SW 642 Questions

First you do not need to worry about carrying on an empty chamber, there is a hammerblock/transfer bar that only moves out of the way when the trigger is pulled.....you damn sure are PULLING the trigger when the gun goes off since they come from the factory at about 112 pounds, yet strangely still much crisper and lighter then the HK VP70 but I digress....

Second I would HIGHLY recommend a set of Crimson trace laser grips. I know they sound like technology taking the place of skill and to be sure they will not teach you to shoot but if you already have the skills they allow you to get on target incredibly fast day or night. I was an unwashed non-believer until I tried them for real on my own gun....I have seen the light and that light is an itty bitty super bright laser dot.

As for ammo, I fall into the any high quality defensive ammo that you can put on target camp, but those Speer 135 grain +P Gold Dots for short barrels are rather nice.

Chris

Ditto on the empty chamber....no need to leave one empty due to the transfer bar set up.

I also second the Crimson Trace grip. They are a wonderful compliment to proper shooting technique. And, if you need to use your weapon under stress, "finding" the sights on this 2" revolver will be challenging enough. I can easily manage 2" snapshot groups at 10 yards with the Crimson Trace.

If you want to go with paint, I suggest going to the local hobby shop and picking up Testor's model paint.

I painted the rear sight, what there is of it, white. The front sight I painted with the white as a base coat and then covered with neon green. I found the green to stand out much much better than red or orange. This color combo has served me very well.

Fingernail polish works well too, but I have had great luck with the model paint.

EDIT: Try carrying in the back pocket. I was practicing drawing while moving and found that I was having trouble getting that little bugger out of the front pocket while on the move.

5 rounds is completely safe. Don't give it a second thought.

A good gunsmith can install a 'big dot' tritium or fiber optic front sight. Cylinder and Slide does both I believe...

For ammo, any good self defense ammo should do fine as long as you do your part. In 38 special, I prefer Corbon 110+P JHP's.

Fill 'er full.

I use a Mika pocket holster and they are terrific. There's a wait for his holsters, but they are worth the wait and as an added bonus they are very reasonably priced.

I have Crimson Trace grips on my 642 and I'm still not sold. I do see some merit in having them on the gun, but I sometimes get the feeling that they could become a distraction if you come to depend on them solely. If you can become proficient with iron sights and use the CT grips as an aid, then I think they are a good way to go. They are an electronic item and electronic items are sometimes known to quit working at the most inopportune time. They have shown me that I have decent trigger control and am pretty good at point shooting, though. YMMV.

I hate to break the news to the experts, but the 642 does NOT have a hammer block safety. The only reason for one is to prevent firing if the gun is dropped on the hammer and that can't happen with a 642 since it has no exposed hammer.

And no S&W ever had a transfer bar, which is a different item entirely.

The 642 is perfectly safe to carry loaded with all 5 rounds.

Jim

I hate to break the news to the experts, but the 642 does NOT have a hammer block safety. The only reason for one is to prevent firing if the gun is dropped on the hammer and that can't happen with a 642 since it has no exposed hammer.

And no S&W ever had a transfer bar, which is a different item entirely.

The 642 is perfectly safe to carry loaded with all 5 rounds.

Jim
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Are they safe if dropped onto the barrel? It's my understanding a free floated firing pin can gain enough enertia to strike hard enough to fire.

I could be wrong, I'm a 1911 guy.

I guess it might not "matter" since the bullet would be on its way into the ground. But still.

It will not fire if dropped on the ground barrel first several years ago Smith % Wesson shorten the fireing pins to prevent this I"m not sure if it was a real danger before that or not.

be safe

IF an owner were silly enough to drop his 642/442 on the muzzle and IF the pistol did then fire as a result wouldn't it be the first time such silly owner hit what he had aimed at?

While the inclosed hammer models do not have the hammer block that is installed on exposed-hammer revolvers, it does have a second safety that rebounds (retracts) the hammer off of the fining pin, and then blocks it so that it can't move forward. Dropping the gun on the muzzle will not cause the firing pin to move forward and fire. No, Smith & Wesson did not shorten the firing pin because of any such reason.

The basic design of the company's inclosed hammer revolvers that are made today go back to the Safety Hammerless top-break's that were first marketed during the late 1880's. They were made as late as 1941, and during that time span there are ZERO recorded incidents of accidental firing if the gun was dropped. There are ZERO recorded incidents of the current inclosed hammer revolvers - first introduced in 1950 - firing if dropped. It is perfectly safe to carry with the cylinder fully loaded.

If anyone doesn't believe me, call Smith & Wesson....

OK, the five-rounds question has been resolved, now on to the sights:

By all means, try the paint routine for the front sight; it can't hurt. But, back to cslinger's recommendation for Crimson Trace laser sights: I will second that recommendation. There are numerous advantages to them for a up-close-and-personal SD handgun.

1. they help teach point shooting, and thereby help train new SD skills. IMO, SD handgun skills are typically counter to what we have learned for more traditional shooting / marksmanship skills, and it takes a lot of effort--repetitions--to get these SD skills into strong habits.

2. They are helpful in dry-fire practice for demonstrating what kind of bobble you have in your various gripping.

3. And then, there is that FUD factor for the bad guy--e.g., seeing a laser dot, or the emission at the firearm. Personally, I'm not sure this matters, but if this helps drive SD non-shooting success higher, I am all for it.

edited to add: 4. They definitely help with "older eye" problems. Like you, I am older, and I am even starting to deal with "pre cataract" issues. Further, I come from a 'marksmanship' background, and they have been invaluable as a training aid for SD skills.

FWIW, the price you quoted for the grips must be the ones for the CT-105 grips--i.e., the hard plastic ones. Be aware these have a small diameter; with typically-sized hands as a "bigger" person (6'1"), I could not grip the them to reliably turn on the sights. If you have small hands, they should be fine.

Here is a link to a post comparing the three different grips CT makes for j-frames; it should be helpful if you pursue this option further.

About ammo: The Speer 38+P Gold Dot short barrel ammo is a favorite here; also consider the "FBI load" ammo--like the Remington 38S12. I carry both, with the FBI load in my M&P340 in the winter / overcoat time.

Other Resources: Finally, you may want to explore "the 642 thread" and / or the "M&P340" thread in this forum. Cruise them quickly; there's "in group" commentary in many of the 642 threads--but you should find information helpful.

Jim H.

The very light in-frame firing pin cannot possibly build up enough momentum to fire a primer, not matter how the gun is dropped.

As for hammer retraction, a bit of history. Most topbreaks and solid frame revolvers did not require that the hammer be retracted after firing. In fact, in many guns the firing pin in the primer was the means by which the cylinder was prevented from rotating backward when the hand came down across the ratchet. But in a swing out cylinder revolver, the firing pin has to be retracted from the fired primer or the cylinder can not be opened. That, in the absence of a transfer bar, necessitates a system of firing pin/hammer retraction. In the S&W Hand Ejector series, retraction was/is done by use of a rebound slide.

At first, S&W thought the rebound slide would act as a hammer block safety, but it was found that if the hammer were hit hard enough, the hammer pin would shear and a cartridge under the hammer would be fired. So about 1911, S&W put in their first hammer block safety; it was modified in 1926 and again to the current type in 1944.

Neither of the first two hammerblocks was "positive", since they depended on a spring to move the block into position in front of the hammer. (Colt gained a large competitive advantage with their "positive" hammer block, a fact they incorporated into the name of some of their revolvers.)

Jim

I would recommend putting a bunch of rounds through it at the range to get point-and-shoot experience with it before putting on a laser.

You have one of the best pocket-guns ever made, and one you'll never regret owning.

FWIW, I use a Blackhawk size 3 for front and rear pocket-carry in some pants (most cargos, jeans, some dress-slacks), and a Desantis Nemesis for some front-pockets of dress-slacks. I'm loaded with Hornady FTX 110gr in my 442 right now... I think I hit better groups with them at 21 ft. May be all in my head, but it's working for me.

Les

I have a model 442 and carry it in a Desantis superfly pocket holster that I bought from Midway USA.
I recommend carrying five rounds.
I too can't see the sights very well and bought a set of Crimson Trace laser grips.
I think they are well worth the money.