Marshall Tom and I are of very similar minds.
I also frequently see and hear local gun shop staff, instructors and various self appointed experts give epically bad advice on what people should carry, particularly to women.
An alloy frame J frame revolver like the 642 is close to the last hand handgun I'd recommend to a fairly new shooter for self defense.
If someone had a 642 and wanted to use it, I'd start by discussing ammunition options. A .38+P 125 gr or 135 gr load will probably have objectionable recoil, but there are some other options. Hornady makes a 90 gr standard pressure .38 Special low recoil load and Federal also offers a standard pressure low recoil load. You can also just use a light target load. The velocity will be down around 650 fps and it won't expand, but it's going to work just fine the vast majority of the time.
Let's discuss what matters and what doesn't.
1) Way too many people focus on self defense cartridge with some, certain minimum level of performance. That's a flawed approach for a couple reasons:
The vast majority of defensive handgun uses don't involve actually firing the hand gun. The data is a little hard to find on this as many uses of this type are not reported. They cover a broad range:
- An armed citizen using good SA and identifying an assailant while they are still at a distance, and / or not responding with the expected level of fear. For most successful criminals losing the element of surprise and encountering a victim who isn't displaying the expected amount of fear are red flags that usually prompt a decision to just choose an easier target.
- An armed citizen who reaches for and or draws their handgun to ward off an attack. Again, most successful criminals don't want to get shot and they will stop doing what ever it is that is about to result in the, getting shot. Realizing they have just accosted an armed citizen who is fixing to shoot them is again enough to convince the assailant that they need to be some where else right now. In that case you may not even have time to get the handgun out of the holster before the assailant flees and the imminent threat evaporates.
- In much rarer cases the would be victim actually gets the gun drawn and fires at the assailant. Even if the would be victim misses the assailant isn't likely to stay around.
This is also pretty much where incident reporting *might* occur. It still might not happen depending on the circumstances.
(This of course assumes the assailant doesn't know the victim, as that's a whole different issue and if someone is in a relationship where that's a problem, they need to just leave as a gun isn't going to solve that, at least until you've left or booted the assailant out and gotten a restraining order. If someone is in that post restraining order situation and their ex isn't the type to abide by it, then we need to talk about a more substantial weapon and self defense plan.)
- if an armed citizen actually shoots an assailant, about half the time the assailant will stop the assault even when the wound itself isn't incapacitating. Getting shot sucks and most people with more or less intact cognitive functions are going to rationalize along these lines:
"Oh darn…I've been shot! Getting shot really sucks! I don't want to get shot anymore, so I going to either run away or surrender."
Again that kind of psychological stop happens about half the time when defensive handgun use progresses far enough that the assailant is actually shot.
The other half that require multiple hits to stop the assailant are more likely to involve an assailant who is on something, emotionally charged, or in some other way functioning in a diminished capacity.
That half of the already very small subset of defensive handgun uses is where the cartridge finally becomes a factor.
Even then, there's a strong argument that someone rapidly delivering all 7 rounds of .32 ACP from a PPK to the center of the assailant's torso may be a lot more effective than someone delivering just two peripheral hits with even a .44 Magnum.
In short, don't get hung up on the cartridge. Choose a cartridge that you can shoot proficiently.
2) Pistol or revolver doesn't really matter. Neither does magazine capacity. As noted above, most defensive uses of a handgun don't involve actual shots being fired. I'll also suggest that actually having to fire already represents a failure in SA. (But if an imminent threat exists and you have no other option, don't hesitate.) In the vast majority of armed citizen self defense shoots it'll be over in done in 5 rounds or less, fired at 5 yards or less in 5 seconds or less. A revolver or single stack semi auto pistol will get it done just fine.
3) Size matters.
You can't beat physics and light handguns will be more unpleasant to shoot and slower to get back on target than heavy handguns, when all other things are equal.
Let's say you are shooting a 158 gr .38+P load at 800 fps in a 16 oz 642.
Charge Weight: 10.0 gr Muzzle Velocity: 920.0 ft/s
Firearm Weight: 1.0 lb Bullet Weight: 158.0 gr
Output Data
Recoil Velocity: 24.8 ft/s Recoil Energy: 9.5 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse: 0.9 lb•s
Now let's shoot the same load in a 36 oz 3" Model 66:
Charge Weight: 10.0 gr Muzzle Velocity: 800.0 ft/s
Firearm Weight: 2.2 lb Bullet Weight: 158.0 gr
Output Data
Recoil Velocity: 11.0ft/s Recoil Energy: 4.2 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse: 0.8 lb•s
The recoil impulse is the same (same bullet and charge weight at the same velocity), but due to the greater mass of the Model 66, the recoil velocity and recoil energy are less than half of the values for the 642.
Lighter bullets also equate to less recoil, in most cases. Let's look at the Model 66 again but with a 125 gr .38 +P load at 875 fps:
Charge Weight: 10.0 gr Muzzle Velocity: 875.0 ft/s
Firearm Weight: 2.2 lb Bullet Weight: 125.0 gr
Output Data
Recoil Velocity: 9.9 ft/s Recoil Energy: 3.4 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse: 0.7 lb•s
We again see a significant reduction in recoil on the order of 10% for recoil velocity and 20% for recoil energy.
Let's also look at lower recoil loads like the standard pressure .38 Special 90 gr Hornady FTX at 900 fps:
Charge Weight: 10.0 gr Muzzle Velocity: 900.0 ft/s
Firearm Weight: 2.2 lb Bullet Weight: 90.0 gr
Output Data
Recoil Velocity: 8.1 ft/s Recoil Energy: 2.3 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse: 0.6 lb•s
Again we see an even more significant reduction in recoil with an additional 20% reduction in recoil velocity and a 33% reduction in recoil energy. Our recoil numbers with low recoil ammo in a Model 66 are now a bit less than 1/3rd of where we started with 158 gr +P ammo in a 642.
The advantages of a heavier revolver make the Model 66 a much better choice for a recoil sensitive shooter as:
- it will be more more comfortable to shoot;
- the shooter will shoot it a lot more and become much more proficient with it;
- the larger heavier revolver will be easier to shoot well;
- for those rare right hand tail defensive handgun uses where you have to shoot, hit the assailant and need to fire multiple shots where terminal ballistics are more important, the larger handgun will allow you to shoot a more effective self defense load while still being within your recoil tolerance; and
- your follow up shots will be faster.
As long as you can comfortably carry and conceal the larger, heavier revolver, there isn't any downside.
Unfortunately, I often hear "experts" recommend a light weight handgun to women on the basis that if it is heavy, they won't carry it. A few of them might also recognize the odds are small that it'll ever be shot. However, whether someone shoots it or not they absolutely need to be confident in it and their ability to shoot it. It's ironic that the more confidence they have in it and their ability to use it, the less likely they will have to use it for all the reasons outlined above where criminals sense a threat and move on to a softer target.
4) Fit matters.
My method in training a new shooter is to have them:
- focus on the target;
- slowly and sadly draw the handgun and slowly bring it up into their line of sight;
- place the front sight blade on the target;
- pause and align the rear sights with the front sight; and
- keep the sights aligned while they squeeze the trigger.
With repetition they'll soon discover the sights are already aligned when the front blade comes on target as their brain knows exactly how the muscles in their hand and arm should be tensioned to align the sights. At that point the pause is just to verify the front sight is on target and the sights are aligned.
At that point we start working on speed in the draw without compromising safety and speed in delivering the shot without compromising accuracy.
With sufficient practice and repetition that "pause" is just a very small fraction of a second where they verify the front blade is on target and that they still need to shoot. Since they have trained to the point that they are unconsciously competent in the basics, they have all their available bandwidth available to asses the situation and the threat and the need to shoot - or not.
That's a long intro to "it's a lot harder to get naturally occurring sight alignment if the handgun doesn't fit your hand.
When selecting a hand gun, place the web of your hand over the back strap as you would if you were drawing it focus on a point 20 or so ft away, then bring the handgun up into your line of sight. Can you see the front sight?
If it is hidden by the barrel or slide, it's probably not the handgun for you. If the gun offers set of different backstraps and you can install one that fits better, it might be a good choice, but insist the gun shop let you try them out before you buy it.
If the front sight is visible but way above the rear sights the handgun again doesn't fit you. Again a different set of grips might solve the problem - or not.
What you *need* - and you need it far more than you need the latest gee whiz wonder pistol or the "best" self defense round - is a handgun that fits your hand so well that the sights are very close to being aligned when you draw and raise it into your line of sight. You also need to ensure that with a DA revolver or DA semi auto that the trigger reach is short enough that you can get your trigger finger all the way on the trigger up to the first joint to give you adequate leverage for a consistent and accurate DA pull.
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Now…with that as background, a few suggestions:
- Try your 642 with low recoil ammo. It might work for you.
- A 2 1/2" or 3" Model 66 or 686+ would be a great choice, provided it fits you and provided you can comfortably carry and conceal it.
A 3" 686+ is my preferred concealed carry revolver as I shoot it exceptionally well, and comfortably, even with full power 125 gr self defense loads. I have found that with a well made double thickness belt and a well designed IWB holster it is very comfortable to carry all day long. It's also quite concealable under a vest or under an untucked T shirt.
