Range Report: S&W 442

[jholen]

Took my new S&W no-lock 442 to the range yesterday.

It went.. 'ok'

I was shooting some WWB +p's - I really like the grip on the 442 and was able to place my shots quite well considering the gun's weight and power coming out of the +p ammo.

The only problem, which I'm looking into is that I had 7 rounds that were light primer strikes. 7 rounds out of 50. The ammo I believe was fairly old, so I'm planning on going back to the range and getting some new ammo to put through it to see whether it's the gun or what.

I have faith in S&W, and so if it's the gun I'll just call up S&W and have her shipped back. Just not exactly what you want to have to deal with, especially when this'll be my BUG and I specifically got a revolver so I wouldn't have to worry about the gun going off each time I pull the trigger. I'll keep you updated, and will get pics once I get my camera up and running.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[TX-JB]

442's are great snubbies... More than likely it's the WWB ammo... I'd try some carry ammo and I'll bet it'll do just fine...

[jholen]

442's are great snubbies... More than likely it's the WWB ammo... I'd try some carry ammo and I'll bet it'll do just fine...

My thoughts exactly.. plus I gave it a good clean with my new Gunzilla gun cleaner after the range last night, so should be more lubed/cleaned/ready go compared to dry and straight from the factory.

Any input on some good ammo to put through it?

For carry I was thinking about Hornady's Critical Defense, but guessing that is a bit pricey to consistently shoot down range.

[BadgerMan]

Right now I've got Corbon DPXs for my 442, good round but it's probably even more expensive than Critical Defense. I either go with DPX or GD SB depending on what I can find, but both of those are not cheap so I'll shoot a handful of those on the range and the rest is WWB.

[jholen]

Right now I've got Corbon DPXs for my 442, good round but it's probably even more expensive than Critical Defense. I either go with DPX or GD SB depending on what I can find, but both of those are not cheap so I'll shoot a handful of those on the range and the rest is WWB.

Ever get any light primer strikes with WWB?

[Stevew]

Are you sure they were light primer strikes? I can't remember if Winchester is a hard or soft primer. I have never loaded with Winchester primers but have used plenty of Winchester factory ammo without a problem.

[jholen]

Are you sure they were light primer strikes? I can't remember if Winchester is a hard or soft primer. I have never loaded with Winchester primers but have used plenty of Winchester factory ammo without a problem.

Pretty sure.. here's how it'd happen.

I'd load up with 5 new rounds, and in firing them all one out of five would fail to fire. Upon inspection there was a small dimple in the primer but not as much as compared to all the other rounds that had been fired.

This is the first time I've seen this, no other gun I've shot has ever had this happen so I'm assuming that's what happened. Upon firing the round again, it'd go off.

[BugDude]

I've got a S&W 442 and have run plenty of cheap rounds and some old rounds through it with no problem. I typically carry Hornady or Magtech rounds. Try a box of new Hornady rounds to see if the issue continues. Also try marking the cylinder chamber in which the misfire occurs to see if it is consistently happening on the same one (piece of small tape on the outside of the cylinder). That is valuable information which can help S&W diagnose if the issue is with the gun and how the rounds are seating. Be careful with handling a misfire.

[gasmitty]

I have faith in S&W, and so if it's the gun I'll just call up S&W and have her shipped back.

It could be a minor burr causing the hammer to drag a bit, or perhaps the hammer spring is defective.

Given the extortionary cost of shipping a gun across the country, I'd talk to the shop where you got the gun (assuming you got it new), or ask a local gunsmith to look it over. Your shop might ship it back for the sake of good customer relations, or the smith might charge you about the same as the shipping cost (could be $50 or more) and you'd have the gun back a lot sooner.

[jholen]

S&W wouldn't cover shipping? Hrm, yeah good idea BugDude.. will take some tape or maybe just some soap to the range tomorrow to mark the cylinder to see if it's a specific one.

[gglass]

It could be a minor burr causing the hammer to drag a bit, or perhaps the hammer spring is defective.

Given the extortionary cost of shipping a gun across the country, I'd talk to the shop where you got the gun (assuming you got it new), or ask a local gunsmith to look it over. Your shop might ship it back for the sake of good customer relations, or the smith might charge you about the same as the shipping cost (could be $50 or more) and you'd have the gun back a lot sooner.

Huh? I have only had to ship a firearm back to S&W a couple of times, and the shipping was prepaid by S&W each time. I have never heard of anyone paying shipping back to S&W for a gun that was under warranty.

Maybe you are confusing S&W with a company like Taurus.

[innercircle]

Huh? I have only had to ship a firearm back to S&W a couple of times, and the shipping was prepaid by S&W each time. I have never heard of anyone paying shipping back to S&W for a gun that was under warranty.

Call S&W - they will send you out a prepaid shipping label. Also, considering that S&W provides lifetime warranties now for new guns, it will be the same process 20 yrs from now too.

[gasmitty]

Huh? I have only had to ship a firearm back to S&W a couple of times, and the shipping was prepaid by S&W each time. I have never heard of anyone paying shipping back to S&W for a gun that was under warranty.

Maybe you are confusing S&W with a company like Taurus.

Consider me duly educated. I've had to pay the outbound shipping to both Ruger and Taurus for factory repairs, but - never bought a new S+W handgun. Info mentally filed for future use.

[muzzleloader]

Are you sure it's a new 442? Could someone have clipped the mainspring to get a lighter trigger pull?
I like Federal 158 SWCHP +P in my 642. Not too expensive, good penetration, hits POA and low muzzle flash. Kicks a bit though.
Good luck.

[Bosun]

Just had the same problem with my 442, tried all types of ammo too. S&w sent shipping lable, repaired the gun in less than two weeks. Hope to shoot it in about 10 days when I get home from working. Hope it performs well.