Will the S&W 642 Airweight Stand Up to +P?
- Thread starter Kestrel
- Start date
Don Mallard
New member
Insight
Steve,
You can shoot 100 on a NRA Police PPC course with your little gun using wadcutters. If the action has been smoothed and the grips fit 'your' hand then the fixed iron sights will be dead on from 7 to 50 yards with the gun. They will keep in the 2" circle at 7 yards and still hit in the ten ring with the rest of them.
You will need to keep a eye on the screws and keep them tight.
Our Investigators carried them when they were in 'Vogue' in Police circles.
The +P rounds are a heap much pressure for the little gun reguardless what the markings on the barrel indicates.
'IF' I had to carry one for self-defense then I would stoke them with some type of ammo which you mention and I would not fire them unless it was a matter of ergency.
I know they will digest target ammo but the powerful ammo is rough on them. I would not -do not- try to push any handgun to the limit with hot ammo especially if it is a little bitty gun like yours.
Why damage the little man with powerful ammo unless you had to fire them. Just shoot it with accurate target ammo for pleasure shooting and it will live a long time. If you want to shoot hot ammo in a short barreled gun then buy a Speed-Six with the hammer bobbed off and shoot 357 factory ammo in it. It will take the high pressure.
Don Mallard
Steve,
You can shoot 100 on a NRA Police PPC course with your little gun using wadcutters. If the action has been smoothed and the grips fit 'your' hand then the fixed iron sights will be dead on from 7 to 50 yards with the gun. They will keep in the 2" circle at 7 yards and still hit in the ten ring with the rest of them.
You will need to keep a eye on the screws and keep them tight.
Our Investigators carried them when they were in 'Vogue' in Police circles.
The +P rounds are a heap much pressure for the little gun reguardless what the markings on the barrel indicates.
'IF' I had to carry one for self-defense then I would stoke them with some type of ammo which you mention and I would not fire them unless it was a matter of ergency.
I know they will digest target ammo but the powerful ammo is rough on them. I would not -do not- try to push any handgun to the limit with hot ammo especially if it is a little bitty gun like yours.
Why damage the little man with powerful ammo unless you had to fire them. Just shoot it with accurate target ammo for pleasure shooting and it will live a long time. If you want to shoot hot ammo in a short barreled gun then buy a Speed-Six with the hammer bobbed off and shoot 357 factory ammo in it. It will take the high pressure.
Don Mallard
Mike Irwin
Staff
Yes, it will stand up to +P.
Just not as long as it would to non-+P .38 Spl. ammo.
The same is true of any gun, really. The more pressure the round generates, the faster it will wear.
Just not as long as it would to non-+P .38 Spl. ammo.
The same is true of any gun, really. The more pressure the round generates, the faster it will wear.
Don Mallard
New member
M 1911 jhp147
Truth is more painful than fiction......oops that is not the 'way' it goes or is it? Yep it is....those little rascals are not fun to shoot.
I am 'stronger' than --say--my 15 yr old girl
I don't 'do' the pain thing anymore.
I mean why to shoot a 'thing' which is no fun to shoot?
I just don't.
Parked the Norma .308 Magnum rifle too......
Nope for me I only kept the fun shooters....oh my 6" N frame is a shooter but it does not make me want to leave it at home when I go to shoot-which has been real regular for me.
Had a friend call to say 'they makin' 357's in the J frame'..now
Then run your a** out and buy one! and don't call me telling me 'all about your mistake'
Don Mallard
Truth is more painful than fiction......oops that is not the 'way' it goes or is it? Yep it is....those little rascals are not fun to shoot.
I am 'stronger' than --say--my 15 yr old girl
I don't 'do' the pain thing anymore.
I mean why to shoot a 'thing' which is no fun to shoot?
I just don't.
Parked the Norma .308 Magnum rifle too......
Nope for me I only kept the fun shooters....oh my 6" N frame is a shooter but it does not make me want to leave it at home when I go to shoot-which has been real regular for me.
Had a friend call to say 'they makin' 357's in the J frame'..now
Then run your a** out and buy one! and don't call me telling me 'all about your mistake'
Don Mallard
I shoot both 158-gr. SWCLHP+P and standard pressure 130-gr. FMJ out of my 642 while at the range. I carry it with the 158-gr. load. I know the Fed. Nyclad 125-gr. standard pressure load is supposed to be good, so are Winchesters and Gold Dots, etc. But this is the gun I carry the most, and if it's ever fired, I don;t want to think "Gee, I hope this is enough..." So I carry the +p. I don't see a problem with some practice here and there, but not a steady diet.
Gabby Hayes
New member
This topic came up over on the S&W forum two weeks ago: http://www.smith-wessonforum.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/001194.html
A poster at the bottom of the first page spoke of an article published back in the May 97 issue of "Shooting Times" in which author Dick Metcalf and an assistant reportedly put 2,500 rounds of various +P through two different Airweights (M637 & M38). The claim is that neither gun blew up, loosened up or was otherwise adversely affected. The main problem seems to have been to the shooters' hands before they switched to decent grips.
A poster at the bottom of the first page spoke of an article published back in the May 97 issue of "Shooting Times" in which author Dick Metcalf and an assistant reportedly put 2,500 rounds of various +P through two different Airweights (M637 & M38). The claim is that neither gun blew up, loosened up or was otherwise adversely affected. The main problem seems to have been to the shooters' hands before they switched to decent grips.
In my experience the +P's are harder on the hand but for the increase in power, I'll make that trade off. Also, for those of you carrying the 158 lead +Ps, I find that the heavy recoil from these causes the bullets to pull out of the case sometimes, binding up the gun if the bullet moves far enough forward to get between the cylinder and the forcing cone. They can't get the bullet crimped tigh enough with the soft lead bullets they use in these loads. I've had this happen to me several times. I use only lightweight +P JHPs in my 642 for this reason.
If you can afford to buy enough plus P or plus P Plus rounds to shoot out your airweight Smith, you can easily afford to buy yourself a new gun when the old one is shot out. You probably wont need more than three or four thousand DOLLARS to buy enough ammo to wear out your gun.
Shoot OFTEN, shoot safely
Jay
WHY DOES THIS QUESTION APPEAR TWICE EVERY WEEK ON THIS BOARD.
NEW P0STERS, LEARN TO USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION. YES I AM FLAMING AT DUMB *******S THAT KEEP ASKING THIS STUPID QUESTION WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!
GET A LIFE AND LEARN HOW ECONOMICS 101 EFFECTS YOUR LIFE WHETHER YOU CAN SPELL IT OR NOT.
Shoot OFTEN, shoot safely
Jay
WHY DOES THIS QUESTION APPEAR TWICE EVERY WEEK ON THIS BOARD.
NEW P0STERS, LEARN TO USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION. YES I AM FLAMING AT DUMB *******S THAT KEEP ASKING THIS STUPID QUESTION WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!
GET A LIFE AND LEARN HOW ECONOMICS 101 EFFECTS YOUR LIFE WHETHER YOU CAN SPELL IT OR NOT.
don't shoot it's me
New member
Actually, it's "affects" not "effects"...a quick use of the search function for grammar would have caught that.....
As far as newbies go, I do not find questions like this burdensome. We were all there at one time. But if a particular thread seems hackneyed to you, simply ignore it. More troubling for me are the veteran TFLers who post ridiculous polls on your favorite freezer gun or ask what drawer in the night stand do the rest of us use for our bedside companion.
As far as newbies go, I do not find questions like this burdensome. We were all there at one time. But if a particular thread seems hackneyed to you, simply ignore it. More troubling for me are the veteran TFLers who post ridiculous polls on your favorite freezer gun or ask what drawer in the night stand do the rest of us use for our bedside companion.
Apology to SteveW13
Steve,
I apologize to you personlly for the intemperate rant and stupid remarks that I made. As 'don't shoot, its me" pointed out, we were all newbies at one time.
It was a private message from Tamara that made me realize that we are all here because of a common love that we have for firearms. To that end, the more people that we get on boards such as these, the stronger our bond and the greater our chances for enjoying our sport in the future. Tamara suggested that I edit my original posting.
If its OK with you Tamara, I am gong to leave it just as it is so perhaps someone else can see show stupid they would look if they followed my example and ranted at anything that annoyed them especially after a couple of drinks.
Don't Shoot, Its Me.
I have seen some very well though out and knowledgable posts from you in the past. The one above is no exception. And I can use all the help I can get with spelling, grammer, and syntax. Thank you for your comments.
I PROMISE IN THE FUTURE, THAT IF I AM ANNOYED OR ANGERED BY A POST, I WILL TURN OFF THE COMPUTER AND TAKE OUT THE GARGABE OR PICK UP MY DIRTY SOCKS OR WHATEVER ELSE THE LONG SUFFERING SIGNIFICANT OTHER IS BUGGING ME ABOUT.
Thank you all with apologies.
Shoot often, Shoot safely
Jay
Tamara, is there any way we culd get a spell checker here?
Steve,
I apologize to you personlly for the intemperate rant and stupid remarks that I made. As 'don't shoot, its me" pointed out, we were all newbies at one time.
It was a private message from Tamara that made me realize that we are all here because of a common love that we have for firearms. To that end, the more people that we get on boards such as these, the stronger our bond and the greater our chances for enjoying our sport in the future. Tamara suggested that I edit my original posting.
If its OK with you Tamara, I am gong to leave it just as it is so perhaps someone else can see show stupid they would look if they followed my example and ranted at anything that annoyed them especially after a couple of drinks.
Don't Shoot, Its Me.
I have seen some very well though out and knowledgable posts from you in the past. The one above is no exception. And I can use all the help I can get with spelling, grammer, and syntax. Thank you for your comments.
I PROMISE IN THE FUTURE, THAT IF I AM ANNOYED OR ANGERED BY A POST, I WILL TURN OFF THE COMPUTER AND TAKE OUT THE GARGABE OR PICK UP MY DIRTY SOCKS OR WHATEVER ELSE THE LONG SUFFERING SIGNIFICANT OTHER IS BUGGING ME ABOUT.
Thank you all with apologies.
Shoot often, Shoot safely
Jay
Tamara, is there any way we culd get a spell checker here?
spell checker
Tamara,
I have a very keen ear and rigorous training in holistic linguistics. Judging from your response to my question about a spell checker, You sound too erudite to be from Kenturkey, the linguistic pattern suggests that your parents are not even distantly related, ruling out NC and your mastry of syntactical alliteration totally elimanates Georga. Based upon my experience, I would guess that you are a native speaker of the Southern highland dialect indiginious to an area within a fifty mile radius of Franklin County, Tenn.
Tell me I'm right.
Jay
hurry up spell checkr
Tamara,
I have a very keen ear and rigorous training in holistic linguistics. Judging from your response to my question about a spell checker, You sound too erudite to be from Kenturkey, the linguistic pattern suggests that your parents are not even distantly related, ruling out NC and your mastry of syntactical alliteration totally elimanates Georga. Based upon my experience, I would guess that you are a native speaker of the Southern highland dialect indiginious to an area within a fifty mile radius of Franklin County, Tenn.
Tell me I'm right.
Jay
hurry up spell checkr