S&W 642

[Cocked & Locked]

I'll try more when I have time, but I'm well satisfied at $359.

Nice little revolvers! I payed the exact same price in 1991 for the 642-1 pictured below. Carry it often!

 

[north east redneck]

Daily carry is a 442. Great gun.

 

[TimmyNightHawkMongoose]

The 642 is the perfect pocket pistol

 

[warrconn]

I had a 442 for a few years. Then I sold it, but missed the J-frame. I decided, just for a change, to get the 642 this time around. When dry firing (with Snap Caps) to smooth out the trigger a bit, I noticed the upper left hand screw on the side plate was backing out. I tightened it down and after only about 15 dry fires, it starts backing out again. Every time. Some people have recommended a drop of blue Loctite, others have not. My question: will Loctite just hide the real problem? Why would this screw keep backing out? I bought this gun brand new and it has never been fired except for the factory test round. Should I send it back to S&W? I never had this happen with the 442.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Never heard of that happening. Will be interesting to see if others have.

 

[straightshooterjake]

I noticed the upper left hand screw on the side plate was backing out. I tightened it down and after only about 15 dry fires, it starts backing out again. Every time. Some people have recommended a drop of blue Loctite, others have not. My question: will Loctite just hide the real problem? Why would this screw keep backing out?

A very small amount of blue loctite will resolve this issue. I would consider that to be an acceptable solution. I am not sure what causes some screws to want to back out, but it does occasionally happen.

If you don't want to use loctite, you could certainly call S&W. I am not sure what support will say about this issue, but it is quite possible that they will issue a shipping label if you let them know you are unhappy about the situation. However, I would still recommend that loctite will provide an effective resolution to the problem.

Also, even if they will accept the gun for warranty, I would recommend firmly tightening the screw and then shooting the gun a bunch before returning it. That way, if you discover any other issues, you could get them all fixed at once.

 

[warrconn]

Thanks, straightshooterja. Good advice.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

My 642 is rocking some Sambar stag these days.