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"The Centennials" ad from S&W "Model 640 - a tough little .38 rated for +P ammuniti"
- Thread starter psjoe
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SC_Mike
Member
Agreed. I only own three.
qballwill
Member
You just dont see ads like this anymore from S&W. Everything I see on paper and on video are for the M&P line of semi auto handguns and rifles and for their plastic bodyguards. I guess whatever sells and produces the most profit is what they need to be focusing on.
BigG
Member
That's the only time I've seen the 940 Model 9mm Centennial mentioned in an ad.
S&W introduced the "reborn Model 640 Centennial" in their 1990 catalog. The catalog states that the 640 is
"rated for +P+ ammunition"....i bet their fidgety liability lawyers didn't like seeing that.
"rated for +P+ ammunition"....i bet their fidgety liability lawyers didn't like seeing that.
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m4user
SWCA Member
That model is my 2nd most favorite Centennial. I have a 442, 642, 40, and the 940. The 442 goes to work with me everyday as a back up gun and the 642 is my go to gun for shooting the "Snubby" matches at my gun club. With the newer and better 9mm ammo, it makes a great carry gun. The full moon clips are a bit of a pain but it's a much better solution than the M-547 used.
AJ
US Veteran
Buckoo
SWCA Member
When you do carry two, where do you keep the second?
I just have two, both from 1996.
640-1 .357 Magnum with Goncalo Alves Combat grips.
This was the first pistol that I ever bought.
It was "unfired" when I bought it in 2008 from my brother.
And my 642-1 .38 SPL +P Airweight.
This has been my EDC for about 6 years now.
My brother carried it as his backup until he retired from LE.
I carry speed strips in my pocket and I've bought a bunch of these Zeta6 Speedloader to keep in my vehicles.
I find them a lot easier to use that the Safariland style speedloader and they are quite inexpensive.
640-1 .357 Magnum with Goncalo Alves Combat grips.
This was the first pistol that I ever bought.
It was "unfired" when I bought it in 2008 from my brother.
And my 642-1 .38 SPL +P Airweight.
This has been my EDC for about 6 years now.
My brother carried it as his backup until he retired from LE.
I carry speed strips in my pocket and I've bought a bunch of these Zeta6 Speedloader to keep in my vehicles.
I find them a lot easier to use that the Safariland style speedloader and they are quite inexpensive.
otis24
Member
I love the 640 .38 Special. The ad says that all were available with a 3" barrel. So, did S&W make a 640 .38 Special (not .357) with a 3 inch barrel? What does it look like?
I always carry Two Snubs. One 442 is always in my pocket. A second Snub, 442, 3” 36, or 7 shot 357 is in my belt at around the 2: o’clock position
The 3" barrel was discontinued in 1993.
From what I've read when the 640 .38 Spl +P was introduced in 1989 it was offered with either a 1-7/8" or 3" barrel.
In 1996 it was changed to .357 in the J-Magnum frame, 640-1.
I wonder about that. I have a M60 Talo .38 Special, and a M60 .357. The cylinders are identical. I have often wondered if S&W simply grabbed a bunch of cylinders from the M60 bucket and chambered them for the .38? In which case it would take a lot of stupidity to over dose the gun with any .38 ammo.
transit
Member
Old thread. I guess we're all spending more time surfing these days!
I've opined on this here before, and that's definitely all it is, I have no inside knowledge.
At the time S&W first fielded these guns, the "latest and greatest" ammunition for the .38 Special was the Federal 38HS2G. That was the 147 grain Hydra-Shok. It was the FBI's last .38 load and had been designed to meet their then new and developing penetration/expansion models.
It was rated by Federal as +P+.
The loading was not especially hot, but that's how they listed it. Maybe because that was still the era of, "For Law Enforcement Use Only" and the +P+ went along with that. Who knows?
My belief is that the, "Rated for +P+" on those early M640s was directly related to the 147g Hydra-Shok.
S&W could not field a brand new, law enforcement oriented revolver, that couldn't handle the then-current FBI load.
Soon thereafter, the FBI (and everyone else in law enforcement) moved on, and Smith dropped the +P+ markings to avoid sanctioning something that had no true definition anyway.
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Walter Rego
Member
Here is how those early revolvers were marked. I believe that it was only the ones with the CEN serial number prefix that received the +P+ marking before the factory stopped marking in that way. I have a Model 640 that was made in 1994. I think it is one of the top 10 CCW guns ever made.
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Fredo Batali
Member
I have two M640's one is marked "Tested for +P+", CEN serial number.Also have two M442's. One is in my pocket always, sometimes carry two. My favorite carry guns.
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De Oppresso Liber
