New 642 finally arrives-what next

[Jeb Stuart]

Range day. Brought along some Winchester WB I had from a few years ago and Freedom Munitions. Gun was very easy to shoot. The trigger had a stronger pull weight than I thought when I was at home shooting snap caps. I think I will put in a slightly lower spring. That said, I was shooting nice groups at 10 yds. I shot 150 rds. Finger was slightly sore when I came home. Not nerve soreness but minor abrasion as if a small blister would form if I had gone another 150 rds. The loads I was shooting felt light. Have not shot any Plus P yet, but can't imagine it will be difficult. Today the gun was very mild to shoot. Easy to do one handed shots. Felt very good in the hand with nice balance. Need to get some paint on the sight.
So far I really like this revolver. Appears to be well made and very fun to shoot, easy to conceal. Down the road, will do side by side comparisons with my LCR9mm with targets.
Bravo to Smith and Wesson!

 

[Tallball]

I haven't ever had trouble with aluminum ammo in my revolvers, but once my friend bought some cheap steel-cased Russian stuff. It was extremely difficult to eject.

Nice S&W! I'm sure it will serve you well.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

Maintenance, just wipe the gun down on the outside
There are many you tube videos on how to smooth a J frame trigger; it is complicated but can be done.

Ammo? I shoot the same 158 SWC ammo I shoot in my K frames

The reason I asked about maintenance was concerns about the finish, and the aluminum. Just read that Hoppes #9 will eat the finish. Or at least that is what was reported. And from that report, the tech rep said the same. Just something to know. The Finish on my LCR cylinder had to be sent in twice. Still do not know what caused it. Yes, I will wipe it down, just like I do with all my guns and have been for years with Ballistol. .

 

[JONWILL]

I have that and the 638. Just be aware the aluminum frame has a clear coat on it. It can get damaged from metal objects.

 

[Oldschool shooter]

I have a cousin to your 642, a 638. Spent $70 for a spring kit and had some polishing work done. Trigger went from a not so smoothe 13 lbs to 9lbs and smoothe as glass. Well worth the money.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

Any new S&W revolver could use a bit of loctite on the ejector rod and the side plate screws.

Good advice and thanks, just noticed one of the side plates was already from just 150 rds of firing.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

Just put the Wolf #14 in this morning. Have to say it was perfect for what I wanted. Just right without sacrificing safety and just smoothed it out. About 8 .5 to 9lbs with Lyman Digital. I agree, I could probably just let shooting break it in, and that might be the way for some to go. But for sure, this was a easy project. I bought the tool that Walkalong had suggested and made the rebound spring removal very easy. Good investment as I will probably be buying another Smith and or adding and changing springs to experiment with. As many know, I love the Pocket guns. My Pico gets mentioned often, and this gun at only 14 oz also fits the bill. Great for concealment.
Thanks to all for all the advice and help.

 

[Sarge7402]

the 642 is a gun i want to love. I bought one and found i shoot it as well as the .38 lcr...poorly. It's not a snub thing as I shot my 9mm lcr and sp101 just fine. I think it's a weight thing. Even powderpuff .38 loads buck the gun. It's weird but even the extra few ounces of the steel 9mm lcr made a big difference shooting the snappier 9mm compared to the .38. I know it's in my head, but I just can't seem to rectify it.

I have slowly started to move back to wheel guns again. I'm thinking a lighter j-frame size gun is on my list after I pay off my Blackhawk. I'm sure a .357 lcr would make more sense, but I'm thinking a 442 or 638 will win out due to price. It would be a close up gun as is. Hopefully, I'll be able to get into reloading this holiday season. I've been meaning to start for years. I have literally a thousand once fired .38/.357 brass cases stashed around. I never threw them away because as a shooting friend of mine who doesn't reload says, "I can't bring myself to throw them away. It's like throwing away nickles." Maybe I'll be able to practice with the little .38s more and actually be able to hit something past 10 yards

Congrats on your new 642.

No I don't think it's something in your mind. Had a similar experience with a rossi, charter arms and S&W .22 snub guns. While the Charter and the Rossi didn't quite shoot to point of aim (the S&W did) they grouped very tight as opposed to the S&W 617 that weighed only half as much. I'm talking 1 inch vs about 4.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

I love the LCR9mm. It will be my main Snubbie. I feel I shoot it with complete confidence.Mild enough to easily handle 200 rounds a session. That said, the 642 was very easy to do head shots at 10 yards. I found the recoil actually very pleasant. Have not shot any plus p but certainly not worried about it. And as I said, I really like the 14oz 642 for carry. Not only the weight (3oz), but just a little smaller in overall dimensions. I guess some folks target shoot these guns. For me, it always fast action for center mass. Both guns to that job well.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I love the LCR9mm. It will be my main Snubbie. I feel I shoot it with complete confidence.Mild enough to easily handle 200 rounds a session. That said, the 642 was very easy to do head shots at 10 yards. I found the recoil actually very pleasant. Have not shot any plus p but certainly not worried about it. And as I said, I really like the 14oz 642 for carry. Not only the weight (3oz), but just a little smaller in overall dimensions. I guess some folks target shoot these guns. For me, it always fast action for center mass. Both guns to that job well.

You convinced me to put one of these on my radar.....and sure enough, saw a mint 642 no dash at the LPS today- and it's a 3" no less! From what I can tell these were only made for 3 years and are pretty rare. It'll be coming home soon, thanks for the shove!