Lasergrips plus S&W 642 equals value - Handguns

Guns Magazine, March, 2004 by Massad Ayoob

$695 is the suggested retail price for the latest special deal offered by S&W: a Model 642 Airweight revolver, already fitted with Lasergrips from Crimson Trace, Says S&W president Roy Cuny in a press release, "The laser equipped J-frame extends Smith & Wesson's tradition of bringing technological innovation to the firearms market place. Crimson Trace Lasergrips add precision aiming capability to our compact revolver without adding weight or bulk." Adds Crimson Trace's press release, "(the) J-frame is capable of extraordinary accuracy that can be used to its full potential by the application of Crimson Trace Lasergrips." It sounds like a mutual admiration society, but I can't argue with either statement.

The Lasergrip

Crimson Trace makes two types of Lasergrip for the J-frame. S&W chose the overmolded version, which is the softest shooting. Nice, cushy rubbery stuff between the web of the hand and the hard part of the gun is a good thing when a 14-ounce revolver launches a 158-grain P .38 Special lead hollowpoint, the amino most professionals who've studied the mailer prefer to load in these five-shot snubbies.

With the buck strap of the grips extending rearward from the back-strap of the gun a bit, the short trigger reach is lengthened and allows most adult males with proportional length fingers to have better control of this little .32-frame powerhouse.

Since their introduction, these smallest S&W .38s have had tiny little sights, difficult to see in the best of circumstances and sometimes impossible to align in the dark. The bright red dot projected by the laser is much easier to index. Crimson Trace provides a little L-shaped screwdriver to adjust the laser, which I've found to hold its adjustments pretty well.

Don't make the mistake of sighting in to put the bullet "on the dot" at a certain distance. If you do, it'll be "'on" at only that distance, and the bullet will be low right at greater ranges and high left at closer ones. The reason is, the grip-mounted laser projects its beam from a position low and fight of the muzzle. I figured out a better way: simply adjust the laser so that it's running parallel to the barrel. Now it's simple Kentucky windage. At any practical distance at which you'd use a revolver with a l 7/8-inch barrel, you know you're going to hit an inch high and half an inch left of the red dot.

There have been reports of suspects who experienced added intimidation effect when "dotted," and surrendered with alacrity. I have no doubt that this has happened. I just warn you this: don't expect it to happen automatically.

The red dot is better seen, not as some magic intimidator, but as something that lets you get on target if you have to fire from an awkward angle where you can't bring the gun to line of sight. Personally, I think the laser concept comes into its own in training. It lets an instructor graphically demonstrate in the classroom why jerking the trigger will send the shot awry, but why smoothly pressing the trigger back even if the gun hand is shaking will still send the bullet more or less center. In the hands of the student, it helps condition that smooth, jerk-free trigger pull as the student holds the red dot on target during the dry fire stroke.

The Airweight Centennial

The "hammerless" J-frame was introduced as the Centennial in 1953, and available immediately in Airweight, the aluminum frame version. Inspired by the legendary Rex Applegate, it has been a favorite of firearms professionals ever since. The original Centennial Airweight, the Model 42, was discontinued for lack of sales in the '70s, became an instant "cult favorite" at gun shows.

Largely at the behest of writer Wiley Clapp it was reinstated in the early 1990s, as the Model 042 and then Model 442 in blue or nickel. Soon it was also offered in stainless as the Model 642. The "stainless look" aluminum of the first 642s had a cheap, tinny appearance, and I for one tested several and found that they shot groups twice as large as a blued 442. We never did learn the exact reason for that, but S&W pulled the 642 from the market for a while, tweaked it, and brought it back. Today's 642 looks better and shoots right along with the 442. This is the gun S&W is now promoting with the Lasergrips, which come with the proprietary S&W medallion.

The Value

The 20(13 Gun Digest listed the Model 642 al $571. Crimson Trace Lasergrips for a J-frame would have sold last year for $209. That would have added up to $780 in 2003. Now, with S&W's discount across the board on their J-frame Airweights plus the special promotion with Crimson Trace, a suggested retail of $695 represents a saving of $85.

Check out the gun. With a more than 50 year history in the field, and updated metallurgy, this 5-shot .38 Special is better than ever. Check out the Lasergrip: it. too, has earned a lot of friends in the field. I carry a Lasergripped Model 442 as a backup gun and teaching tool when instructing. Then do the math. This latest collaboration between Crimson Trace and Smith & Wesson offers a helluva deal for the handgunner.