S&W 642

[Buckeye63]

@halfmoonclip .. I agree about the gloves for sure .. most of the time ,while at the range I wear LEO gloves ...

 

[Buckeye63]

Should have 642 next week .. Monday or Tuesday
Spring Kit Monday
Grips Wednesday
Hopefully will have dexterity in hands to install spring kit ...if can get them to work .. don’t want to have to wait till recovery after neck fusion surgery..
Ive lost coordination and feeling in my hands due to spinal cord injury..
Id like to get some range time before

 

[ThomasT]

I would shoot it first before you make any spring changes. One poster already said it didn't help that much and with the factory springs you can count on it to be 100% reliable unless you have faulty ammo.

 

[Kleanbore]

So what?

I was responding to a question.

Bane did mention stats,

 

[Tony_the_tiger]

I've had 642, 442, M&P 340, Centennial .44 special. 642 will serve you well.

Current BUG for me now is hammerless Sp101. You trade concealability in gym shorts but gain increases in control and power. Opening up the .357 platform a little more without punishing your hands.

Note size comparison here between 442 and S&W Model 19.



SP101 falls in between the two. Carries a lot like the 19 but without the hammer spur allowing pocket options. So you can see there are a lot of great options in smaller frame revolvers, in K frame and SP series.

Noting you have experience with the LCR I understand the j frame serves a different need and should be perfect.






I'm very fond of the 642/442/ and 340 series especially with Buffalo Bore 150 grain hardcast wadcutters or the Gold Dot 135 hollowpoint short barrel ammunition.





Let us know how it shoots for ya! Be safe and carry responsibly.

 

[Monster Zero]

I had a very similar experience.

Ive owned a number of 642's over the years, and still have one. Still shoot it a couple of times a month too. Mostly to try and stay on top of it, and to remind me why its usually sitting in the safe.

Ive always been a fan of S&W snubbies, and have a number of them, .38 and .357, and as much as I like the 642's, they have always been the least pleasant and the one that was always a chore to shoot. And because of that, the one of the lot that actually gets shot the most. 50 rounds is about my limit too.

I think something that Kleanbore pointed out about running drills with them is, or can be, a big wake up for those who have never tried it, when you actually try. Their shortcomings there are pretty stark and quickly become clear.

Ive gone through a bunch of smaller, what I call "back up/second/third line guns" over the years, which included the 642, and settled on my 26's for that role. While slightly chunkier, and a tad heavier than the 642, it also carries double the ammo and has good sights and shoots like a full size, even with the ten round mag in the gun. With a 17 reload in it, its basically, and pretty much instantly, a short-barreled 17. And I carry it in the exact same places I carried my 642's.

I still occasionally use my 642 for that third line role, mostly as an outer coat pocket, under my thigh or maybe on the seat or in the console, etc, while Im driving, or as a hand off to my wife, since she seems to never bother carrying hers anymore.

At the very least, everyone should have a 642, just to know what it is and what its like the shoot. Ive taken a number of newbies shooting who insisted that was the gun they wanted to get and carry. And almost to a one, after just one cylinder full, handed it back to me and said, "NO!".

Reality is a bitch I guess.

I had been having the same problem.

Back in my previous life, I could shoot my 642 with any non+p load. Several cylinders, and go home with a laceration on my hand, but hey, no big deal...

Now, not so much. I was about to just replace my 642, but I tried some stuff different.

I put a Hogue grip on it. I started carrying it at 4 o'clock in a holster. And, I scored some of those Underwood non+p 100 grain Xtreme Defender loads... My goodness, what a difference. Recoil was about half, I was able to shoot correctly again, rotating the cylinder around and staying on target as I drop the hammer.

I know some are critical of the "light for caliber" loads on the basis of terminal performance. Could be something to that, I suppose, but the trade off is that I can actually hit with my 642 again.

Only problem was they're pricey. But I've started carrying my 642 again and I feel better armed for it.

 

[shoebox1.1]

Buckeye may your neck heal super fast and well in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen

 

[Buckeye63]

Buckeye may your neck heal super fast and well in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen

Thanks Brother .. Odd thing .. the neurosurgeon was seeing me to set up back surgery.. then on a hunch had me to get a MRI of my neck ... my back is awful but my neck was horrible.. cord pressure... Im going to have a fusion.. to take pressure off my spinal cord ... and back surgery in 8 months

 

[guyfromohio]

After reading all the hype on this and other forums I bought a 642, and one without the idiot lock. I remain under whelmed. Since I don't wear baggy pants I can't hide the bloody thing. First time I put it in my jeans front pocket and walked into her office my wife asked if that was the new gun I'd just bought.

Dave

Do you use a pocket holster?

 

[Dave T]

guy, I've tried 3 pocket holsters - leather, nylon, Kydex. I'm told I need to start wearing baggy cargo pants to carry in the pocket. Good grief, I look bad enough in my jeans. If I dress any worse children will run screaming to their mothers when they see me. (smile)

Dave

 

[guyfromohio]

guy, I've tried 3 pocket holsters - leather, nylon, Kydex. I'm told I need to start wearing baggy cargo pants to carry in the pocket. Good grief, I look bad enough in my jeans. If I dress any worse children will run screaming to their mothers when they see me. (smile)

Dave

my 642 and a cheap Nemesis holster slides right into the front pocket of any of my jeans and dress pants. Shorts too. It’s not my preferred carry, but it works better when I don’t want to wear two shirts or a sport coat.

 

[AK103K]

What kind of pants are you boys wearing that have enough room that you can actually get your hand in there quickly, and the gun out even faster?

And thats assuming you even have room in your pockets for the gun.

Just trying to get my keys or any of the other junk I have in my pockets out is a struggle. Id have to be wearing some 40's style baggy pants with loose pockets to pull that off. I can hide a 17 and a reload under a normal sized tee shirt easier and more effectively than I can a 642, or even my Seecamp in a pants pocket. I can also get it into action a hell of a lot faster too.

 

[Buckeye63]

@AK103K ... most .. like myself pocket carry as a BUG .. not primary... I carry on the hip .. IWB or OWB .. I may slip a small frame jacket or coat pocket at times ... I like a revolver over pocket carry over a semi .. no mag worries...
and I wear loose jeans or scrub pants

 

[Tony_the_tiger]

Athletic fit relaxed jeans from the Goodfellow brand at Target fits my SP101.

I can get a 442 in regular Docker's khakis no problem.

Pocket holster from Robert Mika's (Mika's)

Also favor Crossbreed Supertuck for IWB.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I've only shot 125gn JHPs in mine----recoil is noticeable but not all that bad------but then again, I shoot full power .357s in my SP101 and they aren't bad at all either---it does have a rubber Hogue grip though

 

[Haywood]

You can’t pick a wrong J-Frame The no lock 442 is my favorite

 

[Buckeye63]

You can’t pick a wrong J-Frame The no lock 442 is my favorite View attachment 956511

I would have picked a 442 over the 642 .., if I had a choice ;-)

 

[Craig_AR]

I would have picked a 442 over the 642

Back 15 years ago when I got the 642 as my first EDC gun, I did have the choice. I went for the 642 because should I ever have to use it, I wanted the miscreants to see I had a gun. In low light with the black 442 (which I agree is a better looking gun) they might not notice it. That logic might be flawed, but was my thought process at the time.

 

[FFGColorado]

I like the idea of aluminum frame snubs, but I find the sweet spot for me is 16oz. The 13 oz alloy kicks just a tad too hard. Bumping up to a steel frame like a 9mm lcr or my current edc Charter Undercover makes them just a touch more shootable.

Still, the 642 and 442 are fine revolvers and easily pocketable.

Agree. Had a 642..first handgun after years of not really being interested..PIT-rear end to shoot, hurt my crappy wrist/thumb(thanks USN docs). Traded for a Glock 42.

 

[Fiv3r]

Agree. Had a 642..first handgun after years of not really being interested..PIT-rear end to shoot, hurt my crappy wrist/thumb(thanks USN docs). Traded for a Glock 42.

I keep trying to talk myself out of a 42. I'm a mouse gun carrier. Well, I guess the 42 is more like a rat But having a .380 with glock reliability and toughness that can fit in my jacket pocket made sense. Honestly, if I had more .380 on hand or could find it in the stores, I probably would have caved. Hard to justify it when my Shield 45 does the same thing, though.

Anyway, yes the lightweight .38s are just a tad too light for me to hit anything with them.

 

[sixgunner455]

I keep trying to talk myself out of a 42. I'm a mouse gun carrier. Well, I guess the 42 is more like a rat But having a .380 with glock reliability and toughness that can fit in my jacket pocket made sense. Honestly, if I had more .380 on hand or could find it in the stores, I probably would have caved. Hard to justify it when my Shield 45 does the same thing, though.

Anyway, yes the lightweight .38s are just a tad too light for me to hit anything with them.

Hang on, didn’t you start the 642 threads?

 

[Fiv3r]

Hang on, didn’t you start the 642 threads?

Nope. not me

 

[sixgunner455]

Nope. not me

My mistake, guy with a similar name did.

 

[wiscoaster]

You guys!! I came across this thread and it reminded me I didn't have a J-frame yet, but was on my wanna get list. So, you guys made me do it!! Picked up a 442 today at my local Scheel's:

View attachment 957136

Now I gotta get me a decent pair of grips to get a little better hand hold on it. Maybe like those a couple posts above. Or grips with a pinky extension. And do something to make the front sight stand out a little more. Amazing that this little gun with a less than two inch barrel is so accurate, but it is hard to pick up the right sight picture. It's a fun little shooter and I might make it my under-the-armpit shoulder holster carry gun.

 

[sgt127]

25 years as an on duty back up. Ankle. Pocket. Body armor. The only Gun I was afraid I’d wear out from the outside in.