New M640-3 at the Range

[scruffy]

Took my new 640 to the range yesterday. With the lack of .38 & .357 ammo (and $$$ prices) in this area it was a short one. Shot 50 standard .38's and 25 .357 125 gr.

Tried shooting paper targets at 21' to see how it prints. That is when my first and only negative about this gun came up. The targets were a 8" black circle with small red center bullseye. I had a really hard time picking up the black front sight against that background. I will be looking at a XS small dot soon. The gun functioned perfect and groups were reasonable considering the sight picture. As expected, .38s felt like .22 and the .357 was a handful, but the weight of the stainless steel made it not painful to me. Need a tight, tight grip to enable follow up shots.

Shooting 8" steel plates (white) at 10 and 15 yards was a breeze. Seemed to shoot a little left and low at times, but that's on me not the gun. Overall very please with he way it shot.

Overall fit and finish are great and I could not find anything I didn't care for expect the way the cylinder charging hole throats were finished (cosmetic) I posted about earlier. B/C gap was .006" all the way around. Timing is perfect, lock up is solid and the trigger action is very smooth with a the pull measuring little above 10# (the limit on my Timney gauge) so I'll say it's a smooth 11 lbs. Not too bad for a non PC production line gun.

As soon as the weather changes from shorts to jeans this will become my EDC while my Airweights take a break in the safe.

 

[Bill In Texas]

Before you go to the trouble of replacing the front sight, might I suggest using nail polish or sight paint on it. It's cheaper, easier, and you would have many color choices.

If you try nail polish, be sure to use some white as a base coat. The white will make the color pop. Easy to remove if you don't like it with nail polish remover.

I also use some black on the groove on the rear portion of the sight for contrast. Right now I prefer a bright Orange, but your eyes may pick up a different color better. My wife says that I have more colors of nail polish than she does!

On another note, I just received a 640-3 from S&W as a replacement for a 640-1 that they couldn't repair. I've been carrying a Centennial as my edc for a number of years now. I try others but, I keep coming back to the 640.

Anyway, enjoy the 640-3. It's hard to do better IMO.

 

[Jimmyjones]

I've EDC'd a 640-1 for a while. Painted up as Bill described.

 

[kaaskop49]

Hey Scruffy, from your post, sounds like you have one heckuva revolver. Timing and b/c gap in order? Way to go! Reminds me of recently clearing the throat of my Model 60 LadySmith. 158gr LSWC mags felt better in my little J than in a Model 66. Must try the 125gr "planetwreckers" next. But I'm a BI-IG fan of lead SWCs. Good shooting!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[stansdds]

My Model 640-1 has never given me any issues either and has been perfectly reliable and accurate. I mostly shoot it at a distance of 25 yards. I never bothered to change the sight on mine, but if you need to, paint is cheap and works well. The only thing I did change was the stocks. I found the factory stocks to be a bit long for concealment, so I put on a set of Uncle Mike's rubber boot grips. Sadly, I don't think these are still in production.

 

[CQB60]

Yes, as suggested, bright orange nail polish.

 

[bronco45]

Lay down a base coat of white nail polish, then the orange. The Orange will be much brighter. Give plenty of time for the white to dry and harden, then apply the orange.

 

[GR1978]

Awesome thanks for sharing. I've owned a few examples of the 640 in the 357 flavor and an older one in 38 special. All great guns.

I'm a big fan of the centennial J frames for EDC purposes. My current EDC is in fact the lightweight cousin to your great gun the 340M&P. Which has the XS front sight you mentioned in your post,I don't think you'd be disappointed with this front sight should you decide to change your guns current plain black one.

 

[scruffy]

Which has the XS front sight you mentioned in your post,I don't think you'd be disappointed with this front sight should you decide to change your guns current plain black one.

Thanks. That is the direction I'm going. XS Standard dot.