Smith & Wesson ,J-Frame , model 638

[oldsparkey]

I have a new toy , a Smith & Wesson ,J-Frame , model 638 in the 38 special & the 38 plus "P" caliber.

( The +P designation on a cartridge headstamp stands for pressure and indicates that the cartridge is loaded to higher chamber pressures and thus higher velocities.
Read more: http://www.handgunsmag.com/2010/09/24/a ... z2BwGZhbZ1 )

It's nice pocket pistol and with the hammer almost enclosed you can cock it with your thumb or let the hammer down without discharging a round. It can be used single action or double action depending on how the shooter wants to fire it. The double action is smooth and Smith & Wesson did a good job on that. The single action is nice and crisp.

With the frame being a aluminum allow any rust problems should be next to nothing and the light weight ( 15.1 oz ) is really nice. In a persons pocket it feels right and the light weight makes it even better. You can almost forget it is there unlike any of the heavier models.

For around the house it will be loaded with standard 38 special ammo ( hollow points ) or the plus P ammo and out in the woods with some wad cutters or shot shells or even a combination of the two.

It's not a pistol you would want for hunting but as far as personal protection or dispatching critters that bother you while camping it should do a good job.

Chuck.........

 

[tx river rat]

Chuck
That is a great pistol, they use to call it the Lady Smith ,it is small enough that it fits a women's hands well.
Ron

 

[dawallace45]

Nice gun Chuck , I'm a big fan of the S&W J Frames , I used to have a S&W M60 with 2" barrel and a S&W M36 with a 3" barrel , I used a cast 158 gn cast SWC , quite soft for 900+ fps out of the 3" , good load , took out a 270+LB wild pig from close range with one shot and a only slightly smaller pig with two quick shots to the chest many years back

Wish I still had those J frames , strangely enough I'm not at all a fan of the K and L frames but love the N frames

David

 

[Wannabe]

My little S&W 342 has had well over a 1000 rounds through it. It is such a delight to shoot. My Daughter had it for a couple of years so I got a 442 and have put a few rounds through it and it does good also. I have yet to run across a K frame that did not shoot well. That goes for the 14's, 16's (if you can find them), and the 17's. Just got a Mini .30 and took it out to my Brother in Laws pond today and thinned out his turtle population today. Went out to their pecan trees and picked up more pecans. I crack them and my 94 year old mother picks them out. So far we have got about 30 lbs and pecans are still falling. I'll try to put a vedio on of her opoening gates for me. My Mom is a Hoot. Sorry for wandering off subject. :mrgreen:
Bob

 

[oldsparkey]

Give your Mom a hug for me , she has to be one nice lady to put up with you. :lol:

Chuck.

 

[mike]

I have a Model 60 I used to carry in my boot for backup when I was assigned to patrol duties. Nice little gun. Now it mostly gathers dust in the gun safe.

Mike

 

[dawallace45]

Bob

All my K frames and L frames were in 357 mag and as I was predominantly a IPSC and Ten Pin shooter [ our club had sections for revolver and Autos and I used to shoot in both ] and needed to be shooting 357 mag loads , I found the light weight , small size and sharpish recoil didn't suit me with full power loads as I already had arthritis in my hands and after a practice session of a few hundred rounds I could barely hold a coffee cup the next day , also the small size meant that the trigger guard used to rub skin off me with every shot [ I have rather large hands ] , didn't like the muzzle forward weight of the L frame but the N frame balanced just fine for me and the larger size suited me much better , I was much faster with the N frame than the K or L frame , mate had a 5" barrelled S&W 27 I always wanted to buy off him but he wouldn't sell , but I liked the 6" barrel fine , extra weigh of the N frame meant that the recoil impulse was slowed and I could shoot 300 full power loads in a practice session with out any problems , the Pachmayr Grippers probably helped as well

Chuck , as I said I love those guns , I searched for a S&W 40 or 42 for years , all the gun shops for a few hundred miles knew to be on the look out for a second hand one for me , never found one , did get to shoot one a few times , belonged to a mate but he wouldn't part with it

David

 

[Wannabe]

David,
Like the old saying goes, What feels good to you and works for you is what you need to use. I have a couple of .357's but only shoot .38s in them. I do not care for the .357. I've never shot in any matches. Kinda wish I had been able to.
Bob

 

[dawallace45]

Bob

I stopped using 38's in 357 chambers when I found that the chambers carboned up some , not a lot but just enough to make the extraction of 357mags slightly difficult if I didn't scrub the chambers well enough between changing from 38 to 357 mag , went to the club one day and put through about a 100 rounds of practice with 38's and then shot a IPSC match with 357 mag only to blow the reload because of the extraction problem , only shot the 38 specials in my J frames after that

David

 

[tx river rat]

David
I am like you I love the n frames and I also have large hands. My favorite is the 625 in 45 acp.
Ron

 

[dawallace45]

Ron

Love the 625 , was buying one off a guy who decided that he wanted to get out of Pistol shooting , he wanted $1000 for it , come with a lot off ammo and full moon clips , full belt and competition holster rig and a reloading press plus lots of powder and projectiles , gun had been professionally worked by a top gunsmith , I was a little short on cash at the time so he let me pay it off over a month , wasn't really a problem for him as the paper work would take more than that any way , well I had it all paid off and was just waiting for the paper work to come through and the guy decided that he didn't want to sell the gun after all and gave me my money back , I wasn't a very happy camper , caused all sorts of problems with the police firearms registry .

Had the word out at all the gun shops looking for another second hand one but they are rare as rocking horse crap here in Australia , I did order a brand new one but after a three year wait and it still hadn't arrived I cancelled the order and it's way too late now as I've been out of Pistol shooting for a good while now

David

 

[oldsparkey]

Smith & Wesson has a new wrinkle they added to there pistols. It's a safety featured to lock the action.

Just above the cylinder release there is a small hole. In that hole is a hex head for a key to fit over. It is a really small item and just looks like a small ventilation hole to equalize pressure if there would ever be any pressure in the frame ????

Copied this picture from GunsAmerican.com

What it is , is a locking device for the pistols action. Open the cylinder , Insert a key ( looks like a modified miniature hand cuff key ) into that hole. Turn the key counter clock wise a quarter of a turn and the action is locked. To unlock it insert the key and turn it clock wise a quarter of a turn.
Yes , you do have to open the cylinder to lock the weapon but after it is locked you close the cylinder.
I have no idea why you have to do that with the cylinder , it is just what they instruct you to do.

Chuck.