This followed me home yesterday.

[deputyG23]

75566
I have been looking for a no lock 442 for quite some time now.
Found this one at Dominion Outdoors in Fishersville, VA during a day trip to Staunton for lunch and shopping with the Bride.
Range day today.
25 rounds fired. Kept most in the black of a B8 center at seven yards. The black on black sight picture combined with a black bullseye caused me to shoot three just above the black.
Flipped a fresh B8 on its back and fired four rounds of my small hoard of Winchester Ranger Bonded to check POA.
Need to get the paint out for the front sight.
No issues except the stock rubber grips hate speed loaders. Trigger slightly gritty at the end of the stroke.
I suspect it will smooth out nicely like my 442-2 has over the years.

[Zeke38]

Bread and butter Smith and Wesson! Good shooting and I love the 442, Smiths' most carryable J frame, for my money. No gimmicks, no frills, no fancy metals, just a go along J frame.

[OlongJohnson]

I am a fan of the Sile grip, usually available on fleabay.

[Motor51]

Very nice. I have one just like it but have my eye on a 340 or 340PD. The little J frames are addicting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[deputyG23]

Bread and butter Smith and Wesson! Good shooting and I love the 442, Smiths' most carryable J frame, for my money. No gimmicks, no frills, no fancy metals, just a go along J frame.

If they made the 340 M&P in .38 only and shaved some off the price I would likely bite for nothing else than the enhanced front sight.
Can’t imagine shooting .357 in any J Smith, much less the flea weight models.

[Zeke38]

Deputy G23: I have fired a total of 5 357 158 grain JHP Federals through a 340. That's enough! That was in 2001.

[Lost River]

442s are like that one buddy you can call on, no matter what time it is, day or night. He is that guy who will come tow your butt out of the snowdrift, or haul you home when your car breaks down. Just a reliable old friend.

https://i.imgur.com/z3KYAEP.jpg?1

[GearFondler]

Deputy G23: I have fired a total of 5 357 158 grain JHP Federals through a 340. That's enough! That was in 2001.Me too! And around the same time. I borrowed one from a local gun store employee who was quite happy to share the "experience", lol.
I'll say that it wasn't horrible but it was quite bracing... It seemed like a great way to induce flinching if that's your thing. My biggest take-away however was that no matter how immune to recoil one became the shot recovery time with one handed shooting was miserable.

[SCCY Marshal]

442s are like that one buddy you can call on, no matter what time it is, day or night. He is that guy who will come tow your butt out of the snowdrift, or haul you home when your car breaks down. Just a reliable old friend.

https://i.imgur.com/z3KYAEP.jpg?1

You can't post a knife that well-designed and adorable when it is out of production. The jealousy is straining my heart.

[Lost River]

I had no idea that they were out of production. I have had that thing for a long time and in fact had misplaced it for a number of years, only to recently find it again. Neat little thing and quite handy. Perfect lightweight and practical companion for the 442, especially for days when I am simply working from home. :cool:

[Lost River]

Deputy G23: I have fired a total of 5 357 158 grain JHP Federals through a 340. That's enough! That was in 2001.

Yep,

A buddy (I think he was a reserve P.O at the time, or about to be) had a J Frame .357 and I cannot recall the load now as it was in the late 90s, but what I recall was that it was worse than firing full bore .44s in terms of felt recoil. I fired 5 shots late one night out on the high desert and quickly advised him to put +P .38s in it for BUG purposes.

[Hambo]

Can’t imagine shooting .357 in any J Smith, much less the flea weight models.

Imagine someone striking you across the palm with a piece of rebar. A 340 is pretty much like that, but with muzzle blast.

[deputyG23]

Imagine someone striking you across the palm with a piece of rebar. A 340 is pretty much like that, but with muzzle blast.

My “Aha” moment was at an indoor range in NOVA.
3” M29 with full power 1960’s vintage .44 Magnum loads.
Didn’t hurt, but the muzzle blast and flash made the half full firing line go silent for a few seconds.
Did that first in the range session and ruined the rest of the time by excessive flinching.
That gun now gets handloads that yield about 850 FPS with a 240 grain cast bullet.

[Lost River]

My “Aha” moment was at an indoor range in NOVA.
3” M29 with full power 1960’s vintage .44 Magnum loads.
Didn’t hurt, but the muzzle blast and flash made the half full firing line go silent for a few seconds.
Did that first in the range session and ruined the rest of the time by excessive flinching.
That gun now gets handloads that yield about 850 FPS with a 240 grain cast bullet.

Now see, That's a gun (and the Scandium 329) that just begs for .44Russian 175 grain wadcutters at 785 FPS.


https://i.imgur.com/v6ltHLv.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/u5lSB2Y.jpg?1

Since you handload, try some of those.

It makes the fun factor go way up.


:cool:

[Jared]

442s are like that one buddy you can call on, no matter what time it is, day or night. He is that guy who will come tow your butt out of the snowdrift, or haul you home when your car breaks down. Just a reliable old friend.

https://i.imgur.com/z3KYAEP.jpg?1

What kind of grip mod is that, if you don’t mind sharing the details?

[deputyG23]

Now see, That's a gun (and the Scandium 329) that just begs for .44Russian 175 grain wadcutters at 785 FPS.


https://i.imgur.com/v6ltHLv.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/u5lSB2Y.jpg?1

Since you handload, try some of those.

It makes the fun factor go way up.


:cool:

75690
I have a bunch of primed .44 Special brass and a couple of boxes of cast bullets from an estate sale. Could work up something fun and easy on the hands.

I need to spend some time with that M29. Haven't done anything with it in a few years since my reloading snafu pictured above.
Stupidly chucked in into the vise at my workbench to tap out the bullet and forgot that the jaws were not padded and scratched through the crappy stove black "finish" the gun had when I got it inexpensively. I took the pristine N frame combat stocks off and put on a set of Sile rubber boot grips. Really should sell the combats since they don't fit my hands anyway and could probably get enough to cover the original cost of the gun. I bought this revolver from the estate of one of our retired Sergeants who kept his handguns in Seagram Crown Royal whiskey bags where they got wet somehow and rusted. He had some sort of black coating applied with no polishing or filling of pits.

I really should send it to Ford's for a polish and blue.

[JPedersen]

What kind of grip mod is that, if you don’t mind sharing the details?

I second that question !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lost River]

What kind of grip mod is that, if you don’t mind sharing the details?

I used to shoot this gun a whole bunch when I was on the job. Literally thousands of rounds have gone through it. The short version is you quickly figure out that grips that are comfortable are not concealable, and vice versa. I found that putting a strip of material along the backstrap made a world of difference. Many years ago while sitting at my desk in detectives I sliced a foam rubber earplug in half and glued it to the back as a temporary fix, as I got tired of the sharp corners of the frame cutting the web of my hand after a long shooting session. That actually stayed on there for about 3-4 years I think before I cut it off and replaced it with the foam strip.

Eventually I started using a leather strip and wrapping the Crimson Trace laser grips with hockey tape, as it helped maintain control of the gun. Not very long ago I cut off the old hockey tape and replaced it with some new, cleaner wraps.

Punchline is that the grip mods are all about comfort and recoil control.

https://i.imgur.com/uBoXcYc.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/jhjjlN3.jpg?1


https://i.imgur.com/ZFSA4co.jpg?1

It may not be for everyone, but it works for me and I quit trying to please other people a long time ago anyways. :cool:


https://i.imgur.com/z3KYAEP.jpg?1

[BobM]

My 642 lives daily in my left pants pocket, in uniform (pre-retirement) and off duty. The backstrap of my CT grip came off, had that happened to yours?

[Duelist]

I used to shoot this gun a whole bunch when I was on the job. Literally thousands of rounds have gone through it. The short version is you quickly figure out that grips that are comfortable are not concealable, and vice versa. I found that putting a strip of material along the backstrap made a world of difference. Many years ago while sitting at my desk in detectives I sliced a foam rubber earplug in half and glued it to the back as a temporary fix, as I got tired of the sharp corners of the frame cutting the web of my hand after a long shooting session. That actually stayed on there for about 3-4 years I think before I cut it off and replaced it with the foam strip.

Eventually I started using a leather strip and wrapping the Crimson Trace laser grips with hockey tape, as it helped maintain control of the gun. Not very long ago I cut off the old hockey tape and replaced it with some new, cleaner wraps.

Punchline is that the grip mods are all about comfort and recoil control.

https://i.imgur.com/uBoXcYc.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/jhjjlN3.jpg?1


https://i.imgur.com/ZFSA4co.jpg?1

It may not be for everyone, but it works for me and I quit trying to please other people a long time ago anyways. :cool:


https://i.imgur.com/z3KYAEP.jpg?1

I could not figure out where to get hockey tape, but I just realized I can maybe sacrifice a tennis racquet overwrap and see how it goes.

[Lost River]

Regular old vet wrap works as well, and is quite soft. You can wrap it over the laser activator button and it will not activate the laser until you choose to do so.

[TC215]

If they made the 340 M&P in .38 only and shaved some off the price I would likely bite for nothing else than the enhanced front sight.
Can’t imagine shooting .357 in any J Smith, much less the flea weight models.

They made an M&P 342 in .38 for a year or two. They were originally made for LAPD because they don’t allow guns chambered in .357. They pop up on Gunbroker every now and then.

[Hambo]

Regular old vet wrap works as well, and is quite soft. You can wrap it over the laser activator button and it will not activate the laser until you choose to do so.

And it comes in many stylish colors! ;)

[JAH 3rd]

I remember the first time I held a J-frame Smith.......a model 60. This was decades ago. I'm like, this is such a compact revolver. The snick-snick as the action rotated the cylinder. I was hooked for a lifetime. My pocket carry is a 340PD. The concealed hammer models are mission oriented for concealed carry decades before CCW became a thing. They are just great revolvers!!

[Lost River]

My 642 lives daily in my left pants pocket, in uniform (pre-retirement) and off duty. The backstrap of my CT grip came off, had that happened to yours?

Sorry I missed this on the first go round. No, it was still intact, but every once in a while I would grab the grips and the laser would not activate. Since I started wrapping them, the problem resolved itself. My primary reason for wrapping the grips was to stop my hand from getting shredded, aid in control of the gun when shooting, and recoil control. The fact that they have made the actuation of the laser more reliable has been a bonus.

[Wayne Dobbs]

You can't post a knife that well-designed and adorable when it is out of production. The jealousy is straining my heart.

BladeTech Mouse I think. I bought one for air travel and got it about three weeks before 9/11 (!).

[blues]

BladeTech Mouse I think. I bought one for air travel and got it about three weeks before 9/11 (!).

I have a Dragonfly for the same purposes. Brought it with me while conducting an arms related investigation in Brazil back in 2001.

[Fordtough25]

My 442 is my quick grab pistol and goes with me a lot of places, handy as can be! And fun to shoot/accurate once you master the trigger.

I had a 340PD also once upon a time, was super light for carry and a dandy with 38's, man 357 hurt!

[WDR]

They made an M&P 342 in .38 for a year or two. They were originally made for LAPD because they don’t allow guns chambered in .357. They pop up on Gunbroker every now and then.

There are also the Japanese .38 J-frames that one sometimes finds... 360J?