[tango3065]

Purchased a new 637 airweight at the gun show yesterday, and I must say I am impressed after shooting it today. I was always a little scared of the idea of a aluminum gun but thes little guns are great, and very accurate.

[Josey]

My 637 peeled like an orange. I have seen two that had fractured barrel/frame interfaces. I hope you have good luck with yours. I suggest you use the site search function and read about the S&W 637.

[Steven1281]

Congrats Mastinson! My 637 is holding up real well, after a few thousand rounds and being my primary ccw for the past three months. I think this is a great little snubbie. Mine is on me from the time I get up until I go to bed, and I honestly forget it's there.

FYI, the rattle you hear when you shake the gun is part of the transfer bar safety - I about flipped when I started hearing it. Fortunately, the good folks on this board provided answers for me once again.

I took flitz to the barrel and cylinder to remove the dull finish that was being removed with cleaning anyways. Those parts are shiny stainless now, and I like it much better that way. The trigger also polished well.

[ruger357]

Mine is also holding up well after a year and ahalf.

[Josey]

The frames are alloy not stainless steel. Aluminum alloy I think. MIM parts also. I think S&W blew it on the 637. YMMV

[SnWnMe]

Gotta love those lightweight J-frame 38s. It takes quite a few rounds to master them but they're one of the best examples of ideal power and weight ratio. My 442 has seen a coupla thousand rounds and it's just getting warmed up!:D

[dhoomonyou]

thumbs down

I HAD one, a beast that tore itself up.

S&W quality STINKS lately. IMO

[Diamondback]

I am in the market for a light weight J frame and I have thought hard about a S&W 637 or a 642, but with all the reports of the clear coat finish peeling I am beginning to consider other options. One I suppose would be to look for an older model that was manufactured before this issue arose. Also I have taken a close look at the Taurus light weight 851. It weights 17 oz. , trigger pull is less than the S&W 642 and broke clean with minimal stacking, fit and finish is nicer than the Smith, and the Taurus is only $270 plus tax . New S&W 642's are on sale everywhere...and with the finish issue I'll bet there will soon be a glut on them on the used market..... so no advantage to Smith here in the resale dept.. While I know S&W has great customer service why should I buy a gun that has finish problems. After all ...these are guns meant to be CARRIED a lot and shot a little.....you would think Smith and Wesson would have paid more attention to the finish of these carry guns. I mean this as NO flame to those who own these guns and are happy with them....but from my perspective I think CURRENT Taurus J frame size revolvers have it all over CURRENT S&W J frames.....I'm not comparing the current Taurus 5 shot snubs to older S&W J frames. That's stupid !

-Regards