I was on a media workshop with Smith & Wesson at the great Silver Spur Ranch in Wyoming last week. Like previous trips, we used Smith & Wesson and Thompson/Center firearms. We had Champion Targets for sighting chores, Bushnell optics for rifles and some handguns and Yamaha Outdoors provided a pair of Viking UTVs to help get us around part of the ca. 55,000 acres of property. Our goal was to learn about product lines but we were also there to help thin out the pest population inherent to large-scale ranching operations. For most of us, our object was the White-tailed Prairie Dog. A rodent, member of the squirrel family, they're called "dogs" due to their bark-like chattering. There are limited means to control these populations as Spur Outfitters Operations folks aren't into elimination. They've rejected poisons for environmental reasons and the expanse is so great and terrain so varied, that various fencing countermeasures are of dubious utility and great cost. While there, I found that the media group brought a pair of interesting samples to this venue in light of our quarry: a pair of .22 LR snub nose revolvers. As I'm aging and more of my friends are becoming unable to operate powerful guns, I've been examining smaller guns as relevant defensive tools.

S&W Model 317, photo courtesy of S&W.

First put onto the concept by Claude Werner, Former Chief Instructor at Rogers Shooting School and writer of a nicely done blog, Tactical Professor, I've been in search of one of these particular guns for a few years. The other is more recent, but also beyond my experience. The elder of the two heaters is the S&W Model 317. This is the small version, sans adjustable rear sight and fiber optic front sight. It has a partly bobbed hammer, eight shot cylinder and a barrel of only about 1.9". Weighing in at a feathery 10.8 ounces, due to the aluminum receiver and cylinder, it's chambered for .22 LR. Sadly, this gun has been dropped from the line. The three-inch barrel Kit Gun version with adjustable rear sight and fiber optic front sight is still in production.

S&W Model 43C, photo courtesy of S&W.

The newer of the two samples is the Smith & Wesson 43C. The Charlie has a barrel of similar length as the snub 317, the frame and cylinder are likewise aluminum, but the M43C is made in the Centennial (concealed hammer) format - double action only. A large white "ball" is the front sight, backed by a U-notch in the topstrap of the frame serving as the rear sight. It weighs in at 11 ounces. Writing colleague and industry-good-guy from way back Dick Williams was at the event. He had a Model 34 Kit Gun, but had me use the Galco Royal Guard IWB holster for the M43C. A rough-out horsehide rig, the Royal Guard has a reinforced holster mouth to keep the holster open when the gun's out and it has a sweat guard. The 43C was a good fit and, even though the holster was a bit of a high ride affair, the fly-weight gun didn't tip to the outside. I'd like to tell you I engaged targets at considerable distances with the tiny guns, but I didn't. The long-distance award went to the M317 snub - 28 paces, fired single action from a rest, a head shot if it matters. As the rodents only grow to about 13 to 15 inches long and I seldom got to see the whole critter, it was all luck on my part. As to the double action only Model 43C, it also accounted for a few of the prairie rats and prevented their demise from plague or the ever present raptors. The double action trigger was easy to "stage" and the white dot front sight was a welcome relief from the satin silver front sight of the M317. The remarkable thing was that I actually got hits on fairly small targets, none at really close range, with very small guns, one of them working in trigger-cocking mode only. While I don't want to have to rely on .22s for self-defense, they beat strong language and bare hands. This pair of light roundguns can fill that need and, for outdoors activity, they're just plain fun to shoot. Smith & Wesson Galco -- Rich Grassi