A little J frame history . . .

The J frame was originally introduced in 1950 – as the Model 36 – at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convention in 1950 – and was quite well received. It was an exposed hammer 5 shot blued steel built on the new J frame – the older I frame simply wasn’t strong enough to handle the pressure of a 38 special cartridge – in 1951 Smith brought out the Model 37 “Air weight” – aluminum frame and aluminum cylinder – the aluminum cylinder proved to be proved to be quite an issue and was dropped in favor of a steel cylinder

really nice example of an older Model 36

The J frame has been produced in a large number of variants over the years – nickel finish – stainless steel – shrouded hammer – internal hammer – and nice used ones are available – the 640 is even in 357 Magnum – and I will swear to the fact that the 357 Magnum versions are QUITE a challenge to shoot with full power loads!! ) . The J frame has proven to be so popular that Smith is even producing the original “Chiefs Special” – the Model 36 – for their classics line.

Current Production 642-2 “Air weight”

The 642 is a great concealed carry option – and a lot of people carry them either as a primary weapon or BUG – ( Back Up Gun ) – in this review we are going to consider in the carried as as a pocket gun.

You get great concealment and five shots – sure shots – it will go bang 5 times as sure as the sun will rise in  the east in the morning to open and govern the day! – if by some infinitesimally small chance you get a bad primer on a cartridge – no rack tap bang drill – just pull the trigger again! Reloads with practice are as fast as a semi automatic – damn Bruce – there you go with that P word again!!!

With the factory grips and plus p loading’s the 642 is quite a learning curve for second and subsequent follow up shots – PRACTICE people!! More on the factory grips and trigger pull at the end.

Empty weight of the 642-2

The 642 in a Desantis pocket holster simply disappears into your pocket – and for God’s sake – use a holster and put nothing else in that pocket! I prefer the nylon style holsters for pocket carry – adds minimal bulk and weight to the equation. And with the internal hammer of the 642 – nothing to snag.

Chambered in 38 Special you have an incredible variety of ammo available –  from Hornady critical defense in several different offerings to the original 158 round nose lead – and just about EVERYTHING in between. I keep waiting for someone to come out with miniature kitchen sinks loaded in 38 special! My personal loads that I carry – spring-summer-fall  –  critical defense 110 grain plus p – really great performance – winter – Remington HTP – 158 grain lead semi wadcutter with gas check – plus p – about as good as you can do for multiple layers of heavier clothing and retain good penetration characteristics – choose your ammo carefully – you are betting YOUR life on it!!

The 642 is a great little gun – however the tiny grips are really hard to hang on to and the trigger pull ( at 12 pounds ) leaves something to be desired. Let’s address one issue at a time – first the grips – change them – simple huh? What I recommend without hesitation are a set of   Ergo Delta grips (thanks Mick – He loaned me his to try – I bought a set IMMEDIATELY ) – one hell of a difference!

Very simple installation and really does little to the over all profile of the gun – but it makes it a whole lot easier to control – and helps tremendously with recoil – factory grips – 10 rounds of 158 grain plus p and you can hardly hold the steering wheel on the way home – Ergo grips – I went through a 50 round box before I even realized it – cool stuff !!

Factory grips –

Ergo grips –

All better –

The Ergo grips do not alter the profile to any large degree and go a long way toward adding shooting comfort and more importantly – control – about 30 dollars in your mailbox.

Wilson Combat offers a replacement spring set  – 9 dollars from Brownells – have not decided if I am going to upgrade or not since the grips have made such a difference – but I more than likely will just to feel the difference.

Great little pocket gun – but like any other other – PRACTICE – take it out and shoot it!! Trust me – you won’t wear it out . . . and you will gain more proficiency and confidence with the little darling!!

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

NAA GUARDIAN – chambered in 32NAA

The NAA Guardian line of pistols are among the elite of pocket guns – right there with Seecamp -or  Rorbaugh – stainless steel construction – exquisitely made – incredible little machines. Four different chamberings are available – 380 acp and 32NAA (in this size) – 32 acp and 25 NAA – the last two are even smaller and are damn near works of art. North American Arms are best known by their line of “Mini” revolvers – they are works of art. If I can ever get the approval of my CFO (chief financial officer – heh heh ) I might have to pick one up.

Let’s take a look at my little darling . . . .

Basic breakdown – One nice thing – the guide rod is somewhat “caught” in the double recoil spring so when it goes zing across the room it is a little easier to find.

Take down button – press the button and pull the slide back and up – your there!

Slide – like the frame is machined out of solid stainless

View of feed ramp and hammer

Left side view – showing mag release and decent look at barrel to frame mounting

on top of Kel Tec P3AT

Hiding under a Kel Tec P3AT

Empty weight – no mag

Carry weight – gun – mag – 7 rounds

The little Guardian just vanishes into a pocket – it is D/A (double action) only – hammer fired and 7 rounds of the wildest little round you will ever touch off. Let’s take a look at the round – 32NAA

Left to right – 38 special – 9mm – 380 – 32NAA

Critical Defense 32NAA – Spec –

Bullet Weight – 80 grains

Bullet Style –  Flex Tip Expanding

Case Type – Nickeled Brass

Muzzle Velocity – 1000 fps

Muzzle Energy – 178 ft lbs

When chambered in 32NAA the little pistol just performs – and very well  – being a bottle neck cartridge you have no feed or extraction issues and the Hornady bullet is a stellar performer (for an 80 grain bullet) averaging 13 inches into ballistic gel – through four layers of denim and consistently expanding to 50 caliber – thanks Hornady!

The pistol is almost pleasurable to shoot – to me very little recoil – some folks think differently – I think they just don’ expect as much recoil as there is – weight of the pistol helps offset it (over 1 1/4 lbs loaded) – quite a bit of muzzle blast – in fact a whole lot of muzzle blast! Fairly accurate for almost non existent sights – but it is a hoot to shoot – only down side is it’s about 85 cents every time it goes bang. I have seen several reviews where the person complains about the last round stove piping – wow – just fucking wow – people – the guns have no ejectors – they are designed so the next round in the magazine pushes the empty cartridge out of the way – the extractor strips the empty out and the next round pushes it out of the way – if it stove pipes – your empty – pull the empty mag – insert loaded mag – pull the slide back – let go of slide – go bang bang. Some people’s children!! – hell – some people should not have children.

I have to ask – should I get a new set of grips???  Realizing of course that I will have to get my CFO’s sign off!

They are only $71.00 (plus shipping) and I think that I would make them look so so good – me being me and all . . .

Couple of quick videos – first is Shawn Steiner – one round was enough for him . . .

You actually get a good look at the porting on the 9×25 conversion barrel in the Glock 20 on the bench

Next is Jaques with a triple tap – muzzle flash and blast is stout

Thanks to Inner10 and the crew – they make this stuff a lot easier!!

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

I love it when the majority of manufacturers talk “innovation”. There are some interesting design features on several firearm platforms – innovation?? – really?? Well let’s take a look at something that is innovative . . .

Of course we all know the box is curved – but it’s almost obligatory to point that out

inside the box is where the fun begins

The usual suspects – manuals,spare magazine,trigger guard, and of course your key for the firearm lock or ie  the Hillary hole.

and now we start stepping out of the box – both with the firearm and innovation. The curve is quite apparent – and tucks against your hip very comfortably. The manual sights consist of the white lines centered on the bore of the pistol and do work well – with practice. The stippling on the back of the grip actually does quite well.

as does the stippling on the front of the grip

left side

completely smooth – no slide stop – magazine release – nothing to snag

right side

belt clip,nice index point for your finger and the on – off – and mode switch for the laser.

With 7 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense.

I highly recommend either critical duty or critical defense as a carry ammunition. In fact I carry one or the other in every pistol I rotate through except my 10 mm Glock 20 – steady diet of Buffalo Bore 180 grain jacketed hollow points – there is just something about that large of a round at almost 1400 feet per second that appeals to me.

top to bottom – Keltec P3AT – Taurus Curve – Walther PK380

left to right – P3AT – Curve – PK380

left to right – P3AT – Curve – PK380 – one more picture and then some thoughts . . .

What has Taurus done ? They have made a complete package for the masses. Most people are not enthusiasts when it comes to firearms. They really don’t want to have to buy a firearm – and a holster – then a laser – then a different holster – then a laser light combo – then a different holster – all of a sudden that 300 or 400 dollar gun is now 800 or more plus training and practice costs plus licensing fees plus- plus – plus. . . .

Taurus has taken most of that and gotten rid of it. Loop the lanyard on a belt loop – put the trigger guard on the pistol – clip inside your pants – good to go. Drawing and presentation is easy enough with practice. Scoop the pistol from the outside of your pants – get your thumb behind it and get a grip – continue vertically out of your pants until clear – maintain vertical and bring the gun forward and the lanyard will strip the trigger guard – index your finger and bring it around in front and get your support hand on it – pop the laser on and you are at low ready. Now practice that set of motions 4 or 5 hundred times. Go to the range and put 4 or 5 hundred rounds through the pistol both with and without using the laser. practice – practice – practice !!

LASERLYTE Corp did a great job designing the light/laser module. No problem with daylight visibility at 21 feet. The trigger pull, although long,  is smooth and breaks good. Again, that P word gets in the way – PRACTICE! For a relatively light pistol, perceived recoil is very minimal – shape and weight distribution has a lot to do with that. Taurus spent some time and effort getting the ergonomics of the pistol as right as possible.

Things I would like to see offered:

• a barrel chambered in 32 N.A.A. ( a cartridge designed by North American Arms – A bottle necked 380 – An incredible mouse gun round since Hornady started making it in Critical Defense)
• Upsize the platform to a 9mm (but then your starting to go backwards – adding size – weight – thickness etc.)

I am not an “operational operator operating operationally” nor am I a “mall ninja” – I am just a guy that has used firearms in a professional and personal fashion for over 30 years. I quit counting handguns rounds downrange when I got to 100,000 plus. I cannot emphasize this enough – PRACTICE.

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!