Mini 642 Range Report
Matt: PM sent.
I took the 642 out to the range today. Put 150 130 gr. WWB and 25 125 gr. +P WWB rounds through it before I called it quits (my hand was killing me
). Perfectly reliable right out of the box ( I did clean it before I shot it), as expected.
This gun is difficult to shoot - gonna need a LOT more practice. I tried hitting a target at 15 yards that I printed out from my printer - and didn't even hit paper.
For comparison's sake, I can usually do 3"-4" at 25 yards slow-fire offhand with my CZ-75. As I got used to it, I started hitting more consistently. The gun seems pretty accurate if you take your time and hold the trigger at the point right before it breaks - I could plink range debris on the berm at 50 yards if I concentrated, so the problem ain't with the gun.
I'm glad I got the hammerless J-frame - it would have been very tempting to cock the hammer at the range, but the grip of the J-frame is such that (for me, anyway) cocking the hammer would be massively impractical in a real-world defense scenario. I tried some one-hand and off-hand stuff, too - my strong-hand shooting wasn't bad, but my off-hand shots were literally all over the place.
The recoil is sharp - like someone hitting your hand with a wooden mallet. This is a very poor choice for beginning shooters. I think the people who dreamed up the .357 magnum 12 oz. J-frames are either playing a very cruel joke or simply don't understand the physics of loading a very light gun in a caliber with more recoil than a .45 Auto.
The 642 carries very well - I need to get a pocket holster, but my 642's trigger is so absurdly heavy (I'm used to SA autoloaders, after all) that I pocket-carried all yesterday and today with no fear. It prints a lot like this, but let's face it - most people are so oblivious to what's in people's pockets that it doesn't matter too much.
All in all, well worth the money!