S&W 642 ???

[230RN]

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"Pocket" holster?

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Wallet, bad guy? Sure, here you go - oops, it's a handgun instead! Sorry about your luck!

Only way to have a gun ready to go - in hand - and nobody is the wiser.

I do have a tendency to avoid (not "shun") holsters.  As I mentioned, since I got mine, I rarely carry my 1911.  There's my Airweight, right there in the right hand pocket of my coat.

And, should the necessity arise (G-d forbid!), you can shoot right through the pocket without drawing it at all.  Heck, coats are cheap down at the thrift store.

[MechAg94]

SKS stripper clips....more durable than Speed Strips and hold ten rounds....I use them a lot....

Do the metal clips tear up clothing at all?

[seeker_two]

Do the metal clips tear up clothing at all?

Not if you wrap them in a hankerchief or slide them into a pouch.....I've even carried them in my pocket without any cover and haven't had them tear anything yet....

[gunsmith]

I am sorry I sold my 642, thats a great price.
get one of them pocket holsters, for a lot of info GRM might have the 642 club thread

[MechAg94]

Not if you wrap them in a hankerchief or slide them into a pouch.....I've even carried them in my pocket without any cover and haven't had them tear anything yet....

Yeah, but by the time you do all that, plastic speed strips start looking better.   

[gunsmith]

when I get the dough though I may get the ruger LCR in 357, same size as the 642 but with .357 bang

[MechAg94]

S&W makes small 357 mag pistols also.  Only negative if they pretty much hurt to shoot and that is the steel pistol, not an airweight.  You might not care in a self defense situation, but you will be practicing with 38 loads.

The other question is:  What is the difference in performance between 38 and 357 Mag out of a 2" or 3" barrel?  Is it worth it?

[gunsmith]

one thing I really don't know about is how to go about determining the difference between plus p 38's and high quality SD 357 ammo performance thru 2.5 barrels, I do know however that I feel better with a 357 over a 38.

[GigaBuist]

The other question is:  What is the difference in performance between 38 and 357 Mag out of a 2" or 3" barrel?  Is it worth it?

The answer to that question can be found here:  http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/results.html

Well, the raw numbers are there.  The "worth" factor is up to each individual to decide.

[230RN]

I believe the steel S&W in .38+P is the "Airweight."  The scandium/titanium one in .357 is the "Airlite."

The Airlite feels like an empty water pistol when you pick it up.  It has a certain amount of recoil.  Yowsa, it do.

With the Airlight, I went through regular .38s, then .38 +P 125-gr bullets, then 158 gr regular 38s and stopped there.  Yowsa, I did.

My son tried full-house .357s through it and said it felt like a jackhammer.  The pointy end.  Yowsa.

[Bigjake]

On the holster thing..  how is it harder?  Do most of the holsters you are looking at have thumb breaks or a strap?

That.  You can get away with the thumb break on a 642,  it's just ill fitting.  With the 638,  the "hump" of the shrouded hammer makes finding a holster with any form of retention just about impossible.  

Maybe I'm weird, but I prefer to have some sort of retention on a holstered J frame. 9 times in 10 though, it's in a Desantis Nemesis,  and in a pair of cargo shorts the little gun just disappears.



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[lee n. field]

when I get the dough though I may get the ruger LCR in 357, same size as the 642 but with .357 bang

I shot a .357 LCR 3 or 4 weeks ago.  Full house .357.  It wasn't too bad, actually.  (Though, below .44 Mag levels I'm pretty tolerant of recoil.  YMMV.)