642 Club Part Deux

[davidconatser]

640 DiamondKote and 442

jt1 posted about M&R Arms DiamondKote http://www.mrarms.com/index.html and I was having a lot of trouble with sight picture in bright sunlight with my 640, so I sent it in.

Now my 442 has a big brother.

Thanks for the tip. THR comes through again.

 

[rdrancher]

Very nice! I'm thinking that my 642-1 will be getting a matte or gloss black eventually.

rd

 

[AStone]

Very cool, David. Me likey.

Please keep us posted about how you like it,
and the pros and cons of that finishing process
compared with selling 642 and buying a 442.

Not questioning or challenging your (nor JT's) decision,
just weighing my options.

 

[davidconatser]

Nem

It is a 640. It was bright shiny stainless steel. Now it is matte black and the sight alignment and picture are much easier to acquire quickly.

I still have my 642. Its finish does not glare as badly in the sun as the 640.

I like the extra weight of the 640. It rides nicely in a Mika, and I really do not notice it being significantly different from the 442 in the pocket; but the 442 is nicer on the ankle. I rarely shoot .357, but the 640 tames the Buffalo Bore +P and makes it easier to shoot longer and more enjoyably.

 

[1/7GRUNT]

Just wanted to let everyone know I finally got some range time yesterday! Havent been since April since i bought the 442. Took along my 65-3 and burnt through about 150 CCI Blazer aluminum case. Lots of fun.
With the 442 I fired 50 handloads I bought at the range that were no problem, those things stink tho! Finished up with 20 +P Gold Dots fired by the 5X4 method and was surprised by how easily I could followup.
Anyway thanks to everyone for the great advice on this thread.
A good word about Rangemaster Memphis, its a great place to spend and hour or two.
Wes

 

[1/7GRUNT]

Oh and before someone says 'this THREAD is WORTHLESS without PICS' I would rather blow my meager spending money on a new gun or ammo!!!
Cant you guys see the Polaroids I taped to the monitor???

 

[ksharp99]

New to my 642 - shooting question

Hi,

I've had my 642 about 2 weeks now. I have the CT grips as well. I've noticed that I seem to consistently shoot to the upper-left of center on my target practice. Any suggestions as to what I should work on?

I'm going to be signing up for some classes soon, so I know that should help, but would appreciate advice from any seasoned shooters.

Thanks!

 

[AStone]

David, thanks for the clarification. That makes sense now.
Wasn't sure from this photo which one had been finished.

Oh and before someone says 'this THREAD is WORTHLESS without PICS'...

Cant you guys see the Polaroids I taped to the monitor???

 

[djholm1968]

greetings from new owner & member

Hello, all.
Having read much of this thread, I finally decided that a 642 was the right carry gun for me and made my purchase yesterday. $429 at a local shop here in MN. Unfired as yet, but carried about (no holster yet) to gauge comfort.

Now, I'm a 1911 bigot, having owned 4, 5, and 6 inchers over the past 20 years. I'm sure they'll remain my favorites, but just too heavy for comfortable carry. I sold a .32 Beretta mouse gun a while back and was in the market.

After webbing for quite a while, I had myself convinced that a Glock 26/27 would be the correct purchase.....until I went to the range and compared a number of handguns for feel and weight. There I "met" the 642 and went back to the web whereupon I found this thread.

The enthusiasm of this group and the amount/variety of information made available is what tipped the scales for me and brought me back to revolvers.
I picked up some Remington +p and some Federal Hydrashok for starters, and will hopefully get to the range before a long muskie fishing trip next week.

My thanks to all of you, and if desired I'll post later some thoughts from a 1911 bigot.

 

[kostner]

1911 Guy Too

But my 442 with CT grips lives in my front pocket in a Kramer holster. The 442 gets to go to many places the Compact CDP can't go. Would never be without one again.

 

[308win]

ksharp99 - Within the previous three pages (post 2386, a little more than three pages back) you will find a couple of links to a diagnostic that indicates the poi effects of various breakdowns in technique. If you focus on you poa as represented by the position of the laser dot you will notice that your poa is shifting at let-off - unless of course your laser is misaligned which can be determined by shooting off a stable rest.

 

[tilden]

Question

In one of the links Lee had in his recent post on the Snubby Summit, one of the folks who reviewed the summit said this, "For example, I prefer the snubby revolver for pocket carry because the flat-sided autos are harder to grip quickly. The cylinder, being slightly wider than the frame, keeps the grip "centered" and easier to grab. Spend some training time working out the range of movement/accessibility issues. You will be surprised and it will be worth it. By the way, use dummy guns for this. We're losing too many good guys in training accidents with real "unloaded" guns (a topic for a future column)."

My question is why are they losing people in training accidents using "unloaded guns?"

 

[DAdams]

More

new soon to be irretreivable devotees.

Welcome to:

tilden
kostner
djholm1968
ksharp

 

[308win]

tilden

Cooper's Rule 1 - All guns are always loaded.

 

[rdrancher]

tilden

Cooper's Rule 1 - All guns are always loaded.

Well mine aren't, and if we all took Cooper's Rule #1 to heart we couldn't even clean our guns without breaking Cooper's Rule #1. Pretty silly imho. A bit of common sense goes along ways. Not a stab at you 308win...(not even a little bit btw.)

Make sure its not loaded, check it again, and once again (that's thrice.) Don't ever point it at something you don't want to destroy (even if you know it's not loaded), and practice away...and practice alot. If you're really paranoid, fill the gun full of snapcaps. Nobody ever got killed by a snap cap (unless they choked on it)...ever.

Dummy guns are great for alot of things - like force on force training and such - but my "real" guns work pretty good for my regular training regime.

rd

 

[308win]

For my part I will stick with Jeff Cooper - as soon as you drop your caution because you believe and treat the gun as if it is not loaded is when you are a prime candidate for a negligent discharge.

 

[rdrancher]

No offense 308, but

Make sure its not loaded, check it again, and once again (that's thrice.) Don't ever point it at something you don't want to destroy (even if you know it's not loaded), and practice away...and practice alot. If you're really paranoid, fill the gun full of snapcaps. Nobody ever got killed by a snap cap (unless they choked on it)...ever.

is a hell of a long ways from "dropping your caution."

rd

 

[davidconatser]

We had the Rule 1 discussion at the Armed Citizen Legal Defense Network Forum (http://www.armedcitizensnetwork.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=43 - a great organization worthy of support by all of us)

My proposal there for a "new" Rule 1 was:

Thou shalt not fart around with guns. Ever.


I think that is the essence of what Col. Cooper was trying to get across in a more refined way.

 

[AStone]

All guns are always loaded.

That's a very simple, memorable interpretation of a very important principle:
One should always treat guns as if they are loaded.

Doesn't matter what the circumstances are:
Loaded, unloaded, cleaning, holstered, in hand, dry firing,
at the range, at the gun store just out of a case ... doesn't matter a whit.

Treat the thing as if it's loaded. Don't point it at anything you don't want to kill.
Consistently, always, in every case, no exceptions. Period. End of story.

By doing so, there is no guessing game.
(Is this thing loaded? Did I empty it?)
Treat it as if it's loaded. Always.

Short version: To greatly reduce accidents due to human error,
always treat it as if it's loaded.

This is not rocket science. It's basic gun safety.

 

[tilden]

Thanks for your answers gang, and yes I am extremely familiar with Rule 1. After re reading my post one detail was left out that I thought was in there. And that is the people who where being "lost" were cops. I just assumed police were more careful than most and that I was missing something.

 

[thesecond]

Thanks to five, Nematocyst, DAdams, and many others for such a highly-informative thread. good stuff all-around.

 

[DAdams]

Yup

Quote:
All guns are always loaded.

That's a very simple, memorable interpretation of a very important principle:
One should always treat guns as if they are loaded.

Let me tell you all a short anecdotal. My friends and family, are always curious about my interest and love of firearms. Some want to see them but it is like wanting to see a train wreck. They don't want to touch or handle.

Others want to hold them, feel, point. That can happen only under one condition under my roof.

We go over the rules three times. I then show them (demonstrate) the gun is unloaded. I tell them that when I hand it to them they will do what I did. This gets into the mechanisms. They will demonstrate to me that it is unloaded. If they do not understand we go over it until they do and acknowledge the fact they are prepared to demonstrate to me the gun is unloaded. We proceed with the rules from there in terms of handling.

It is something I enjoy conveying/educating to the uninitiated or those who thought they were but really aren't.

Welcome to thesecond.

I learned everything of value I now know regarding revolvers on the 642 thread.

 

[Gideon]

Okay, I think I can join, again....

I'm afraid I got carried away

I've been researching the lock, no lock thing for a while now. Statistically you have a greater chance of being eaten by a great white than to go to fire your S&W and find it's locked up, however, I don't like the idea or the look associated with the lock. Was in my local gun store and asked him about them. Said he'd gotten a small number and they were all gone except one. That's what they always say

Next thing you know I traded my old 642 for his "last" no-lock plus he had a no name set of wooden grips. Gave him $150 plus my old one for the new one and the wood grips. My old one had been dropped on a concrete driveway (don't ask , it was truamatic) so the top strap had a gouge and the cylinder had markings. The clear coat was coming off the backstrap too.

I'd just been looking for wood grips and everything I saw that I liked was $60 - $80. I was VERY impressed with this set he through in. He pulled them out of a box. They're beautiful, the checkering is VERY crisply done and they fit perfectly.

Seems like too much despite getting the grips but I love the end result. Still, shame on me! Here she is:

God Bless
Gideon

 

[AStone]

Nice grips, Gideon. Good to see wood on another one of our lil' mules.

Thanks to five, Nematocyst, DAdams, and many others for such a highly-informative thread. good stuff all-around.

Thesecond, we're glad you've joined us and are finding the reading of value.

There are so many others who have contributed great stuff to this fine thread
that a full list of recognitions would be very challenging.

However, there's at least one other name that I must add to the accolades list:
our friend JT1, who offers up more great posts on technical issues
than most of the rest of us combined.

(He's out of town at the moment, but will be back shortly.)

I learned everything of value I now know regarding revolvers on the 642 thread.

DA, Sergeant at Arms, that's a wonderful testament to this wonderful thread.

I can't say that I learned "everything" of value about revolvers here,
but this [strike]thread[/strike] club has taught me more than other sources combined.

And such an awesome, respectful, fun bunch of folks.

 

[1/7GRUNT]

Well I always knew I wanted a snub but I would have never known the virtues of the x42 line without this thread!!!