# of Rounds to Trust a J-Frame

[goodoleboy]

I HAD a 342 Ti once. I shot several hundred rounds of plinking ammo through it with no problems. The first time I put some of my self-defense loads through it, it backed the bullets out of the shells just enough to block the cylinder from rotating to the second round in the cylinder.

If you are thinking of running +P through your J Frame, especially if it is one of the air-lite models like mine, be sure you have PLENTY of crimp on the bullets and have shot over a hundred rounds through it without incident. It would be a bitch to have it impinge on the second round.

[Warp]

I HAD a 342 Ti once. I shot several hundred rounds of plinking ammo through it with no problems. The first time I put some of my self-defense loads through it, it backed the bullets out of the shells just enough to block the cylinder from rotating to the second round in the cylinder.

If you are thinking of running +P through your J Frame, especially if it is one of the air-lite models like mine, be sure you have PLENTY of crimp on the bullets and have shot over a hundred rounds through it without incident. It would be a bitch to have it impinge on the second round.

What round, specifically, jumped crimp enough to bind up the cylinder?

[goodoleboy]

It's been about 6 or 7 years, so I don't remember. They were given to me by a friend of mine that was a local jailor and they were what he was issued before they switched to 9mm. All I remember is that they had hollow-point semi-wadcutter bullets, which I thought was a little odd.

[jw0312]

I bought a 642 this past spring. Put 3 boxes (150 rounds) of FMJ through it before the 50 rounds of carry ammo all without incident. That was good enough for me to be comfortable with it.

[DTHN2LGS]

Generally a heavier weight bullet will have more felt recoil than a ligher bullet.

This is my experience with my 642-1 (Airweight) as well. 158 gr. S&B LRN are more painful to shoot than the Corbon DPX 110 gr. +P's.

I also had one of the S&B 158's come out of the case far enough to keep the cylinder from turning.

.

[Jake'sDad]

It's been about 6 or 7 years, so I don't remember. They were given to me by a friend of mine that was a local jailor and they were what he was issued before they switched to 9mm. All I remember is that they had hollow-point semi-wadcutter bullets, which I thought was a little odd.

Weird. I've fired more than 500 rounds of various +P's through my pre lock 342, (a thousand might be a closer estimate), including a hundred or two of SWCHP's from various manufacturer's, and never had that happen. Could they have been reloads?

The Buffalo Bore heavy .38's are....well....interesting out of the Airlite.... ..... not really the load you want to carry in it if fast follow up shots are something you want to be able to achieve.

[Jake'sDad]

This is my experience with my 642-1 (Airweight) as well. 158 gr. S&B LRN are more painful to shoot than the Corbon DPX 110 gr. +P's.

I also had one of the S&B 158's come out of the case far enough to keep the cylinder from turning.

.

Now that's bizarre. I've had an Airweight since the 1970's that was my backup and off duty gun for years. I've put thousands of rounds through it, 158 and 125 grain+P's that were our duty loads at different times, reloads, etc. It's been rebuilt and tightened up 3 or 4 times from so much shooting. (Hey, they gave me all I could shoot..). I've never had a round pull out and lock it up.

I think I'd avoid that S&B load. Sounds like it had little crimp on it.

[DTHN2LGS]

Now that's bizarre. I've had an Airweight since the 1970's that was my backup and off duty gun for years. I've put thousands of rounds through it, 158 and 125 grain+P's that were our duty loads at different times, reloads, etc. It's been rebuilt and tightened up 3 or 4 times from so much shooting. (Hey, they gave me all I could shoot..). I've never had a round pull out and lock it up.

I think I'd avoid that S&B load. Sounds like it had little crimp on it.

Yeah, I have three more boxes left, after that I won't buy them anymore.

[oldtexan]

I've owned three 642s over the years: a 642-1 bought new in the early 2000s with about 300 rds through it total, and a pair of 642-2 bought new in 2008, each with about 700 rds fired. All three exhibited issues with reliability. One 642-2 began having failure to fire issues after a few hundred rds. Took it to Frank Smith at LSG, who replaced its (too short)firing pin. The other two guns have had cylinder binding issues, and at times, the cylinder release has been very difficult to activate. The guns were stock, were fed factory ammo only, and were kept clean and properly lubed.

I have a 649-5 with exactly 1000 rds through it with zero function issues of any kind. Like the 642s, it is stock, is fed only factory ammo, and is kept clean and lubed.

Based on this limited experience, I think that the relatively inexpensive 642 model may be more likely to exhibit function issues than the more expensive all steel j-frames.

I have gotten rid of all three 642s. They were pocket-carried weakside backup guns and have been replaced with 9mm Walther PPSs. My three PPSs have actually proven to be more reliable(one stoppage, an ejection failure, in about 3900 rds among the three guns) than my 642s.

[Doc Safari]

My 642 (No lock) took a shit on me after about 100 rounds. From what I've heard they shortened the pin so they could sell them in CA to meet their regulations, I don't know if this is true. However, my gun would not hit a single frickin' primer after about 100 rounds so it got shipped off to S&W on their dime.

This has got to be a fluke. I dry fired my 642 while looking through the cylinder gap at the rear and there is plenty of firing pin protrusion to bust the primer. Must have been a defective firing pin right from the factory.