Goodbye little Smith! The 642 is gone.

T

Targa

New member
I tried and tried to enjoy shooting this little hand slapping beauty but after an Apex trigger job, numerous rounds down range (as many as I could handle anyway) it just wasn’t meant to be. I really wanted to like this gun but apparently my fondness for revolvers stops at 13 oz snubnoses :D
 
The 642 ain't a ladies gun. It won't be the funnest gun you own but it is my favorite carry gun, it's accurate, fits in the pocket, lightweight. It is hard to shoot accurately but you can't put a 686 in your pocket and be happy with it.
 
I liked carrying mine.
Didn't mind shooting it. -- It wasn't meant to be a plinker.

But it rattled itself looser than anyone would ever expect, and I had fired less than 120 rounds through it in ... four(?) years. (Six cartridges shy of two 50-round boxes, and one box of Hornady CD.)
A Ruger LCR replaced it.
 
Targa said:
I tried and tried to enjoy shooting this little hand slapping beauty but after an Apex trigger job, numerous rounds down range (as many as I could handle anyway) it just wasn’t meant to be. I really wanted to like this gun but apparently my fondness for revolvers stops at 13 oz snubnoses :D
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Mee too..like the wee snubnose idea but...replaced it with a Taurus 380..fun to shoot for this 'recoil sensitive' guy..I know the 642(nor my LCP) was a frequent shooter but any gun I own I want to shoot, frequently. If it isn't FunToShoot, it's gone, replaced..
 
I owned and carried one for several years. I can't honestly say that I ever enjoyed a practice session with it. It moved on along.
 
Practice was a big player in getting rid of it, I cringed at the idea of practicing with it. I want to be as accountable as possible for any rounds out of the barrel if God forbid the day ever came to use it and that wasn’t going to happen with it. The safest place to stand past 15 yards or so would have been where I was aiming.....:D.
 
I carry a 637-2 pretty much every day. I would absolutely agree that recoil from this little beast can be unpleasant.

While I'm not a huge fan of laser sights in general, I found that a Crimson Trace grip made all of the difference in the world. Not only is the grip more comfortable and manages recoil better than the stock grips, the laser makes accurate placement pretty easy.

Honestly, if not for the CT grips, my 637 would have been gone a long time ago.
 
I've shot several hundred rounds thru the first 642 I bought, no looseness at all. Prolly fired the newest gun 2 or 3 hundred time, no looseness. I rather like shooting them.
 
The Sig is an impressive gun. My dad has one and I am always impressed with its capacity and how well it shoots and carry’s, its like Sig defied physics with the 365.
 
The safest place to stand past 15 yards or so would have been where I was aiming.
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Once you figure out what hold to use, it's not bad. ...Not that it matters much at this point, since the revolver is gone.


Then again... I don't think I ever "practiced" beyond about 7 yards (always estimated, never measured). Anything more distant was more along the lines of "plinking" to empty the cylinder or finish off the handful of cartridges I pulled out of the box.
 
Still have my 642 after 18 years or so. While I don't shoot it as much as I do others, it's frequently put to use. Most shooting is done at 7-15 yards but I do push it to 25 yards on occasion. I won't win any trophies at 25 but it is far from ineffective at that distance.
 
I guess we all feel recoil differently, I have a 638 and don't mind shooting it. I don't shoot it all the time don't get me wrong, but with the extended grips I put on mine (pinky parking) its good for me.

I also plan on getting a Sig P365 once they start putting those 12 rounder mags in as standard instead of the dumb 10 rounders. I'm not paying $46 for a 12 round mag when it should come standard for us living in a free state.
 
I have carried J frames as backup and off duty weapons for the past 42 years and a 642 since 1997. Yes the J f frame and especially the Airweight version does take some getting used to but a good set of grips can make all the difference.
I use the Pachmayr Compacs most of the time, they are surprisingly easy yo conceal although I also use UM Boot grips at time. I Keep the Compacs on my 642 and the Boot grips on my 638. Most of my shooting is done with wadcutters with 10-15 rounds of +P at each practice session. I shoot at least monthly.
 
It was a learning experience, I really wanted to like the 642 but my CM9 was much more accurate, very comfortable to shoot, the trigger was much better (even after the Apex spring kit was installed on the 642) and it carried better than the Smith.....well, for me anyway. I love revolvers but other than its looks, the 642 ended up having no redeeming qualities for me. As for thicker grips, that would have just worked against the deep concealability that I bought it for in the first place.

I can tell you though that they are certainly thought well of, I had no problem selling it to a coworker the second I mentioned it..:D
 
My grips were not thicker but were 1/2 longer, so I could have someplace to put my pinky. Glad you got a gun your happy with.
 
P365 is not a pocket gun, weighs nearly a half pound more than a 642. You are not comparing apples to apples. If I'm gonna carry in a holster I'll carry a Lightweight Commander pistol, it shoots and handles much better than a 642 and it'll hold 11 rounds if that matters to you.
 
Seriously considering

Not to drift too much, your cringing when you think of practicing a few rounds rather reminds me of my LCP.
It's quite accurate, but man I sure don't want to put more than 1 mag through it for practice.

I think I am going to try a grip sleeve for it.
 
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