Been considering a snubby for years but finally made a trade that got me a 642 (no dash). It looks really nice and appears not to have been shot much. The previous owner shot maybe 20 rounds through it but not sure of other owners. I plan to put an Apex kit in it to lighten the trigger some and get some boot grips. I might also change the thumb latch to the new style but we'll see. I will carry this gun AIWB as a backup or sometimes as a primary in certain environments. I'm excited to finally have a snubby and learn about carrying one for CCW. Just thought I'd show it off to everyone here.

Here is a picture of it with Uncle Mike's Combat grips. I have these grips listed in the Classifieds. I'd like to trade for some boot style grips.

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Good looking 642. Give yourself some time with it stock before jumping to the Apex; I find the older Js -- even lightly used ones -- lighter and smoother than current models.

Be safe, shoot it lots, enjoy and carry in good health.

Nice 642!! Actually, I'm a fan of the Uncle Mikes grips on the J frame. And no IL.

Very Nice piece! I have a 442 no lock made in 98. Love it. 642 is on my bucket list. Choot it and enjoy!

I have those same grips on a Model 60. They work fine. I do like the Hogue grips just a little better. More comfortable for my hand but the Uncle Mikes are classic and work well.

Very nice. I have a 642-1 no lock, and carry it often. I shoot it every time I go to the range and shoot my other revolvers. I get done and the 642 comes out for 10-15 rounds so I can maintain some comfort and confidence. It's a standard and will be for a long time.

I have one of those, also. The Apex firing pin/spring doesn't work on that model. The lighter firing pin spring is really what allows reliable ignition with the reduced power mainspring. You might consider just a 15# rebound spring and a smoothing of the block for starters. You may find that will smooth things enough and you'll still have reliable ignition with the standard mainspring.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm really enjoying the gun. I have my heart set on some PGS Hideout grips. They seem to have good reviews and easily modified to suit the shooter. Last night I painted the front sight serrations orange and blacked out the rear sight a bit. I'm looking forward to getting a holster for it and practicing for CCW.

When you say that the Apex firing pin and spring do not work in the 642 do you mean they won't fit or they make the gun unreliable?

I didn't understand the comment either unless he was talking specifically about older ones or something. I've put APEX in 642-1, 442-1 and 60-14. Worked in all of them.

Enjoy the new revolver. J frames are frustrating and rewarding at the same time. Never felt defenseless with one on my belt or in my pocket.

Note the pin in the frame in the upper right area behind the cylinder. That's for the old-style frame mounted firing pin -- it's staked. The Apex kit is made for the new-style, non-staked frame mounted firing pin.

Ok got it. Thanks for the info. I will just focus on the springs if I end up doing anything.

My wife won a 442 that our collector's club in Lake Worth, FL was raffling off...it's her EDC...perfect carry gun for a woman...

Excellent advice! Please, don't fool with the trigger on that gun. You will be sorry, I guarantee you. That is over 50 years of experience as a police firearms instructor. Any one of those double action only revolvers I have ever seen have been a disaster when anyone tried to fool with a trigger. It's a great gun. Just practice with what you have and you will be just fine.

My 642 is with me all day everyday. Great gun!!

Joe

I carried a 642 in a pocket holster for many years and occasionally, if the situation and clothes require it, I'll still carry it. One caveat - those banana-style "combat" grips do NOT work well in a pocket like boot grips, do.

Send me a PM. I might have boot grips that you'll like.

One more caveat - we all love J frames but the more I shoot them the less I like them. I transitioned to snubby K frames for EDC. 20% more firepower, less recoil, more accurate. Easy to conceal IWB. Just my 2 cents.

my 2 cents worth...ALL large gun makers build guns with heavy triggers for liability reasons. cant blame them i would do the same..apex is good but the absolute best is to have the internal parts polished by a good gunsmith..smiths will amaze you how fine the can perform with just polishing..and wilson makes spring kits for smith revolvers...even the pro series need it i have done this with over twenty pistols and all are fantastic now. HONESTLY

Before you spend money and alter the gun, grab some snap caps and spend time exercising the trigger. Do dry fire drills or just squeeze away while watching TV. I have a 642 that was stiff when I got it but smoothed out dramatically as I dry fired it. If it has not been fired much it may just need a break in; mine is now firm but very smooth and clean breaking w/out alteration. I like it as is for a ccw/ personal protection gun and spent no money just a bit of time.

I bought the snap caps and dry fired and as inspector177 said, it smooths right out. I carry it iwb under any shirt. I like the grips that now ship with the model 640 on all of the j frames..

I have 2. Both 642-1's. One is a PC gun. I carry one every day.

Nice grab! I love the Centennials.

Another vote for having a smith polish the innards and leaving the rest alone. Makes a nice difference.

The Centennials are great little carry guns. You'll like yours, but I think you'll find it much more comfortable to shoot and easier to control with the longer grips if you shoot +P ammo.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I just picked up this last weekend, love it. Next up is CCW class & permit.

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Gotta love them j frames. I have two, a 442 and a 360j.

I don't plan to shoot any +P ammo in this 642. I will mostly shoot wadcutter ammo for CCW and plinking.

I will polish a few things up that Apex recommended in their installation video before I order springs and such. I do a lot of work on my guns and others guns so this shouldn't be too hard to tackle.

While there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, in using the wadcutter bullets in your Model 642 for antipersonnel purposes, I'd advise against it for 2 reasons. 1) Bullet weight. The Model 642 I believe is regulated for use with 158 gr. bullets. The classic .38 Special wadcutter is 148 gr. Thus, you may very well have a difference in point-of-impact/point-of-aim. At very close, self defense ranges, it may not be a problem, but I prefer to limit my variables as much as possible. 2) Bullet design. It's no trick to individually load each bullet in the cylinder when there is no pressure involved, and quite another to try to do this under stress. Yes, I realize the chances you will a) use your revolver in a self defense situation is rare, and b) the chances you will need to reload your piece in a combat situation, but why take the chance? My favorite all-around bullet for .38 Special/.357 Magnum revolvers is the 158 gr. semiwadcutter bullet. It feeds easily, and is a great target/plinking/small game round. I've shot boatloads of the 148 gr. wadcutters in competition, and even more boatloads of the 158 gr. semiwadcutters.

For self defense purposes, especially in an Airweight J-frame, I prefer either standard velocity 158 gr. semiwadcutters (factory loads), or the standard velocity rounds especially made for revolvers with short barrels.

Regards,

Dave

Thanks for the info.

Regarding the firing pin. Is there an downside to having a staked in firing pin as opposed to having a non-staked firing pin? Is one better than the other?

I have one also and have carried it for years. Look in to buying a set of Crimson Trace laser grips for your 642. You will not be sorry.

The only potential downside is added work removing the staking pin should you ever have to replace the firing pin. This is unlikely and nothing to think much about.

Find with my .38 spec aluminum s&w airweight,the 158 gr semi-wadcutters shoot to point of aim best. Have pachmyr rubber grips,and reload all my ammo. Nice control and shooting with rubber grips. have a ruger sp101 with factory grips,and is a pleasure to shoot.

Just a few days ago a friend/co-worker came to my office asking me and the guy I share a space with, our opinions on J-frame Smiths. That conversation quickly became show and tell. My office partner breaking out a 642 and me a 342. Each of us proclaiming undying love for the J-frames.

Before the work week was out, he mentioned again being interested in a J-frame, particularly a 642. I warned him, this is how it begins...


A few hours ago he sends me this photo. Seems one followed him home just today. Looks like my buddy drank the kool-aid.

I finally got my PGS Hideout combat grips for my 642. I really like them. The finger grooves are perfect for my hand and the little pinky groove is a nice feature. They are cheap and work great. Now I need a good holster. I'd also like to change the cylinder latch lever to the new style.

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I love my 642-1 nl.... shoot often... always carry. This is my BUG most days and primary some days,,,

I love my Model 36! Makes a great summer carry

They're like a bag of chips...you can't just have one.
20160127_093304 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

One for ankle, pocket, waistband, and one for the missus.

I love my 642-2 and found this to be a great holster for my purposes.

HORNET BELT HOLSTER: Galco Belt Holsters at Galco

Is it me, or is the frame on your 642 polished - instead of anodized?

Very nice little pre-lock, regardless!

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Regards - GCF

It is very shiny but from what I have been told that is the normal state of the no dash 642. I would like to have it gently bead blasted to tone down the shine but I doubt I will ever do that.

If anyone is looking for an old style j-frame thumbpiece and wants to trade me for a new style j-frame thumbpiece, let me know.

Congrats on the 642. Great gun. My only grip is the inability to install a better front sight similar to the 340. I would to love put a night sight on the front of my 642 PC.

The new style cylinder release thumbpiece (& screw), can be ordered fairly inexpensively from Brownells.

Strongly recommend that you keep the original in a safe place, or at least, send it TO ME - for safe keeping...

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Regards - GCF

Its been a while since I've been on here. To make a long story short, I sold the 642 no dash back to the original owner due to his constant begging for it back. Seems he had seller's remorse. He paid me generously for it, enough to buy a new 642 plus accessories. I bought a 642-1 since I'm not fond of the lock. Unfortunately I had to send it back to S&W as there is a nasty burr around the inner diameter of the forcing cone on the barrel. Needless to say I'm not happy. Its been at S&W for 2 weeks now and they are telling me that I should check back in another 2 weeks for an update. I was hoping this would be a simple fix and be back to me quickly. I guess the quality of newer J-frames does not compare to the quality of the no dash I had.

ETA - I do like the new cylinder release thumb-piece more than the old one.

J-Frames, my favorite.

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Two Handguns every day

I agree you just can't stop with just one snubie.

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Life is short,live it fully.

Be careful on lightening up the trigger pull. To do so on a carry gun is definitely not recommended. I had a NY-1 trigger spring installed in my Glock 27 to Increase the pull from 5 to 8 pounds. This in an attempt to minimize an accidental discharge. You do not want to be presented in court as a "reckless" individulal who "knew more than the manufacturer" and created a hazardous "hair-trigger" situation. Yes I know it is DAO with a stronger pull by far than most handguns but those who don't know will be sitting in the jury box and be hammered with your decision to lighten the trigger. Recommended reading is Massad Ayoob's take on this.

I got my 642-1 back Wednesday and the forcing cone now looks great. I think they may have smoothed up the trigger a bit too because it isn't too bad now with stock springs. I'm happy.

You might find that putting a drop of very light oil down into the trigger action and the hammer will lighten up the action. Then dry fire the heck out of it. That has really made a difference in these guns. S&W 6401-1. S&W 627-5. Charter Bulldog 44 spl.

Finally got the chance to shoot my new 642 yesterday. Very fun to shoot. The Remington 148gr Target wadcutters I was shooting shot to POA and I am very happy about that. My Blackbird pocket holster from Pocket Concealment Systems came yesterday too and it works great. Highly recommend them.

That Uncle Mike's grip is great. No harder to conceal and much easier to shoot. They are the only shoes my J Frames wear. I have a drawer full of fancy wood and boot grips. NOTHING beats the original Uncle Mike's

The 642 is my "go to" pocket carry gun...

Edmo

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