S & W 242 7 shot .38 +P -- great gun if you can find
I bought one for my wife and for occaisional carry. She thinks it is too big for her purse, but she dodes like it a lot. (She just put a new Centenial on layaway for her B-day!)
I find that the 242 has become my default everyday carry for some time now. It is not a tiny gun, but even loaded the weight is negligible, and with a pocket holster, or IWB rig it is the easiest thing I have ever carried.
They seem to be very hard to find. I have heard that they were only made for about a year, and that some of them do have the saftey lock. (Mine doesn't)
It is a scandium ally frame with a 7 shoot titanium cylinder, with stainless barrel with an alloy shroud.
Recoil is sharp, and the manual says that there are restrictions on which ammo can be used, however, neither my wife nor myself have a problem shooting it. Felt recoil is on par with my blued 2" Taurus .44 spl, and considerably less than my "2 Taurus .41 Total Titanium with heavy loads.
If you can find one, I would buy it if you can afford it, if only for the collector value, as I feel that it will be at least niche collectable even though it is not a traditional S&W item.
I really wish Smith would consider making a new run of these every few years or so, as I am sure they would sell, and I personally would like another one so I could retire my current one as a keeper. As an aside -- at first I was very concerned that the various alloys an this revolver would show more wear than a tradidtional steel gun, an even though I try an take good care of it, I do not treat it any better then my other guns. However, it shows practically no wear at all, and I am very pleased with how the finish and looks of this gun have held up, and while it has not been shot much (Less than 200 rounds so far) it has been carried a lot, and is often put into and removed from various holsters. Barrel and frame show no wear, and fewer scratch marks than I had expected at first.
The reason I mention this, is that at first, I had expected it to show wear more than my other guns do. (It seemed very toy like at first, due I assume to the -- different -- finish it has, and the weight, or lack of it) But after having carried it as much as I have -- I must say, this is a serious carry item. 7 shots of 38, less weight loaded than my Glock 19 empty.
Dissapears in a pocket (At least if you are fairly large like me, and wear loose kakies or cargo shorts like I do mostly...) Nice for a coat pocket too, and an IWB holster feels like it is empty. That being said, understand that this is not a tiny gun. It is I think an L-frame with what seems to be a J-frame grip. It is a fairly bulky frame for the size of grip that it has.
If you can find one, this is a gun that needs serious consideration. It does have some drawbacks. Minimal sights and cartidge, sharp recoil, itty bitty grip, and larger than you think it is becuase of the lack of weight, but it has a lot going for it as well. Adequate power, 7 shots, reliability, and light light light.
