Anybody have one of these?

Product: Model 640

Got two of them. They work well. Nice sights. I prefer my Model 10 snub noses better but they are nice revolvers. I strictly fire 38s out of them, and switched the grips to wood in case I go to carrying them.

Nice gun, but I wonder why S&W never shows the left side of the gun in their ad's?

__________________
John

I've had my eyes on one of these for a while too.
I don't know why the left side isn't shown on the S&W site. I have seen the left side in this picture:
Gun Library: Smith & Wesson 640-1 Pro Series .357 Mag. : Cabela's

I have 2 j frames - a 642 & 37 - and like the idea of 357 power in that same size package. Wish it was available in a 3".

I got one for three reasons: First it's all steel and the extra weight helps with recoil on my old arthritic hands. Second are the excellent trijcon sights. Third is that I really like the moon clips for rapid reloading.
Like many here, I load it with Speer Gold Dot 38+P for daily carry.

I carry one everyday, in either my pocket or a D M Bullard pancake holster.
And John R, if you are wondering, there's NO IL on the left side of the gun.

I also carry one every day, in my pocket or at my side in whatever vehicle I am in. I load it with Barnes 125 Gr.Tac-XPD. The 640 is very accurate with these loads and the moon clips are excellent for quick reloads.

__________________
Lonnie
SWCA #2803

I have only had mine a couple of weeks but love it. I have not carried it yet but have shot it with Remington Golden Saber 125 grain .357's, Federal SWCHP +P's and some home loaded 158 grain SWC's. It shot well with everything and is pretty darn accurate. The Golden Sabers were easy to shoot. I will carry it with those for now.

__________________
AL
Pax Per Potens

I carry one in rotation with my 32 j-frames, a 632 pro would be the ultimate for me but I missed the boat on getting one affordable. The clips are really nice for a solid ejection but the ones that came with my gun new seem to only fit into the cylinder when indexed a certain way and I would not trust this for a rapid reload. Nice to have the option but doesn't really get used here. The gun has good weight to tame recoil. It still hurts with a full power 357 as expected. The sights are the biggest attraction for me and it has been accurate with anything fed through it. One deterrent is that the 1/4" extra barrel length and taller front sight mean a lot of old j-frame leather won't work with your pro-series gun. If you like to buy used/budget holsters this is a major consideration in my eyes. I personally save pocket carry for one of the lightweight revolvers as I find the weight of the pro series uncomfortable in that application. Some wood or VZ smooth grips would be a really good addition to this platform.

I have had mine for a while now, and have written threads about it it before. To me this is the best CCW revolver S&W has come out with. There is no internal lock on the gun (something a lot of people don't like), so it is funny that there are not pictures to show this non feature on the left side of the gun. Here is mine, left side showing. (Has Spegel grips on it)

I see I am not the only person with snap caps loaded in moon clips. Great way to practice unloading and reloading the revolver through the whole cycle.

__________________
S&W Rover

Completely agree with you. It is my favorite S&W.

I carry mine quite often and keep it loaded with 38 Special +P ammo. I've found 357 Magnum rounds are not my preferred ammo due to the added recoil, blast, and flash. If I carry it in the woods I will load it with 357 Magnums, just not for daily carry.

Although heavier than the airweights, the steel J frames make for better shooters recoil-wise. The 640 Pro's moon clips can make reloads easier.

My picture shows it with wooden stocks, but it now is sporting Crimson Trace laser grips which originally came on my 642CT. The CT grips aren't as nice to look at, but they are better for recoil and the laser is a bonus.

I'll say the night sights are a big improvement over stock J frame sights. However, I find the dot size balance is off from front to rear.

When shooting, the rear dots appear much larger than the front... Just the opposite of what I want. I have modified the daytime sight picture by putting orange paint on the front sight post around the tritium dot. Now it is a little quicker for me to get sights on target.

Eliminating the white outline from the rear tritium dots could help. If I were on the design team I would have made it a dot-over-dot system. White or orange outlined tritium up front and a no-outlined tritium spot under the rear sight notch. So close to perfection, yet missed it by this much. Minor issue...

S&W will often not show pics of the left side of their wheel guns. It is almost as if there is something embarrassing over on that side! As mentioned before, this gun is a 640-1 and has no internal lock (I'm not afraid to take a left-side pic). I really think they wanted the picture to show both the "Pro Series" and ".357 Mag" etchings which are on the right side.

The biggest problem with the 640 Pro is availability. That, and with my gun it was current production quality assurance. Mine had to go back to the mothership twice for numerous problems which should never have left the factory.

Before you pull out your hard earned $$$ look the gun over. Things like barrel to frame alignment, etchings, and general fit and finish.

Overall, this is a nice J frame for carry. Good recoil management because of the all steel weight, if needed it is capable of shooting 357 Magnums, better sights than the standard J frame, and the moon clip option if you want it. Not a bad package...

Sorry for the ramblings...

Edmo

__________________
TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

I have two. They are great guns and a great carry gun for those who live a "J frame lifestyle". Mine are starting into the rotation as a car gun. I like to have easy access to a revolver in my vehicle to supplement my normal carry stuff. I also carried one for a month this last summer as a primary gun in preparation for a magazine article.
As far as sights, I black the rears out. I am likely going to see if I can get some all black rears from Novak.
I am also guilty of moon clips loaded with training rounds. I find it is easy to dump my carry loads and then do dry practice with the AZooms.
Overall, they are expensive, but one of the best close quarters personal protection guns ever made.

nyeti; Thanks for the thoughts. I already have a 640 with a very smooth trigger. I really like the looks of the fluted barrel and sight combination but in reality I only point shoot all of my snubbies. I found your sight comments very interesting.
I too keep a snubbie "car gun". Mine is a 340PD and weathers well in the varying MN climate.
I am still on the fence as far as Pro Series model just because the 640 I now have is so smooth.
So many guns, so little time.

I'm a big fan of the 640 Pro as a complete small carry package, but if you already have a 640 serving you well, there's really no need to invest in a Pro.

If you want moon clips, you can get your 640 cut for them easily. If better sights are required, an XS standard or big dot will more than do the job.

Point is, if you didn't have either, I'd say get the 640 Pro; already having a 640 you're happy with, I'd doubt you find the Pro enough of a step-up to justify the costs, and could easily make your current 640 comparable.

I put a trijicon white dot sight on the front of my regular 640 -- works a bit better than the stock black ramp sight.

Am I seeing that the 640 Pro has a shrouded barrel (i.e., in Eaglestroker's last picture)? Well, this should eliminate problems with clocked barrels! Is the shroud pretty substantial and rugged?

__________________
S&W Rover

I have a 640Pro and it is a one piece bbl. No shroud! Good shooter best "fightin" J frame ever made. It's the whole package, sights, Centennial frame, 357 and all steel.

If you like it, invest in an X/S front sight and call it good. I have a 649-3 that is similar to yours that I love as well, and is much easier to find holsters for. If I can't touch my opponent, I use visually verified shooting. Having some sort of good sight is important, as you don't get to choose the distance of your fight, or the level of precision you may need. I have a vast number of students over the last 25 plus years who have extraordinary hit percentages and have very low round count stops in fights due to use of sights or proper body indexed shooting techniques for near contact shots. This is not theory. If folks want to not use sights....great, knock yourself out on your perceived abilities. Go tape up a tight hostage scenario target at the range at 5-7 yards. Use a picture of your child as a hostage, and decide what you want for sights to make the shot 100% of the time.....****n that on your gun.

Show Off

__________________
Doesn't hasta call me Johnson