Questions about a 640 and 640-2 I recently acquired

[MG-70]

I'd been on the lookout for a decently-priced .38spl M640 for a while now and in the course of one and a half months found two that I quickly snatched. First came the 640 and later the 640-2.

640: came to me dirty and bone dry; the spring loaded cylinder retaining pin was hard as heck to push in and from the wear on the recoil plate appears to have been like that for a while. Though it had some carbon residue and dirty barrel, it doesn't appear to have been fired much, and is very tight. I couldn't get one of the sideplate screws out and based on the finish over the seams, it doesn't seem like they've ever been out (I'd like to inspect, clean and lube). The only minor issues are a gap between crane and frame (certainly from factory) and finish wear, which is common with this type finish. The Catalog mentions nothing about this finish on the 640.

Questions:
Do the stocks appear correct for the gun?
Does the finish appear original?

640-2: this one's a dandy. Previous owner said he had retired it as his carry gun and he hadn't fired it in quite a while. It sports Ahrens and red paint on the front ramp. The seller was kind enough to give it a thorough cleaning before sending it to my FFL (same thing I do prior to selling any gun and donating anything); thank you Sir for the consideration! The revolver is tight and seems perfect.

Questions:
What were the original stocks on the gun?
It's not NYPD marked anywhere, but would this be considered one of the NYPD contract overruns mentioned in the Catalog?

Any additional info. or observations you have are greatly appreciated.

A great weekend to all!

 

[MG-70]

No one here familiar with these?

 

[Walter Rego]

Your Model 640 with the BKC serial number prefix was made in 1991. The wood Magna Stocks look original, they changed to Uncle Mike's Santoprene Boot Grips in 1994. I have a Model 640 made in 1994 and it has the standard brushed stainless finish. I'm not sure about the earlier models but yours looks to have been sandblasted to me. It should look more like your 640-2.

 

[SKELVIS]

In regards to your 640 it has a lower serial number than mine I bought mine in Jan 93 as my off duty the store I bought it from had to sand blast it for me as it wasn't the proper finish that was authorized.Mine had the same grips and the store changed them to the checkered ones as the smooth grip wasn't authorized either.If I remember correctly guys who came on after me and had the 640-2 theirs had the boot grip.

 

[coach22]

I bought mine in August of 1992.
It looked like it came out of the Custom Shop.
All the edges are smooth.
SENSATIONAL gun!
This is the gun with the original grips.
It now has the same grips as my 340PD.
They are Safariland composite grips
I had cut down by my gunsmith.
Both guns are loaded with Corbon DPX 110 +P's.

 

[Hapworth]

640 finish does not look original to me; appears to be a bead blast using media I've never seen from the factory.

 

[MG-70]

Thanks for the info. guys! Based on condition and the fact the gun appears to have been shot very little, I can only assume the 640 finish to have been done to cut down on glare. IIRC, the seller was from the state of New York.

Thanks again!

 

[Lex_Ordo]

Maybe my experience will help you.

I owned both the 640 & the 640-2. When I first became interested in the PD (ca. 1993), the 640 was the the City off-duty, and it was a standard 1 7/8" pencil bbl .38, replacing the model 36. Now, I had a license before I was sworn, and I really liked the 640 profile and design, so regardless of which job hired me, I decided to buy the 640. I carried it for many years.
My first one was purchased in 1994, from an NYPD uniform & equipment store, which was also a S&W distributor on LI. The 640 came with the Uncle Mike's boot grips, in the glass beaded stainless finish.

In 1995, when S&W introduced the -1, in .357 Magnum (whose frame would come to replace the 640), the NYPD Outdoor Range personnel would not approve the gun because it was a magnum. S&W came up with the -2, .38 only, as a Special Order for the NYPD. To my knowledge, no 640 or 640-2 were ever NYPD marked, but they were both glass beaded finish.

When I was hired in 1997, the Equipment Section at HQ, was only selling the 640-2. Seems that 1997 was the only year that the -2 was made for the NYPD, because guys from the class before me (hired in July '96), all had the 640, if that was the off-duty they chose; And in 1998, the City no longer authorized the .38 for new recruits.
Obviously, if you were trained on it, you could still continue to carry it, but as soon as you transitioned over to the off-duty semi-auto, you were no longer authorized to carry the revolver.

Fortunately for me I already had the 640, so a quick trip to the range to have it approved was all that was needed.
Unfortunately, years later I dropped it down a set of concrete stairs and it got mangled. Damn!!!
I looked for a long time to replace the 640 with another, but never found one that was taken care of like mine. And I just couldn't bring myself to move forward to the new magnum frame.
Finally, I went back to the LI police equipment store, to inquire about a new revolver. To my suprise, when the Equipment Section, stopped selling the -2, this store, who was the distributor, was stuck with stock of New, 640-2 revolvers, complete with the full lugged 2 1/8" bbl.
By this time all new revolvers from the factory had the ridiculous lock as part of the gun, and I was not interested. But this store had brand new 640-2 revolvers, 11 years later from 1997, the year I was hired!

Well, as you can figure, I looked through his stock and bought two! They came with the Uncle Mike Boot Grips, which I have since replaced with S&W Factory medalion smooth goncalo alves bannana stocks.

Whether it is the 640 or one of the - models, I reccomend it as a concealed carry or an off-duty gun. Really a great revolver!!!