one! :-)

[tazman]

I will keep the hammer spur on my 37.
I seldom make changes to firearms for any reason other than to mount a scope. There can be reliability problems associated with modifying the hammer.
Further, I like the idea of being able to shoot it single action if the occasion presents the need. I don't have the capability to shoot double action accurately beyond 20 yards yet and I know the gun is capable of accuracy beyond that distance if I shoot single action.

Char-gar---- I am not saying that because I want to marry your daughter. I am happily married after all.

[Petrol & Powder]

That is all right Petrol ol pal if you want to chop hammer spurs. Some of my best friends are hammer spur choppers, I just wouldn't want my daughter to marry one! :-)
fair enough
:drinks:

[rintinglen]

Put me down in the hammer spur crowd. I have more snubbies than any rational person would consent to buy or admit to owning and have been shooting them for over 35 years. I went through a DA only phase, where in I bought the baloney about a snubbie being a belly gun, only good for short range. After all, most gun fights are short range affairs, 7 yards or under. But the fact of the matter is that you don't get to choose. You dance with the one you brought. The gun you have is the gun you have. That is what you will use to solve (or fail to solve) your problem.
If, heaven forfend, you find yourself being shot at by somebody across the street, your choices are to either shoot back, or hide and hope he misses until he runs out of boolits. Having a spur and an SA capability gives you a leg up and any downside is less real than imaginary.
And plus P ammo will stretch the frame of an aluminum frame Smith. My M-38 has a barrel cylinder gap that can just about be measured with a yardstick now. It took me a bunch of rounds to do it, but 200 rounds a year for a decade or so of FBI load equivalent 158 grain Hornady LHP boolits will do the trick.

[Petrol & Powder]

Just for the record, I didn't say the snubnose is "only good for short range". In fact, I acknowledge the accuracy of the snubnose. I said I would rather have a snubnose optimized for short range work. (you can read that as DAO if you like)

And YES, shooting +P rounds in an alloy J-frame will result in accelerated wear and I wouldn't recommend doing that every day.

[Scharfschuetze]

I could qualify Expert with my Model 37 and Model 60 J Frames all day long on our off duty or back up gun course. It's all in the shooter's skill and to some extent the shooter's eyesight with the small sights on many of these little revolvers.

Off of the bench, my old Model 60 38 Special and a now 15 year old Model 60 357 with 3" barrel are both as accurate at 25 yards as my K and N Frame 38 or 357 revolvers. The bigger revolvers certainly hold better, just like a heavy barrel rifle, when using them in field or combat conditions without any support other than your hands Of course they don't tuck up under a shirt like a small J Frame.

[FergusonTO35]

To me, the option of using single action if you need it is one of the biggest advantages of a wheelgun. I used to have a 642. Very nice little gun but I could not shoot it worth crud beyond up close and personal distance. I can do better than that with my Kel-Tec that costs half as much so down the road it went.

[Char-Gar]

I just have to do it, I can't take it any longer. "Chief" and not "Cheif".... "I" before "E", except after "C".

[tazman]

I know. I posted it before I checked the spelling and then it wouldn't let me change it.
Technically it isn't really a Chief special. It is an airweight. Not necessarily the same thing.

[pietro]

I just have to do it, I can't take it any longer. "Chief" and not "Cheif".... "I" before "E", except after "C".


Most times, but not always..........it's been an age-old argument that there are/are not exceptions to that rule.

To wit:

Beir (funeral item)
Heir (inheritor)
Receiver

(To name but three such words, out of over 1700 )


.

[Char-Gar]

I know. I posted it before I checked the spelling and then it wouldn't let me change it.
Technically it isn't really a Chief special. It is an airweight. Not necessarily the same thing.

When Smith and Wesson introduced the little 5 shot J frame in 1950 to the International Association of Police Chiefs and a vote was taken to name it. The name Chief's Special won the vote.

Shortly after introduction (I don't recall the year) the Chief's Special Airweight was introduced with an aluminum frame and cylinder. The aluminium cylinder did last long and it was replaced with one of steel.

In 1957 model numbers were assigned with Model 36 being steel and Model 37 being aluminum. For a number of years thereafter, the little handguns were still referred to as the Chief's Special and the Chief's Special Airweight in the factory literature along with their respective model numbers.

As stated earlier on, I have had one or more since the mid-60s. I have had both steel and aluminum frame revolvers, but quit the aluminum frame models many years ago.

They are very nice compact little revolvers, but suffer from some poor ergonomics. The older square butt models are much easier to shoot than the round butt versions. The square butt add a little more distance between the hand the the end of the trigger finger. Both of mine are steel frame square butt versions.

While, off topic, I must add that the Colt Detective Special beats the Chief's Special in every way that counts without enough extra bulk to make a difference. Here is my 3" Colt DS, It is still small enough to good pocket carry.

[Char-Gar]

Most times, but not always..........it's been an age-old argument that there are/are not exceptions to that rule.

To wit:

Beir (funeral item)
Heir (inheritor)
Receiver

(To name but three such words, out of over 1700 )



.


If would take more research that I am willing to put out, but my gut tell me that such words are not English in origin, but from other languages that found their way into the vernacular.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I had a three inch steel version with square butt. I could keep a beer can rolling at 15- 20 with no trouble. I bought it in a yard sale for $125. I let it go in a trade but I can replace it with the classic version for a mere $1000.

[Petrol & Powder]

154911
The Colt Detective Special is only a little bit larger than the S&W J-frames and gives you 6 rounds and a slightly better grip.
And Char-Gar, it wasn't a 3" barrel that I cut down to 2" :wink: but I will admit to removing that superfluous hammer spur :D.
Of course that wasn't necessary on that S&W with its internal hammer. :drinks: