Airweight J Frame Durability

[skud_dusty]

This was the post that made me end up with a 642:

Project: Break my J frame.

He's just recently (4/6) broke the 5k round mark. Another poster in the same thread broke 2k with his 637. I highly doubt one could wear out a modern j-frame aside from flat out abuse. If you do, I'm sure S&W would gladly fix what's wrong with it.

 

[sac-gunslinger]

I have a 642 for everyday carry. I load it with a standard pressure load. I have carried my airweights that way since the late 70's. Maintaining control of your gun so you hit your target is what counts. Flinching every time you pull the trigger is not good control. I use Hogue grips and they afford comfort and control.

Many shooters practice with heavier guns regularly then run a cylinder full through the airweights every month or so for familiarity. Although I have never heard of an airweight wearing out.

 

[S&W Fan]

Well since we're dragging up a 5 yr old thread I'll play too haha. For me the air weights (I recently got a 442) fall into that "carry a lot, shoot a little" category.

I carry mine with the Gold Dot 135gr load designed for short barrels. I don't shoot more than 50 rds through mine when I hit the range. Those rounds though are run in drills simulating as much as possible a real world situation.

My range has targets that can turn and run on timers so I start at 5 feet and go out to 15. So for me I practice self defense use with my 442, have others I use for longer, more fun range time.

 

[Rex Goliath]

I have a 637. It has had a few hundred rounds through it, some really +P 110 grain and some 158 +P. The rest are standard pressure 150 to 168 grain lead. NO signs of loosening up.

The stock grip that came with the gun is perfect for me and I have big hands. It just fits me. Last night I bought a CT 105 grip and installed it. Shooting the gun today, so far I much prefer the stock grip, so I will no better this afternoon.

I HAD a BG 38 for a few months. It got loose really fast. I sent it in, they replaced the cylinder on warranty. It loosened up again in a few hundred rounds so I traded it for the 637, a much better gun. The BG 38 was the easiest gun to shoot with +P of my 4 J frames if you call the BG 38 a J frame. It was easier on the hands than model 36 in a direct comparison.

Enjoy your gun and shoot the heck out of it!

I don't shoot 100 rounds a week out of my 637, but do shoot it every week.

David

Sent Using Tapatalk

 

[skrazo]

Rex: Thanks for the 'recoil anticipation chart'. I saved it for future reference...........James

 

[Rex Goliath]

Your welcome James.
I use it regularly.

I posted one of my own targets on the thread Getting accurate with Airweights.


Sent Using Tapatalk

 

[unclejhim]

I just joined the J-frame club yesterday. Picked up a used/virtually new 637, only had 20 rnds. thru it. Fella bought it for his wife and she didn't like it.
Question I have is. Does anybody have a hand load using power pistol and 158 gr. jhp.? This is the only pistol powder I have and pistol power remains hard to find. I have a bunch of the 158 gr, bullets so I'd like to try them.
All input is welcome.

 

[S&W Rover]

I just joined the J-frame club yesterday. Picked up a used/virtually new 637, only had 20 rnds. thru it. Fella bought it for his wife and she didn't like it.
Question I have is. Does anybody have a hand load using power pistol and 158 gr. jhp.? This is the only pistol powder I have and pistol power remains hard to find. I have a bunch of the 158 gr, bullets so I'd like to try them.
All input is welcome.

I'm on the same quest. Working on the theory that a lighter bullet (all other things being equal) generates less recoil to achieve the same velocity as a heavier bullet, so am leaning towards 125 Grain JHPs (just bought 100 Hornady XTPs from Midway). I have five or six .75 lbs bottles of Trail Boss so will start with that. IMR's web page mentions a 3.0 grain start load. I'm looking for a practice round that will be tolerable to shoot 25-30 times, followed by five +P rounds to finish off a practice session.

 

[stantheman86]

My Dads vintage Airweight Bodyguard with stock panels is no fun to shoot with anything , it's a carry gun for sure, not a range gun.

Lots of people buy new Airweights because of the price and then realize they are painful to shoot....

 

[wrangler5]

My Dads vintage Airweight Bodyguard with stock panels is no fun to shoot with anything , it's a carry gun for sure, not a range gun.

Lots of people buy new Airweights because of the price and then realize they are painful to shoot....

Factory stock grip panels are probably chosen for small size and low cost, which are not the characteristics one usually puts at the top of the list when searching for comfortable-to-shoot-with grips.

While an airweight J will almost never be as comfortable to shoot as a steel K or L frame using the same ammo, regardless of the grip chosen, there are so many (relatively) comfortable J frame grip options that there's little excuse for not practicing a fair bit with one. Even expensive grips only cost a few boxes of ammo

 

[RichCapeCod]

The 642 is a superb carry piece. I urge you consider carrying Buffalo Bore 150 grain hard cast wadcutter rounds. Perfect projectile configuration for a short barrel revolver.

Below me with my 642 (and wife!)
i

 

[ben_g1]

Hogue grip

Sorry, don't have a picture handy but you might want to check out Hogue's 60020 Tamer grips for J frames. They are a little larger than S&W's stock grip but they have a nice cushion and the end is a hard smooth plastic cap that doesn't get hung up on the pants pocket like the sticky rubber end can.

 

[blkbearpatrol]

The 642 is a superb carry piece. I urge you consider carrying Buffalo Bore 150 grain hard cast wadcutter rounds. Perfect projectile configuration for a short barrel revolver.

Below me with my 642 (and wife!)
i

You two look like a great couple! Thank you for your loyal service to your community & nation!

 

[jeeps]

about 5000 rd's of +P they will be real loose and sloppy.

 

[Otreb]

I'm right at 2100 in my 442-2.
A great revolver, my everyday gun.

 

[geoff40]

One of my carry revolvers is a pre-37 flat latch. It wears factory J frame target stocks, which makes +P quite manageable. Since the day I acquired it I've put probably 1500 or more practice rounds through it, and along with them several hundred +P loads of JHP bullets. The gun is dead on, tight as the day it was born. I really don't have a lot of faith in the whole "not rated for +P" thing. I don't plan on stopping the +P loads any time soon.

 

[dr. K]

Not sure if it's already been said, but google "project break my j frame." There's a guy on another forum who's been putting rounds through his 442 pretty consistently... last I checked (maybe last week) he'd gotten to about 6,000 rounds without a hitch. Airweights are built to be carried and shot. As far as the older models or not using +p ammunition, there's research out there that will tell you every caliber is better or worse than every other. Carry what you're comfortable with... .38s have kept a lot of people alive. Then again, that's what I carry, so I may be biased.

 

[markfi]

I love my J Frames. I carry a 642 and shoot mostly standard pressure 38's. I Shoot +P occasionally. I carry +P all the time. Great guns.

 

[luangtom]

I am a light-weight J-frame fan. I carry either my 340PD or my M&P340 daily. They are stoked with Speer 135-gr GDHP for short-barrels. Both are the same configuration as the 640-1 that I shoot more often. That friend is beside me in my recliner. I have hundreds of rounds through all three of them with no problems. Shoot what yer comfortable doing.