The 642 club

[glockman19]

So fiVe, What does he carry?

 

[AStone]

Very cool.

 

[patsue]

defective 642?

I have a 642 I bought a couple of months ago. I like the gun but have only had opportunity to test fire it once. It was a kicker but I know I am accurate enough to use it for its intended ccw purpose.

The thing that bothered me recently was that as I was dry firing it, it seems that it isn't quite indexed all the way when I pull the trigger. IF I hold the cylinder with my hand lightly while I pull the trigger, it doesn't quite lock into place before the internal hammer falls.

I can then click the cylinder into place with my hand after the hammer has already fallen.

Shooting regularly, it seems to function fine. The momentum of a brisk trigger pull puts it in place right.

My guess is that it is just slightly out of time from the factory.

What does the collective think?

Patrick

 

[yongxingfreesty]

mine is perfect, I can hear two clicks and hold it before the hammer falls. or i can let it go after it is locked up. pretty cool revolver.

 

[fiVe]

So fiVe, What does he carry?

He's not quite old enough to get a CCW yet. He is into autoloaders and most revolvers (just not J-Frames), and milsurp rifles. All parental prejudice aside, he's a smart guy (got it from his beautiful mother), and I'm glad he decided to join. I am also confident I can eventually convince him about the virtues of the J-frame (and particularly the 642).

 

[jt1]

fiVe - Sounds like you have good reason to be proud.

patsue - Welcome to the 642 club. Sorry to hear you are having problems with it. I checked mine and it locks up on the second click of the trigger. I'm not sure whats going on with yours, but I'm sure it should lock up before it fires. I think you might get more info if this was posted on the revolver forum as there are some expert 'smith's that live there. This is of interest to me so I have taken the liberty of reposting your problem on the revolver fourm and we will see what we get. Again, welcome to the club.

 

[jad0110]

patsue,

Sorry to hear about your 642 troubles; what you describe is definitely not normal. I wouldn't fire it until you get it fixed.

I am not a 'smith, but I'd guess the cylinder hand is fitted improperly, not allowing the cylinder to turn far enough for the cylinder stop to "click" into place. I look forward to hearing from Fuff on this.

Give S&W a call, they'll fix it free of charge and probably won't charge shipping. They'll make it right.

 

[jt1]

Psst...JT, you need some lever guns ...

Nem - I might consider this one with a 686 and 642:

Model 1894C
Chambered for 357 Mag./38 Spl., the 1894C is the natural sidekick to the 357 Magnum or 38 Special revolver. An 18.5" barrel with deep-cut Ballard-type rifling, and superb balance, together with five machined solid steel forgings and a checkered American black walnut straight-grip stock, make this an extremely quick-handling little carbine

 

[AStone]

JT,

As soon as I get the 65 home from layaway,
1894C is next on my list.

I'll be selling an 870P to buy an 1894C.

(Yes, I want one that bad.

If anyone needs/wants
a fine 870P with low mileage,
send PM ... )

 

[Helstrm]

Just bought another 642. Found it at a local shop for $364.. Picked one up for my brother. Happy Birthday..

 

[AStone]

642 owner needs help.

 

[AStone]

Hey, here's a thought.

We've discussed the biggest, baddest, fastest, most powerful rnd for a 642.

What's on the other end?

That is, what's the smallest, slowest, least powerful rnd for a 642?

That would also be cheapest and quietest,
but would do for shooting varmints up close.

Especially if you wanted to shoot them out of an 1894C,
and wanted to be fairly quiet about it, but get the job done
on rabbits or groundhogs out to, say, 40 m.

Any thoughts?

(Of course there are thoughts.
This is the 642 Club ...)

 

[jt1]

642 owner needs help.

Help sent!

Nem - Maybe some of Stainz's steel plate challenge loads? Here's a good article on the 1894C, looks like a good companion for the 642.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_12_50/ai_n6275756

 

[jt1]

Helstrm - Hey, I think it's my birthday, yea, that's it.

 

[S&W642CT&G19]

I have two S&W642CT's and I'm considering selling one of them. LNIB what do you think it's worth?

Thanks in advance

 

[yongxingfreesty]

new is $372 + tax so prob $340-$350

 

[ArgosTCS]

Bought my First X42 today

I bought a 442 this morning at the gun show. $400 out the door, which, with tax at 9.25% in Nashville, works out to just under $370. I told the dealer I was glad he was willing to come down from $380 since Academy Sports has them listed at $372.

Anyway, I'm excited about the new firearm. I'm planning on pocket carrying it on a daily basis. As best I can tell, folks seem to prefer the Nemesis over just about any other pocket holster. I'm also looking into Doubletap's .38 +p as my defensive loads. Anyone have experience with it or have a suggestion for a better self defense round.

Finally, I think (i.e. know) that I want to buy some wooden grips for the 442, mostly because I think they are the most aesthetically pleasing. Anything in particular I should watch out for when purchasing these?

N.B. My first post on THR concerned advice on what gun to get for practice, carry, and fun. Well, the resolution I came up with was to get a Certified Pre-Owned P229 in .40 caliber and the 442. I think it turned out pretty well.

 

[AStone]

Important!

Paging revolver experts!

OK, folks, I'm concerned.

This thread about the 642 problem - an out of round barrel end - has got me concerned.
I'm realizing that mine is nearly as distorted as the OP in that thread.
Not sure why I've never paid attention to this before.

A THR member who's opinion I trust and listen to has stated that it is not normal and may be dangerous.
He's making a good case, IMO.

(To the point that I may have to cancel my range use of the 642 tomorrow.)

Please come join that thread, and if you have an opinion, please join in.
Would be particularly good to hear from O' Fuff if he's around.

Nem

PS added by edit: I just spoke to a handgun instructor at my range.
He thinks it's just a normal lands and grooves optical illusion, which is JT's opinion.

 

[DennisE]

My new 642 shoots well but the hole in the end of the barrel is certainly not near precisely round. Dennis

 

[fastbolt]

Well, I've just been cleaning a couple of my J-frames (642 & 649), and depending on the angle of the light that reflects off of the muzzle of both, they can both exhibit something similar to what's being discussed in that other thread. Never noticed it before.

If I move the guns (rotating them, shifting to one side or the other, changing the angle at which I'm looking at the barrel of the EMPTY guns) the resulting different angle of the reflected light can seemingly move the 'out-of-round' spot to another part of the muzzle crown, too.

Looking closely at both guns under the illuminated magnifying lamp at my bench I can see that the barrels' rounded front surfaces immediately surrounding the muzzles, outside the lands/grooves of the bore, appear a bit unevenly machined & ground. The newer 642 a bit more so than the older 649.

Checking my new MP340, which has the sleeved barrel, I found that it's still possible to catch the odd angle of reflected light off the thinner crown of trhe barrel liner and make it appear something about the muzzle is 'out-of-round' at some spot. Much less, though.

Then, checking my Ruger SP-101 I discovered that the muzzle crown is quite noticeably 'off-center', with the bore being located/centered more to one side than the other of the generous beveled crown. Never noticed it before, but then I never really looked for it, either. Never seemed to bother the inherent or practical accuracy, though. Oh, well ... what you get when you pay less for guns which are still good quality, but with less attention to finish.

It's my suspicion that this 'less-than-precise-and-even' machining around the outside of the bore is what's causing the odd appearance of the end of the barrels around the muzzles of my J-frames. Perhaps resulting in a bit of an optical illusion, of sorts. That's just my opinion regarding my particular guns, though. Call or email S&W for a definitive answer, especially relating to your specific gun.

The reason I'm not worried about mine is that when I hold both EMPTY guns close up under the magnifying lamp, carefully aligning the barrel so I'm looking exactly down the bore (which seems to reduce the unevenly reflected light conditions) ... the bores & muzzles look perfectly round. Both of mine shoot very accurately, too.

Also, both of mine have been inspected by a S&W certified LE revolver armorer at one time or another, and the fellow never said anything about there being any problems with the muzzles.

Just my thoughts ...

 

[north15]

My 642 came in Tuesday. I have been pocket carrying w/o holster until the Mika round cut comes in. I have finally found a compromise between what I feel is decent power and compactness, have been carrying a range of guns ranging from full size 1911 to a KT P38T. Thanks for the great info that you 642'ers have shared with me.
Here is a pic of my typical carry now(Fenix P3D, Collins design automatic, and of course the 642) along with the wifes 432PD and Sure-Fire (I guess she had the ideal platform all along Oh yea, can she be a member too, even though is 'just' a 32mag?

 

[fiVe]

Well done, jt1!

Well, some really good responses here. I have returned from the local sportsman's warehouse where the gun staff were kind enough to let me examine all the guns I desired and I spent an hour looking at just about everything they had. I can report that the only real issue of concern here is the lack of attention to detail that the manufactures are giving to final fit and finish of the guns they are letting out the door. Without exception, every J-frame I inspected (19 of them) exhibited the same type of deformation at the muzzle. I also looked at most all the other handguns and found that most of the revolvers had some degree of the same thing, but the Rugers seemed better overall than the others. None of the autoloaders I inspected had any deformation at all. While all this was going on a nice little crowd of folks started to assemble at the gun counter as all the gun clerks, the store manager, and I had just about every handgun in the place lined up on the counter and we are all staring down the barrel of these guns. After it was explained what we were doing and why we started to get help and opinions from the 10 or 12 people assembled at the counter. The opinions were very similar to the range of responses we have here. Then one of the older gentlemen (80-90?) in the assembled group offered this: What you are seeing is an optical illusion, in the old days all guns were hand finished before they were shipped and the barrels were "crowned", nowadays they just send out any old thing that that looks like a gun. Stick a bullet in there and you will see, he says. So they break out a .38 FMJ and stick it in the end of the barrel and the distortion disappears. What you see are the little lines of the grooves around the FMJ and the bore is indeed round. Everyone is impressed and the older gentleman says the last good gun they made and the last one I bought was back before the war. I want to ask what war, but he turns and walks away, smiling and shaking his head.
What I really learned from all of this is that the old guy was right. I knew it was true to some degree to begin with but as I inspected all those guns I saw a lot of fit and finish problems. One had the front of the cylinder so tight it was scarred all the way around from rubbing on the forcing cone. A few others guns had the lettering at an angle and one was locked up and we could not move the cylinder latch at all. None of these should have left the factory.

I do think the photos of the OP being out of focus really exaggerated the appearance of his bore and he states that his looks more or less like the photo I posted in my first response. Based on that I don't think his is any different than the rest and is probably ok. I am not an expert however and would recommended to you mquaack that you physical look at a few other 642's and compare for yourself (it can be quite interesting). Good luck and you are invited to join us over at the 642 club!

jt1, you have gone waaaay above the call of duty here. Thusly, you will now, henceforth and heretofore, be known as the Official Firearms Inspector for the 642 Club. I speak for all members here when I extend to you a very heartfelt thanks (19 J-Frames!). Bravo Zulu!!

Carry on.

R/fiVe

 

[fiVe]

north15: Welcome to the 642 Club!

Oh yea, can she be a member too, even though is 'just' a 32mag?

Mrs. north15 is MOST welcome to join. Y'all come on in!!

 

[JMFred]

I can't imagine a gun store having 19 J's in stock all at once Most stores around here will only have 1 or 2 Centenials and a few with exposed hammers.

 

[jt1]

ArgosTCS - Welcome to the 642 Club. We are happy to have you with us. As far as holsters and ammo are concerned here are some thoughts:

Mika makes a great pocket holster and you will be happy with it. The Nemesis by Desantis is also a great pocket holster. I have both and use one or the other depending on the type of clothing I am wearing. The Mika is cut a bit looser and has a plastic strip that keeps the top of the holster open. It draws and reholsters faster and I like it when I wear tighter fitting and heaver pants such as blue jeans or the heaver weight dockers. The Nemesis holds the gun a bit more securely and I find I prefer it when wearing lighter weight dress pants or suits. They are both priced about the same and are perfect for the X42.

I am now carrying Buff Bore 158 grain +P (20A) this is a heavy loading with a soft lead semi-wad cutter hollow cavity rated 351 ft. lbs. @ 1000 fps. it is quite hot but it is manageable, and I think it is the upper limit for a SD carry round. The Buff Bore 158gr Standard pressure (20C) is also a very good round. Good power, low recoil and flash. Another popular round is the 135 gr. Speer Gold Dot +P, a very good choice as well.

I have no experience with the Doubletap .38 +p. For wood grips I saw that S&W sells the rosewood ladysmith grips for the j-frames and I like the looks of them. They look good for concealment, but I doubt if they offer much in the way of recoil management. I would highly recommend you read the entire 642 Club thread as their is so much info here on all your questions.

north15 - Welcome to both you and to Mrs. north15, with that great looking EDC setup it appears you two are very well prepared.

fastbolt - I concur with your assessment. You are right on the money. It's odd however that I found the Ruger's to be a bit better overall than the Smith's in the fit and finish department and you found the opposite.

fiVe - A new title, I am honored. Yes, it was quite a sacrifice spending time at the gun counter, handling all the hardware, having to talk to all those folks about about guns and such, but someone had to do it!

JMFred - This is a huge sportsman's store in a big metro area. They sell a lot of guns. Very few times have I been there when they were not making a couple or three sales at a time.