I've now owned both an LCR, which I didn't waste much time in selling, and a 642.
I had held the LCR in a gun shop, drooled over them when they couldn't be had for under $500, and finally bought one when I found one for ~$430 or so... I don't remember the exact figure. I do remember the 642 was about $450 at the time. This was less than 2 years ago.
The LCR looked cool, but carried poorly in the pocket. It's been awhile, and a lot of guns in between, but I seem to remember that it was grip heavy, and would eventually rotate to upside down when in a loose pocket (like on cargo shorts). It seems the grip was very sticky, too, so clung to fabric. Ammo was very difficult to procure at the time... heck, all ammo was hard to get, but .38 spcl and .380 must have been made of unobtainium... it was nonexistent.
The flame-cutting of the frame had come to light after purchase, so with that also in mind, I traded the little guy off. I also traded off my LCP because ammo was unavailable. That was stupid on my part, and I've since replaced it with a nice hard chrome model, and plenty of ammo
I just picked up the new 642 yesterday on sale for $329+tax ($357 OTD). My dealer cut me some slack on a box of Hornady Critical Defense ammo, so that sweetened the deal a little. Yes, it has the lock. I'm thinking about removing it and replacing with a plug.
