S&w 642

[bbs70]

Been loading & casting for some time now.
380 and on up to 45 Colt.
Never really messed with 38 special, especially a snubbie.

Mama just bought a S&W 38+p model 642
I want to load some practice ammo for her till she gets use to shooting it.
I remember a guy telling me some years ago the for target loads, Bullseye was the best.
Sounds logical, especially for a snubbie.
Yes, I've looked on site and elsewhere for info, and there is plenty of it out there.

I like SWCers in my guns, but wonder if full wadcutters or round nose would be better(more accurate) for the short barreled Smith.
I know it is a short range weapon, but if you can't hit what you're aiming at at 7yds then it is just a paper weight.

[35remington]

Practice…..3.1 Bullseye and any wadcutter. Powerful enough to give realistic practice, mild enough to be easy on aluminum snubbies, even the Plus P rated ones, which I insist on treating gently because, after all, they are aluminum, not steel.

If it's a defensive gun you can't shoot totally wimpy loads for practice. This is well below the standard pressure ceiling (not near Plus P at all) yet still reasonable in not inducing fatigue for longer practice session. About 705 fps from my own 638, which has the same barrel length as your 642. The wadcutter gets somewhat more velocity than a LRN with the same powder charge and tends to have much lower velocity variations.

[winelover]

For defensive practice, my two 642's, get either 5.0 grains of Unique or 3.5 grains of Bullseye under a 158 SWC or 160 RN. No wadcutters in my mold inventory, I'm not a bullseye competitor. I haven't worn, either of them out, after thousand of rounds. Speedloaders do work better with the roundnose bullets. YMMV

Winelover

[bbs70]

Thank you.
I wanted low power loads so wife can get use to the gun and the way it handles so she won't be afraid of it
Then I can gradually up the charge so it is comfortable for her.
Then I can give her some factory stuff for carry use
Don't want to go overboard on loads or she'll never even touch the gun again
Did I mention women are strange that way.:bigsmyl2:

[obssd1958]

For my wife's model 66, I load 3.0 grains of Bullseye, under a 140gr Cramer HP. She is very recoil sensitive, and she has sat at the bench at NCBS, and shot HUNDREDS of rounds in one day!
During one of the shoots, a friend loaned her some loads he had made up for his wife. I think that it was 2.0 grains of Trailboss under a 148gr Wadcutter. Very easy shooting and accurate load.
BE CAREFUL when going down to these light charges. I tried the 2.0 gr. of Trailboss under the 140gr. Cramer, and stuck a boolit in the 4" barrel. Since your wife is a new shooter, you should verify the loads fully before you set her down with them. That way any problems you encounter, you'll be able to deal with, rather than souring her!
Having a wife that shoots and hunts with me, is a real blessing. Good luck to you!!

Don

[tranders]

I went with a 148 grain DEWC over 2.7 grains of Bullseye for my daughter's 642 Ladysmith. It was still too much for her to handle. Those airweights are a joy to carry, but are stout to shoot.

[fatelvis]

I've found that in my 640, 642, and 638 all the throats measured about .357". I purposely don't shoot cast boolits from them yet because of that, until I send them to Dougguy to ream them out to .3585".

[bbs70]

For my wife's model 66, I load 3.0 grains of Bullseye, under a 140gr Cramer HP. She is very recoil sensitive, and she has sat at the bench at NCBS, and shot HUNDREDS of rounds in one day!
During one of the shoots, a friend loaned her some loads he had made up for his wife. I think that it was 2.0 grains of Trailboss under a 148gr Wadcutter. Very easy shooting and accurate load.
BE CAREFUL when going down to these light charges. I tried the 2.0 gr. of Trailboss under the 140gr. Cramer, and stuck a boolit in the 4" barrel. Since your wife is a new shooter, you should verify the loads fully before you set her down with them. That way any problems you encounter, you'll be able to deal with, rather than souring her!
Having a wife that shoots and hunts with me, is a real blessing. Good luck to you!!

Don

Mama isn't a new shooter, she just hasn't shot much (60 ish)
She is recoil sensitive, she has a Sig 380 and only shot it once in the last year.
But now we're in the country she says she wants to learn to shoot more :bigsmyl2:
I tried some bullseye 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 this morning with a 124gr cast boolit from my 9mm stash, yes I checked the dia and data thank you:D
Accurate, but as said a little stout in the 642.
I have plenty of other powders to try, but I broke my Lee hand primer[smilie=b:
Living in the country has its down sides, I'm going to have to order a new one before I can continue

[Dan Cash]

...
Mama just bought a S&W 38+p model 642
....

I seem to be missing something, Is the 642 not a .357 Magnum? I am not a student of S&W but after 50+ years of owning them and currently having north of 30 of them in various configurations, frequently seeing a 642 listed as a .38 Spl. is confusing. Help me out.

[Loudenboomer]

Nope the 642 is a +p 38 special. There is however a good crop of new alloy and nearly unobtanium (price) .357 Magnums J frames now available.

[35remington]

I understand the 642 is Smith's biggest seller in revolvers and for apparent good reason. Nice piece. The heavier Plus P loads in the .38 are stout by any measure.

Certainly powerful enough for me. When unpleasantly hot icky days go on and on I carry one with good confidence in its power levels and deployability.

Well, a 638 anyway, but I like to tell myself taking a potshot of opportunity is a good justification for the hammer shroud, and I actually like how it looks. But I am kinda weird that way.

Federal's 130 HST has certainly piqued my interest as this is essentially a jacketed HP wadcutter. Waiting for the jello tests now hoping for somewhat more than the minimum penetration. Finally somebody figured out the 38 is prone to velocity variation and did something about it in defensive loads.

If recoil is prohibitive slow down the wadcutters to not less than 600 fps. Deep seating makes them better for light loads than any other bullet. Light bullets loaded slow are undesirable for practice/serious shooting for several reasons.

The light loads using wadcutters will not necessarily be more accurate than other bullet types but will be more consistent and ballistically relevant. Downsides to Smiths is that too slow may influence accuracy but will probably still be good enough for practice. My mentioned load shoots well.

For speedloader practice a RN is best and I use the 358311 over Bullseye. For practice at shooting I like the wadcutter somewhat better.

[Uncle R.]

I understand the 642 is Smith's biggest seller in revolvers and for apparent good reason. Nice piece. The heavier Plus P loads in the .38 are stout by any measure.

Certainly powerful enough for me. When unpleasantly hot icky days go on and on I carry one with good confidence in its power levels and deployability.

Yep.
I love my 642 and carry it often, but with +p 158 gr SWC HPs it's a wicked little bugger to shoot. It gives far more perceived recoil and pain to my hand than full-house .357s in a K-frame. I'd say it even gives more hand pain than hot loads in my Super Blackhawk.

I can and often do run through a hundred rounds of .357s in my K-frames without discomfort or fatigue. I'm just enjoying a pleasant afternoon and practicing for defensive shooting. I wouldn't ever try to do that with my 642. Twenty or maybe thirty rounds of +P loads through that little monster is about all the fun I can stand for a day. As Dean Grennell might have stated, it does come back right smartly.

For all that, it's still one of my favorite carry guns. It combines small size and light weight with pretty good "shootability" and pretty good stopping power.

Uncle R.

[No_1]

I load 2.5 grs Bulleye under a 110 DEWC for a chrony'd 640FPS/20SD out of my 642. Same load under just about any nose shape will pretty much return the same results. Accurate with light recoil. I have no fear of shooting it in any of my pistols but due to it's low velocity I won't be trying it in a lever gun.

[35remington]

I stay away from the Plus P stuff for practice and do not carry the hottest possible Plus P's either.

I know my limitations, and I have to practice at least for a while as nobody's range sessions are as frequent as they would like.

The RN's get a fair amount of range time running the speed loader and doing administrative reloads from strips then getting back into shooting.

[Loudenboomer]

If you can tolerate a little reduction in conceal ability a little larger grips reduces perceived recoil. I also own a 342 the lighter titanium version of the 642. It's noticeably softer shooting with the larger crimson trace grips.

[rintinglen]

2.7 grains of bullseye and a 130 grain wadcutter is a very soft shooting load. I bought one of the MP H&G 50 hollow base molds and have been giving it a work out. I've a granddaughter who is going to start shooting pretty soon, and I am working on soft shooting load for a model 60.
One thing to stress on these light loads--a consistent and fairly tight crimp is a priority.

[SquidBilly]

I have a 442 and I like the classic 2.7gr of Bullseye under a 148gr hbwc seated flush. I also like 2.2gr of 700x under the same.

[hicard]

I did a lot of experimenting trying to get the perfect FBI 145 gr lhp to expand with semi hot loads and failed miserably. I finally decided that a hbwc loaded with 2.7 grs of Bullseye is "the" standard target load and it shoots well in the snubby. I am also a firm believer in the hbwc being a good defensive load, especially for the snub nose revolvers. I carry round flat nosed bullets in the speed loader for easier reloads. Hollow points are for 4" or longer barrels.

[Texas by God]

4 grs of Unique/160 rn works for our plinking load. Tried it in a Taurus Ultralight and it was ok. Velocity is around 500 fps in a 4" barrel. My wife loves it in her M67 Smith and it's very mild in my Blackhawk.
Best, Thomas.

[pjames32]

Started my wife with her 642 with 2.7 gr Bullseye and a cast 141gr wadcutter. Slowly moved up to 3.2 gr Bullseye AFTER about 250 rounds. She's comfortable and also shoots a Kimber Pro Carry 45acp and a 40 Shield. I've found if I start her low til she gets the feel of a gun she can move to full power loads for final practice and daily carry. Everyday practice I try to keep in the 750-900fps range. No flinch yet and she does practice dry fire regularly.