I've had and carried a 649 and 49 as a back up on duty, and another 649, a 940, and 442 as a civi. I now use a older M-38 as my always gun. I think the steel frames are ok in a heavy jacket pocket or a holster but if you are going for a pants pocket carry you really should have a dedicated holster. I have shot a .357 640 and didn't feel that it was too much with the large Uncle Mikes grips on it but the 158 gr lhp +p .38s can be brisk without proper grips or a adapter on the lighter guns. I decided that I'd rather have a gun all of the time than some of the time and went with the M-38 and 110gr jhps. The single action/dao is a bit over rated I think, decide which one you prefer and buy it, I don't think it should be the deciding factor some make it into. You can get a higher and I feel a more solid grip on the Centenials but in the end I just liked the Bodyguards better. Now back to the weight issue, you are going to carry half again as much weight in your pocket with a 649 than the 642, I'm short, skinny, and live in south florida, so it got to me, but I carried left front pocket as a leo with a sewn in pocket holster and after awhile it wasn't a big deal with a .38 M649, I think the magnum is another 6 ounces so keep that in mind. Maybe your friend would let you carry it around the house for awhile to see if you're ok with it. Either way, the j frames are a great gun and my original 649 is part of the reason I'm typing this today. mal