Posts Tagged ‘CHL’

The S&W Model 642 – My New Carry Gun

Apr 30th, 09 / 0 Comments

SW163810

Yesterday I went down to Evans Brothers Gun Shop in Huntington, TX and purchased this sweet little gem of a gun. I burns 50 rounds of 158 grain FMJ .38 special right afterwards as well.

The Model 642 is arguably the most concealable gun ever made and will be my primary carry as soon as the CHL license actually comes in.

Weighing in at 15oz. unloaded and 6 3/8” long, this hammerless DAO (Double Action Only) design is light enough to stuff in a front pocket or worn IWB (Inside the Waist Band) without being noticed at all, and won’t snag on anything when it needs to be unleashed.

Shooting the 642 is not as unpleasant as I imagined. The lightweight aluminum frame of the gun and the 1 7/8” barrel had me imagining a beastly rapport and voluminous noise. Well, the noise didn’t disappoint, the recoil was not as bad as I imagined and speed shooting at a man size target at 7 yards grouped within about 6”. Trying to actually be accurate got all five within a 4” group, not great but I haven’t shot a snubbie in a few years.

Why didn’t I buy an autoloader? Well, the wheel guns of old are really appealing to me Model_642_10_500_thumb personally. They are cheaper, generally, though not when compared to the lower end of the semi-auto market. They are far more reliable than an auto loader, and are much simpler to use. You literally just point and shoot without any worries about slides, magazines, and stove piping a round, etc. I’m not saying it can’t happen, it just isn’t likely.

All in all the 642 is an amazing gun and gorgeous to look at, it feels good in the hand, it hides in the pocket with ease. It is a great little gun. One thing that I do like about revolvers compared to other guns is that there is no question that the revolver is a real gun that is loaded when you point it at someone. It isn’t so small that it is hidden in the hand like some of the small .32 and .380 autos. Letting whomever is on the receiving end damn well sure of the fact that a loaded weapon is pointed at them.

I love this gun! When I get the new pocket holster and IWB holster I’ll update everyone.

Some Links

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Specifications

Model: 642
Caliber: .38 Special +p rated
Capacity: 5 Rounds
Barrel Length: 1 7/8"
Front Sight: Integral Front
Rear Sight: Fixed
Grip: Rubber Grips
Frame: Small – Centennial Style
Finish: Matte
Overall Length: 6 3/8"
Material: Alloy/Stainless Steel
Weight Empty: 15 oz.

Guns, News, Personal

Random Crap

Apr 21st, 09 / 0 Comments
  • Well I am still waiting on a response back from the State of Texas regarding my CHL license. I sent off the packet in late February and still have not heard anything from them. I have decided that I will actually be carrying a small hammerless revolver for my conceal carry, with a possible derringer as my “New York reload.”
  • I got tired of the old site design so I changed it, and will probaly change it again.
  • A friend and myself are playing around with the idea of getting an FFL license to start an internet based gun store. This would have several practical implications, the leas tof which the ability to get items at wholesale, bypass the middleman, bypass other FFL holders, et cetera, not to mention the ability to make some money.
  • I am disillusioned with Twitter now. It seems that it is becoming more and more “MySpaceified” and that is a very bad thing indeed.  From this point on I will not post to Twitter any longer, and will likely only follow some random people randomly.
  • Anyway like I said ‘Random Crap’ indeed. OH! I am finally reading Neal Stepheson’s Anathem and after a slow start things are really starting to get interesting, I’m about 1/3 of the way through it now.
Personal, SciFi, Site News

I passed the TX CHL Course

Jan 20th, 09 / 1 Comment

dpsealSo Saturday I went out and took the Texas Concealed Handgun License (CHL) course at Evans Brothers Guns and Range in Huntington. If you like shooting and have thought about taking the class, do so. It is a very easy course in which people rarely fail. Casey, the part owner and instructor at Evans Brothers, makes the class as interesting as it possibly can be.

The state mandates that a CHL course must be a minimum of 10 hours long. This is a little too long for the material that needs to be covered but the overall experience is good. You must score at least a 70% on the exam (all multiple choice and true/false) and then a 175 on the shooting.

The target shooting is done with a large man-size target staged at 3, 7, & 15 yards. It is possible to score the necessary amount on the 3 yard target to pass. If you aren’t certain at how far three yards is, trust me it is very close.

I scored a 249 out of 250 points on the shooting and would have made perfect if I would have slowed down and not have been in a hurry, but oh well. Both exams are simply Pass/Fail so it really doesn’t matter.

As I wanted to have the ability to carry a semi-automatic pistol instead of just a revolver, I rented a gun from Casey at the range, something that most places will let you do. I happened to get lucky and was given a great Sig-Sauer P6 (known as a P225 here in the US) 9mm. The gun really agreed with me and I think it convinced me to carry it or a similar gun instead of the small J-Frame S&W I would have carried.

The application packet wil be mailed out tomorrow and I will keep everyone up to date on the status of it as such. I also plan on purchasing a new pistol ASAP and will let you know how that works out as well.

Right now I think I am torn between the Sig-Sauer P6, the Sig-Sauer P239, and the Walther PPS.

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Sig P6

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Sig P239

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Walther PPS

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