I know I will get some grief for this, but I like my 642

[chief38]

As long as you shoot your revolver accurately, are comfortable with it and are ok with the 5 rounds of 38 special, no apologies necessary. Certainly a reliable package and the 38 special has stopped many a criminal.

On a personal note, I have not felt comfortable with only 5 rounds on board for a while now and no longer CCW my J Frame - but that's just me.

 

[Baxter6551]

I’m on board with the other responders here. I carry either my 442 or 36 OWB with speed strips in pockets and speedloaders in console. The 442 was a warranty replacement for my cracked frame early (non plus P) 642. I told S&W I preferred the 442 for the visibility factor - that’s the one thing I never liked about the 642.

 

[sprscientist]

No grief at all. My 642-1 is a champ. Bought it used, mostly pocket carry it, but sometime OWB.

 

[Denverd0n]

No grief from me. If you feel comfortable with five shots, then that's your prerogative and no one has any right to say that you're wrong. Learn to draw and fire, and shoot it well, and you will be better prepared for a self-defense situation than the overwhelming majority of people out there!

 

[681ismyfavorite]

A J frame sized gun and a reload would be more than adequate for the encounters a civilian might face with common street criminals.

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

Carried J frames for 50+ years first as back up and now my main weapon. I use the 442 because I like being low key in visibility and mostly OWB. Old cops tend to have a lot of Hawaiian shirts for summer wear. The large size and color pattern hides printing to near zero.

With years of training and free ammo I shoot DAO just fine and consider it a safer method on a number of fronts.

 

[hyena]

I only switched from my 642-1 back to my BG380 because the BG fits in my pocket better. I feel adequately armed with either. I shoot the BG slightly better.

I think you made a great choice.

 

[heeter3]

Mr Vito,no problem with packing your 642 I rotate a 442,2 -3 inch 36s and a 2 in 36 along with 2 Cobras and a DS thru my cc and never feel Im under gunned.Remember its the ones that hit that count in the end.

 

[stansdds]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with carrying a J-frame 38 Special for defense. You won't catch any heat from me as I sometimes carry my 640-1. Even though it is a .357 Magnum, I usually load it with 38 Special +P (Speer 135 grain JHP Short Barrel) ammo.

 

[Sistema1927]

You won't catch any grief from me.

In this world, one cannot prepare for any and all possibilities. But you can prepare for probabilities. Are you in Mogadishu or downtown Detroit? If not, then you probably don't need to prepare to fend off a gang of marauders, and probably don't need to carry a blaster with a 20 round magazine and three more on your belt to go with the AR and its three additional magazines.

For the situations that most of us will realistically face in our daily lives, a five or six shot revolver will suffice. And, the probability that you will even need to reload it is tiny indeed.

 

[Xfuzz]

Been packing a J frame since 1972.
The 642 and 442 pre-lock's are some the
most affordable S&W revolvers on the market today.

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

Been packing a J frame since 1972.
The 642 and 442 pre-lock's are some the
most affordable S&W revolvers on the market today.

With decades of production and ah, one less thing to go wrong with them too.

 

[dave1918a2]

It sure is nice to see all the response in favor of a J frame for EDC. While I still sometimes EDC a 1911 or a CSX, I recently picked up a 36. After a couple of hundred rounds it will become My EDC. Up here there is little need to carry unless One ventures to Rapid City. But it is still nice to have one handy ( As in Rule #1 ).

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Liking my 642 won't get me grief in and of itself, but carrying that little gun with only 5 rounds as my concealed carry will likely get me a number of comments about how inadequate 5 rounds on a snubbie is for self defense. But it is just so easy to pocket carry, and simple to just grab it when ready to leave the house and feel that I have some means to defend myself in the very unlikely event that I am attacked.

I've been carrying legally for over a decade, and maybe a bit longer before it was actually legal, and I have yet to draw a gun to resolve a dangerous situation let alone fire it. I know it could happen tomorrow, but the closest I have come to needing a gun has been the two occasions when I felt compelled to have my hand in my pocket ready to draw the gun. Both cases involved being the subject (unwarranted) of other's road rage. So while carrying my Glock 17, or my Ruger sr40c would probably have me better able to handle more scenarios, I probably will still just grab the 642 more than any other firearm for the foreseeable future.

I have 642 and have carried it for years.......WHO CARES what others may think,,,,,,Especially a faceless internet crowd.......You answer to no no one except yourself and our maker.

 

[tops]

I've carried a 4 digit Centennial for unknown how many miles (even to a Worlds Fair) in my pocket. Even if I have a larger gun in a shoulder holster it's still my main gun because I can have my hand on my gun. Larry

 

[brian686]

Sounds like the OP is preaching to a large choir. Put me in the bass section. Pocket carrying a 642 with two speed strips of six rounds gives me two reloads plus two extra. If it goes that far, I've probably been "unalived" before I get to the second reload. J frames are probably the most accurate small gun out there with practice and dry fire. Wondering if there are any statistics of how many people have defended themselves with the Js?

 

[diyj98]

Maybe as a backup weapon to the two full size 1911's I carry even in the shower, but as an internet expert, I'd never rely on five shots of puny 38 special for defense. Actually 99% of the time that I'm carrying a gun, it's a j frame in my pocket.

 

[rockquarry]

Liking my 642 won't get me grief in and of itself, but carrying that little gun with only 5 rounds as my concealed carry will likely get me a number of comments about how inadequate 5 rounds on a snubbie is for self defense. But it is just so easy to pocket carry, and simple to just grab it when ready to leave the house and feel that I have some means to defend myself in the very unlikely event that I am attacked.

I've been carrying legally for over a decade, and maybe a bit longer before it was actually legal, and I have yet to draw a gun to resolve a dangerous situation let alone fire it. I know it could happen tomorrow, but the closest I have come to needing a gun has been the two occasions when I felt compelled to have my hand in my pocket ready to draw the gun. Both cases involved being the subject (unwarranted) of other's road rage. So while carrying my Glock 17, or my Ruger sr40c would probably have me better able to handle more scenarios, I probably will still just grab the 642 more than any other firearm for the foreseeable future.

Good practical post. You're reasonably prepared and your paranoia level is low. The fantasy gunfighters and hobby carriers in wait for the imaginary horde of armed bad guys may be envious.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Regularly carry a J frame or a Colt Cobra .

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Mr. Vito wrote: Liking my 642 won't get me grief in and of itself, but carrying that little gun with only 5 rounds as my concealed carry will likely get me a number of comments about how inadequate 5 rounds on a snubbie is for self defense. But it is just so easy to pocket carry, and simple to just grab it when ready to leave the house and feel that I have some means to defend myself in the very unlikely event that I am attacked.

By now you should be well past any feelings of inadequacy or fear of "grief" from this Forum. Except under certain exigent circumstances, I do not leave my house without my M649. I do prefer all steel guns to lightweight revolvers but as I always say, YMMV.