Should I pick up a 642 or 442?

[mtheo]

I think the "lint trap" concern is somewhat overblown. Clean out the shroud at the end of the day and there shouldn't be any issues.

I carried a "true Body Guard" model 38 for four years using only a Barami Hip Grip. Interference of the hammer due to foreign objects trapped in the shroud was NEVER a problem....besides belly button lint I have had tree bark and gravelly river mud trapped in the shroud...those materials both "ejected" upon pulling the trigger. I had a person tell me once that pennies or dimes could jam the hammer. I have never had the occasion to carry any of my guns in a coin purse.

I currently carry a 642 with a Hip Grip.

I would get the 642 or 638 because the stainless barrel and cylinder is rust resistant. I couldn't keep enough lube on the model 38 to keep it from rusting due to body moisture, even when using a leather inside the belt holster. I finally resorted to black spray paint on the barrel and cylinder....get the stainless....if you have trouble with Smith's clear coat on the aluminum pay someone to put one of those new spray/bake coatings on the frame...my understanding is they are quite tough.

 

[one eye joe]

At the sake of sounding like a COB (Crusty Old Ba****d) which I am, I've probably got socks older than you ,and still don't "get" why you would need to "visually inspect the hammer"....but never mind that issue for now.

The 442/642's are crurrently the most popular and best selling S&W revolvers for good reason.

They are compact, light weight, accurate, reliable defensive side arms at a very reasonable price in today's economy. Regardless of my main battery, my 642 is a constant companion.

The decision between the blued/stainless finish is purely personal.

However if you ever feel the need to "visually inspect the hammer", just remove the side plate and have a field day.

I'M WITH YOU MOONDAWG ! ! ! MUST BE A FUNCTION OF OUR AGE......

 

[S/W/erie/PA]

Does anyones airweight also not have a forcing cone cut. I don't have another to look at. Just wondering bc the rear of the barrel doesn't look right to me. Any help is grateful.

 

[ThreeLabs]

I was skeptical of this design for a long time. Then I picked up a used 640-2 (the all steel version) and immediately fell in live with it for CCW. I wished I had made the move years ago. The enclosed hammer is actually a plus because pocket lint and dirt can't get down in there.


Thanks!
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[photoman]

Does anyones airweight also not have a forcing cone cut. I don't have another to look at. Just wondering bc the rear of the barrel doesn't look right to me. Any help is grateful.

Every revolver has a forcing cone. Maybe I don't understand the question?

 

[RHINOWSO]

I carry the 642CT confidently.

The 442 is sharp whith its black finish but I want the BG to SEE that sucker.

Why? If you've drawn you weapon, you are preparing to shoot. Why let him see it that much better? Besides, black disappears better in the pocket. IMO.

 

[S/W/erie/PA]

Every revolver has a forcing cone. Maybe I don't understand the question?

The back of the barrel. That comes closest to the cylinder. Has no cut. It looked rough when it was shipped. The smith said it didnt have this cut.

 

[snubbiefan]

This is not a case of AirLite bashing....I own two myself. It may be a case of Smith bashing....but not the gun. You guys with the "recent" AirLites take a close look at the grove in your recoil shield being carved-out by the center-pin. I became concerned about it (maybe no reason to be), but I did notice that rather quickly...that trail gets cut deeper that any of my Stainless weapons and even deeper than the older AirLites. I have made it a point to poke-around at gun shows to look at the older AirLites and I do not seem to detect the same degree of wear as the current production runs. I contacted Smith about this concern and the "brilliant rocket scientist" I talked to told me..."don't worry about it...the center-pin is steel and the recoil shield is aluminum". I told him that I was not seeking a class in metallurgy as I had done that already in my college days and do have enough common-sense to figure out that steel defeats aluminum just about every time. I just have a gut-feeling that the older AirLites were constructed of a better alloy based on my very non-scientific investigation.

What I would like to hear is something from a long-time 642 owner that has, what he/she considers to be excessive wear at the center-pin to recoil shield junction. I fully realize this wear will slow down and greatly diminish as the rod "wears-in" against the aluminum. But I wonder how long it will take before I have a gash as deep as the Grand Canyon in my two AirLites. Mine are no-lock frames and they are not 642's. You may continue to get a warrantied no-lock frame for the Centennial models but not so with others.

 

[goldenbb]

And you would be willing to bet your life on that?

A Mika pocket holster is $30. You could probably find another brand cheaper if you looked around. How much is your life worth?

You got it, man! Your chances of having an accident with the firearm are far higher than your chances of needing to use it in self-defense--unless you happen to live in a very high crime area! And if you live in such a high-crime area, chances are concealed carry isn't legal anyways, which is why crime is high. It's a Catch-22.

That poor guy that accidentally killed himself in front of his kids must have been some kind of bubba! I wish people would use their heads when it comes to carrying guns--how many people really need to carry a gun all the time? Did that guy ever need to be going around with a Glock in his trousers?

I have been a gun nut from a very early age and I only recently in the last couple of years got a carry permit and do carry once in awhile just for practice and understanding, but where I live you are much more likely to die in a car wreck than anything else. There is crime, but there is rarely the kind of opportunistic threats that having a CCW would help with. But hey, if it makes you feel better, carry the darn thing! Please also wear your seatbelt and quit drinking and smoking, though because those are the real killers.

Don't read too much into what I'm saying here--I'm not anti-CCW by any means. It just feels like a lot of people are being marketed an idea that doesn't jive with reality.

 

[snubbiefan]

The very reason that I got the wife a revolver to carry is because I do not want her carrying an automatic locked and loaded. She is not that mechanically inclined and I think it's just safer to carry a revolver than it is an automatic, especially one with a concealed hammer. I have never heard of a round simply "going off" on it's own....you can't snag the hammer on a hammerless model and it takes some real magic to accidentally pull the trigger on a DA revolver.

On the other hand, I know of at least two auto-pistols that I have had experience with that will fire if they are dropped and happen to hit the ground the wrong way, or simply by flipping on the safety. Concealed or bobbed hammer DA revolver is about the safest way to carry.

 

[tguil]

I have been a gun nut from a very early age and I only recently in the last couple of years got a carry permit and do carry once in awhile just for practice and understanding, but where I live you are much more likely to die in a car wreck than anything else. There is crime, but there is rarely the kind of opportunistic threats that having a CCW would help with. But hey, if it makes you feel better, carry the darn thing! Please also wear your seatbelt and quit drinking and smoking, though because those are the real killers.

Don't read too much into what I'm saying here--I'm not anti-CCW by any means. It just feels like a lot of people are being marketed an idea that doesn't jive with reality.

I agree 100%. I carry only when I feel that I am going to be in a potentially dangerous place. Lots of CCW holders will disagree, but...oh well.

Oh, I do wear my seatbelt, quit drinking and smoking long ago and always wear a helmet when I ride my Harley....and I like my new 442 a whole bunch.

 

[snubbiefan]

I can stand on my front porch and mentally draw a semi-circle of all the houses that have been burglarized around me for miles. I live out in the country and the closest LEO is 30-minutes away...if they actually get in a hurry.

When I am home, I am never out of a 10-15 foot reach of a loaded weapon. When I walk around in the yard, I wave at the postman, the meter reader and any passers-by in the road with a gun in my hand. I make it a point to let anybody and everybody know that I carry and may just be crazy enough to shoot somebody. I do not live in a bad neighborhood and all my neighbors are wonderful law-abiding citizens, who have gone to carrying as well. Trash comes up here to the country from the larger cities down south on hit-n-run expeditions.

So far....I am the only one within this semi-circle that has not been hit. I kept a dope-head held at gun point on my porch one night awaiting the arrival of the law. The guy was banging on my door and I was not about to go see what he wanted without a gun in my hand. When the deputy arrived, he told me we would all be much better off if I had simply shot this guy, but I could tell he was out-of-it. That 6-inch 686 stuck in his face made him extremely gentle until the COPS arrived to cuff him and drag him away.

You really never know....so I carry all the time.

 

[tguil]

Offhand, I'd say that you live in a "potentially dangerous place" even if you do have great neighbors....and caring your big*** 686 makes a heck of a lot more sense than carrying 442 or 642. (By the way I live in a rural area even more distant from law enforcement than you do and I carry most of the time also. Only I carry a .22 for much smaller "trash").

 

[DesertFox]

Nothing to do with CCW of 642 or 442 but - Scattering empty shell casings of assorted calibers around works pretty well. Solved a problem with deadbeats cutting through a trail on property in collage by doing so. Grass grew back and short-cut was no more.

 

[snubbiefan]

Well....one may think I live down-town in gang-land, but that is not the case. The gang-trash from the larger cities are moving out into the unsuspecting areas (rural America) to do their work. They have a system worked out in which they have a watcher on a cell-phone nearby. It's a multi vehicle approach. When the watcher gives the coast-is-clear signal....they can clean your house out in 10-minutes or less. All they want is guns, jewelry, computer equipment and anything else they can sell or pawn.

Going to jail for house-burglary is hardly worse than a parking ticket. All the local LEO's want all the help they can get and they applaud neighborhood crime watch. They would rather arrive at the scene of the crime only having to call the ambulance....for the perp.

When do I feel it's necessary to carry....ALL the time!

I realize we are making a mess of the OP's original thread topic, but to fix that...I'd say either the 642 or the 442 is a very okay piece.