S&W 642

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Eh. I carried Model 36s, 37s, a 60, finally a 642 (finish peeled off) and then this 442 for years as back-up guns.
Finally, I had this epiphany: I no longer wanted to keep, or carry, guns that were not fun to shoot the snot out of.
The Airweights can be brutal, and there's no point in practicing with one if you're not going to work with the actual loads you're gonna carry.
I just don't care for the Airweights. I still have an old Model 36 and a Model 60 I like, but I've given up, for the most part on J-frames. Particularly Airweights.
Plus, now that there are such great micro-compact autos, there's simply no point anymore.

Smiths.jpg
 
Old Dog said:
Finally, I had this epiphany: I no longer wanted to keep, or carry, guns that were not fun to shoot the snot out of.
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Nor do I.

Old Dog said:
The Airweights can be brutal, and there's no point in practicing with one if you're not going to work with the actual loads you're gonna carry.
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Gaining and maintaining proficiency with one invites tendon issues, joint damage, and irreversible nerve damage. WHY??
 
Kleanbore said:
...Gaining and maintaining proficiency with one invites tendon issues, joint damage, and irreversible nerve damage.
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Sorry, but a person could grow old safely sitting in their recliner in their furnished basement watching TV 18 hours a day and invite all those same issues.

So ... why? I'd like to do something I want to do before I'm not able to do it any more whether I've done it or not. I think you have to be of a certain age to understand that philosophy.
 
wiscoaster said:
Sorry, but a person could grow old safely sitting in their recliner in their furnished basement watching TV 18 hours a day and invite all those same issues.
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Shooting a heavy recoiling handgun extensively will cause those issues.

Ask John Taffin, who can no longer do it.

wiscoaster said:
So ... why? I'd like to do something I want to do before I'm not able to do it any more whether I've done it or not.
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I know a lot of people who do not want to shoot an Airweight--because they tried one. I am one of them.

wiscoaster said:
I think you have to be of a certain age to understand that philosophy.
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I am 76.

If you want to do that, go ahead.
 
Kleanbore said:
Shooting a heavy recoiling handgun extensively will cause those issues.
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But you don't HAVE to shoot it EXTENSIVELY. If you're keeping up to speed with your pistol skills using some other handgun with modest recoil, 10 rounds a month to refresh your grip technique, trigger technique, and sight picture for a specific handgun is enough. The particular gun under discussion here is unsuitable as a range toy. That's not why I aquired it. I acknowledge your concerns as genuine but they aren't universally applicable to all cases.
 
wiscoaster said:
If you're keeping up to speed with your pistol skills using some other handgun with modest recoil, 10 rounds a month to refresh your grip technique, trigger technique, and sight picture for a specific handgun is enough.
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If you say so.

wiscoaster said:
The particular gun under discussion here is unsuitable as a range toy.
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You can say that again.

I found it unsuitable in defensive shooting training drills.
 
81725239_679932025874405_298558174770757632_n.jpg S&W 642 no dash.JPG

the top one replaced the bottom one to save a few ounces. they carry better in my pockets than any of my auto loaders bigger than a Seecamp or Kel-tec. winter time there is no substitute for one of these guns in an outer coat pocket, no worries or malfunction should the need be to fire from inside the pocket. Magnum'esk loads aren't needed, shots on target are. practice needn't be with the stoutest load you can find. to me the Remington 158gr. LHP +p is the stoutest load I care to shoot in such guns, and limited amounts at that. general practice is with lighter recoiling rounds to keep with trigger familiarity and point point shooting, finish off with a few cylinders of the stouter loads doing the same drills.
 
Kleanbore said:
Shooting a heavy recoiling handgun extensively will cause those issues.

Ask John Taffin, who can no longer do it.

I know a lot of people who do not want to shoot an Airweight--because they tried one. I am one of them.

I am 76.

If you want to do that, go ahead.
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that matters a lot in this whole discussion. mind you though, the gun still has the practical merits I mentioned even with light weight loads.
 
A S&W 686 7 shot with a 4 inch barrel gives you two more rounds .. recoils alot less with 38spl when compared to a J frame

But it doesn’t fit in your pocket ....

I don’t use my knife blade as a screw driver or a hatchet
I have a screw driver and a hatchet...
Tools .... tools have purposes... jobs ...
 
Buckeye63 said:
A S&W 686 7 shot with a 4 inch barrel gives you two more rounds .. recoils alot less with 38spl when compared to a J frame

But it doesn’t fit in your pocket ....
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The Kimber K6a and Colt Cobra have far better triggers, much better sights, better recoil control, and six shots, and they are quite concealable.

I'm told that the 5-shot Ruger LCR has a better trigger and softer recoil.

Buckeye63 said:
I don’t use my knife blade as a screw driver or a hatchet
I have a screw driver and a hatchet...
Tools .... tools have purposes... jobs ...
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I could not do any "job" sufficiently well with my 642, and I am not alone.

I initially thought i liked it, but I came to dislike it for shooting and for SD carry.
 
Kleanbore said:
The Kimber K6a and Colt Cobra have far better triggers, much better sights, better recoil control, and six shots, and they are quite concealable.

I'm told that the 5-shot Ruger LCR has a better trigger and softer recoil.

I could not do any "job" sufficiently well with my 642, and I am not alone.

I initially thought i liked it, but I came to dislike it for shooting and for SD carry.
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I find the triggers on my LCR357 & LCR327 to be nice
But they are not J framed size .. the frames on the LCR are more Colt D , Charter Bulldog , SP101 size ..
and the Kimber K6a? and Colt Cobra are not
J frame size ...

Im getting the 642 as a BUG .... pocket carry .. or jacket pocket carry

I own 2 LCRs , Charter Bulldog frames 2 in 44, one in 40 S&W & one 6 shot 38 .. also a 856UL
My bases are covered in D frame sized revolvers
 
Kleanbore said:
Awfully close--no practical difference that I can see unless you are making a fitted case for it.
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Only D frame I can almost comfortably carry in my front pocket is my Charter Boomer ... not any of my LCR’s or other D frame sized revolvers I mentioned above

E9788044-FE8E-467C-93E5-A062B3B128CF.jpeg
 
Im getting the 642 as a BUG .... pocket carry .. or jacket pocket carry
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Interesting..a Glock 42 is smaller than the 642 in height, length, width, less weight. 7 rounds vs 5..MUCH longer barrel...just sayin;)
 
FFGColorado said:
Interesting..a Glock 42 is smaller than the 642 in height, length, width, less weight. 7 rounds vs 5..MUCH longer barrel...just sayin;)
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That fact seems to dismay people in terms of cognitive dissonance.

When I carried a 642 as a BUG, I put it down next to my SR-9c, and to my surprise....
 
Doesn't always have to do with cognitive dissonance or external dimensions. My perfectly well informed decision may differ from others, which is totally fine.


Just sayin'.
 
What I "am saying" is that many people have the idea that the 642 is very compact, as did I, and they are surprised when they are shown that a number of powerful semiautos with more capacity, better sights, better grips, and better tiggers are actually about the same size or are more compact.

Who would be "dismayed" by that?
 
FFGColorado said:
Interesting..a Glock 42 is smaller than the 642 in height, length, width, less weight. 7 rounds vs 5..MUCH longer barrel...just sayin;)
Click to expand...

Kleanbore said:
What I "am saying" is that many people have the idea that the 642 is very compact, as did I, and they are surprised when they are shown that a number of powerful semiautos with more capacity, better sights, better grips, and better tiggers are actually about the same size or are more compact.

Who would be "dismayed" by that?
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Isn't a G42 a .380? Is a 380 as powerful as a .38 Spl?
I get it that some of you are dead set that a J frame revolver is obsolete, and I do realize that there are plenty of other viable and yes, even better options.
I trust my snub nose revolver and that trumps any other criteria for me.
 
On occasion I'll carry my 642 in pocket. My PM9 is smaller, but it is kind of square, so it takes slightly more care to conceal in my pocket, and weighs a little more. Has the advantages already spoken for. But in particular when I wanted/needed a second handgun on my person, I did grab my PM9 over my 642. So there's that.
 
It seems one of the biggest drawbacks for the Airweight 442/642 is the recoil. I have said it before. If you want lighter recoil simply use lighter bullets. There is a real reduction in recoil from a 158gr bullet down to a 110gr bullet. And you don't need $1.50 a round ammo either. Just the normal Winchester or Remington 110gr loads in the 50 round box will be fine.

Some are comfortable and feel armed with a snub in 22 or 22 mag. The 110gr load gives you a bullet that weighs 3 times as much as a 22 caliber bullet and even if it doesn't expand it makes a bigger hole than a 22 bullet that is flattened out. I like my 15oz 38 snub and will carry it when I feel the need to have a gun in my pocket.

I have a Ruger EC9 on my watchlist. It would come close to filling the role the 442 now fills. I just haven't decided if I need one bad enough to spend the money for it. So far I don't.
 
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