Friday, January 16, 2009

Friday Gun Pr0n #94

I think it was the news that Ruger is attempting to break into the pocket revolver market that spurred today's picture. Unlike the Ruger, there's no plastic on this gun except for the orange front sight insert. There are, however, exotic metals. Here's an eminently pocketable little cannon:


The Snubbie from Hell™

Smith & Wesson model 360PD .357 Magnum j-frame revolver. 5 shots. 12 ounces. It even comes with its own tagline:

Sprechen zie ouchie?

Actually, the phrase I associate most with this little number is "OW! OW! OW! Fucking OW!". On more than one occasion, I've handed this off to someone to shoot with all five rounds loaded and gotten it back with only two rounds touched off - they have to touch off the second round just to see if, perchance, the first round was an overzealous reload or something.

This gun hurts. On both ends. With factory defensive ammo it will produce a 2-3' fireball out of that 1 7/8" barrel - in fact, once at the range I was approached by the NRA instructor in the next lane over who poked her head around the partition and asked to see the flamethrower I brought. She loved it - put three full cylinders through it and all of 'em in the black!

I figure if I'm gonna bet my life on five rounds of anything, .357 Magnum's a pretty good round to bet on. Toss in another 6 in the Bianchi speed strip, and that's 11 rounds of .357 Magnum goodness. That's only two less than the P3AT's capacity with a second mag, and while the 360 might weigh a little more (4 ounces), there's just no comparing 9mm short with .38 special loooooong...

That is all.

7 comments:

zeeke42 said...

I'd like to try this at some point. I've shot 38s in a 442 plenty, but some masochistic curiosity makes me want to try the 357s.

In my basic pistol class, to demonstrate what a squib sounds like, the instructor loaded up one of these with a piece of primed brass, a 38, and a 357. The difference in noise and fireball between the 38 and 357 wasn't as much as between the primer and 38, but it was closer than I expected.

Jay G said...

zeeke42,

Any time you want to shoot it, give a holler.

I've also got a S&W model 38 - the airweight (15 ounce) shrouded hammer .38 special. We could shoot both for a side-by-side pain test... ;)

dr mac said...

Shooting it with .357's is like riding a bucking broncko. However, I did hit the page 5 times at 15 feet and thats all that counts. It is esaily the most concealable handgun, even more than the Walther PPK. Unfortunately it now spends much of its time in my better half's pocketbook. She packs it with .38 specials.

Weer'd Beard said...

Yeah when I read of that ugly duckling I thought (It weighs as much as Jay's flame-thrower...and a few ounces less than my 642, same firepower as my 642 less firepower than your .357....and Ruger is asking for more money than either.

Thanks, but No-Thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is the first concealable revolver I ever shot. I immediately dubbed it the Noisy Cricket.

Jay G said...

dr mac,

Shooting it, especially with full-power, light .357 Magnum loads (like the Remington hunting JSPs I've got propping it), is an experience... I've found that a decent .38 Special +P+ load is much easier to handle, yet still provides a lot of punch on the naughty end.

And if Mrs. Mac has appropriated your 340, I'd say that's a good reason to go out and get a Heller commemorative 442... ;)

weer'd,

Actually, according to the Ruger website, the LCR weighs 13.5 ounces. My 360 tips the scales at 12 ounces. Your 642 is 15 ounces. So we're talking a spread of 3 ounces, tops.

As for price, well, comparing MSRPs, the 360 runs around $850 or so according to S&W. I paid $650 or so for mine 5 years ago. I'd guess the retail on the LCR will be around $400 - right around that of the 642. If I can find one cheap I might get one, just to have...

Adam,

Now that is funny... My 360 has been called that, actually...

dr mac said...

Damn you and your suggestions, the last one set me back nearly $3K, although we are ready for a zombie parade down the driveway.

I do have a birthday coming up, mmmmm.....and it is historical.

I guess if the Obama bail out plan includes over $400 million to have NASA study global warming then I can invest in my own bailout plans.