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I purchased this gun for my girlfriend to carry and have around the house. She is learning about firearms but not quite comfortable enough with automatics to use one on her own. I actually carry this one a lot right now because she hasn't gotten her permit yet. It's a pretty good gun for pocket carry. It can be hidden in a front, hip or cargo pocket. I use the pocket holster pictured below. It's a WRB holster that sells for about $20 and it's worth every penny. No clips on it, just a rubbery-like material similar to the stuff you may use to line your kitchen cabinets. The holster stays in the pocket upon withdraw of weapon flawlessly.

 

The gun comes with a set of Uncle Mike's rubber grips. If you've ever used Hogue grips my bet is that you will hate the Uncle Mke's. They're hard and do little to increase ergonomics of the gun. I replaced them with the $20 Hogue Bantam grips in a hurry. The Uncle Mike's are pictured below, off the gun.

 

The trigger on this guy is stiff from the factory. My suggestion is to buy snap-caps and and pull the trigger a lot. It will improve your trigger control and help smooth the action. I've driven my girl nuts dry firing this gun about 1000 times over the past few weeks and I can already feel a difference.

 

I don't find the sights very effective on this gun. They work alright for the intended purpose but they are not as good as the sights on the M&P and PD S&W models. See the comparison photo below. However, if you want those better sights you'll have to open your wallet for about $300 more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Stance: Standing, unsupported
• Distance: 21 Feet
• Ammo: Remington UMC 130 Grain MC L38S11
• 25 rounds per target
• Left target: One-handed firing in a postion I feel I may shoot from if attacked. Pulled the trigger as soon as the sights were on target, emptied the cylinder rapidly.
• Right target: Weaver-style stance
• Date Fired: 17MAY2008

 

Well I think I need to practice with this gun a little more. I'm comfortable with a two-handed grip but the one-handed needs some improvement. I am used to carrying/shooting DA/SA and stiker autos (Sig P239/220, Beretta 85, Glock) and this DAO revolver is a different bird. I've actually had better results in previous range sessions with this gun and different ammo. This stuff felt really hot. Recoil was sharp and the muzzle blast was ridiculous. The fire ball was nuts. The blast was moving empty casings in front of me on the ground. I don't think I'll be using that sutff again. On my next range trip I'll be buying some Federal self defense low-recoil rounds to try and hopefully carry in it. For myself I'd be comfortable using it for self defense inside of 15 feet, maybe more with better loads and more practice.

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