Need an opinion on a 642 s&w

[Uglyoldpoorman]

In your opinion would the grips that came on it decrease the recoil a percepable amount over the wooden grips shown below. Notice that the rubber grips do not cover the back strap along with the wooden ones so metal is going to be incontact with your hand either way.

http://www.snubnose.info/docs/m642.htm

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/muddybaldman2u/Sale Items/Ladysmith38S.jpg

WHY I AM ASKING THE QUESTION. The wife likes the 642 but says the rubber grips cause friction on her hand when she shoots it so we took of the Crimson trace sights and went back to the rubber handles that came with it. She says those cause the same problem so now she wants the wooden grips like the ones in the second pic.

I personally am ready to start the gun search all over but she has this love hate thing with the 642 that she wants to deal with first.

 

[.cheese.]

I don't think the wooden grips are going to help that problem, and yes she will feel more of the recoil.

 

[jfh]

If you or she really like the CT laser, you could consider the CT LG-105--the newer "cheap one." The grip material is a hard polymer, which could alleviate the friction issues for her. Here is a link to a mini-comparison of the three models of CT grips on a j-frame.

Jim H.

 

[MCgunner]

I don't own one, but it is MHO that the 642 is among the best pocket revolvers around, at least at an affordable price. The trigger is a little rough, but works and I'm sure will smooth with use. Only ones I've tried were new out of the display case. I'm not a big Smith cheer leader, know they're high quality guns. The 642, though, is actually affordable and is perhaps the best CCW piece they offer IMHO. Only ones I like better are the shouded hammer models that you can cock for single action, yet are immune to hang ups of the hammer. However, the 642's hammerless design keeps the lint out of the works and makes more sense as a pure pocket carry revolver. Really hard to beat it.

 

[spwenger]

Small-Frame Revolvers...

...are very demanding of the proper grip stocks. Women tend to be more sensitive than men to irriitants such as checkering. My own carry guns, S&W 640-1's, are fitted with hand-carved Craig Spegel Boot Grips, with the high-horn Centennial option and the "ambi speedloader cut" that Craig will only carve it you insist that the gun must be capable of being fired in the left hand (as was incorporated in his design for the Uncle Mike/Butler Creek polymer grips in your first linked photo. Note that those grips don't come all the way up the higher vertical section of the back strap on the Centennial, as compared to the back strap on the Model 36 Ladysmith in your second linked photo.)

Another factor that might be sub-optimal for a woman with small hands is that the finger grooves may not be properly spaced for thinner fingers. It might be worth trying a relatively inexpensive Pachmayr Compac Professional grip if she has particularly small hands. This open-back grip lacks finger grooves, has a very small girth, does incorporate a helpful spacer behind the trigger guard and just barely extends below the bottom strap, minimally compromising concealment.

These grips can be viewed in the photo I posted in post #36 at http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=336583&page=2. The high-horn Spegel Boot Grip is on the middle gun and the Pachmayr Compac Professional is on the bottom gun. (The top gun is wearing the factory grips plus a Tyler T-Grip.)

 

[Phydeaux642]

I replaced the rubber boot grips on my 642 with some old S&W round butt wood grips and a Tyler T-grip and I didn't feel any noticable difference in the recoil with the wood grips installed. Plus, as an added bonus, I like the way it looks.

______________

"Phydeaux, bad dog....no biscuit!"

 

[DawgFvr]

Agree with you Phydeaux642! I have tried every grip from LG-105 through original boot grip and nothing was as comfortable as the wood/Tyler set up. Easy to draw from pocket...easy on the eyes. Old school, in this case, was better.

 

[jaydubya]

I agree that the 642 is the best airweight snubby. I bought a 637, the hammer version, four years ago, but almost always practice with it double action. I won't use it single action in a SD/HD situation, so why bother. As for the CT grips, which model do you have? I had the 305s installed on my 637 when I bought it (four years ago), and am thinking about replacing them with the newer 405s. They have a little "shock absorber" up at the top of the grip that would save me a bunch of blisters on my web. The 105s probably will hurt your wife's hand most of all.
Cordially, Jack

 

[Robert Hairless]

Back to the question you asked.

Your wife's comment about "friction" is puzzling. Does she mean that the 642 bangs into the web of her hand when she shoots it? If so, there's a good possibility that those wood grips will be more comfortable for her. The reason is that they come up high enough to buffer her hand from the frame.

There's the usual culprit when people with small hands get battered by that lightweight frame: it snaps back into their hand, especially at the top. So anything that can intervene between the frame and the hand is good.

For that reason I'm a bit surprised that she has trouble with the Crimson Trace grips. It does a fairly good job of buffering.

An additional possibility is that she's not holding high enough on the grips or that her hands slip and/or shift position as she shoots, which can put the web of her hand in the wrong place. She might want to try a higher hold on the Crimson Trace grips and, perhaps, a tighter grasp so that her hand doesn't shift. The finger grooves on those wood grips can help if she just can't do it, but I'd try with the Crimson Trace grips first.

 

[bulbboy]

I changed mine to some badger grips from
www.grips4guns.com
I didn't notice much more recoil. They don't get caught in my clothes as much either.

 

[jt1]

Uglyoldpoorman - One factor to consider here is not the gun stocks but the actual handgrip that's being applied to the gun. The "friction" that your wife is talking about is the result of the gun breaking free of her grip and moving under recoil while she is trying to control it, most likely with locked wrists and elbows, and any upper body movement that might compensate for this is probably being suppressed as well. There are several ways to mitigate this. If the recoil is not an issue and she is capable of exerting a tighter grip on the gun it may be all that is necessary, These lightweights demand a really firm grip to control and it makes a big difference when the shooter is really making an effort to grip as tightly as possible. Shooting while concentrating on the grip only and disregarding targeting (safely) will very quickly show what is going on. Other techniques include a tighter grip on the gun to stop it from moving in the hand and allowing the upper body to move thus absorbing recoil through the locked wrists/elbows. A tighter grip on the gun and allowing the elbows to move and absorb recoil through the upper arms locked at the shoulders. If a more forceful grip is not obtainable a switch to smooth grips such as the Lady Smith Rosewoods you show in the OP and actually letting the gun move in the hand to some degree may help. I have found the issue uncle mikes boot grips to be a poor choice for me because of the thumb shelf molded into it did not fit my hand well and when I switched to the Hogue bantam it was a marked improvement for me. If she has large enough hands to use them the Hogue Monogrips are excellent as well. If she has really small hands a set-up like DawgFvr and Phydeaux642 have with the classic wood and maybe the Tyler-T grip. So find a grip that really fits her hand and try to improve her grip strength as much as possible. The bottom line is you can either overcome recoil with strength or finesse, and for most folks it's learning the right combination of both.