Easy.
Smith & Wesson J frame model 38 Airweight Bodyguard.
Why?
Hmmm...where do I start?
That's a big +1 on that one. Had an old airweight cheifs with spur years ago. That spur snagged on EVERYTHING. Had a centenial for about a year but just had to try the bodygaurd. Perfection! Best of both worlds and with the laser grip it's easy to hit with several yards out. In the front pocket you forget its there. Slips inside even a light weight jacket. You can even fire from inside a jacket without jamming. Ammo, holsters, parts all readily available (don't start with the "ammo not available" crap. you know what I'm saying). It's tough to beat.
I like my 3" Ruger GP100 because I can shoot it well. I can keep it under control with .357s better than my wife's 642 with .38 +Ps. Easy to conceal too, I carry it in the appendix position.
mine shoots less than 3" @ 25 yards
Smith model 640 .357. Its hammerless, stainless steel so it doesn't rust, and its plenty strong for for anything I care to load it with. I always qualified with it on the old CLEET 50 yard course. With 15 rounds (5 rounds plus 2 speedloaders) of the old Remington 125 grain medium velocity load I always felt pretty well armed.
Well I have two J-frames I like to pack around. Both are .38spl, and both are stainless steel. Both get loaded with 158grSWHP+P. One is the model 60-4 with 3"bbl and adjustable sights, and the other is a 640ND Centennial.
Sp 101 .327 Mag 3"
we were testing some 44mag loads and I put it on the bench as a joke.
I put 2 or 3 rounds out of 5 (can't remember) on a torso sized target at 100yds with a SP101 .357 resting on a bench. I haven't shot a gun yet that didn't have combat accuracy capability.
