442=?
- Thread starter Jamie
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
TNFrank
Member
Ruger LCR would take all the shooting you'd care to dish out and still has an enclosed hammer and is light weight. CDNN had em' for $350 New, of course you'd have to add shipping and FFL fees but you should be able to get out the door on one for less then $400.
If we're talking similar guns, this ^^^^^^^^^^^
photoman
Member
Define "huge amounts of shooting."
I've got a 642 that has thousands of rounds (many +P) through it without a hiccup.
jaysan60
Member
How about a 432PD? no recoil-- should last forever...
snubbiefan
Member
I go with post #2. 640 and shoot it all you want. A 640-1 has a little longer barrel and a full underlug if weight is an issue, but either would be my choice and you have no alloy worries.
I'm a believer in the 640. I have two 640-1's for my wife and I to use on the range. She carries a 442, I a 340PD. While not on the range, the 640's have night stand duty on either side of the bed. Day or night all 4 guns are the same size and shape (all are in matching grips), only the weight is different.
BigBoku
Member
Define "huge amounts of shooting."
I've got a 642 that has thousands of rounds (many +P) through it without a hiccup.
The Airweights will give you many many years of much longer than your hands can last range sessions.
crofoot629
Absent Comrade
Seems like they make one in .22 Rim Fire.
Cost of ammo, no recoil, etc.
That's what I'd do. And still practice some with the 442.
Here, I found you a link to the S&W 442/.22 Rimfire.
Now I wonder why I don't own one? I'll have to fix that.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...57768_757767_757751_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y
Emory
Cost of ammo, no recoil, etc.
That's what I'd do. And still practice some with the 442.
Here, I found you a link to the S&W 442/.22 Rimfire.
Now I wonder why I don't own one? I'll have to fix that.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...57768_757767_757751_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y
Emory
Last edited:
gr7070
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Messages
- 1,047
- Reaction score
- 234
This ^
If you want to shoot a pocket gun a lot get a .22 and then still practice plenty with the 442.
snubbiefan
Member
Let me play the devil's advocate here guys concerning what the poster asked and what we are all saying. I have a few AirLites and Airweights...as well as steel guns in j-frame dress. Jamie says he wants something that "can take a lot of range work" and for me, the jury is still-out on the endurance of the alloy frame 22's. Even though I have seen a post from a shooter that said he has over 11,000 rounds down-range with a Model 317...I am still not so sure that is the norm. I have a complete set of guts from a well-fired Model 317 and I can tell you now the cylinder and the yoke are SHOT. The aluminum yoke and cylinder are just not that durable. The end-shake on this well-used set of 317 components is like .012. That flimsy little aluminum yoke tube and the base inside the back of that alloy cylinder just will not stand-up to the type of punishment that a steel gun will.
Now...I don't have a 43C, but it is my understanding that it is basically a hammerless 317. I'm still a bit skeptical in calling an alloy AirLite a range gun based on what I have seen with the endurance of the 317. Don't get me wrong....I have them and luv them. I am just not convinced they can take a pounding....yet.
Now...I don't have a 43C, but it is my understanding that it is basically a hammerless 317. I'm still a bit skeptical in calling an alloy AirLite a range gun based on what I have seen with the endurance of the 317. Don't get me wrong....I have them and luv them. I am just not convinced they can take a pounding....yet.
Last edited:
photoman
Member
You're probably making a good point. With that in mind, the recommendation for a 640 would be the best fit for a "high mileage" range gun that is similar to the 442.
gr7070
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Messages
- 1,047
- Reaction score
- 234
Steel is certainly the safer choice for truly high mileage.
However, if we're going to continue to speculate I do question just how much .22 shooting one needs to do to wear out an AL gun. I'm guessing it's a huge number???
I'd also question whether most people who expect high usage will actually use one that much. So many owners don't shoot their guns that much. Many who do shoot a lot of different guns so one gun doesn't see that much. And so many also buy and sell that they just won't own it long enough.
I'd go with the Al .22 and 442 practice combo and shoot it like crazy and then use the warranty if needed.
However, if we're going to continue to speculate I do question just how much .22 shooting one needs to do to wear out an AL gun. I'm guessing it's a huge number???
I'd also question whether most people who expect high usage will actually use one that much. So many owners don't shoot their guns that much. Many who do shoot a lot of different guns so one gun doesn't see that much. And so many also buy and sell that they just won't own it long enough.
I'd go with the Al .22 and 442 practice combo and shoot it like crazy and then use the warranty if needed.
snubbiefan
Member
I agree it would likely take a good bit of shooting for a normal shooter to wear out an AirLite, but it is certainly "tender" in the area of yoke/cylinder attachment. There is simply no way of telling how many thousands of rounds these parts I picked-up had on them. It was likely a real range gun that they finally simply just wore out. It does have three turn-rings on the yoke-tube, so it has obviously had the end-shake adjusted somewhere along the line. I know that it seems vital to keep the yoke-tube and internal contact points with the cylinder lubed. If you take one apart that has been well-fired, you get gray-colored gook....and that's aluminum wearing off the internals.
i appreciate all the feedback, I suppose I could have asked the question about how many rounds a 442 could be expected to endure. My wife has shot near 1,500 rounds at this point, it just came back from S&W to be checked out after she had a jamming issue, they put a new cylinder on it. I don't see any point in converting to a .22, just don't get it. How is shooting something with no recoil going to help you in a SHTF situation shooting JHP carry ammo? Practice with what you intend to use it for, IMO. I like the idea of a 640, seems like that would fit the bill. Now she's asking what would be a good IDPA piece that would be similar, sheesh, she used to hate guns!
gr7070
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Messages
- 1,047
- Reaction score
- 234
If that's your preferred approach why don't you apply that to your own shooting? Buy a second 442, it's cheaper than a 640, and dedicate it to self defense only. Then shoot the heck out of the old one as practice. Makes a lot more sense that way with the intent.
As for IDPA, I can't recommend it enough. An absolute blast, and it won't hurt your self defense skills. There isn't anything similar that I'd recommend, again with the approach described above.
So either use the 442 or sacrifice the similarity and shoot a 686 or 66.
LOL, that almost makes TOO much sense! We'll have to put some thought to it. IDPA, not a great place for a 442, she's pretty accurate with it, but at some of the classes we've been to, she's one of the few with a revolver which has caused her to get pretty quick reloading. She would definitely shoot it when there is a BUG class. At the moment she's planning on getting an M&P 9, she wanted to learn semi auto, I'd like a TRR8....ahh cr*p, there's that money issue again.
crofoot629
Absent Comrade
You have much to learn Grasshopper.
When I was a semi serious action shooter (IPSC, Steel, and Bowling pins) I shot about 10,000 rounds of 45 acp a year. I also shot about 25,000 rounds of .22 rim fire through my 1911 .22 conversions a year.
Later when I became a Deputy Sheriff I really learned the trigger of my Glock 22 (40S&W), from a .22 Glock conversion.
Using either your 442, or a .22 rim fire 43C would help you/her learn her draw, acquiring sight picture and trigger control. A .22 conversion with little or no recoil really lets you know when you are flinching, or jerking the trigger, because recoil doesn't cover it up.
And most importantly to me, I can afford to shoot ten's of thousands of rounds of .22 rim fire, where I can not the center fire rounds. Or I've become too lazy to spend the time at the reloading bench.
I suppose if I had the money, I'd just have bought all factory 45 acp and 40 S&W, and not bothered with the .22 conversions. Though I do see where the 22's have their own benefit.
Interestingly Jeff Cooper wrote about the S&W 317 as having use as a self defense weapon because they are so light and easy to carry. That comes from a man who routinely called the .223/5.56 a poodle shooter. A 43C is a full ¼ pound lighter than a 442. Thanks to your thread I ordered one.
And if your curious, my carry guns today, like a lot of days, were a 442 in my front pocket, and a Glock 26 in a strong side vertical scabbard. I'm not a mouse gun fan, and have never owned a small pocket auto.
The heavier steel guns you mentioned make no more sense than the lighter .22 by your way of thinking. Perhaps keep an open mind. I do like your idea of just buying more 442's. I own two. One that went through Gunsight's Gunsmithy and bears a Raven on the side plate. I own no internal lock S&W's.
Emory
gr7070
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Messages
- 1,047
- Reaction score
- 234
FYI, IDPA has a 4" max bbl length requirement.
A lot of folks shoot the M&P in IDPA. It's well liked.
I highly recommend a revolver. It's just a ton of fun.
Similar threads
