S&W 642 PC sights

[Rich_M]

First post and it's an awesome forum.

Acquired a S&W 642 PC and like it very much with one exception. The sights.

My eyes aren't as shar as they used to be [emoji4] and very difficult for me to get a sight picture.

Besides panting the front ramp and darkening the notch with a sharpie, was thinking on milling the front ramp and inserting a high visibility slug of plastic, or have a LGS install a Big Dot.

Any recommendations and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Rich

 

[JAREDSHS]

Rich,
Glad you have a 642.....awesome gun.. I carry a 638 virtually same gun except different style hammer.IF it were my gun I would leave it as it was made....learn the rudimentary sights that are on it.....I use a sharpie on my 638 from time to time. It is not a target gun--it is a lifesaver weapon. If used in that perspective, you would not have time for more precise or visable sights. Just my two cents worth. Welcome aboard.

 

[Bill In Texas]

Hello Rich-M!

Welcome to the Neighborhood and congrats on that j frame!

 

[L-2]

I recommend keeping the 642 as it carries well and is fairly reliable. I've painted my front sight ramp red, but this color can easily change depending on what colors of nail polish I can find in my wife's inventory. If you can imagine the color, it probably exists.

For a J-Frame with sights, the 640 Pro is great, but comes with increases weight; a .357Mag capability, and a slightly larger shape. Not all holsters are interchangeable between these two models. The 640 Pro comes with a front and rear night sights dovetailed in, not that you'll need to replace them anytime before ~12 years when the night sights get too dim.

Here's a link:
Performance Center(R) Pro Series(R) Model 640 | Smith & Wesson

I'll sometimes carry both the 640 Pro and the 642 simultaneously.

 

[springer99]

First post and it's an awesome forum.

Acquired a S&W 642 PC and like it very much with one exception. The sights.

My eyes aren't as shar as they used to be [emoji4] and very difficult for me to get a sight picture.

Besides panting the front ramp and darkening the notch with a sharpie, was thinking on milling the front ramp and inserting a high visibility slug of plastic, or have a LGS install a Big Dot.

Any recommendations and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Rich

Frankly speaking, if your eyes are starting to get on the "well-used" side of life, you can paint the sights just about any color but it won't IMO help much. For these small pocket snubbies, a much better option is to just install some CT laser grips. Bonus is that they'll also absorb the recoil much better than factory boots. Red is good but green is better.

 

[Rich_M]

Thanks for all the comments and really appreciated!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hotloogy]

paint it white first, then apply some neon orange. mine is super bright.

 

[Tom S.]

Rich M, welcome to the forum!

When my eyes started going south, a long time ago, I started using red dots. Back then, they were pretty big and clunky, but now you can get very small units with amazing battery life. To some extent, you do get what you pay for, but for a first time user, I'd go with something fairly inexpensive to see if you like that solution or not.

On the other hand, if you are looking for defensive carry solutions, lasers are a great option.

 

[Grayfox]

The 642 and most J-frames are pretty much close range "point & shoot" guns. They don't require target grade sights. I'd leave it alone or try the paint trick. Doing anything that can't be easily undone will only lessen the gun's value.