Amature Range Report, 442-2

Spent an hour this morning at the local indoor range w/ my 'new2me' 442-2. Since so many members of this site contributed input that led to the decision to purchase this fine little revolver, I thought I'd return the favor and provide input for someone else who might be considering one.

Now, for the record, I AM NOT Stephen A. Camp. My discombobulated train of thought will not even begin to compare to the in depth, informative, and entertaining reviews penned by that very knowledgeable author.

Ranges (distances) consisted of primarily 'just-outside-arm's-reach', 15', and 25'.
Ammo for 'testing' was: Winchester SilverTip +p,
Federal HydraShok 147g +p and an old box of Federal HiPower HydraShok 147 +p+.
For fun and trigger time I used some good ol' 158gr lswc.

Using all three testing loads, I fired 3 cylinders' full at the three ranges listed above. The first thing I noticed was the recoil was rather snappy, but nowhere as un-danged-pleasant as it was in a friend's 342ti I had shot not long ago. All loads grouped center ring if I executed my pull correctly. ****And IF I could find my black sights on the black target**** , w/ the Silver Tips (do not have the grain/weight here in front of me) printing consistently a little more than an inch higher than the other two loads, no matter the distance.

Two cylinders' full were fired from a two-handed grip, while the third was fired dominant hand only.
I mentioned in my introduction post that this revolver is a 'supertuned' featuring hand stoned surfaces in its action. It was a noticeably smoother action that said friend's 342ti, and somewhat lighter. For me, it seemed as though it was easier to place rounds on target if I stroked the trigger briskly, rather than staging it and then breaking it. Speed seemed to come even easier firing dom-hand only. I dunno. Maybe its just me, but the little blaster was punching holes fast and furious when I just sorta went on auto pilot, and 'flashed' the front sight.
Probably the easiest of the tested carry rounds to shoot accurately and fast were the old Fed HS +p+. I cant really explain why. They just didnt have the muzzle flip the others had. Now, they frammed and banged the web of my hand, but I fully expected that. But the muzzle returned to target very quickly. So, those go into the cylinder for the moment I hope never comes.

Then a few cylinders of the target rounds, just to put in some practice emptying the cylinder quickly. No problem extracting spent cases.

This gun was purchased to augment my day to day carry, a Glock27. The little S&W rides quite nicely in a Blackhawk!/SafariLand hybrid ankle holster. I used the fleece lined cuff of the SafariLand to cushion my leg from the uncovered strap and body of the BH! holster. Very light, very comfortable.

In summary, I like it. It's not a 'range gun' per se. Its as accurate as the guy manipulating the trigger. Recoil could be a problem for those with lesser grip strength or for the recoil sensitive. Loaded w a standard pressure load, most anyone willing to put the time in could shoot the gun acceptably. Loaded a little hotter, and its a fine second gun, and a more than adequate primary.

My hope is that someone out there finds this useful. Thank you for your consideration, all input is appreciated.

dan

Sounds like a good introduction to your new 442. Dont know if its the (shade) of the finish but I have trouble seeing the front sight on my 442 as well. Although at my age with my eye's not as good as they used to be this is getting to be a problem across the board!

Thanx for the reply, VB.
The shade of the fs is, well, black. Against a lighter colored target, no sweat. Against black, its tough to find.

dan

I have a 442 and my partner has the 342....when he shoots his, he wishes he had the 442....

It was a bit of a surprise to me the first time I shot some old Winchester 158 gr +P SWC in an Airweight. While I could hit okay, the recoil slowed me down on follow-up shots and, well, it was also a bit painful to my old arthritic shooting hand. I don't think I would enjoy at all shooting full magnum or even +P loads in an Airlite.

Sights on most J-frames leave a lot to be desired after getting used to what is found on most autos these days. I'm pretty spoiled by the Meprolight night sights I have on all my Glocks. But the J-frames point well and the sights are adequate for close quarters.

What I meant by shade, is there is different types of blue/black finish's. You have a high gloss blue, a standard blue and varieing mat blues. The low gloss mat blue type gives my eyes fit's while a bright blue has a bit of glint to pick up on.

VB,
ok, now I get your meaning. Sorry. I truly hope my first response was not taken as being 'cute'.
The front sight is the same, dark matte finish as the rest of the gun, and serrated. I'd love to have a flat machined at the tallest point of the sight, and a gold bar inlaid. But, that's gonna get pricey, so I'll just train to use the best sight picture I can dependant on my time constraints.

Dogguy,
none of the +p rounds I tested were very pleasant. And like I mentioned earlier, I found it peculiar that the +p+ Feds were the quickest to recover from. Maybe just an anomoly(sp?).
The standard pressure 158gr lswc were decent to shoot, and provided the quickes recovery and second shot, but are not my first choice for self defense. I'd like to score some standard pressure 158gr lswc hp's and try them out. My PERSONAL preference is to have 5 very quick, accurate shots available rather than 1 enormous 'boom' and then be fighting recoil. If I ever have to use this thing, I'll have plenty of other stuff going wrong w/out having to fight to return my front sight to the target.

dan