Which airweight would you get?

H

HighValleyRanch

New member
Stopped by my Local Gun Shop and found someone selling their collection of airweight Smith and Wesson revolvers on consignment.
1. A 637 j frame 5 shot with lock in .38 special +P (same as Chiefs special, but stainless barrel and cylinde0 for 350.00
2. A Smith airweight model 331, prelock .32 H&R magnum with crimson trace long grips for 650.00. (see that the CR grips are worth 200.00 resale on the market) so 450.00 for the 6 shot revolver. .32 H&R is very scarce around these parts and in CA cannot order ammo online, so somewhat limiting, but the gun is rare and desirable.
3. A Smith 360 PD in .357 mag, 5 shot with titanium cylinder and around 12 ounces with crimson trace grips for 850.00

Remember that in CA off roster guns are very hard to come by so when you happen on close by deals you can't compare to prices online. I don't use the CT grips so I could resell the ones off the 331 or the 360 to recoup part of the cost. I reload so that 331 looking very tempting, but it was a smidgen heavier than the 360. I have a bunch of various .32 acp, can that be shot in the 331 H&R magnum Smith?

I already have a ruger LCR, 3" Ruger LCRX, Ruger police six in 3" and a Kimber K6, so don't really need any of the above, but don't have a J frame in my collection, and I'm only going to buy it if I can use it for CCW and SD.

Never ever seen a 331 before!
 
T

tubeshooter

New member
Based on what you already own, I would say "None of the above".

The 331 is kind of a rare bird, but I wouldn't drop $650 on a gun I didn't need in a caliber I didn't stock just because of that.



None of them are really going to do much more or different than your LCR already does, from a defense standpoint. If you want to spend the premium on the model 360 in order to shave off 3 to 4 ounces or so - go for it. Keep an eye on crimp jump when using .357 in a gun that light (!).
 
J

JERRYS.

New member
since you didn't say money was an issue I'd take the 360 because it shoots either 38s or 357s, plus it does not have a built in lock (you didn't mention it).
 
H

HighValleyRanch

New member
Well, I was so almost ready to go and purchase the 331 that I called up this afternoon to make sure that they still had it, and lo and behold they still do. After much research on the internet, I have found that they are indeed quite collectible and rare and rarely for sale. Seems that the three I found are being offered for 1500.00 on the major gun auction sites, and same on the private smith and wesson forums.

I even looked up the cost of .32 H&R brass and some berry plated bullets, because I started reading that lead buildup on titanium cylinders can become a problem because you can't use the normal cleaning solutions, abrasives to get the leading off. Jacket bullets are recommended, and since I wanted to shoot this a bunch, I started to research the longvity of Smith's titanium cylinders.

After reading horror stories about cylinder erosion, I decided that the four ounce differnece between my LCR and the Ultralite but delicate Ti scandium Smith was not worth all the hoopla. I can use anything in the Ruger and not have to worry about all that cylinder erosion stuff! K.I.S.S.!!!!
 
L

LineStretcher

New member
Other than maybe flipping them you probably made the right decision. I have the 442-1 AirWeight 38 Special +P and it's not a comfortable shooter. It smacks my second finger and leaves a pretty good bruise. I dropped back to regular 38 specials and next time I go to the range, I'll see if it's any better. I do like the way it carry's and the 38 Specials are more than enough to get the job done so if they work out, I'll keep it.
 
H

HighValleyRanch

New member
The smith 442 has a steel barrel and carbon steel cylinder, not a titanium cylinder either.

Your 642 has a stainless barrel and cylinder, not a tiitanium cyliner. Google smith titanium cylinders eroding and you will find out.

If anyone has a titanium cylinder shooting magnum loads, I like to hear about your experiences with cleaning the carbon off the cylinder and or erosion from blast like flame cutting.
 
L

lamarw

New member
I would be looking at condition and go with either # 1 or # 2.

I do like my Model 42 Centennial Airweight, but it does begin to wear on you after about 20 or 30 rounds.
 
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