Blind Hog Finds an Acorn (640 in .38 SPL)

[6thtexas]

I have been thinking about another 2" J frame for a while and wanted something on the lines of a centennial. I don't really care for the airweights as my old pal Arthur Ritis has come to stay. Anything I might carry is going to be practiced with a lot and I just don't have good recovery between shots with an airweight, plus anything more than 10-15 rounds at a time at the range is unpleasant. I had a hankering for a 432UC or 632UC until I read all the stories about the lack of quality control.

Anyways I lucked up and got a 640 in .38 special this morning- for less than $400. It is in excellent shape. Timing is good and it locks up properly.
It does not appear to have been shot much. It had a nicely made pair of grips on it, but they just didn't fit my hand. I rummaged around in the junk box and came up with a pair of old magnas and a T grip for it so it matches my M49.

If I can brave the cold wind tomorrow I'll see how it shoots.

I wish I had sense enough to load photos!

 

[6thtexas]

See if the photos show up

 

[ISCS Yoda]

The photos show up!

Good choice - Airweights cannot compare to an all steel J frame. And I definitely agree with your choice of stocks:

Great price, too!

 

[NCBeagle]

See if the photos show up

it is hard to beat that is a daily carry piece. Really like the Tyler grip. It is a killer deal at less than $400. It is damn near theft if the Tyler came with it at that price. Well done. Classic.

 

[dubshooter]

I ran into a deal like that just recently as well. Love steel J Frames. I’m on the lookout for a 49 next.

 

[Marshal Tom]

Nice find. Looks to be in great shape. You mentioned the 432 UC. I have one and they are great. There were problems with a few but mine is fine. The UC revolvers are in my opinion one of the best executed snubs of all time. Get one of those too!

 

[CH4]

Great deal!
I came home with a 640 a few years ago and it was $300 more than you paid and was happy to have it.

 

[pharmer]

They are great guns and still affordable. I sold a 2nd one to an FFL from Georgia a few weeks back for $500. I'm keeping the last one. Joe

 

[.38SuperMan]

You got a really good deal. I still have and occasionally carry my 640 no dash that I bought new not long after they came out. I still have the box with the price tag and it was just under $400 new.

I bought a 442 a few years ago thinking how nice it would be to carry. I had a model 37 but that was in the 70’s before Arthur came to visit and refuses to leave. I shot a couple of cylinders of mild home loads in the 442 and couldn’t deal with the pain so I traded it.

I went through a number of grips but settled on rubber grips that cushion the back strap and palm of my hand. With these grips I can shoot 50 rounds without causing excessive discomfort. I still have the original rubber boot grips but they have an open back strap. It’s the back strap that inflicts the pain and I’ve never figured out why more grips don’t cushion it.

edit:

Here’s my model 40-1 Centennial “Lemon Squeezer” that I picked up last year. I looked for a decent one for years and finally found one. Unfortunately the original grips were in bad shape and regular J frame grips won’t fit (what was on your mind Smith) so I had a set of Hogue and modified them. The back strap has to be open due to the safety but I’m not going to shoot that much through it. It was more of a collector piece to me.