Rossi .38 special for concealed carry?

[BedroomHowitzer]

I am going to try it out. I got a couple of gift cards to Gander Mountain this Christmas, and I saw a Rossi .38 special snub nose, chrome with rubber grips and it felt very nice in my hand. I have bigger than average hands and after feeli;ng out about 15 different "recommended" concealed carry handguns, I decided on the Rossi for a couple reasons: I have never carried before. I just decided to get my pistol permit a couple days ago and 2, the rossi was fairly cheap at 180$ (although probably more than its really worth, but like I said, I got some gift cards for Christmas) but it's in fabulous condition, almost brand new, and being so cheap I wouldn't mind if it got beat up. Unfortunately, when they ran my background check, something got flagged in there system, so my purchase has been delayed until an actual person can look at my file...whatever. Anywho, anyone out there carry one of these before? holster suggestions?

[AJMD429]

Unfortunately, when they ran my background check, something got flagged in there system, so my purchase has been delayed until an actual person can look at my file...whatever.

We told them about you and your nefarious past...

Seriously, though - Nothing wrong with an ordinary Rossi as a CCW-gun.

The BEST CCW gun is one

a) you have WITH you at all times, and
b) you have shot lots and lots of rounds through.

Other factors are important, but those two trump all the others.

[BedroomHowitzer]

We told them about you and your nefarious past...

yea, it's hard to believe the sheriffs department will give me a pistol permit but gander mountain has second thoughts about selling me a pistol...

[Mescalero]

After some reflection, I need to get over this.
They are exact copies of S&W J frames.
I still have 5 " build " guns left & far more parts than neaded.
They are good quality guns and " slick ' up just like a S&W.
Buy it, shoot it,after 2000 rounds I will show how to make the trigger stop right after it breaks.

[Chris83716]

They are not S&W J frames (unless you are in South America, then they are) but they are pretty close. I had a S.S. snubbie for a few years that I got for the wife. It shot okay but was a little much for her to shoot. All I can say was it went bang every time and shot were it was pointed.

Chris

[JerryB]

Get it, I have a Rossi model 68 2 inch that I bought 12 years ago and I don't ever feel undergunned when I carry it. I carry federal Nyclads in it. It is a smooth shooting gun, much smoother than my daughters S&W 60.

[1894c]

can never go wrong with a snub--but you need to practice--that's half the fun... :)

[jh45gun]

i got a Taurus 85 ultra light probably close to what your looking at since Taurus and Rossi and now one and the same. I love it for a carry gun especially when wearing a jacket is not an option. Slip it in the front pocket and your good to go. Mine is a hammer gun I prefer them to hammer-less.

[El Chivo]

I just got the larger 357/38 and really like the balance. Shot quite well, felt great, not too heavy. I liked it better than the Rugers I tried. I want to get the counterpart in 22lr.

[Shasta]

I have no experience with the Rossi revolver, but I can recommend a good holster. I just got my CCW permit last summer, and I spent some time trying to find a holster that suited me. My carry gun is a Ruger SP101 in .357 Magnum with a 2 1/4" barrel, and being a good American, I am .... ah...... let's just say "rotund" I wanted an inside the waistband holster, and two models were highly recommended, the Simply Rugged pancake, and the Cross Breed Super Tuck. The Cross Breed is so ugly, I spent nearly a hundred bucks on a Simply Rugged pancake holster. It is very well made and comfortable, but unfortunately it tends to collapse after the revolver is removed and I practically have to get undressed to get the gun back into the holster.

OK, now I had to take a closer look at that ugly Cross Breed hybrid holster. At least it could not collapse if the revolver was drawn. The price was about $85 for the horsehide version, and I was just about to order one when I saw a guy was selling a brand new exact copy of the Cross Breed on Ebay for $35! That's a "no brainer" so I bought one. This holster fits perfectly and is so comfortable I hardly know it's there. In fact, I now have two of them, one for my Star Firestar 45 ACP and one for the Ruger. Here is a picture of my two holsters (note they are lefty):





SHASTA

[FatJackDurham]

I was talking to a police detective about this just the other day at the range. I had mentioned I thought a 3" or snub .38 was the best CCW or personal defence weapon, better than an automatic.

My reasons are pretty simple.

1) Never have to cycle the action
2) S&W double action is stiff enough that you wont accidentally fire it, but smooth enough not to mess up your shot
3) Small enough for an inside waist band holster.

Accuracy beyond 20 yards doesn't seem like a factor for a self defence weapon, at least in states with no stand your ground protection.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I owned a Rossi model 971 357 mag for several years, nice accurate & reliable gun. Sold it to a friend for a song who needed it worse than I did after his house burned down with all his guns inside- total loss. He has filled his freezer many times over with wild pork since so happy it's being put to good use. I highly recommend both Rossi and Taurus guns.

[BedroomHowitzer]

Just got a call from Gander Mountain saying that I am good to come pick up my pistol. I will be headed down to get it on Wednesday and will post a quick photo of what you can get at the ole Gander for 179 bucks. I am going to look into getting my NICS UPIN for future purchases...

[MrMurphy]

FatJack, ever look down the aisle of a Wal Mart?

20 yards isn't far.

You only need to cycle the action on an auto when loading...it should be carried chambered.

Five rounds goes in a hurry in a fight, and the reload takes forever.

Trust me on that......

[Mescalero]

That is true, that is why you need to work on that, it can be mitagated.
But it is problematic.

[BedroomHowitzer]

practice can make a reload on a revolver a 5 second process. I have seen it done.

[MrMurphy]

Practice can also make a revolver reload a 1.5 second process, but we're not all Jerry Miculek.


Five seconds can be forever in a few instances. Most can reload an M4 magazine in a few seconds, but at some times, that can seem like a lifetime.



Revolvers still work for carry, but know up front the disadvantages. A 2" .38 is good for a firefight in a crowded elevator, inside a refrigerator, over a bar top or between aisles at 7-11, but if the range extends past arms length, most people can't hit much with them. I max out at 15 yards and I DO practice with them when I carry one. I don't currently own one.

They're niche guns, as long as you know that, you're fine.

[JerryB]

A lot of opinions here but you still need to decide for your self. Who nows you just may be in a fridg some nite and need one.

[Mescalero]

rjohns,
I don't remember if you participated in the thread about .32 long that I had going a while back.
I developed that load with a Rossi .32 Model 66 3" barrel.
I regularly shot it at 20 yards to see how it performed on paper.

[Jayhawker]

I bought a blued Rossi model 68 back in 1997 and carry it often. It's been completely reliable and accurate enough for what it's intended for. The only flaw, if you could call it that, is the serrated trigger. It's hard on the trigger finger at the range, especially on extended visits. Otherwise, I like the way the grip feels in the hand.

[AmBraCol]

Rossi 38 spl snubnose is what Charl van Wyk used to stop the St. James Massacre back in the 90's. Two shots at around 50 meters, one miss, one hit. That was all it took to convince the AK47 toting cowards that it was time to turn tail. Lesson from the incident - ALWAYS carry reloads. Also, you can't miss fast enough to win a gun fight, make your shots count. I don't think Charl had ever done any 50 meter shooting with his snubnose prior to the event, but he managed to pull it off anyway.

As for holsters, give http://www.simplyrugged.com a look. Their Silver Dollar Pancake makes a small frame resolver or pistol disappear and you don't even think about it until you need it. You can also get some straps to allow you to convert it to inside waist band carry. I've been using one of his pancakes to carry my Kframe sized sixgun for almost 9 years now, it's simply the best carry solution I've found.

Folks get in a snit over someone packing a fiveshot revolver. "Two slow to reload" is one of the main criticisms. The odds of you needing a reload are WAAAAY low if you do YOUR part and shoot accurately. If you're going to carry you owe it to yourself and those around you to learn to shoot well and accurately. The main problem with the snubbie is the short barrel is NOT easy to learn to shoot well - but you CAN learn to shoot it well. And don't be afraid to shoot at "unreasonable distances" with your Rossi. It will shoot better at 50 yards with good ammo than most folks would expect from it at 10. A few weeks ago, prior to heading back down this way, I took an afternoon off to head to the range. I set up at 50 yards and proceeded to unlimber my Taurus 431 with 3" barrel. It had been a while since I shot that one but I still managed to do OK with it - shot as good of a group with it as the guy next to me was getting with a rifle at the same distance. All that really shows is that either he is a lousy shot or his rifle or ammo wasn't up to the task. The guys were surprised to see what could be done - even though I was disgusted with my results (I KNOW it can be better).

Get out and burn some powder through that thing and don't let the nay sayers psych you out.

[MrMurphy]

Agreed. The fact you're armed is already a 100% improvement.

Just be realistic about your experience/training level and be prepared to throw a few hundred rounds downrange getting good.


Reminds me of a story from a friend.

New police recruits a few years back were at the range shooting their Glocks. They kind of chuckled and were making quiet jokes amongst themselves as they saw a fairly ancient old guy with shaking hands come out and qualify with his old 4" fixed sight S&W Model 10 that had been made before they were even thought of.

His groups were qualifying but nothing particularly special.

They all shut up when their instructor informed them said Old Guy had been in law enforcement at that point nearly forty years, and with the same gun (or one like it) had survived seventeen uses of deadly force (firefights) in his career, most of which involved the other guy getting fitted for a body bag or going to the hospital.

Mindset, willingness to get the job done and a reasonable amount of training put you light years ahead of most of the sheep out there. I'd rather have a guy committed to stopping a fight with a 2" snub than a coward with a rifle who won't use it. As I told a chick I was deployed with (who fell in category 2, as incompetent and dangerous to our own side) "You're an ammo carrier. If we get engaged, I'm shooting you in the leg and taking your rounds so you don't get US killed from your stupidity.."

She didn't appreciate that, and thankfully, I didn't have to follow through on it, but I was totally serious, and she knew it.

[deafrn]

The last two replies are pretty succinct, so I'll just give 'em a bump and add that too many of the new faces where I shoot have dismissed the revolver without really understanding the possible procedural benefits of same. A pity, that.

[Mescalero]

All my house pistols are d/a revolvers, all have dedicated speedloaders.
People, like you said, do not understand how they work.

[AmBraCol]

The last two replies are pretty succinct, so I'll just give 'em a bump and add that too many of the new faces where I shoot have dismissed the revolver without really understanding the possible procedural benefits of same. A pity, that.

I have outshot the local informal "Practical Pistol" guys with their bottom feeders using my sixshot 38 spl and speedloaders. You can't miss fast enough to win, a hit beats a fast miss EVERY time.

[ceb]

With practice, that gun should do quite well, its amazing how well some of these small guns can shoot. I have a j-frame Smith model 60 that i've owned for probably 30yrs. Back then with younger eyes I could regularly keep 3 out of 5 rounds on a IPSC target at 100yds. More recently, I was at the range with my nephew shooting a 3" Ruger Speed-Six hand held over sandbags at the 100yd line at a 12" gong, once you know where to hold its not that difficult to get hits. At self defense distance it will get the job done if you can.

[Ysabel Kid]

I have owned a Rossi Model 877 for years. It is a stainless steel six-shot revolver in .357 Magnum. I love it. Shoots well and fits my hand really well. Like any other snubbie, it is not overly fun to shoot with full-bore magnums, but it is a pleasure with standard .38 Specials. I've recently seen it and the .38 Special at a local candy store, used, of a lot more than the $180 you were quoted. I read your other post and how Gander Mountain messed up and gave you a new one for the used price. SCORE!