MODEL 640

[Toyman]

I purchased this 640 last weekend at a local show. Ware on left grips panel other wise dirty but tight. DR. Jinks advised shipped February 1992 to "A LARGE EAST COAST PD".
Now he teased me I should letter the gun.

 

[CH4]

Classy piece!
The centennial is my favorite J frame.

 

[colt_saa]

Only get the letter if you want to know which PD

Personally, if I were keeping the gun, I would letter it

The Centennial is the BEST Pocket or Purse J-frame revolver out there

No I am not happy to see you, I have a 340 in my pocket

 

[Toyman]

I was a bit suprised a PD would order revolver in 1992.The polymer trend going full bore.

 

[dobegrant]

Very nice, congratulations

 

[yugolovr]

That's a great gun! Hope you enjoy it.

 

[Bill In Texas]

Love mine! I think that the 640 is the best j frame for carrying. Congratulations!

 

[kbm6893]

My NYPD Midel 640 looks just like yours and it shipped in March of 1993. It has that same frosted finish that the Job mandated. Surely isn't a bigger East Coast PD out there. They were authorized for off duty use until 1996. Guys who had them could keep them but no new revolvers for new hires after 1996. In 2018, the Job mandated the remaining 200 or so who still carried a duty revolver would have to switch, but they couldn't mandate you to give up your off duty so they kept ammo on hand. They should have let them keep the 4" service revolver. You would have had to have 26 years on the Job by then. They all would have been gone in a few more years. Those who still had them weren't on the street anyway. For whatever reason, the cops who kept their duty revolvers didn't take the free 9MM and three days off patrol to transition.

For giggles I went back to the police range last year with a couple of NYPD 5946's to have the range guys take a look under the hood. I also brought my 640. The range guy said "I don't know how to service that relic".

I sold my off duty 640 like a dope many years ago. Guys were selling them for really cheap, like $150, to buy a new off duty 9MM. But I found another one just like it from the NYPD and it resides in my safe. I carried my 640 in my pocket on patrol on the Brooklyn mean streets in the 90's and rode many a subway car at night with it and never felt unarmed. Bernie Goetz used his 5 shot Model 60 to end the night of the three guys mugging him so they still have their uses.

 

[RM Vivas]

That looks like a Job 640 to me. They actually came in two flavors: the classic J-frame 640 and the J-and-a-half frame where they used the magnum frame but chambered only in .38 Special. A couple guys were smart enough to know the difference and I did observe that when the Equipment Bureau was selling the larger j-frames, they held back a couple of the older smaller j frame guns for legacy cops (kids who were coming on the job and their dads called ahead to ahve a smaller gun saved for them).

Best,
RM Vivas

 

[31FordA]

When I got hired by the county in '97 I wanted an original 640 as a back up / off duty gun. Unfortunately by '97 S&W had switched to the larger 640-1, and I couldn't find a used 640 anywhere near me. I ended up with a used Model 36, which served me well for many years. I finally got a 640 when I walked in my local shop and found two 640's, like new in the box, for sale. Making up for lost time I bought both. The 640 is one of my favorite guns.

 

[RM Vivas]

Here's a J-and-a-half invoice. Gotta love the prices.

Best,
RM Vivas

 

[kbm6893]

Here's a J-and-a-half invoice. Gotta love the prices.

Best,
RM Vivas

Yikes! I actually remember a Sgt. Turetzsky from the Equipment Section! Don't remember the face but certainly the name.

 

[RM Vivas]

Yikes! I actually remember a Sgt. Turetzsky from the Equipment Section! Don't remember the face but certainly the name.

That guy had some stories! He was also a Trophy Gun winner. After he pulled the pin he went on to work for some police gear company (big surprise) and then I lost track of him.

What was really killer was that while he retired as a SGT, he actually ran what was technically considered a bureau (at one point).

Best,
RM Vivas

 

[Toyman]

UPDTE SHIPPING 640

Those of you who surmised the 640 was shipped to NYPD were correct.

 

[CH4]

Classy piece that's built for business. The centennial has become my favorite J frame and one of my most carried pieces.

 

[Rakkasan13F]

Nice. I actually just picked up a 640 and a 6" 10-5 today from layaway. The serial number on the 640 starts with a BPJ, so I would guess it shipped around 1993.

I also have a satin nickel 38-2, two satin nickel 442's, and a blued 442 all of which have BP@#### serial numbers. Without lettering them to be sure and just using the SCSW 4th Edition as a source, I'm pretty sure all five were built in 93.

 

[jcelect]

Centennials

Did someone say Centennials? I get to post my favorite pic again! I have found a couple more to add, but not done yet.

jcelect

 

[JohnRippert]

Still have a couple of the 640-1's that were surplus from the Michigan State Police and I got from Centerfire when they were selling them for $349. The post I put here on the forum to let guys know they were available is still the biggest in terms of looks and replies of any of my posts. By quite a large amount too.

 

[Rock185]

I don't collect Centennials, but have a 640, 642, and 940. All carried at one time or another. Practical little revolvers IMHO.

 

[dubshooter]

I'm on the hunt for one of these little .38 640's

 

[.38SuperMan]

I bought my 640 no dash new sometime around 1994 best I can remember. The prefix on the SN is BPW if anyone can give an approximate ship date. It's still in new condition although I shoot it occasionally and carry it from time to time. I have a belt pouch it fits in perfectly.

I replaced the grips but still have the original rubber boot grips and have the Bo's and all the paperwork including the price tag.

No chance I'm going to get rid of it either.

 

[Retired W4]

Gotta' love "Our Everyday Low Price".

 

[Narragansett]

My NYPD Midel 640 looks just like yours and it shipped in March of 1993. It has that same frosted finish that the Job mandated. Surely isn't a bigger East Coast PD out there. They were authorized for off duty use until 1996. Guys who had them could keep them but no new revolvers for new hires after 1996. In 2018, the Job mandated the remaining 200 or so who still carried a duty revolver would have to switch, but they couldn't mandate you to give up your off duty so they kept ammo on hand. They should have let them keep the 4" service revolver. You would have had to have 26 years on the Job by then. They all would have been gone in a few more years. Those who still had them weren't on the street anyway. For whatever reason, the cops who kept their duty revolvers didn't take the free 9MM and three days off patrol to transition.

For giggles I went back to the police range last year with a couple of NYPD 5946's to have the range guys take a look under the hood. I also brought my 640. The range guy said "I don't know how to service that relic".

I sold my off duty 640 like a dope many years ago. Guys were selling them for really cheap, like $150, to buy a new off duty 9MM. But I found another one just like it from the NYPD and it resides in my safe. I carried my 640 in my pocket on patrol on the Brooklyn mean streets in the 90's and rode many a subway car at night with it and never felt unarmed. Bernie Goetz used his 5 shot Model 60 to end the night of the three guys mugging him so they still have their uses.

Good old Bernie. " You don't look like you have had enough, BAM, here's another one for ya "

 

[kbm6893]

Good old Bernie. " You don't look like you have had enough, BAM, here's another one for ya "

Yeah. That comment didn't help his situation, but the jury didn't care. Did a year in Rikers for the gun, I recall. I also recall how the general public supported him since they were tired of the lawlessness in the subway. How times have changed! A Marine is on trial for putting a lowlife who was threatening people in a headlock!

 

[demkofour]

... How times have changed! A Marine is on trial for putting a lowlife who was threatening people in a headlock!

Wait a minute there- all of the local stations here in the Metro NY area say it was a CHOKEHOLD… are they not reporting the incident accurately?

Welcome to the Big Apple.

 

[RM Vivas]

Good old Bernie. " You don't look like you have had enough, BAM, here's another one for ya "

I saw him once on the subway a few years after his incident.

Seemed like a fairly mild-mannered guy. Taller than I thought. Was flanked by a couple transit cops who i think were not there by coincidence. The man had a very distinct look; if you saw on the train, you --knew-- it was -him-. I think the cops figured if they were in the car with him it would prevent problems.

 

[kbm6893]

I saw him once on the subway a few years after his incident.

Seemed like a fairly mild-mannered guy. Taller than I thought. Was flanked by a couple transit cops who i think were not there by coincidence. The man had a very distinct look; if you saw on the train, you --knew-- it was -him-. I think the cops figured if they were in the car with him it would prevent problems.

Yeah. He was a nut. I remember something about him breeding squirrels and the few times he ran for mayor. Never figured out how he lived in manhattan. I think he lived with his mom in some rent controlled apartment. He might have been riding that train just waiting to be messed with for some payback, but the truth is those three recidivist felons were about to rob him and I have zero problem with how Bernie dealt with them. The "here's another one" comment was stupid. He should have just thought that comment instead of speaking it out loud.

 

[Banjo 10-79]

I thought Bernie used a humpback model 38? As far as the actual shooting went I would have acquitted him, which is what the jury did. He should've hired a lawyer and kept his mouth shut or just not turn himself in. His post shooting comments sunk his reputation.

No brass left behind and I don't believe they had cameras everywhere back then. He was only found guilty on the gun charge. Bernie isn't a hero perhaps but the media and race pimps like Sharpton ruined his life because he had the audacity to defend himself. I feel sorry for the guy.

 

[demkofour]

Just to continue the Thread Drift on Roy's post of his excellent Model 640, If, AND ONLY IF, my memory serves me right, Goetz was a fugitive for several days after the incident and ultimately traveled to New Hampshire where he apparently was looking to get with Massad Ayoob and the Lethal Force Institute. Goetz ultimately surrendered and Ayoob, who is a trial expert in the use of DPF, was part of his defense team…?

And FWIW, Wikipedia shows that the pistol used was a S&W Model 38…

 

[demkofour]

My only current 640 was also an NYPD gun, which I purchased a few years ago from a cop I worked with. He was a former NYPD MOS and from what I was told, he had purchased the gun privately from a gun shop, not from the Equipment Section, since the 640 was on the "authorized list".