Smith and Wesson Model 640 no dash

[DesertVet]

The original Model 640.
The 38 Special caliber only ones.
Anyone else prefer these for pocket or ankle carry?
I have always preferred them to the air weight models. They are more robust and more pleasant to shoot.
Any chance Smith and Wesson will reintroduce them with no lock?

 

[JFrame]

One sits under my wife's side of the bed. Mine came with an excessively hefty trigger pull (maybe 16 pounds?), so I had a gunsmith tune it down to a butter-smooth 9 pounds. My wife liked it so much, she "adopted" it... It's definitely a GREAT all-around piece.

.

 

[bannockburn]

DesertVet

I'm a fan of the Model 640's not-so-distant relative, the Model 649. Both are great J frames for concealed carry.

 

[Beachcomber]

I like the S&W 640 so much that I own two of them. I have a 640 (no dash) that I use for pocket carry and a 640-1 for inside the waist band and belt carry.

 

[jdavis123]

I have a 640-1 (38/.357) also. I added an Apex trigger kit and a Trijicon night sight. I find that shooting any quantity of full house .357s can be brutal with magnas or wood boot grips. Rubber grips and .38s are definitely the way to go with this gun.

 

[AZAndy]

The "Pro" series 640 doesn't have the lock.

 

[JFrame]

Okay -- this has become such a photo-rich thread, I felt compelled to pile on...

I pulled the 640-no-dash out from under my wife's side of the bed long enough to take this pic (pictured alongside its ancient sibling, a lemon-squeezer Model 40 Centennial)...



The only mods to the 640 (other than the aforementioned trigger job) are a touch of red nail polish on the front sight (not visible in the photo), and the swapping out of the grip with the one that came with a Model 317 kit gun.

Here's a "family photo" I once took of my J-frames (along with a few NAA Minis)...

 

[John Joseph]

I'm a fan of the no dash 640.
I think I bought the first one that showed up in my town!
I did wish that S&W kept the grip safety but after all this time I don't miss not having it.
These are very accurate once mastered.
I only feed standard velocity 158 grain SWC through mine.
No sense beating it (or myself) up with recoil and muzzle flash for a paltry few more fps at the expense of shot placement.
Rubber Pachmayers work well for me.

 

[Gary A]

I have one also. I seldom shoot it or use it and it is like new but have no plans to get rid of it. I love the thing.

Edited to add: I understand not wanting to beat one up but I would not hesitate to shoot .38+P out of it should I care to. Some of the early ones were factory marked “+P+”.

 

[John Joseph]

The only mods to the 640 (other than the aforementioned trigger job) are a touch of red nail polish on the front sight (not visible in the photo), ]

Interesting you should mention this as one negative for fixed sight stainless handguns is losing the front sight in bright light.

 

[JFrame]

Interesting you should mention this as one negative for fixed sight stainless handguns is losing the front sight in bright light.

John -- honestly, I'm not sure how big a deal it is. It was a "thing to do" back in the day. Since S&W went to red ramps on their other sights, I figured it couldn't be a bad thing. It also seemed to split the lighting difference between a stainless steel front sight and a black one... FWIW -- I never felt a need to REMOVE the nail polish...

.

 

[CopperFouling]

@AZAndy is right about that 640 Pro not having a lock. I've yet to see one of the fabled beasts in person, and even gun stores on the Interwebs don't seem to have it. One day, one day...

 

[DesertVet]

I love the 640 Pro also

 

[DesertVet]

I feel the 640 Pro is a great little revolver but I still prefer the 640 no dash as it’s more concealable and I typically don’t run 357 in a little j frame anyway.
They are all great revolvers and my personal favorites as far as wheel guns go.

 

[DesertVet]