Thanks for the input, it's much appreciated.
I've heard that the trigger can be initially stiff. Is it true that over time, with practice at the range, that the trigger loosens up a bit and becomes much smoother?
Oh, and thanks for the dry fire drill. I'll definitely be sure to do that.
Another question I have is about ammunition. I've heard that some snubbie owners use down-graded ammunition, standard .38 instead of .38+P, at the range for target practice. My concern is that if you predominantly train with different ammunition than what the gun is loaded with for defensive carry, doesn't that harm your accuracy in a deadly encounter?
In addition to that, is it true that shooting too much .38+P will wear out the gun faster? If so, by how much?
I'm very big into reliability. Revolvers are famous for that and that's what has played into me wanting a 442. In addition, the light weight and small size make it an attractive option for daily concealed carry. I also don't have big mitts, making me wary of buying a Glock or other big-gripped guns.
S&W revolvers traditionally have very smooth trigger pulls from the beginning. Mine may have smoothed out a little more over the years, but if it has, I haven't really noticed. It's sort of like getting fat...you put on weight little by little and don't notice it until you can't get your pants closed in the morning.
When I first bought my snubby, I practiced mostly with light wadcutters for two reasons: the recoil was about as mild as you could get, and it was the cheapest ammo I could find. I moved on to normal loads, and now shoot +p almost exclusively. Aside from wanting to train on loads I'll carry, +p is also the cheapest ammo I can currently find to train with around here.
Jumping straight into shooting +p loads may not be helpful if you haven't shot revolvers much, as the recoil will be stout until you're used to the gun. A lot of people suggest training with lighter loads, then running a few rounds of your +p carry ammunition through the gun for familiarization, and it's not bad advice.
You'll probably wear the gun out faster shooting +p ammo just because you're putting more stress on it, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. It'll still take you years and years of heavy shooting to get the gun to that point. If you do manage to wear it out, you can claim that as a badge of honor and buy another one.
If a Glock is too big for your hands, try looking at an M&P or an XD. I have a G21, and there's no denying the grip is huge. I bought an XD-45 a few years ago, and the grip was more comfortable, but I never fell in love with the trigger. I bought my wife an M&P 40 at the same time, and took it to the range one day when I ran out of .45 ammo. I fell in love with it and wound up selling the XD for a M&P 45.
For us, the M&P ergonomics are just about perfect, and you can get down to a pretty skinny grip with the smallest back strap installed (M&P's come with small, medium, and large back straps to customize the fit. You can also move the magazine release to either side to accommodate left and right handed shooters). Now, we each have a full-size and compact M&P in our favorite flavors.
I've taken my full-size through a lot of training, much of it dirty or snowy, some of it in the rain, in temperatures from about -10 to +70 F (don't laugh, 70's about as hot as it gets here, and that's fine with me!), and haven't had any reliability problems. I've also gone swimming with it (unintentionally) with no ill effect. One man with one gun isn't a very large subject sample, but there you go.
If you have an opportunity to try a few pistols before making a decision, I'd highly recommend it. Whatever you decide on, I strongly encourage you to seek out some competent, professional training before carrying. Just as standing still in front of a heavy bag throwing nothing but right hooks doesn't teach you to box, standing at the range plinking a paper target won't teach you how to fight with a firearm. Again, it's just one man's opinion, so take it for what it's worth.
Cheers!
