Took my new 642 to the range this evening.

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ezypikns

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I own two weapons that are a delight to shoot, an old S&W Model 10, and a new S&W Model 25 in .45 Long Colt. I love and admire wheelguns.
Having said this, I'm rethinking the 642. I shot about 25 rounds with what has been described as a 'granite' grip and it still beat the hell out of me. It seemed like the pain was getting easier as I went along until I looked down and noticed I had a large bloody blister in the web between my thumb and forefinger. My hand was numb.
Suggestions? A glove? Recoil absorbing grips? Punt?
By the way, I was shooting WWB 150gr lead, and not some +P hot load. I normally have no problem with recoil, but then I normally shoot much heavier weapons. This was my first experience with a snubbie.
 
What type of grips do you have on it now? Mine came with the UM boot grips and I can't find a reason to change them. They work well and aborb most of the recoil for me. I never understood why people thought lightweight snubbies kicked so much. They kick more than a full sized gun but I can't call it painfull unless you get past 100 rounds or so of potent stuff.
 
I'm thinking you have the nice looking wood finger groove grips ?

If so , change them out to a rubber boot grip style like those on the 442 , or 638 . You may also consider going to a 125 grn bullet , if the grip change isn't enough.
 
Standard rubber boot grips.

As I said, it seems that it's the movement that's wearing a blister, not the actual recoil. I know Pachmayr makes some larger grips for j frames, maybe that's what's needed.
 
I had one VERY briefly, but just couldnt warm to it. The UM grips were ok but I preferred the Hogue Bantams. No matter what though it hurt to shoot, especially my trigger finger, and Im NOT recoil sensitive by any stretch of the imagination. It just didnt fit me. So I shopped it off.....and unlike all of my other gun sales, didnt regret it.
 
My wife owns and shoots her S&W 642 just fine. She's 5" 4" and 105 lbs. For range practice she does wear a shooting glove. I shoot it on occasion and without a shooting glove and no problems. It does have the factory Crimson Trace laser grips on it which I think help.

The 642 is NOT a range plinker unless you reload and put light loads in it. Its a defense pistol and one of the best.
 
Yes it is not a fun range toy. It has one purpose in life. Mine has been my constant companion since '96, dead stock. This weapon is so easy to incorporate into your life while the others sit in a safe. :rolleyes:
 
shifty piece

Just conjecture, but as it moves or rubs inside the web area of your hand; perhaps your grasp, that is, positioning of the grip should be changed a little.
Observe the longitudinal axis; the long forearm bone centerline of your shooting arm to see if it is indeed in line with that barrel axis.

The gun centerline may be off center towards your thumb. It wouldn't take much misalignment.

Then too, it is possible that the gun vertical axis is tilted in your grasp.
In other words; the imaginary line from the center of the rear sight through the bottom center of the grip.

With the small frames, and perhaps your hands are large, the handle but may lie inside your palm, rather than alonside. Again, chafing.

Before trying other grips, you could remove some material from the area where the slipping occurs.

By the way, I always enjoyed the movies with your cousin Slim Pickins.
 
I got my blister after about 100 rounds. While I consider my 642 fun to shoot, it's strong (VERY strong) point is its "carry-ability". I'm sure there are tons of handguns that are easier on the hands, but as has been previously stated, the 642's sole purpose is to be there.

JMO YMMV

Regards,
fiVe
 
I don't enjoy shooting my 442 with rubber Uncle Mike's grips. I will say it's a challenge though and I do enjoy that.

I'll shoot 20 or 25 rounds each trip to the range to stay fresh, try some one-handed shooting, etc, but I'll never go through 100 rounds in a session.

I figure it's a handful for a reason, because it's also so light and fits well in the pocket. It's a purely defensive weapon and does it's job well, so I can live with a not so fun shooting experience.
 
I put Hogue Bantam grips on my 442. They are softer rubber with finger grooves and soften the blow. 125 gr makes the gun easier to hang on to. In fact I even find the Speer 135gr +P is managable. I also have a set of wooden Spegall grips that seem to let me get a good, naturaal drip on the gun.
 
FunYet said:
I put Hogue Bantam grips on my 442. They are softer rubber with finger grooves and soften the blow.
Click to expand...

Are the Hogue Bantams an improvement over the factory Uncle Mikes? They're a bit larger, correct?
 
Are the Hogue Bantams an improvement over the factory Uncle Mikes? They're a bit larger, correct?
Click to expand...

The Bantms are a bit softer than the Uncle Mike's stock grips. The Bantams have a palm swell so they are just a bit thicker but that seems to make them easier to hold.
 
I've tried a number of different grips on my 642, and have settled on a set of Pachmayr Compac Professionals which give a fuller grip but don't harm its use as a pocket gun. They are wonderful at absorbing recoil, and for even more you can get the slightly larger Compacts which cover the backstrap with rubber.

You'll find the rubber is a bit harder than Hogues, and thus easier to draw from a pocket.

BTW- I find my 642 to be incredibly accurate, shooting precisely to POA.
 
My daughter likes the 642 a lot

I took my 20 yr old daughter to the range over the weekend with a variety of handguns to try out. She has shot handguns off and on, but mostly rifles. She liked the Glock 19 and said it felt about as comfortbale as the Beretta 92 she shot for Air Force field training. The 1911 and SIG 245 were a bit much as was the Makarov with military grips. The HiPower was "OK, sort of" which surprised me.

What suprised me most was that she really liked the S&W 642 with 130 gr .38 specials (no +p). :) This has the standard rubber boot grips. The recoil was no problem, and she liked the heavy DA trigger. She said it helped her to learn better trigger pull. On the light SA pulls of the others she tended to anticipate the recoil and yank the gun downward. With the 642 heavy trigger she did fine. I wish I had had the GP100 with us or rented the model 10 they had in the show case. Looks like I'll be getting her a G19 and SW 642 someday...

She is fairly slight so it has nothing to do with size or weight of the person. I would check your grip to make sure it is not akward or too loose or something.
 
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