I've had a 49 for decades. Wonderful gun, easy to shoot. I did about 70 rounds with it yesterday, at 6" steel plates, from 7 to about 30 yards (158g lead bullets @ ~750fps - standard velocity, but it puts the plates down with authority, and I can go all day with 'em.) Knocked most of the plates over most of the time. At longer ranges I cocked the hammer (it's a choice you have with this model) and the only problem was having to hold higher and higher the farther away I got.
BUT - it has always been too heavy for me to just put in a pocket. And if I'm going to put it in a holster on the belt, well with 5 rounds it weighs as much as my Glock 26 with 11 and is dimensionally similar.
SO - a few months ago I gave in to the conventional wisdom and got a 442 no lock. In this case the conventional wisdom was right - now THIS is a gun you can just drop in a pocket. I bought the black model so I could see the sights, having had experience trying to see all stainless sights in the past.
HOWEVER, I started to carry the 442 every day, in a holster (my pockets are full of other stuff that I don't want to leave home) and just recently noticed that it is starting to rust - on the top of the crane and the mating surface of the frame cutout. Apparently sweat can accumulate there and just go to work. So I'm now looking to replace it with a 642, and just figure out how to get black or black/red sights on the thing.
I like the shrouded hammer of the 49, and would carry a lightweight model if they made one without a lock. But I don't think they've done that for a long time, so finding one would be a chore. Hence, the decision to go for a 642 - reputedly the best selling model S&W makes, and having shot its brother I can understand why.
