The 642 club

[fiVe]

Nem, your poll list looks good. It might not include every possibility, but it is more than inclusive enough.

Thy efforts with yon poll are to be commended, Sir Nem. Henceforth and heretofore, proceed with thy quest and "publish" yon poll with our most grateful thanks and and heart-felt blessing. Thy service (and I really mean this) is an inspiration to us all.

 

[AStone]

fiVe, you always make me grin when you write stuff all regal and stuff like that.

Will get said poll published within a day or so ... (almost finished now with an unimaginably challenging two weeks ... ... Friday ... almost ... here ... must ... survive... )

 

[loplop]

I'm with ya, Nem. I put in 15 hours yesterday. Those days have been all too common. Going to pilot on a new corporate intranet, and it's been murder lately. I shot the snubbie horribly today :banghead:

 

[Matt King]

I'm game, but someone said we can only include 16 items in the poll. The list already has 16.

What to do, gang?

Maybe replace the 80 gr Glaser Safety slug (is it really an SD rnd?) with 130gr. Winchester Supreme STX +p?

How about replacing "home brew" with "other: please specify" and just tabulate the results from "other"?

That would shift the categories to the following:

* 110 gr. Cor-Bon DPX +P
* 110 gr. Federal Low Recoil HS/JHP
* 125 gr. Remington Golden Saber +P
* 125 gr. Speer Gold Dots +P
* 125 gr. Winchester JHP +P
* 125 gr. Buffalo Bore jacketed hollow cavity
* 129 gr. Federal Hydra-shok JHP +P
* 130 gr. Winchester Supreme STX +p
* 135 gr. Speer Gold Dot +P
* 148 gr. Federal Gold Medal Match full wadcutter
* 150 gr. Buffalo Bore hard cast wad cutter
* 158 gr. Buffalo Bore FBI +P
* 158 gr. LSWCHP FBI +P (specify brand in post below)
* 158 gr. Magtech Semi Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP) +P
* 158 gr. Speer TMJ +P
* Other: please specify

Nem, that is a very impressive list.

 

[jad0110]

loplop,

I've never fired a 44 special , but I think most agree that felt recoil is pretty similar between the two rounds. So is their overall ballistic performance. As cool as the 44 Spl is, 45 ACP is available in a wider variety of SD loads. So perhaps a "snub" 45ACP Model 25 is a good option. Also, I know that one day I'll get a 1911 in 45ACP, so that would make my reloading operation logistically a little simpler. I wonder if older Model 25s were made with 3" or shorter barrels (I'm more into the used scene nowadays)? Hmmm...

fastbolt,

loplop beat me to it. The 357 Mag 135 grn Speer Gold Dots might be a good bet. Like the 38+P, they were designed to be fired from a light-weight snubbie, so the bullet crimp should be tight enough to avoid bullet pull.

Nem,

Ditch the Glazers. I don't think they commonly used in snubs anyway.

 

[loplop]

That's exactly why I picked the 45ACP, jad0110. Commonality with my 45's. No new caliber and cleaning equipment, just pickup and go.

The GDHP's exhibit no bullet pull in my MP340. A neat round.

By the way, I received my shipment of 1k GDHP 38+P 135gr. Guess I'll be shooting that for awhile

 

[Taurus 2006]

21 ft. rule

sdl. Welcome to the forum. Thank you for posting that link. I think that everyone should read that article new or old shooters just to keep it fresh in their minds. Thank you again. Jeff

 

[AStone]

Crap

Just tried to post the poll.

I put in the text, specified it was to be a poll with 16 items, hit "submit new thread". The server hung up for several minutes (that's been happening a LOT lately). I finally hit cancel and tried again, but the thread was created without the poll choices.

Dammit. I've asked the mods to delete the thread so I can try again.

Technology is great ... when it works. :banghead:

 

[glockman19]

I've been anxiously awaiting.

 

[jt1]

The Poll is up and running now. It looks real good. you did a great job Nem - Now how to interpret the results?

 

[AStone]

Ammo poll is up ...

...and the wonderful THR mods came to the rescue and deleted the erroneous thread.



OK, we're off and running.

Curious to see what the results are.

Now how to interpret the results?

I agree: that is an interesting and relevant question.



Nem

 

[AStone]

...and with 5 votes in, 135 gr. Speer Gold Dot +P hold an early lead with 60% of the vote.

Story at 11...

 

[Fake Name]

The 686 club is creeping up behind the 642'ers!

Does anyone have a picture of a "well worn" 642 that they could post?

I have a 442 that is aging gracefully and like the charachter it has developed due to daily pocket carry. I'm curious to see what the stainless and aluminum look like.

 

[AStone]

Collecting data from the poll

Now how to interpret the results?

JT and others, after getting a few hours sleep (emphasis on "few" ; going to remedy that on Saturday ), I checked the ammo poll.

As of this time, 55 votes with 135 gr. Speer Gold Dot +P in a clear lead at ~38%.

Interestingly, second place is now occupied by "other" at ~22%.

(There appears to be a lot of interest there; 26 posts (we're on page 2) and 291 views already. Zoom zoom.)

So, it's clear that - because of the limited item numbers (16 max) AND because it appears that a fair number are specifying handloads, accurate data collection is going to involve more than just reading the results on the bar chart. We're going to potentially need to read each post and create entries for each of the "others".

So, to my questions: I'm far from expert about ammo, especially when it comes to reloads. So, I'd like some advice about (and hopefully some help) setting up those "other" categories.

For example, if two people reload using the same bullet over the same kind of powder but different amount of said powder, do we list them in the same category, or different?

That is, are we "lumpers" (few categories with similar bullets and loads) or "splitters" (lots of categories, one for every conceivable bullet, powder type, powder amount, etc. After a few months of this, that could generate a LOT of categories and make interpretation ... difficult. )

Also, should we try to summarize stated reasons for use of a given rnd, or just let readers of the thread parse those out on their own?

There are probably other questions, but I haven't had coffee yet, so I'm still pretty fuzzy ... )

Thanks in advance for your opinions about this.

Nem

 

[308win]

I don't think you are trying to create 'load books' so I would limit to bullet description., e.g. 158gr jhp versus 158 gr lhp and let the members parse the additional information. Otherwise you will be forced to create entries for powder charge (and potentially primer type) by powder type (This will result in a lot of permutations.) or to put some limits on the amount of data by specifying load ranges again by powder type (fewer permutations but still many).

 

[DAdams]

686/586

Here is a 686 Stainless and a 586 Blue L Frame.

Comparable to the 642 and 442 in the J frame.

I don't have any well worn pics. You can check the S&W Forum, I only get the hot ones.
Here is a thread with L frames including 686.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/530103904/m/7951057551/p/1
Lots of great pictures.

The stainless is mine. 686 no dash, CS-1 3 inch.

 

[acerman]

Man, What a thread. 105 pages.
Just wanted to say: "I'm also a new 642 soon to be owner and club member".
Can't wait to try it out.
I plan on keeping it loaded with the Corbon 110gr. DPX's for defense.

 

[fiVe]

acerman: Welcome to the club! I want to try some Corbon DPX, too.

 

[MassMark]

Ya-Hoo!

Acerman - welcome to the club, (almost)...You'll love your 642 when it arrives. I have been shooting mine nearly every single day! The indoor range is on my way home and as a member, I have 24hr access, so I often just pop in, shoot a box and head home. I'm addicted...Already plotting my next Smith and Wesson...

Nem - AWESOME! Love the poll! Thank you and to you all for a continued good read and great community!

 

[acerman]

Thanks for the Wecome's everyone.
Does anyone make a speed loader for the 642?

 

[SwampWolf]

Certainly HKS does.

 

[jt1]

acerman - Welcome to club 642. I think you might be making a very good choice with the Corbon DPX. We will see what we end up with as the poll continues. Don't forget to consider Bianchi speed strips as well as speedloaders. If you have not started yet I urge you to read the entire thread, so much information to be had. But, don't hesitate to ask questions either. Many times we all learn something when someone asks.

 

[DAdams]

Taurus.

I lived in Boise for one year and Parma for 4 years. Welcome from the southland.

 

[AStone]

fiVe, you always make me grin when you write stuff all regal and stuff like that.

"Regal" was the wrong word.

"Noble" was the word I was looking for.

Noble: "Great; of perfect balance and harmonious expression."

This is a "noble" thread.

Friday ... almost ... here ... must ... survive...

I made it.

Does anyone make a speed loader for the 642?

Acer, welcome in.

Check out these speedloaders for the airweights.

Here is the other option.

Nem, who is relishing the concept of "Friday"
(even if it is already Saturday;
at least, I'm off work for a while;
and the two weeks from hell is history )

 

[Stainz]

Nem,

In your longer barrel 60 quest, have you considered the 5" 60 (SKU# 162440 - MSRP $735)? It'd make a great front pants pocket protector for those good pants with the change-losing hole!

Again, thanks to everyone here - the new acquisition (642-2) was a steal - and the Mika's pocket holsters, too. Sadly, that 642 is already demanding more pocket time than my old friend, the 296. I imagine that will continue...

Thanks to Nem for the poll, lots of great posts there, too.

Stainz