S&W 642-1

[leathermaneod]

Hi all,

I just picked this little guy up for $284.04 OTD! It’s a police trade in “Grade B”. I’m really excited to get shooting with it!


It is slightly worse for wear and needs a good cleaning, but I think it was a steal! Anxious to hear what you all think. I’d also appreciate if the knowledgeable members here could fill me in on the basics of revolvers, as well as anything specific to this model. I am not new to pistols, but this is my first revolver. I’ve only ever shot one twice in my life. One of these, and my fathers larger frame S&W .357 that was one of the first guns he carried as a LEO. I asked about dry firing at the store and was told that it’s ok, but snap caps are preferred, so I’ll be getting some. I was also told not to perform any fancy wrist flicking maneuvers to close the cylinder, because that could bend the crane.

I do still have some questions though.

Do these things have a hammer block/drop safety?

Any particular lube procedure? The cylinder squeaks a bit when spun, is it ok to lightly lube it? The crane squeaks similarly when the cylinder is opened, ok to lube that a little?

I’ve got the typical cleaning stuff for my 9mm and .380 pistols, lead removing cloth, brushes, patches, bore snakes, balistol, and hoppes #9. Anything else I’ll need to clean this guy? Any specific cleaning procedures I should perform or maintenance issues I should get taken care of? I take my Glocks apart, but have no plans to open this guy up lol

Anything special I should do with it before carrying it, other than cleaning and shooting?

Oh also, I’d love to hear your recommendations on a decent, inexpensive, pocket holster, along with the size.

Thanks guys!
I look forward to your comments!

ETA: Recommendations on a good speed strip would be great to.


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[blues]

Congrats. They're terrific guns for any number of purposes.

A good resource is Grant Cunningham's book on revolvers.

Lots of useful info on cleaning and maintenance and a worthwhile reference to keep on hand.
(Though you can learn pretty much all you need to regarding the essentials of cleaning and maintenance on the web.)





ETA:

Pocket Holsters:

Inexpensive: Uncle Mike's #3

A little bit more expensive...Mika and Aholster

For AIWB, in case you're interested...DSG J-Frame holster.

[Det1397]

Hi all,


I do still have some questions though.

Do these things have a hammer block/drop safety?

Any particular lube procedure? The cylinder squeaks a bit when spun, is it ok to lightly lube it? The crane squeaks similarly when the cylinder is opened, ok to lube that a little?

I’ve got the typical cleaning stuff for my 9mm and .380 pistols, lead removing cloth, brushes, patches, bore snakes, balistol, and hoppes #9. Anything else I’ll need to clean this guy? Any specific cleaning procedures I should perform or maintenance issues I should get taken care of? I take my Glocks apart, but have no plans to open this guy up lol

Anything special I should do with it before carrying it, other than cleaning and shooting?

Oh also, I’d love to hear your recommendations on a decent, inexpensive, pocket holster, along with the size.

Thanks guys!
I look forward to your comments!


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Great grab! It will serve you very very well!
Yes- to the hammer block/drop safety. The gun will not fire (so long as it's in proper working condition...) unless the trigger is pressed completely to the rear.
Plenty of good cleaning and lubrication recommendations can be found throughout the web as well as at specific S&W and revolver forums!
I use the Desantis pocket holster for my J Frames and find that despite their inexpensive price, they are GTG.

[WDR]

Is it just my eyes, or are the chambers chamfered on that?

[Irelander]

Nice find. I really enjoy my 642-1. Here are my recommendations based on my experience.

Apex Duty/Carry Spring Kit. Excellent upgrade in trigger pull.
Aholster Backbone Pocket Holster. Very slim holster for pocket carry.
Pocket Concealment Systems Blackbird Pocket Holster. Very nice leather pocket holster. A little more bulky than the Backbone but works well with different sized pockets.
Wadcutter ammo. I have some of the Remington Target Wadcutter ammo and it hits to POA and is super accurate in my 642-1. Very easy to shoot all day with this ammo.
I painted the front sight black (some like bright orange) and colored the rear sight black with a Sharpie. Makes the sights stand out a little better.
Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire.

Enjoy. Its a great gun!

[Duelist]

Great little gun.

A drop of oil on the crane, and another on the (forgot the word, cylinder spins on it) is not only fine, it will make the trigger pull better.

I have a Galco horsehide pocket for mine, good holster. Aholster and Mika are good, too. A ghetto piece of milk jug cut, stapled, and duct taped would work.

Completely drop safe.

Clean it, lube it, and shoot it. If your groups look like shotgun patterns, it's not the gun. It's you. These are very accurate, but challenging for new revolver shooters to shoot precisely. Once you get it down, though, you'll pretty much be able to shoot anything.

ETA: Bianchi speed strips work. I bought some 18 years ago, and still have them. They've been carried, used, and stepped on, and still hold cartridges securely and release cleanly. I've got a couple of another brand - they work, too. Some people load them up full, others put five right next to each other for compactness, others put two on the end, skip one, and put in three, and others put two on each end with two empty spaces between because it's faster to load revolver cartridges in pairs. I don't see anything about reloading a jframe as being fast! LOL. I use the five with a space between.

[Totem Polar]

GREAT little guns; I’ve got the twin to it on me. I’ve found that a lot of 642s squeak. if it was me, I’d pull the cylinder and clean/lightly lube where the ejector rod rides in the crane, and maybe a single tiny drop on the crane pivot, otherwise I’d leave the internals alone. As to cleaning, I do indeed just use the same patches as I do for a G19 or G26, as well as a bore snake—for bore and cylinder chambers. Places to look for build up are front and rear cylinder faces, around the forcing cone in the frame window, and I always do a quick look/wipe under the extractor star (build up there could keep the ejector assembly from fully seating and jam up the cylinder). But really, I’ve found that one can be a bit lazy on the cleaning front, once you do an initial sprucing up, in the case of used guns. OMMV, and there are others here with more experience by far.

As @WDR notes, looks like someone may have lightly chamfered the cylinder—which could be an indication of other armorer/smith work. Or not. The chamfer helps with speed reloading.

The design of the gun makes it drop safe (hammer cannot contact firing pin without the trigger pulled to the rear.)

Lots of info on ammo/accesories in threads here. Summary: GDHP 135 +P, Winchester Ranger 130 +P, copper DPX 110 gr (which I have no experience with) or 148 wadcutter—for a low recoil option. I’m personally not put off by Remington’s FBI loading (158 gr LSWCHP +P), but that statement clearly marks me as a dinosaur.

$284OTD is tremendous utilitarian bang for the buck, IMHO. Nice work on that.

Oh, and sight paint. Check this: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....-s-Front-Sight

And: https://www.personaldefensenetwork.c...-snubs-sights/

[deputyG23]

Are these the ones from Quantico Tactical?

[leathermaneod]

Are these the ones from Quantico Tactical?

Yes.


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[Tennessee Jed]

Be careful about what you use for powder solvent. Hoppe's No. 9 will quickly dissolve the clear coat finish on a 642. Don't ask how I know that. (Argh!!!!)

Now I only use Ballistol on S&W Airweights.