Trading S&W Shield for Snubbie, Need Advice

[Redhat]

I am a Revolver noobie. I surveyed the options a year or so ago and came up with the same two options, J frame or LCR.

I looked at several J frames in the stores and honestly was not that impressed. The action seemed creepy and stiff, not smooth. Same on a "performance center" model, which really surprised me. It looked cool though. I was also a bit surprised at how many stories I saw online of folks who returned their J frames to Smif for service. And the whole lock / no lock thing was weird. I mean, I would have gotten a no lock model, for sure.

I tried a LCR and man was it butt ugly. But the trigger was very smooth. I also did not find a lot of reliability issues online here and elsewhere.

So thinking I'd need a bigger heavier gun as first snubby, I bought a Ruger LCR in .357. I only shot wadcutters though. After a year it dawned on me I could save 4 oz and bought a LCR in .38 special. I shoot the same WCs. Shoots great and I'm really happy with both, although the .357 is in the safe while I decide to sell it or not.

Oh one other thing, having the ability to swap the front sight on the LCR was important to me. I have a Novak Tritium sight arriving from Brownells this week. Just a 1/16" roll pin and the sight comes off easy.

Just my 0.02.

Thanks for the reply. When you say it shoots great, what do you mean? Recoil is not bad? Accuracy? How about the concealment capabilities?

[RJ]

Thanks for the reply. When you say it shoots great, what do you mean? Recoil is not bad? Accuracy? How about the concealment capabilities?

Well...bearing in mind I am a complete newcomer compared to most if not everybody here when it comes to shooting: By shoots great meaning that I shoot my LCR through the same set of metrics that I use for my Glock 19.5.

Which are:

- 10 yards, 10 shots, in 10 seconds on an NRA B-8. The LCR I shoot in two cylinders, 5 s each. I am a 44-0x with the LCR, compared to approximately 80-1X with the Glock 19. So a way to go.
- A Drill Called "Find Your Level", in which starting at 3 yd you put 4 in a 4" circle, 3 in a 3" box, 2 in a 2" circle and 1 in a 1" box. See picture below from Sunday's range trip of a 9/10 score with the LCR. I am typically 9 or 10 out of 10 at 5 yards with the Glock 19, which is clearly much easier for me to shoot.

[TGS]

Haven't heard about this...what are these issues?

You can spend the next week doing nothing but reading QC horror stories.

Canted sights, off-center bores, generally messed up components.

The current design of S&W revolvers are more robust, efficient (esp. so regarding the Model 19/66) and optimized for production than before, but they just aren't paying attention to catching anything before it goes out the door compared to years past when every gun was practically hand-fitted to some degree before shipping (by necessity).

[RJ]

Thanks for the reply. When you say it shoots great, what do you mean? Recoil is not bad? Accuracy? How about the concealment capabilities?

As regards concealment ability, I typically carry either in my front pocket in a Desantis Nemesis, or at the gym, in a Dark Star Gear LCR Holster.

I ordered a Hogue Tamer Bantam to replace the standard grip (this is what is pictured above) and find it is slightly smaller and makes carry that much easier.

The DSG holster is extremely comfortable and clips on my gym shorts very well.

[Redhat]

Thanks guys.

I'll just straight up say it, I like the looks of the 442/642 way better than the Ruger...but...these days I'm more partial to stuff that's built right and works...for that I'll accept a little ugly. Probably why I stayed with the Gen 3 G19 so long until just this week I purchased a planned replacement...a CZ P07.

I did watch a pretty detailed comparison video on the two put out by Luckygunner. One thing he mentioned is that for those of us who might like a CTC laser, is apparently they stopped making the smaller grip for the LCR and now only offer the larger one.

With all that, function and reliability sit at the top of my list. I don't wanna be dinkin' around with factory returns if I can avoid it.

[Totem Polar]

I am a reasonably die-hard wheelie guy. The last shooting class I took, I used a J-frame. As recently as last year I had 6 of them; now I’m down to 3, and it’ll be 2 as soon as I sell my 642. I just staked my claim on a minty, .38 LCR this week (a month-old change in WA state law keeps me from just buying it and bringing it home the same day), and the reason boils down to sight choices. I’m just not able to make the stock Baughman ramp on guns like the 642, 442, and standard 640 work any more, but the XS dot front sight is a revelation for my eyes, so the LCR and things like the Colt Night Cobra it is going forward. The stock LCR grip is also killer.

Honestly, I prefer almost everything else about the 642, because, tradition; but the sights seal the deal on moving over to the LCR after being a non-stop J owner since 1990. FWIW.

You can get a new, no lock 642 for roughly 4 bills just by looking. It did take me more than one to find a smooth, reliable no-squeak example though. As well, I am another who no longer trusts S&W CS, having recently sent another J-frame back twice, with no relief.

At any rate, see if you can get a look at both a no-lock 642 and one of the distributor LCR .38s with the olive drab grip and XS dot front sight from the factory. A good example of either one will shoot and be easy to tote. JMO.

[Redhat]

I am a reasonably die-hard wheelie guy. The last shooting class I took, I used a J-frame. As recently as last year I had 6 of them; now I’m down to 3, and it’ll be 2 as soon as I sell my 642. I just staked my claim on a minty, .38 LCR this week (a month-old change in WA state law keeps me from just buying it and bringing it home the same day), and the reason boils down to sight choices. I’m just not able to make the stock Baughman ramp on guns like the 642, 442, and standard 640 work any more, but the XS dot front sight is a revelation for my eyes, so the LCR and things like the Colt Night Cobra it is going forward. The stock LCR grip is also killer.

Honestly, I prefer almost everything else about the 642, because, tradition; but the sights seal the deal on moving over to the LCR after being a non-stop J owner since 1990. FWIW.

You can get a new, no lock 642 for roughly 4 bills just by looking. It did take me more than one to find a smooth, reliable no-squeak example though. As well, I am another who no longer trusts S&W CS, having recently sent another J-frame back twice, with no relief.

At any rate, see if you can get a look at both a no-lock 642 and one of the distributor LCR .38s with the olive drab grip and XS dot front sight from the factory. A good example of either one will shoot and be easy to tote. JMO.

Thanks for your observations.. I have a shooting buddy who has a Smith and since I can't remember shooting one since the mid 90's, I may hit him up to shoot his next time out.

[41magfan]

If you're going to roll the dice on a S&W, might as well get it at a decent price: $299, but only two left.

https://grabagun.com/s-w-642-1-875-3...rce=igodigital

[Gray Ghost]

It is worth saying that a 2" J-frame is not an easy gun to shoot. If you are new to revolvers, it will take some getting used to. You might consider buying a used K frame with a 4" barrel to train with until you get the trigger mechanics and manual of arms down. Miniaturizing the revolver does not make it easier to shoot. You need to practice staging the trigger until you can do it automatically and at speed. Years ago I took a two-day general defensive handgun class and shot the whole thing with a J frame and speed loaders. My hand were shredded at the end, but I have been good to go on J frames ever since.

Here is a photo of my 642 in my Milt Sparks Summer Special.

[Pistol Pete 10]

I have 2 642 revolvers. # has the lock, #2 no lock. Both have been right on, shoot to point of aim. # 2 had an extremely heavy trigger pull so I installed a different mainspring, it's about like #1 now. They do have a hefty recoil but they are small enough for pocket carry and that's how I carry. As for trigger pull they are much better than the 101. Not as light as the LCR. Smaller than the On another note, Ruger's QC ain't what it was when Bill was still around. My experience is that a lot of the mfgs don't put any effort in QC now days.