ORIGINAL: stalkingbear
The s&w model 442 airweight dao is the exact same revolver I gave wife not too long ago and she loves it. The only way she can 1/2 way comfortably shoot +P ammo in it however is using 110 gr +P with good bullet such as the cor-bon 110+P loading. Staying with a lighter bullet will lower recoil somewhat.
Yeah, the recoil really becomes an issue with the really light S&W snubbies. I had the chance to shoot a Titanium S&W snubnose .357 Mag a few years ago at an event hosted by a local gun shop and the regional S&W sales rep. They had every handgun made by S&W there and you could shoot 5 rounds through as many different guns as you wanted. I went primarily to shoot the then brand new .500 S&W Mag. Anyway, I decided to give that very little and very light (I don't even think it weighed a full pound), snubnose a try with full tilt .357 Mag cartridges... and I wished afterward that I'd have asked for .38 Spl. The recoil was BRUTAL. It made the 4" Model 500 I'd shot before it seem like a real pu$$ycat. By far the worst felt recoil of any handgun I've ever shot. Between the very light weight and the very small and narrow grip, it just plain hurt.
Mike