242 S&w

M

Ms cece

Inactive
Hi, I just purchased a 242 S&W, AirLite Ti, 38 revolver. used. I would like to know if any one would know if I paid to much for this gun. When I purchased it I was not told imediatley that it was used. Until I noticed that it was dirty, had not been cleaned. Also their was a bill of sale for the previous owner. I paid $500.00. By the way I am a single woman and I bought for when I travel. I'll be checking the forum for ansewers.
ms cece :)
 
You bought a somewhat unusual revolver. It's a "Centennial" built on the L-frame. All the rest of the Centennials were built on the smaller J-frame and held just 5 shots compared to your 6 shooter.
Your revolver was only made 1 or 2 years and that alone could raise it's value in the future, but IMO it's not worth $500 used. Did you also get it's original box and all the paperwork (manuals and such)?
It should serve you well in the role of a travel companion, but I would keep it in something to protect it's finish as it may be worth more than you paid for it in the near future.
 
The 242 must be that light 7-shot 38 Spl revolver. I have the 296. $500 is on the high side, but hey, as long as you have it, that is all that counts. It is s astout little revolver to shoot. You will need to give it the range time to get the feel for the gun. It is manageable. There may be a limit on the grain weight for the gun. Most light Smiths have that limit to prevent the bullet jumping the crimp from the cartridge and binding up the cylinder to the forcing cone. As long as you limit the +P and weight (158gr?) as prescribed by the manual, you should be fine. When new, those things were around $580. When discontinued, they were being clearanced for around $400.

The main thing to be careful is to not use Flitz or any harsh Scotch brite abrasives around the cylinder face to get rid of the carbon black rings. The Titanium cylinder has a coating which the factory advises against using such abrasives.

I love the humpback revolvers. My 296 is the same size as the 242, except it shoots five 44 Spl rounds instead of seven 38 Spl.

A lot of people like the gun because of the lightweight alloy and Titanium. Shoot factory ammo through it and it should be fine.

If it were "used," you may want to spend $5 at WalMart and get Break Free CLP and some cleaning patches. RUn it through, and it should be fine. Most guns are "Pre-owned" instead of hard "used." People shoot about 50 rds through one, and then decide they do not want something anymore.
 
Hi Majic and Gunz,
Thank you both for the information. I think I'll keep my S&W
I haven't gone to the shooting range yet, I am hoping to go tomorrow.
I can hardly wait to shoot it for the first time. I will take your advise about keeping it for the future, and also about the cartridge size and keeping it clean. I wanted to buy a Glock 9 MM, but I had trouble caulking it. It was really difficult to slide. Well again, thank you.
Ms,Cece :)
 
A trick for the strength challenged in racking slides is to firmly hold the slide using your whole weakside hand (take care not to have any fingers in the ejection port/on the barrel) with the arm stretched out and locked. Then with your strongside hand on the grip push forward. This is much easier than trying to pull the slide back.
 
Your S&W 242 is quite a good gun and now that they're not made anymore their value is increasing. S&W made these alloy/titanium guns for people who needed to carry a gun daily, all day, sometimes as a back up gun, like police officers.

The L-Frame is stout enough to handle the +P cartridges for which the gun is rated. However you may find it a bit harsh to fire. Don't let recoil and/or muzzle flash bother you as these are generally great carry guns. Just be sure to practice with some of your actual defensive loads so you know what to expect.

I believe S&W recommends against very light bullets -- 125gr minimum weight -- because the sudden recoil in the light gun can cause lighter 110gr bullets to actually slide forward in their cartridge cases. When this happens, the bullet nose can block the rotation of the cylinder.

For range use, the Winchester/USA 130 FMJ will probably suit you well. A good defensive counterpart would be a 129gr Federal Hydra-shok or a 125gr JHP +P round.
 
S&w 242

Thanks to all of you, who replyed to my question about my S&W.
I have taken all of you responses to heart, and will try them.
ms Cece :)
 
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