New backup gun

M

Marko Kloos

Inactive
I noticed that the J-frame contingent of my collection had dwindled down to zero, so I found myself shopping for a lightweight J-frame for ankle and pocket carry.

After passing on the Scandium models (too pricy and too light for +P and Magnum rounds IMHO), I picked a used, but unfired M642 Airweight. I think those little Airweight Centennials are the best compromise between weight and controllability. The steel J-frames can be a bit heavy for pocket carry, while the Scandium and Titanium guns are painful to shoot with stout loads and have a tendency to make the bullets on some loads jump their crimp.

Anyway, they're nice looking little guns, too.

sw640bs.jpg
 
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Nice. I really like my stainless 640 - it's so compact it can go just about anywhere with me, and it doesn't snag on anything. It doesn't carry that bad on my ankle; my boots help distribute the weight. I'm putting an AO Big Dot tritium sight on mine.

Are you going to be keeping those rubber grips on there or are you going to get something more fancy?
 
I was thinking about Ahrends boot grips; I liked the ones on the comped 640 I traded Tamara.

The stainless 640 wasn't too heavy for ankle carry at all, the barrel just had a tendency to stick out of the bottom of the pants due to the extra inch added by the built-in compensator.
 
lend, two socks on your left foot solves that Problem. The sock will stretch out so keep them separate. (Helps to be a bachelor so they are not constantly thrown in the trash).:D
 
Identical to my wife's carry weapon. After a thorough test drive of numerous autos and wheelguns she chose that one and she drives nails with it. As much as I like that little gun, I can't seem to hit the paper. But, it has challenged me now and I'm going to keep trying until I get more proficient with it.
 
Excellent choice. I've been debating between the 642 airweight and the 640 .357 for some time and still can't make up my mind.
Great picture by the way, I wish I knew how to get those kind of quality pics.
 
Lendringser...

My S&W catalogs don't go back very far. Is there a difference between the 640's and the 642's?

KR
Oh, I get it now! .38 Special vs .357 mag, right?
 
Kentucky Rifle,

Poor lendringser doesn't even know what gun he just bought; that's a 642 Airweight Centennial. 640's are all-stainless. The 642 was more-or-less supplanted by the 342, and was dropped from the catalog in 2000.
 
Yeah, it's a 642...of course. Must have been all that LDS I did in the Sixties. ;)

Great picture by the way, I wish I knew how to get those kind of quality pics.
Click to expand...

I'm no Oleg Volk, but I get pretty good results with a digital camera (Sony Mavica) with macro focus, and a location with good ambient light. Shoot lots of pictures, vary the angle and the lighting a little in every picture, and you'll get a very nice one out of every ten you shoot.
 
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