S&W model 642 airweight 38spl. ?

[spentbrass]

Hello, Bought the wife a Ruger lcp for x-mas, she hates it already, she has trouble racking the slide. Now she wants a revolver. looking at the S&W 642, anyone have first hand experiance with this model ? Looking for pros and cons before i make a purchace. Thanks in advance

 

[cjtraining]

M642 and it's brother M442 are fine carry guns. Just point and shoot. Also a good choice is the Bodyguard model. The two Bodyguards shown are my wife's and my carry guns. Both are M649's.

 

[Dump1567]

It depends on how she intends to use the gun.

The 642 is a nice lightweight carry gun. Meant to be carried a lot and be shot ocassionally.

These are often referred to as experts guns. To become proficient, they require time behind the trigger to get use to the heavy trigger pull and recoil.

I would probably start her on a steel J or K frame. Find a grip that fits her hand and go from there.

 

[white cloud]

the 642 is a great gun. imho it is one of the best pocket guns ever. i really like my 649 and my ruger sp101 but the 642 gets a lot of carry time.

be aware that these guns get pretty snappy when firing +p ammo. i use the magna grips on mine but you or your wife may need something different in the way of grips.

my 642 smoothed up a lot with use so don't worry too much about the initial roughness.

i

 

[riverrat38]

Its a little hard for me to be too specific, since I don't know how your wife intends to carry a revolver. I have an M442, which, for all practical purposes, is the same gun. Its a great pocket carry gun, and an adequate shooter. If your wife does not intend to pocket carry it, the M642 is the wrong gun. I would suggest looking at a M60, maybe with a 3" barrel. It is a much nicer shooting gun. The M64, and similar K frames, are even better, if the gun fits her hand. It would certainly be good if she could try some guns at a range, before buying. My wife doesn't shoot, but our daughter really enjoys shooting my M60-10, with a 3" barrel. I think that many ladies find the J frame to fit their hand better than the larger frames. But, the heavier models, like the all steel M60's, are much nicer to shoot. This doesn't mean that many gun store salesman wont try to sell her an Airweight model.

rat

 

[RPM1965]

My wife carries a 442 which is identical to the 642 except in color. She had no trouble learning to shoot it, or using it to qualify for her CWP.

 

[one eye joe]

Its a little hard for me to be too specific, since I don't know how your wife intends to carry a revolver. I have an M442, which, for all practical purposes, is the same gun. Its a great pocket carry gun, and an adequate shooter. If your wife does not intend to pocket carry it, the M642 is the wrong gun. I would suggest looking at a M60, maybe with a 3" barrel. It is a much nicer shooting gun. The M64, and similar K frames, are even better, if the gun fits her hand. It would certainly be good if she could try some guns at a range, before buying. My wife doesn't shoot, but our daughter really enjoys shooting my M60-10, with a 3" barrel. I think that many ladies find the J frame to fit their hand better than the larger frames. But, the heavier models, like the all steel M60's, are much nicer to shoot. This doesn't mean that many gun store salesman wont try to sell her an Airweight model.

rat

SOUND ADVICE........

 

[spentbrass]

Great info so far..thanks my wife is on the small side, 4'10 and 100 lbs. She will be taking her ccw class in a few weeks, she works from home so a gun would be by her work station. When we go out, i take my Glock 23, but in the future i would like her to carry too. A pistol seems out of the question, so i will take your guys help and segestions serious, looks like a trip to the range and try some rentals for her. Thanks again

 

[photoman]

Best advice is to have her try some different revolvers. My guess is, a steel J frame will end up being the best compromise.

Some things to consider about the 642...


The 642 is an excellent personal defense handgun given certain conditions!


1. Large rubber grips are a must for beginners.


2. Standard pressure ammo only until the shooter is used to the recoil of the lightweight 642. That includes carry ammo too!


3. 1000 dry fires as soon as possible. This will smooth up the action quite a bit and make trigger control much easier.


4. The Apex spring kit is a good option if you are handy enough to install it or can afford to have a gunsmith install it. This will do wonders for trigger control (especially when combined with the 1000 dry fires).


5. Practice firing at distances less than seven yards. Anything beyond that will likely frustrate the beginning Airweight shooter.


6. Use silhouette targets at the range. Airweights are fighting guns, not target guns! Trying to shoot small bullseye groups with an Airweight is not the mission of this handgun (although you might find it most rewarding later on).


7. A good pocket holster is a must for your new 642. It's like peanut butter and jelly! They just go together so well.

 

[whelenshooter]

I've carried my S&W 642 in a Kramer pocket holster every day for the last three years. It is a really wonderful handgun. If you want a lightweight revolver, you can't find a better one. As others have said, the question really is if a lightweight revolver is the best choice for your wife. My wife isn't quite as small as yours, but she does have a hard time reaching the trigger on a K-frame or larger revolver to shoot them double action while maintaining a proper grip. Different grips can help, but only to a certain extent. I bought my wife matching handguns: a 5-inch adjustable sight Model 60 in .357 and a 5-inch adjustable sight Model 63 in .22 lr. She has been using these revolvers to teach herself double action shooting. Her preferred concealed carry gun is a Glock 36 single stack .45 that she carries either in a fanny pack or in a holster in the small of her back. Which holster she uses depends upon what she is doing, wearing, or going. She used the Glock 36 at a one-on-one tutorial with Clint Smith at Thunder Ranch, so she has a lot of confidence in it.

The best thing to do is, like you said, let her try a bunch of different guns to find what she likes. After that, get her some good training. What she carries isn't as important as her confidence with the firearm she is carrying and her training.

Whelenshooter

 

[Black_Sheep]

Airweights can be uncomfortable to fire, even to experienced shooters. My wife likes her 637 but after a few cylinders of standard pressure .38 she is ready to swap it for a heavier K frame or the Ruger .22

 

[dan-g]

I just went to the range with a buddy of mine and his wife. He has been trying to get her to shoot and she is finally interested so after starting her of on a 22 revolver we switched to my 442 with my powder puff loads.

If you know a reloader then ask them to make you up a few boxes and she will learn that 442 no problem. My powder puff is 3 grains of unique with a 125grain bullet, its really a tiny step up from firing a full size 22 revolver. Great way for a new shooter to learn a gun and I wouldn't even bring any full power 38's to the first shoot, maybe after the second range session and the plus p rounds way later.

Oh yea, the 442 is a fantastic weapon, can be fired from inside a pocket or purse and no exposed hammer to snag on anything.

 

[photoman]

Don't forget the .32 magnum J frames. Six shots and less recoil. Even a .22 J frame would be better than not carrying at all.

 

[Tyrod]

My wifes been carrying a 442 since 1994. We've tried many many different types of grips. Her favorite is a skinny smooth J frame combat from Altamont. That is until I bought her a Crimson Trace LG-305 laser grip. The grips is a bit larger than the boot grip that comes with current 442/642, very close to the size of the J frame combat grip. The laser inspires a great deal of confidence in her. She doesn't practice as much as she should or as much as I'd like her too. She actually doesn't like the steel J frames. She feels as if they're just too darn heavy.

She uses Federal Nyclad ammo for practice and carry ammo. It's a standard (non +P) pressure round with very good ballistics and terminal performance.

Best part is S&W markets either the 442 or 642 (among others) with the LG-305 laser grip. If this is the direction you want to go, shop carefully. Often, you can buy the gun & grips separately for less than the combo from S&W. Black Bear Sporting Goods sells the LG-305 for $224. Of course the combo from S&W should have the S&W logo on the grip. The same place sells the LG-105, a boot size laser grip for $157.

On a completely different note, the Beretta Bobcat (22LR) & Tomcat (32ACP) are autoloaders that never need the slide racked. They use a tip-up barrel that facilitate direct insertion of a round into the chamber. Conversely, a round may be removed from the chamber the same way. Taurus markets a similar model in 22LR.

P.S. I prefer the Wilson spring kit over the others.