Wife new ccw - S&W 649-5

S

straight-shooter

New member
I took the wife to the fun shop today with intentions of getting her a airweight 642. Mainly because of the weight issue. I was slightly concerned about the recoil on such a light gun but left the decision up to her on what she wanted to get. After the smoke cleared she decided on the slightly heavier S&W 649 stainless 357 magnum. She will only be shooting 38's out of this beauty but I think she made a nice choice for her first ccw. I'm sure this gun will prove to last a lifetime and then some. Another note is the trigger on this gun is what s&w calls a target trigger, man is this trigger smooth/light and when in single action it's a hair trigger. :)

sw649web.jpg
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
Nice gun there also Kruz. I can't wait till tomorrow because me and the wife are going to get the 649 out to it's first outing at the range and test several different types of loads with it. Should prove to be a hoot! :)
 
K

Kruz

New member
I was amazed at how well it takes the hot .357 loads. very manageable!
I normally keep speer gold dot .38 +p's in it. (as pictured) .
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
We ended up getting her some Federal Hydra Shock 110gr HP for personal protection rounds. We fired some at the range and the recoil is super manageable for her. Accuracy was good also using these.

Either way I don't think there are any bullets out there I would be willing to get in front of! :p
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
I'll make a edit to a statement in my first post on this thread. I said the trigger is smooth & light. Well for me it definitely is but for the wife after some practice at the range, the trigger proved to be a little heavy for her.

I done some research on the web and found a article referring to the rebound spring behind the trigger. I done as told by the article and removed 1.5 coils off the rebound spring. It has made a nice improvement on the trigger in DA & SA mode both. I would guess around 1 lb less on trigger pull and the trigger still has plenty of return.

Next i'm going to replace the 8.5 lb hammer spring with the Wolff 8 lb spring and that should just about do it. If any further adjustment is needed I will polish the rebound slide and the sear which I probably will end up doing anyway :)
 
N

Neophyte1

New member
with care

straight-shooter: Sir; use extreme caution with the miss'ss unit. It was intended to be CC type. Smith appeared to incorporate heavy, and long triggers to prevent something or someone from accidentally setting it off.
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
Neophyte1, Excellent advice and and certainly first and foremost. This is why I am approaching this only one step at a time. So far I've lightened the rebound spring and polished the rebound slide. Now it's time for her to test it at the range. Dry fire tests show about a 1 lb difference from stock.

At this point there is plenty of trigger resistance and no need for alarm. I went ahead and ordered the Wolff reduced spring pack and will install the reduced hammer spring. This spring only reduces the hammer spring by .5 and shouldn't be a substantial difference but every little bit helps.

The main concern during range tests will be firing reliabilty with Winchester & CCI primers. The CCI's will tell the tale as they are the hardest primers. It's just a matter of finding the best combination of springs and still have 100% reliabilty.
 
W

werewolf

Moderator
Downside is that it weighs almost double the new Scandiums.

PS Why doesn't S&W put the model number on the gun? I keep forgetting which is which, including my own.
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
The weight issue for us is a small concern mostly because It's going to be a holster carry and not pocket. If pocket carry was the aim of purchase than the 638 would have been the gun of choice. The option of 357 magnum is nice here also :)

Open the cylinder crane and look in there. There you will find the model & serial number.

649model.jpg
 
W

werewolf

Moderator
Open the cylinder crane and look in there. There you will find the model & serial number.


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Ha! There it is, cleverly concealed. Thanks.
 
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