Tag Archives: smith 642

22 Years with the same old Snubby

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For those situations where a more full-sized gun isn’t on the schedule, this Smith & Wesson Model 642 Airweight has often tagged along with me, especially in hot summer months.

I picked up this 15-ounce piece of prevention back in 1997 and, while my typical everyday carry is a double-stack 9mm compact (alternating between Glock’s G19 and S&W’s M&P 2.0) this .38 special often pokes its head out of the safe for various uses. While not perfect, they do have their place and this one has been nothing but faithful for 22 years.

More on its journey in my column at Guns.com.

EDC, South Fla. edition

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With the heat and humidity hovering in the 90s, and rainfall being an everyday reality, my summer everyday in Florida consists of the following:

eger edc

Smith and Wesson .38 Spl Model 642-1 (no lock) Airweight with Altamont round combat super rosewood grips and fed with Remington High Terminal Defense 110 grain JHPs, a Five Star HKS style speedloader stoked with the same, blue Swiss Army Cadet, Steamlight Stylus Pro LED and a Seiko Solar.

Total weight, all items: 1 lb, 12 oz. flat including Bianchi IWB leather holster (not shown). Throw in Jeep keys, wallet and mobile device and you are good to go.

“A man mustn’t
walk without weapons
even an inch from home,
because he never knows when,
as he pursues his path,
he’ll suddenly need a spear.”

— Hávamál, stanza 38. (Advice from Odin). Source

My beat up old Airweight, and why I love it

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In the 1950s Smith and Wesson gave the Colt Detective Special a run for its money when they introduced the J-frame snub, and the Airweight 642, building on that legacy, has been one of my favorite carry guns for decades.

Snubby 101

In the 1920s, a new wave of Prohibition criminals such as John Dillinger, Machinegun Kelly, and Clyde Barrow captured the public’s imagination. They also scared the crap out of law enforcement. With these criminals being equipped with high-powered Thompson subguns bought over the counter, coupled with weapons stolen from National Guard armories, law enforcement needed to upgrade their sidearms. Plainclothes detectives either had to carry full sized revolvers or pistols, or were forced to tote small and ineffective European revolvers in tiny calibers such as the Velo Dog. What they needed was a handgun capable of being carried concealed, yet still chambered in an effective caliber.

Max Cherry's old-school Colt Dick

Max Cherry’s old-school Colt Dick

Colt, looking to cash in in this need introduced the Detective Special in 1927. Taking their 1908-vintage Police Positive revolver, a double-action revolver constructed with a carbon steel frame and six-shot swing out cylinder, it was equipped with a “Positive Lock” safety that prevented the firing pin from hitting the primer unless the trigger was deliberately pulled, they created a new gun. With the Positive’s proven design that was already popular both with law enforcement and civilians, Colt streamlined and shrunk it down until it was only 6.75-inches overall length with a 2-inch barrel. Weighs with fixed sights and wooden grips was just 21-ounces.

Smith steps in

Colt’s gun sold very well for two decades and became a favorite of bank tellers, shop keepers, postal clerks, travelers, and of course, detectives. So much so that in 1950 Smith and Wesson debuted their J-frame Chief’s Special (still around as the Model 36), with comparable specs to the Colt Detective.

The next year, to trim down the weight, Smith introduced the Model 37 Airweight with an aluminum frame and cylinder then, to compact the gun further, the shrouded hammer Centennial came out in 1952.

Finally, in 1990, the gun that is the subject of this piece, the Model 642, a Centennial (enclosed hammer) Airweight (aluminum frame) was debuted.

And mine, carried for the past 20 years, has a bit of wear to it.

DSCN9795

Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk

Some of my personal carry choices

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I had a message asking for what I personally carry, so far as for self-defense. Remember to abide all of your local laws etc for your own choices. Well, here we go:

minimalist edc– My minimalist EDC set up includes a Smith and Wesson Airweight .38SPL in a Bianchi IWB holster with 5 rounds loaded, 5 in a HKS style speedloader, and 12 in Bianchi Speedstrips for a total of 22 rounds of Federal Premium LE +P. Knife is an old school Case folder and the penlight is a Steamlight Stylus. -It all compacts nicely and I can wear this with slacks at the office or out to the movies with no one noticing anything.

sig edc-A more comprehensive EDC that I often use is my SIG P229R DAK with a Galco Royal Guard IWB holster and a benchmade folder with pocket clip. For illumination, a Steamlight ProTac with aftermarket paracord lanyard if needed. Spare mags are shown in three different variants of carry. At the top a MOLLE style mag holder that can be reversed to wear IWB. Below that is a traditional open top kydex holder for two mags OWB (to be concealed by an over shirt or jacket) or, along the slide of the SIG, rests a hybrid pocket carry mag holder that looks like a pocketknife from the outside. I can carry the SIG alone, or one extra mag, or two extra mags, or heck, even all four extra mags should I chose.  This is my general teaching rig when I am conducting CCW or LE classes.

backup guns-Among my rotation of backup guns include from top to bottom: A Beretta 950 in .22LR, A North American Arms 22WMR, a Ruger LCP .380ACP and a little Davis .25ACP Derringer. They also work great for carry each and of their own.