I've been looking around for a new carry gun, and have been comparing a Ruger LCR vs. S&W 642. Similar weight, similar price, but I'm just plain partial to S&W. Now- I just found a nice, barely used Model 640 (.357) at my local gun shop for $400. I know that it's heavier (25 oz) than the 642, but I like the option of having those .357 loads. Anyone have experience carrrying the Model 640, and shooting it with .357s? Is this gun "barely used" because the previous owner found that it's a bear to shoot or too heavy to carry all day? I would appreciate any feedback.

Hawg Rider:

Happy 640 owner here but relatively new to handguns. 23 oz. of pure shooting pleasure, imho. Practice with .38's and finish up with a cylinder or two of .357's to get the feel (heh, heh) of the heftier cartridge. The short barrel makes for a good flash and hefty felt recoil with the .357 cartridge but it is not a punishing gun to shoot.

Grip on the 640 and grips (rubber, wood) are important and so is ammo choice (125 grain vs. 158 grain and what's in between, manufacturer, etc.). I am not experienced enough to give you hard advice, just my opinion, but if you run a search while you wait for the pros to reply, you will find many threads on this great J-frame.

Carrying is comfy: pocket carry in a D.M. Bullard holster and IWB carry in a Tucker holster. You have many, many holster choices. Poke around the Concealed Carry forum here and you will find lotsa good info. For pocket carry, I always know I have the 640 in there but it does not tug my trousers down to my knees. A gun belt is highly recommended particularly for IWB or OWB carry.

HTH,

Chris

p.s.--The price is a steal. I would pick up that little feller ASAP.

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/at least she finds me handy.

OK, I have both of those guns. Both without an internal lock. They are my favorite carry guns, and they both serve a purpose.

If I'm going lean, then I stick the 642 in my pocket using a Simply Rugged pocket protector and a speed strip carrying 5 extra rounds of Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel .38 +P.

If I've got a good cover-up shirt on, then I carry the 640-1 in a Simply Rugged pancake holster on my belt, along with an orange Tuff Products 5-round speed strip holding Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel .357 Magnum.

The 640 has a slightly larger grip (I'm talking about the original grips that came on the guns) and I can get my pinky on there...it also covers the back strap. The 642 is a tiny boot grip that does not cover the back strap. I find the 642 with .38+P kicks much, much harder than the 640-1 with .357 Magnum. My favorite gun of all time, for carry, looks, size, is the 640-1 and I'll never sell mine. I think it is perfect. However, the 642 also has it's place when I need something in my front pants pocket...I've never tried carrying the 640-1 that way, but I imagine it would be slightly too heavy for pocket carry. They both have their place.

I've been considering getting Crimson Trace grips, but have not gone that route yet. Both guns shoot to point of aim, and I am more accurate with the 640-1. The 642 does fine very close (i.e., 7 yards), but gets less accurate past that.

I didn't address the LCR that you mentioned...I hear that is a great gun with a smooth trigger, but I've got zero experience with it.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...YRUGGED001.jpg

Good luck, B

I think you will be well served with either, but in my opinion if you are looking for concealed carry in a small package, go light.

I own a M642, it is a great gun and I carry it in a Milt Sparks pocket holster, the weight is perfect for this method. It does not cause you pants pocket to sag and does not print. Any heavier I will be going with a bigger gun, typically my Kimber Lwt Compact, at 27 oz unloaded it disappears with strong side hip carry.

Good luck with your choice, that is half the fun of buy guns. 2Guns

Great advice found here, Hawg Rider.

I've had a full weight snubby .38 for a dozen years or so. I've pocket carried it in an Uncle Mikes holster quite a bit. My family takes routine trips to visit friends and family...7hr interstate drive. I can't tell you how reassuring this gun has been on these trips. Slip it in my pocket when taking pit stops for fuel & food. Sometimes the interstate exits are not in great spots.

It's also been in my pocket on many deer hunts and dispactched numerous snakes. I've carried it with two snake shot rounds followed by 3 defense loads.

I say all that to say this....as of last Friday this gun has been replaced as a pocket carry weapon.

I picked up a new "no-lock" Airweight 442. This 15oz wonder is soooo much easier as a pocket carry. I'm currently using a Desantis Nemesis. I can't stress to you how much easier this gun is. You slide it in your pocket and forget about it. I need to give it a good range session first, to ensure it's a solid shooter.

MO mule is so right when he said the heavier steel guns will tug your pants down.

If you do go with a heavier steel framed gun then make sure you get belt holster of some type. That'd be the best way.

Love my 640-1. As stated above, there are several 357 rounds on the market that don't quite have all the bark and felt recoil of full house stuff. I find 357 Golden Sabers to be a good round for mine. I do pocket carry it occasionally, but prefer iwb due to it's weight. I'll be scooping up a no lock 642/442 as soon as the right deal comes along to take over pocket duty, but I don't plan on getting rid of the 640.

I have both, you need the correct grips.The little magnas hurt.

if you plan to pocket carry, go with the 642. if this is a belt gun, get the 640. all depends on your method of carry, really. the price for the 640 is quite low.

I pocket carry a 640 and while it sometimes gets heavy it's still manageable and carries well. I've carried a 642 before and while it is lighter I prefer the heavier 640 when shooting. I always wear a belt so carrying the 640 is not a problem for me. That's a good price on the 640 also if I were you I would buy it and try it out. If it doesn't work for you then I'm sure you can get your money out of it.

A 640-1 would sure be nice.....

+1 on the 640, especially with Barami Hip grips.

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Ignored facts still exist.

If you're going to pocket carry, get the 642. If you're going to belt carry, get the 640.

p.s. It's highly likely that you will not use .357's.

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Centennial Every Day

I agree, except that for belt carry I can go with a Glock 19 that weights just a fraction more than my 640 but is a lot more effective.

Others disagree, but i don't see the place for an all steel snubby today when plastic guns are so small/light/effective.

I often carry my Model 642 in a pocket holster. Personally I would shy away from a imilar gun in 357 Magnum - a bit too nuch muzzle flash and noise. Most of the time I have opted to carry my Kahr PM-9 in a pocket holster - 7 rounds of 9mm in a tiny package.

I have a pair of 640-3 357's. No air-weights, titanium's, etc, here. Recoil in the super light weights just doesn't work for me.



Both are ported for muzzle control. I can shoot both very well.

BTW, I only carry the one with gold trim when I am wearing gold ear rings. :-)

Why not buy them both. Then you can have the best of both worlds.
Provided you have the bucks for both guns.

The real issue here is the difference in weight and the suitability for CC. As others have said, the 640 can be carried, with a little possible inconvenience because it is heavier. I don't own a lightweight, but have fired them. The 640 is much easier to shoot, and I have not found +P uncomfortable, nor have I found the .357 Golden Saber particularly daunting (although I would not choose a long range session with .357 cartridges). If you want to shoot +P or above, the 640 is the logical choice, and from what I have read, it will go on forever. It is probably best carried on a belt, but that is not a big issue for me. I have found it to have outstanding accuracy at ranges from 10 to 35 yards. My best groups seem to have been with Hornaday 125 gr. cartridges. I can't say enough good things about it.

agree 100% that if you're carrying it on a belt, i want more capacity than 5 rounds. i used to own a ruger sp101 with 3 inch barrel. great little gun, but almost as heavy as my 3" 686+... sold the sp101, absolutely no regrets.

At $400, a nice barely used 640-1 is hard to find. Add $100 + and that's what I paid for mine. I haven't tried 357's but the 38's aren't too bad with big grips. Personally I agree with the other comments regarding it being too heavy for pocket carry. Mine is carried in a quality thick leather OWB holster specifically molded for the J frame model. Don't forget a thick leather belt if using the OWB option.

A good 640-1 is a steal at $400. $475-$550 is the going rate around here.

While I agree that the steel J-Magnums are on the heavy side for pocket carry, it can be done with the right holster and belt. I use an Andrews pocket holster supported by a horsehide garrison-style belt of 1.75" width. With this rig there's no problem lugging the 640-1 even on 2-mile walks with my dogs.

In my opinion the more pressing issue with pocket carry of a J-Magnum is the additional length of the frame and barrel, which depending on the depth of your pants pockets can result in the grip peeking out. Also, while seated the gun can sometimes ride up and reveal the grip. I've found this to be less of a concern with the shorter .38 J-frames, but a long shirt goes a long way towards eliminating the problem. As others have pointed out, carrying the 640-1 on a belt is absolutely no problem though some would prefer a higher-capacity auto for belt carry.

I guess the original question of 640 vs. 642 really depends on its intended use. If one desires .357 power in a small package, it's not too hard to work around the additional weight of the 640-1 particularly with belt carry. If .38 is the preferred carry round, the enhanced comfort of carrying the lighter Airweight is worth the additional recoil when firing +Ps. I have both and that's what I recommend to those who can afford it, but I'm finding that the weight of the 640-1 gets easier to bear the more often I carry it. For the extremely recoil-sensitive I'd say the no-dash .38 640 is best as its shorter frame and barrel make it more concealable than the 640-1 and its successors, especially for pocket carry.

My first post here was on these two firearms. I just got the 642 about a month ago. It is an excellent firearm and the weight is nothing. I've carried Glocks for years now, and they're light as well but nothing compared to the 642 at 15oz.

Having said that, I plan on picking up a 640 this Saturday. It is NIB at $460 with both styles of grips. I'm very happy about this as well. My first off-duty was a .357 and now 20 years later I've come full circle.

In regards to ammo, as I mentioned in my other thread, I've heard really good things on the Speer GD SB loads particularly in .38+P. I believe both the .38 and .357 rounds are 135 grain which should allow either to hit right at or very close to POA as these snubbies are usually best with the heavier bullets i.e. 158 grain.

I understand and appreciate the comments on carrying the lighter high capacity semi-autos. The majority of my career was with a revolver i.e. a S&W 64 .38 Special. Great gun. Then we went to the Beretta 9mm and now we use the Glock 21 .45ACP. All great firearms. My off-duty carry somewhat mirrored this as well in that I started off with revolvers and then went with semi-autos. In my case I really had to for many years as I taught in the Academies and most local agencies either used Beretta or Glock.

These days I don't teach firearms much anymore, at least in an Academy or in-service setting. And I just like the revolver for its simplicity. I've had to draw my sidearm four times now in my 20 years. I've learned that under duress, simple is simply best. That is why I've gone back to revolvers for my personal off-duty carry.

If one is to carry a semi-auto though, no problem. But please do the following for your own benefit;

Make sure you can clear any type of malfunction that may occur such as a stove-pipe, FTF (failure to feed), FTE (failure to eject) or double feed. Especially under duress, which you'll be under in a real world altercation. Make sure you can do so fluently and without hesitiation.

Make sure you know how to fire with either hand, as your primary hand may be injured or busy with some other function. Some folks tend to limp-wrist with the 'reactionary' hand if they've never used it to fire the weapon.

Make sure you know how to cycle the slide manually, with either hand....or without using your hands at all!

Make sure you know how to load with either hand fluently.

Just a few tid-bits to consider.

My advice on the 642 vs. 640...both If you can afford them.

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Stay safe

I agree completely with your post about the simplicity of the revolver. I've had fte's with semi's and even with practice in non stress situation, they are time consuming to clear. Revolver is safer. I have both the 640, 642 and 442. Excellent guns. I use plus p in the 640 and standard pressure in the 642/442. Incredible guns for pocket carry and the 640 I carry IWB in an MTR leather holster. Easy to carry that way. I have a shield 9mm and a Glock 9mm model 19. Great guns but I trust the revolver more..


That's just me and old revolver guy.

Does anyone have the 642 Performance Center? Just curious how the finish holds up over time with daily carry?

Also is it a true performance center? With the PC logo on the frame?

Another "get both" vote, but we all know that isn't alway practical.

I've knuckled under and now own both (don't tell my wife)... Both of mine are "no lock" versions --- 642-1 & 640-1 Pro Series.

The 642 has a unique role in my carry rotation. With it's light weight and small size it is my only true pocket handgun. I can pocket carry it in almost any pocket at any time with little regard to belt type or type of pants/shorts. With +P ammo this little 38 stings my hands and definately isn't an "all afternoon range gun". The slick, hard Altmont boot grips don't help much with recoil, but they make for a snag-free extraction from deep in my pocket.

My 640 is in a blurred rotation role. With its weight I have regulated it to belt carry. Logic would say if I'm carrying 23ish ounces on my belt, why not carry the same weight in a plastic gun with three times the ammo and quicker reloads? Good point, but I'm hard-headed and sometimes I just want to carry a wheel gun. Since my 640 J frame is smaller and lighter than my K frames, the 640 gets the "on the belt wheel gun" nod.

I find 357 magnum rounds in my 640 are manageable, but some loadings are quite a handful. When firing 357s I get some extra velocity, quite a bit more recoil & blast, and my hand disappears in a fireball when I touch it off. Because of this I generally carry my 640 with 38 +P.

Some would ask, If I'm electing to carry my 640 with 38 +P ammo why not carry the much lighter 642? Good question... I do like the 357 Magnum option the 640 provides for those times I want the extra power such as in the woods. This versatility, along with a more pleasurable range time with 38 practice rounds are some of the benefits of an all steel J frame.

You will need to determine which role you are trying to fill when you purchase this next J frame. The problem is, before it is over you will likely want (read: NEED) both!

Let us know which you pick.

Edmo

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TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

Zombie thread.

Sorry, didn't check the dates...

Edmo

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it's always a good time to discuss the 640-1.

I really like both, but the 642 is quite a bit easier to carry, especially in a pocket and unless your looking at a fairly old 640, I assume it has the internal lock and that in itself would rule it out for me. Considering you can get a brand new no-lock 642 for under $400, I would be leaning towards it.

The 640 Pro that is currently available is No Lock. There are also currently available no lock versions of the 442 and 642. My 649 has the lock as you can see but it of little consequence.

Yes I am aware that this is a Zombie thread but this question gets asked so often we should sticky it.

My advice is get as many J frames as you can afford.

The J frame is the one style revolver that S&W is doing a really good job of making available without the lock. Let's hope that spreads to the other frame sizes as well.

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Accuracy supercedes Speed