Does the 642 still make sense?

With regards to the 642, my only preference would be for the 442 and it's easier to conceal qualities in our dry climate. Somebody in a humid area may differ

I don't understand. The 642 and 442 have the same form factor. Both have aluminum frames. The former has a stainless cylinder and barrel and the latter has those parts in blue. I have both and they both drop into the same pockets.
 
My life is pretty safe I guess. My most frequent carry piece is a Pre-38 Airweight Bodyguard bought from a pawn shop that's the same age as me. Anodizing all worn off, had rust spots on barrel....under $200. It's about 3 years younger than me. It was good enough for some police officer for decades I suspect it's good enough for me. Like Skywalker's 'Light Saber'....an archaic but elegant weapon. When I travel more than a couple hours from my house I do take a second pistol. It's the latest Blamfire 6,000...(actually a S&W 99) with buncha extra mags. In case TEOWAWKNI happens while I'm away from home. I try to avoid places where I feel there may be a shootout. Going into a theater though for some reason makes me think head on swivel, identify lane of fire. Churches, if I went, would make me feel the same. In TX something like 10% have a concealed carry permit. The hoodlums generally keep the shootings among themselves.
 
I don't understand. The 642 and 442 have the same form factor. Both have aluminum frames. The former has a stainless cylinder and barrel and the latter has those parts in blue. I have both and they both drop into the same pockets.

Purely a hiding in your pocket visual thing. Blue/black versus silver colored. Very minor concern, but noticeable with baggy cargo shorts pockets.
 
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I have never worn baggy cargo shorts. My shorts are fitted and tailored.

Fair enough. We are definitely opposites in that regard. My standard summer attire of t-shirt or camp shirt, flat bill or ranger roll ball cap, cargo shorts and either Chacos or flips is probably different than yours. Hoodie and beanie as necessary.
 
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Seems that the only people asking this question are old white guys.
Show up at a gunfight with a J frame around here and they'll take away your gansta card. If you ain't carryin' GLOCK-you ain't gangsta'!

Around here it seems the Taurus seem to be the choice for our notable people. The G2 and G3 series are quickly taking over the PT series of guns after all the Millenium Pros seem to have been impounded as evidence.
 
Fair enough. We are definitely opposites in that regard. My standard summer attire of t-shirt or camp shirt, flat bill or ranger roll ball cap, cargo shorts and either Chacos or flips is probably different than yours. Hoodie and beanie as necessary.

I may wear a watch cap but never a "beanie." Beanies have propellers on them. I will also never wear a "hoodie." "Hoodie" was originally a term applied to hooded lightweight jerseys worn by girls. It saddens me that that men have adopted that term. Next, guy will be calling their undershorts "panties."

Your style isn't probably different than mine, it most definitely is different.
 
A 642 is with me 90% of the time along with situational awareness (having grown up in the New Orleans area). I also occasionally have capacity anxiety generated either from local events or for no reason at all. I don't think there's anything wrong in feeling that. I have a Glock 48 with extra mag for when CA rears it's head. I train with both.
 
Whenever I am wearing a jacket, my 642 is in my right hand jacket pocket. It allows me to have my hand in my pocket, gun pointing at a suspected baddie without needing to brandish.

In a worse-case scenario, I have the ability to shoot from my pocket.
 
For many years my 642 in a Desantis pocket holster has been my "go to" gun for concealed carry. I don't carry while in my home, and it was just so easy to grab the 642 and put it into my front right pocket as I was leaving. But lately I find I am having capacity anxiety, thinking that it is foolish to be limited to 5 rounds of 38+, especially if I honest with myself that my accuracy with this short barreled revolver is pretty much limited to bad breath distances from my attacker. Sometimes instead I carry my Glock 26 with its 10+1 capacity in an OWB holster, but it sure is not as concealable and convenient as the trusty 642. Thoughts?

In a nutshell, yes the 642 still makes sense. Good post! ;)
 
We often lose sight of the fact that a 642 (or other snubnose J-frame .38) remains a snubnose J-frame .38. While there are many variations of the basic setup, the differences are slight, especially when it comes to developing the necessary skill to shoot one well.

Some may be able to tell a difference in recoil between a lightweight version and a steel-framed gun. I shoot both types regularly and find recoil to be significant though not necessarily punishing with either frame type. Others, who also shoot these guns regularly, may have different experiences.

It's good to have choices so that we as shooters can get exactly what we want among many variations, but we might be deceiving ourselves when we single out a particular J-frame snubnose version as really having distinct advantages over another model of the same basic gun.
 
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J frame is still a great carry gun BUT only if you shoot it a LOT and master it. The same thing applies to ALL SD handguns. The guy that know how to use a J and routinely runs a couple hundred rounds a month through it is far better armed than the dude with the high cap 9 with 4extra mags who shoots 100 rds a year. The J is an experts gun and fairly tough to master, but if you know it well it will do the job.
 
I may wear a watch cap but never a "beanie." Beanies have propellers on them. I will also never wear a "hoodie." "Hoodie" was originally a term applied to hooded lightweight jerseys worn by girls. It saddens me that that men have adopted that term. Next, guy will be calling their undershorts "panties."

Your style isn't probably different than mine, it most definitely is different.


Alrighty then. My guess is that I am probably significantly younger than yourself based on that linguistic assessment.

Anyway, make on point- What do people think about the 642/442 "Pro" variants? I think they may already be cut for some sort of moon clip? My only exposure to moon clips is for my M1917 Colt, and I have decided I like Auto-Rim cartridges better.
 
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Retired cop opinion. We never let bad guys put their hands in their pockets when we stop them. So do you think a bad guy robbing you, will let you put your hand in your pocket?

From the same perspective, I'm wondering if you ever asked anyone to produce ID without reaching into their pockets and where you think punks think citizens keep the car keys and wallet they just demanded.
 
To each his or her own regarding selection of a firearm, but pocket carry, something a J frame is known for, has a lot of advantages over any other form of concealed carry in a lot of circumstances. I believe that is one reason the J frame remains popular. As Peyronie said above, a J frame can be shot from inside a pocket. If someone approaches you while you are pumping gas or just generally out and about, you can discreetly slip your hand into you pocket to “be prepared” as the Boy Scouts used to say. While admittedly not as prepared as having a gun drawn at low ready, still (in my thinking) much better than having to draw a gun when someone you thought was innocuous but turned out not to be is at bad breath distance. You can use your quick draw but I prefer to already have a hand on my defensive weapon, and a J frame is hard to beat in that scenario. And, brandishing or pointing a gun at someone will not be an issue. In most cases, they will never know how prepared you were to defend yourself.
 
You may say that your Glock will be fine either way, you'd be right.

This is the essence of the debate. These conversations always remind me of fire extinguishers. Anybody who has ever encountered the frustration of trying to put out a fire with too small of a fire extinguisher will understand the analogy. Carry what you want, but unless you can always predict what fire you are going to have to put out it may be prudent to not just have a stove top fire extinguisher at hand.
 
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