Got my New TOY!!!

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SnWnMe

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Jul 13, 2003
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Inland Empire
S&W 442.
After 10 loooong days I finally picked it up from my LGS, SoCal Guns in San Diego. I was ready with my 17 and my gear in the car trunk so I immediately drove to the nearest indoor range and after visually inspecting the gun and appreciating the oh so short (for DA) trigger stroke, I filled the cylinder up and...

Loads:
158 gr Generic LSWC: Has a noticeable kick. Hung up on ejection
130 gr Win FMJ: Kicked less, relatively... Clean eject
125 gr COR-BON + P: I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat! Hung up on ejection

Comments: This is my first J-Frame and my first "lawyer lock" Smitty.This gun has a satisfying heft and looks very well made. The finish is top notch with no tool marks of any sort. The Boot grips complement the low profile look of the gun.

I didn't shoot for accuracy, all I did was thrust the mini blaster forward and point shoot paper @ 5 yards with 2 doubles and a single. Expectedly the "groups" were wide enough to drive the USS Reagan through but I felt that this was the way this gun was meant to be used. I did righties and lefties and then for S&Gs, I cranked up the distance to 10 yards...Faggidaboutit! Aimed fire produced a sort of group...about 6 or 7 inches wide! The gun shot to point of aim though. Elevation was a tad low for my style of hold.
To wrap, I loaded up the COR-BONs and after touching off a cylinderful I was glad I didn't opt for the 357 pocket blasters. I think the +Ps are at the limit of my recoil tolerance.

I only had 2 FTFs both caused by me during rapid fire. I didn't let the trigger go forward enough to reset the mechanism. Something training will correct. I think this gun is 100% reliable otherwise. The recoil from a 15 oz gun is considerable but I am sure that I won't notice it when my balloon goes up so to speak.

Despite my revulsion for the lock equipped Smiths I think they now have a place among my other toys.
 
I'm a little confuse too. Did the cases bulge to the point where it didn't freely fall when you pushed on the ejector? Snubs in general don't eject very well because they have a much shorter ejector. One way is to chamfer the cylinder holes and keep them really clean after shooting.


Anyways, congratulations on your new S&W 442. I just got a Model 60 myself with the idiot lock and with practice I'm surprised what these little J frames are capable of.
 
When you eject the cases, do you have the muzzle pointing up, down, or horizontal? You are much better off having the muzzle pointing up for a couple reasons:

1. Empties are much less likely to get hung up.
2. Unburnt powder won't get under the extractor star.
 
Thanks for the comments. What I meant by hanging up was, yes the brass was not falling away freely. The Win brand shells fell away cleanly with one stroke of the rod though. In all instancesI had the demi devastator canted upwards whilst ejecting.

I was expecting ejection to be worse given the diminutive rod but it wasn't. It obviously still slows down recharging. I guess I should practice until I can be certain that I will NEVER need to reload ;)

Yup, I also concluded that I'm going to need ALOT of 38 ammo to be good at this.

Oh and wife said the gun was cute. Hmmm... I smell another J-frame...
 
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