In general:

* Choke up on the grip.
* Use only the first digit of your trigger finger, the area directly under your finger nail.
* Dry fire practice and lots of it.

Relatively heavy trigger pull and short sight radius makes snubbies some of the hardest handguns to shoot well.

Looks like it's got a pretty good hammer spur. Use it liberally.

OP here. Could you also be kind enough to suggest some good self defense rounds for it?

HPs, of course. Federals are fairly inexpensive (although you should hand load if possible).

Lol I knew hp's. I was looking more for brand. I supposed it'll be Federals.
Also, how do I get started hand loading?

Thinking from a snub the old 158gr HP loads would be best... lighter, higher velocity loads don't seem to have the penetration.

>>15815
>although you should handload if possible

Handloading will put you on very shaky legal ground in some states if you have to use your weapon for self-defense. Know your laws and I would recommend speaking to a lawyer.

>>15904
Really? I've never heard of any distinction like that. Can you explain?

If you hand load, or even modify your gun, let's say you actually have to defend yourself one day... The opposing lawyer will have a field day painting you as some redneck gun nut just itching to kill himself a poor defenseless african american future nobel prize winner.

If you ever actually need to defend yourself with a firearm, use a stock weapon with standard ball rounds.

>>15908

A good lawyer will try to make you sound like a blood thirty lunatic no matter what you do. And any good defense lawyer would be able to counter such illustrations.

If you didn't break any laws then you're ok.

>>15908
That makes sense, but I'd like to believe >>15910 is right. Oh well, hope it never comes to that, but thanks for the info.

...and of course this turns into another fucking law debate.

If this is your first handgun, spend a little cash on some coaching. Even an introductory class can go a long way. Any local range should have someone who can help. If you're already proficient with pistols, and this is a model-specific question, I've got no advice for you as I'm not a revolver guy.

>>15914
Chill man, I wasn't trying to debate anything. I was just curious.

>>15915

I know. No one intends for these things to happen, they just do.

>>15915
It really didn't, as far as I can tell.

SAGE has been used.

>>15914

And what's the problem with people talking about laws? Laws and regulations are a big part of owning weapons, especially guns. Now I can see how a full on debate on the individual state laws can hijack a thread, but there was one post about a generalized statement that could apply to the entire nation. Chill out dude.

Getting back to defensive ammo: anyone try wadcutters? Supposed to have better penetration than HP with some expansion.

Get a longer barrel. at least 4 inches to be accurate.

>>15934

That's the biggest issue. With a barrel as short as the one in the OP, it's main use is for encounters within ~20ft.

>>15919
Penetration isn't really an issue unless they're wearing armor, and then you're going to want steel-cored +P+ ammo.

>>15961

"The critical wounding components for handgun ammunition, in order of importance, are penetration and permanent cavity.33The bullet must penetrate sufficiently to pass through vital organs and be able to do so from less than optimal angles. For example, a shot from the side through an arm must penetrate at least 10-12 inches to pass through the heart. A bullet fired from the front through the abdomen must penetrate about 7 inches in a slender adult just to reach the major blood vessels in the back of the abdominal cavity. Penetration must be sufficiently deep to reach and pass through vital organs, and the permanent cavity must be large enough to maximize tissue destruction and consequent hemorrhaging."

http://www.firearmstactical.com/hwfe.htm

>>15966
Dude, practically all modern ammunition can achieve that kind of penetration.

>>15967

Some loads have problems from shorter barrels.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/Various%20.38%20Special%20JHPs.html

http://www.brassfetcher.com/.38%20Special%20158gr%20Federal%20Nyclad%20+P%20SWCHP.html

Others, not so much.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/Buffalo%20Bore%20158gr%20%28non%20+P%29%20SWC-HC.html

http://www.brassfetcher.com/38%20Special%20Remington%20158gr%20SJHP%20bare%20gel.html

>>15908
I disagree with using FMJ for defense when it's legal to shoot JHP. Most police will be using JHP in their weapons so my advice is to find out exactly what the police in your area are using and use that.

>>15970

Not a bad idea at all.