I'm neither a gunsmith nor a metallurgist, but my opinion is that regardless of S&W saying they can handle a continuous diet of +P, it's going to cause accelerated wear over non-+P. Not to mention the wear-and-tear on your hands. So I do most of my shooting with standard pressure rounds, but whenever I shoot my 642-1 I make sure to include at least 2 or 3 cylinder-fulls of +P since that's what I carry.
I think S&W keeps it intentionally vague because there are a lot of variables. One Airweight off the line may end up going 5,000 rounds of +P before failure, but the next one may end up going 1,000. It'd be really hard to put a number on it.
FWIW, my first 642-1 had to be replaced by S&W after its hammer pin broke. This was after ~1,500 rounds, ~500 of which were +P, as well as 1,000s of dry fires with snap caps.
So, basically, just practice with it. Shoot +P if that's what you carry, but it'd probably be best not to shoot a steady diet of it. And keep up with regular maintenance and inspections on your gun. It would probably be a good idea to have a second Airweight as a back-up to your primary, if you have the means to do so.
Just my opinion.
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