I purchased a 642 UC at my local dealer, got it home, and put it in the safe. The next day I was giving it a good look and noticed the night sight was dead. I contacted Smith & Wesson via email. They got back to me and offered to ship me a replacement night sight or a shipping label to send the 642 UC back to the factory. In addition to the dead night sight, I also noticed the barrel shroud had some movement so I opted to ship the 642 UC back to the factory. I replied to the email advising S&W I wanted to ship the revolver back on 03/05.
In the mean time, I stumbled onto this thread, sent email and a few hours later I received a reply from Jason Cloessner, Senior Vice President & Product Development Manager at Lipsey's. Jason advised he could expedite a shipping label back to S&W or replace my 642 UC. I opted for a replacement gun. Jason contacted my local dealer where I purchased the UC and explained the situation. He asked that I return the original gun back to the dealer and he would overnight me a replacement gun which should be at my dealer the next day. Jason assured me that he personally inspected the replacement 642 UC and said the night sight is bright, there is no movement in the barrel shroud, and the trigger is smooth. He asked me to call if I had any questions and provided his office number and his personal cell number if it was after hours. I picked up the revolver at my dealer yesterday. The night sight is bright and there is no movement in the barrel shroud.
I can not express how impressed and appreciative I am of the level of customer service Jason has provided. The is the first Lipsey's firearm I have purchased but it definitely won't be the last.
After reading that, I had regrets of not pulling the handle on a 442 when they were in stock at Midway. Some interesting details in that article. Well worth the time to read it.
ETA: I first saw it over on AFR, but it was late and I didn't think to share the link here. Excited to see what part 2 of the article brings.
For the 432 what is the recommended/preferred method for reloads? Speed strip speed loader? Are any available?
Also what would be the recommended training ammo?
Are you loyal to the constitution or the “institution”?
Went to Cabelas to kill time after some errands. 10 boxes of Hornady Critical Defense 32 HR mag on the shelves. $41.99 for a box of 25. Midway is $44.99.
1. Reloads - For carry, a speed strip. Outlaw in matches, an HKS speed loader. I really don't worry about reloading it in real time on DA STREETZ.
Speed strip - https://tuffproducts.com/7002-quickstrips-black-2-set/ Amazon has HKS 32 speedloaders
2. Practice - my preferred is/was Fiocchi 32 SW Long FMJ. Hard to find, I used up my case of it. I've used recently, Magtech Long LRN. As I mentioned elsewhere, I had two duds in two 6 round cylinders of the stuff, with what seemed like primers that only had a pin prick dent. The gun reliably fired all kinds of 32 Longs, 32 Wadcutters, different folks 32 HR mags and 327, so that's that.
3. Reloading the gun with wadcutters is slowly than shit for me as corralling six thin flat nosed rounds in the six small holes was though. Ogives load faster, as round nose or the truncated curves of JHP.
I have a good supply of 32s, so I'm not buying unless I see a good deal on the Fiocchi FMJ again.
Cloud Yeller of the Boomer Age
I personally ordered three old school HKS 6 shoot speedloaders off of Amazon a few days ago for mine.
https://www.amazon.com/HKS-M-Speedlo...s%2C350&sr=8-1
Finally have a few minutes to sit down and post about shooting the 432 UC for the first time before I have to get to work cranking out ammo!
On Sunday I went out and shot 150 rounds. Dang wind was blowing. Some times it was calm, but there were some gusts that made life difficult to say the least. I lost my final target in the end.
I had brought along my S&W 442 and G21.5 w/RDO as well. I figured I would see how the recoil was, shooting the 442 and 432, shooting them side by side, with the 100 grain and 148 grain poly wadcutter loads.
My first six rounds at 15 yards with the 432:
I shot six more for a total of 12 rounds then decided to adjust the rear sight. The rear sight is dove tailed in and has a set screw. I had a screw driver set, Brownell's brass hammer, along with a brass rod in case I needed to tighten any loose screws or whatever.
So I loosened the set screw and went to adjust the rear sight in the dovetail. Ha! That sucker is soo tight in there! Good news bad news (not really that bad). I tapped on it a few times with the brass rod while sitting on the tailgate. The good things is that the rear sight is so perfectly fit in there that the odds of you losing your rear sight if the set screw comes loose are extremely slim. After tapping on it a number of times and it not budging, and knowing my propensity for totally screwing up very nice things and totally regretting it, I decided I would wait until I got him and use proper tools and do it right! Sometimes I do learn from my own previous mistakes....
I may have a 1911 that still looks like a dog chewed on the rear sight from me adjusting the rear sight at a match with a Leatherman and a rock..
Not going to do that this time!
So I went back to shooting.
I shot my 442 with the old trough sights and there is just no comparison. So I cheated and used the CT laser grips. I will say that with 20 years of using CT laser grips, and thousands of rounds, the little 442 will stack them still. The laser grips are a definite advantage if the light is in your favor, like being indoors or on overcast days.
I might consider some CT grips for the 432. The sights on the 432 are the best I have ever used on a J frame, no question about it, but having both would really be exceptional. I was considering this, but I REALLY like the shape of the grips on the 432. They are the best grips I have ever used on a stock J Frame. By a long shot.
So the wind started really picking up and I was having trouble keeping the IDPA target even stapled down. It finally blew off and I was unable to recover it. You can kind of see on the paper behind it how pretty consistent at 15 yards the .32 H&R was. To the upper left are some .38 148 grain WC holes as well, but the lower left are the main group from the 432.
In the end I had 3 boxes of 100 grain wadcutters through the 432. Pretty comfortable gun to shoot. Definitely a home run for Lipseys.
I shot the G21.5 after that at some rocks that I lasered in the mid 80 yards out to about 120 yards . That gun is a freaking tack driver. I am going to take it out on a nice day and set some steel up at extended distances and see what it can do. The Marksman barrels in the 5th Gen .45 guns are pretty exceptional.
I would have put some .45 on paper but my target I set aside for the G21 is probably in Wyoming by now...
Sounds like a decent outing even with the wind challenge.
I’m interested in your impressions of the revised lock-work in the new J frame. Obviously your 442 is an old friend at this point, and is probably effortless for you; how did the 432 do in terms of stacking, reset, etc? Did it smooth up much after those 300 rounds?
"If I ever needed to hunt in a tuxedo, then this would be the rifle I'd take." - okie john
"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself." - Michel De Montaigne
I am extremely interested in your upcoming comparo with your 340. I have a 340 with Crimson Trace green lasergrips. I'm told by a friend (with far more j-frame experience than I), that my 340 has one of the best S&W/OEM triggers he's ever felt. Having said all that, this S&W/Lipsey collaboration has me drooling.
Please update!
"We are the domestic pets of a human zoo we call civilization."
Laurence Gonzales - "Deep Survival."
Thirty-five years ago @bruceride bought a lightly damaged MG Midget and while we were trying to bash the bumper horn back into position I ran to the store and bought a little three pound sldege hammer. I have used that hammer for many things in addition to pistol sights...