Any problems with S&W Airlights?
Does anyone know of any problems with the Smith & Wesson 38 special Airlight model 637 revolver? I want to get it and carry plus P ammo in it. Has anyone heard of any problems with this gun? Thanks.
Bruce
Bruce
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I have a 637, use it as my CCW and love it. I've put a couple hundred rounds through it and never had a problem of any kind with it.
I think its the perfect compromise between safety, reliability, size, weight, capacity and power. No safety to mess with under stress, and if a round doesn't go off, just pull the trigger again for a fresh one. Plus its a very "conservative" looking gun, so if you are every stopped with one, it seems a lot more legitimate, than if you were say, carrying a high-cap combat auto. (Downside, of course, is if you get in a gunfight with one you better make them count!).
Thought about changing the grips on it. . .but you know what. . .the checkered rubber boot grips it comes with are perfect. Why defeat the purpose of the gun by adding more weight and bulk?
.38+Ps are definitely a handful, but not "too much". At close range (which is all you're going to be using this thing for anyway) you shouldn't have a problem with placement and that should be plenty of power.
.357s out of these airlight guns, on the other hand, ARE too much, in my opinion. Muzzle snap is so violent it hurts, and the guns cost so much more its just not worth the extra $250. If you want .357, I think all steel is a better option, but unfortunately a lot more heavy.
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I carry a S&W airweight loaded with +P ammo as a second gun. It's perfect for concealed carry.
The +P ammo in airweight guns debate goes back to when S&W first started making the little revolvers. Several years ago, one of the major gun magazines (Guns and Ammo or Shooting Times) did a test. The writer had several thousand rounds of +P ammo laying around gathering dust so he decided to see if he could wear out a S&W airweight. He and a couple of other guys (all wearing gloves) ran all that ammo through one little gun. At the end, they had a set of factory guages to check for wear. Amazingly, after all that hot ammo, the gun was still well within factory specs. No appreciable wear.
So with that, I think your idea of a 637 is a good one.
Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.
--General George S. Patton, Jr.0 -
Hey, thanks for the reviews. I went ahead and ordered the model 642, which is the same as the model 637 except it has an internal hammer.
It's kinda ugly compared to a gun with an external hammer but I really
didn't want to deal with a hammer getting snagged in a panic siuation.
I will use cor-bon plus P 38 special ammo as it appears to have the highest foot pounds of most .38 special ammo available (about 385 fp) OBTW, with shipping and taxes I'm paying about $400. but I need a good carry gun for life. Thanks again for the info.0 -
yachtdave: Nice price for the model 637. Someone will get it! Thanks. 0
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