Wasting no time, I started in on my new Smith and Wesson 642.
Before any action...
The recoil is, shall we say, stout. I think it even shook free a couple splinters I had in my hand. It was also very managable, though, and highly entertaining. It actually seemed to get easier to shoot as the box of ammo dwindled--I don't know if it was because I was getting used to it or because my hand was going numb! I went through 50 158 grain standard velocity rounds and 5 130 grain +p rounds. I couldn't really tell the difference between them--could the extra weight of the standard velocity rounds canceled out the added velocity of the +p's? Or perhaps I just wasn't paying attention. By the end I was getting my groups down into reasonable sizes, but obviously need some more work:
I just used this target because it's what I found in the bottom of my range bag--didn't actually run the dot torture test.
The squares are from one cylinder's worth (I was aiming at the 3 circle), and the circles are from the next (aiming at the 9), in case you were wondering.
And now some empty brass and a dirty revolver:
Am I OCD? Well, let me just say that after I took this picture I put all the spent brass safely one by one back into the carton.
After I put the revolver away I ran a couple of magazines through my XD just so I didn't forget how to use it--My Word the trigger is so much lighter on it than the revolver! Then I switched to my dad's buckmark, and was surprised again how easy it is to shoot. I think I went about this all wrong... aren't you supposed to START with the .22 and work your way up to the heavier recoiling things?
Then as I was driving away I stopped to take this picture, just to give you an idea of of the area:
Nice. huh?
So there's my meandering thoughts after my first time shooting the 642. Stout but manageable, and I like it a lot. Really, a lovely pocket gun. I am still thinking about some different grips--something roughly the same size as these stock ones, but a with little bit more width to them--any suggestions?
Added: Link to Grip Bleg
4 comments:
Look at shooting the .22 last as a reward for recoil punishment, and a way to cover-over and mask the flinch-effects? :-)
It certainly got me back into the easy shooting mode. Hardly any concentration required.
Small but mighty...can't go wrong with that! I'm voting for the pink grips BTW!!!
The problem with pink is that, if anything, they would probably be even smaller. I either need grips the same width, but with a covered backstrap, or slightly wider/rounder around the middle to give me more to hold on to. Unfortunately, it seems that most of them that do stuff like this also extend past the bottom of the frame, which buggers things up if you actually, you know, want to CONCEAL the durn thing.
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