a) It's not the trade item I've been waiting for; and
b) It's bound to be something much, much better.
I opened the box to find this:
Laser Snubbie Inbound...
That's a Side Mount Laser CK-SW for a Smith & Wesson J-frame revolver. It comes with two different side plates, one for a Chief's Special (exposed hammer) frame and one for a Bodyguard (shrouded hammer) or Centennial (hammerless) frame. You remove the two sideplate screws, position the laser and corresponding side plate in place, then put two slightly larger screws back in to secure the new laser sight.
Here's a close-up of just how small this unit is:
Little Bitty Laser
That's a $1 coin for size comparison (I didn't have a quarter handy, but they're about the same size). It's going to add negligible weight and shouldn't affect how the gun rides in most holsters, although fitted holsters may be an issue. Since the model 38 is mostly carried in a DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster, it shouldn't make too much difference there; I'll be sure to document fit inside several holsters as part of the full review later.
With any kind of luck I'll have it installed over the coming weekend and (with even more luck) possibly even a preliminary range test. One of the great advantages of the snubbie is that I can use it in my club's indoor range, which only allows lead ammo. Since the range is open 24/7 for members, I can test this at any point once it's on the gun.
Stay tuned for a full review to come.
That is all.
11 comments:
Is it too much to ask to have snubbies with frickin' lasers attached to their heads?
Great writeup, I just can't get my head around the fact that you had a $1 coin but no quarters... :)
Jay,
Will you be posting a pick of a snubbie with both laser and bayonette? Hmmmmm? Not that I'm a bad influence or anything.
- Brad
You should put it on the Snubbie from hell and see if the recoil can kill the laser!
What are the replacement sideplates made of?
I don't like lasers that require a separate button to activate them. Nope, no sir, not one little bit.
"What are the replacement sideplates made of?"
I hope that's not a "replacement" sideplate. S&W sideplates aren't really "drop-in" replacements; they require fitting to the individual gun.
Borepatch,
Heh. Although you know with me I want a bayonet, too...
Witin,
Oh, I had plenty of quarters. The problem was that to access said quarters I would have to shake one out of the 1L glass jar I use for a coin bank. Since Mrs. G. was asleep, I opted for the readily accessible $1 coin rather than having my head removed from my shoulders for waking mama bear...
Brad,
Ooooohhhh... That's a capital idea!
Weerd,
Actually, it *is* going on the Snubbie from Hell first. Assuming I can remove and then re-install the screws properly, that is...
I'm curious to see how it performs under Magnum stress, although I will start it out with cream puff .38 Special first.
Tam,
I'm not aware of any laser that comes on automatically when it senses you're about to shoot. I assume you mean you prefer the Crimson Trace grip laser setup where your hands normally activate the laser switch upon achieving a standard grip on the pistol (/nitpick).
It's a tradeoff, that's a given. This particular setup has the same disadvantages as the Crimson Trace - it changes the profile of the sidearm so that it may not fit certain holsters; others do not change the profile of the gun at all.
Oops, missed that. The sideplate mount doesn't replace the existing sideplate, it mounts over it.
All you need to do to mount it is unscrew the two screws, position the laser unit (already mounted on the mounting bracket) and attach it with the two (slightly longer) screws provided with the unit.
Jay,
Fine, "separate motion" then.
The first time I picked up one of the new plastic S&W snubbies with the built in laser, I thought that the engineer who put the activation button high on the opposite side of the frame from a right-handed shooter's thumb is either not a shooter or else profoundly mentally challenged. I'd like to watch a tape of him doing some low-light force-on-force with Simunitions and his laser setup, drawing from a purse or pocket. How many times do you think the laser gets forgotten before the initial *BANG!*? Seriously?
It makes more sense for a house gun or other situation where you are presumed to have at least some warning before deploying the firearm, but snubbies and pocket pistols are, by their nature, generally very reactive guns. I mean, only a crazy person would buy a flyweight unobtainium .357 to shoot at the range for fun. ;)
That's also an important distinction, Tam - house gun vs. carry gun.
Now, I haven't seen the new S&W Bodyguards yet - they've not received the blessing from Her Majesty the Attorney General (Marsha Chokely, the Democrat who lost Ted Kennedy's senate seat to a Republican, just in case you don't know - and even if you did know, I wanted to write it again...)
I've got a LaserMax guide rod laser in my G30, and the activation switch is in the take down lever. My index finger rests more or less right on top of the switch as a matter of habit, so turning it on is a very simple matter - and once it's on, I don't have to worry about keeping pressure constant like I have with the CT grips.
I agree that the simpler the laser activation is on a carry gun, the more likely one will be to actually *use* it under stress. The first thought I had when I looked at this unit was "wow, that looks like it would be really hard to kick on quickly" - but I'd like to get it installed and try it out first.
Hey, at the very least it's an inexpensive training aid for a defensive pistol, and that's always a good thing, right?
"Hey, at the very least it's an inexpensive training aid for a defensive pistol, and that's always a good thing, right?"
No doubt. That's probably the biggest value of a laser, especially on a DA revolver.
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