My J-frame carry lineup has been missing an airweight centennial, and I was all set to go buy one at the beginning of the year, but before I did I learned that these things were coming out. I’ve been waiting impatiently for this gun since SHOT. I’ve been reading every review I can find, listening to podcasts, looking at spec sheets…drooling over the concept of a lightweight version of my beloved 640 Pro. My expectations were high. Maybe too high.





I got with my closest Lipsey’s dealer and reserved one as soon as I could. It finally came in on Friday, and I frustratingly had to work all weekend, so I got up bright and early this morning and made the 45 minute drive to go pick it up. We then went straight to the range.

First impressions were pretty good. The gun is light, has very positive lockup, and that front sight really pops. The grips fit the gun and fill the hand well. There was a slight issue with the lettering on the right side of the barrel..like it was double-struck or something. I decided to overlook it, thinking maybe someday it’ll be extra valuable like a double-struck penny. I plan to carry the crap out of it, so the finish is gonna end up ugly anyway, but it should have been a warning sign about the attention to detail elsewhere.



I paid just under MSRP ($759) and was out the door for $802. Not cheap for a J-Frame by any means, but this one has a lot of upgrades.

The sights are really nice. A black U-notch serrated rear with a green big dot front that really pops. I prefer a squared-off profile for target shooting, but for the intended purpose of this gun, sight acquisition is key so that big dot is nice. I do wish they’d stuck it in a square profile instead of round to get the best of both worlds.



One issue I had was that the top edge of both the front and rear sight digs into my leather pocket holster. The edges of the sight are pretty sharp, and will probably need to be dressed down some with a file. I had to do this to my 640 Pro when I got it, because it was doing the same thing, so it’s not unique to the UC model.



The grips, made by VZ, are incredibly nicely made. The fit and finish is superb, and I like the way they wrap up and around the horn of the backstrap. There is barely a visible seam where the panels come together, and I had to use a delrin hammer to get them off the gun because the fit was so precise. VZ knocked it out of the park on quality control. Because they are a bit larger than my typical go-to factory rubber boot grips I was concerned that they might pose an issue for pocket carry, but they fit in my pocket just fine.



Unfortunately, these grips are probably not going to work for me. It’s not a knock on VZ…they’re incredibly well made. But grips are a very personal thing, and I ran into a few issues:

1. There is very little texture to them. I was really hoping for something more “grippy”, and these are not that. They’re just smooth G10. If that’s your thing, you will love these. It’s not mine. Rubber at least grabs your hand. Without texture these slide a little.

2. They are heavy. 3.4oz on my scale. Compared to 1.55 on the S&W factory rubbers. Which is a pretty significant difference on a 14oz gun…especially when my whole purpose for buying this was to get something lighter than my 640 Pro.

3. The length of pull created by these grips positions my finger wrong on the trigger. Again, that’s absolutely a “me” problem, not a grip problem.


Thankfully, I had a set of factory rubber boot grips handy, and its now wearing those. I’ll probably swap them back and forth over a few range trips before I make a final decision, but for now I’m leaning towards old reliable.





The cylinder is chamfered and beveled for easier loading and holstering. Both of these treatments are very minimal and barely noticeable unless you look really close. I’m not sure they went aggressive enough with either to make a practical difference. The charge hole chamfering is far more pronounced on my 640 Pro than it is on the 642.



The action geometry on this thing was supposed to be re-worked for a better trigger pull. I got out the trigger gauge and tested it over an average of 5 pulls, compared to my 640 Pro and 360J. The 642UC was 9.23lbs, the 640 Pro was 10.14, and the 360J was 10.44lbs. So it is a bit lighter. The 640 was by far the smoothest, followed by the 360J, and then the 642. Worse, there was a NASTY hitch right before the break on one of the chambers, and another that was noticeable but not quite as bad. Three of the 5 were pretty good. It took over an hour with a stone trying to smooth out that ratchet tooth….not something I wanted to have to do on my brand new $800 gun.

The pull was atrocious, absolutely unacceptable, and had to be addressed. I didn’t want to throw off the carryup, so I went very slowly and stopped before I got it where I really wanted it. It’s a lot better now, and hopefully will break in completely over time with a few thousand more trigger pulls. But it never should have left the factory like that.

Mechanically, the gun is accurate. I was shooting 148gr wadcutters, and they hit to point of aim at 7 yards (you can clearly see the one I dropped from the hitch in the trigger caused by the bad lug on the ratchet). I went back to 15 and 25, and was able to keep in on paper, but was fighting the trigger and grip fit to my hand…I’ll take it back in the next couple of days now that it’s been “fixed” with better grips and a cleaned up trigger to give it another go.



Overall, I have mixed feelings. I had high expectations and was hoping for perfection, and what I got was less than that. It’s a nice gun. I like the sights. I like the shrouded ejector rod. But after opting out of the grips and dealing with the crappy trigger, I have a nagging feeling that I might have been better off just getting a used 642 somewhere like I’d originally planned for half the price.

Oh, one bit of irony….this gun has no lock, but S&W still stuck a set of keys in the box. Those things sell for $9.99 on amazon…they could have left them out and made the MSRP a flat $750. Bad habits die hard !

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 92fstech,

Nice write up. I've been interested in one of these j-frames. Thanks for the work and sharing!

Great write up and like you I feel like you may have been better off going with a more pedestrian model and making it your own so to speak. I do really dig the sights though.

That double stamp is unacceptable for any company much less one like S&W. I think I would have been tempted to send it back once I realized there were trigger issues.

It’s nice looking piece and has great sights but your review is a bit of a bummer to me, especially given the price point and marketing.

It does however show that you really can shoot anything well. So good on ya .

Yeah, every time I look at the double stamp I feel like there's something wrong with my eyes and I'm seeing double, lol. I'm not sure how they didn't notice that, but I really didn't want to deal with the hassle of a warranty return over something cosmetic. The trigger was another thing altogether, but I was pretty confident I could fix it, once again not wanting to deal with calling support, shipping it back, and then having to sit around the house for two or three days waiting for FedEx to not show up when they said they would with a signature required package.

It does still have some features that I appreciate over the basic 642...the sights alone are worth most of the price difference. If the trigger smooths out and it passes all the reliability tests, it'll suit my needs.

Funny how sometimes the stuff you're really looking forward to ends up being kind of a bummer, yet things that weren't even on your radar end up being awesome (like the P229 SAS I impulse bought a couple of weeks ago).

quote:

Funny how sometimes the stuff you're really looking forward to ends up being kind of a bummer,

That said some of my favorite guns (air or powder) started out with me on the wrong foot for whatever reason and became projects but once I got it all worked out or got them set up for me etc. they became some of my all time favorites so my guess is something similar may happen and you have an interesting roll mark conversation piece to boot.

Also once again the sights are awesome.

Thanks for the write-up.

I might be tempted to risk the Fedex stuff. That double stamp gets me vertiginous just looking at your pictures. With the trigger as well it might turn into a new gun. If I get one I will dry fire all 5 cylinders before putting down my card. Sorry about your bad luck. I do think if you stick with it that it will smooth out. I also think those grips might grow on you.

I was seriously considering the UC based on everything I read about it. The price was a put off I could ignore but, based on this review, I will stick with my LCR. Its a .357 (not used as .357) and I installed an aftermarket big dot front sight on it. I might get the UC but only if the price drops or if I run across a used one.
Thanks for the review!

Thanks for the good post! And your photos are superb.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
I was seriously considering the UC based on everything I read about it. The price was a put off I could ignore but, based on this review, I will stick with my LCR. Its a .357 (not used as .357) and I installed an aftermarket big dot front sight on it. I might get the UC but only if the price drops or if I run across a used one.
Thanks for the review!

I'm not an LCR guy, but I do love how light and smooth the trigger is on them (I just can't get past the weird false reset). When they said the UC had a redesigned trigger, I had visions of an LCR-like trigger pull in a J-Frame. I can now tell you, it's nothing like that. Even without the one bad ratchet tooth, it's just an incrementally lighter pull, better than some I've shot, worse than others. It's nothing earth shattering.

quote:

And your photos are superb.

Thanks. Hopefully they provided a decent idea and perspective of what it is and how it compares to your typical J-Frame.

Nice report and great pics!
I was really interested in the UC when they released it at SHOT, and had my Dealer put my name down for one when they became available.

But…. I got impatient and bout an M&P-340.
Well, that didn’t work out either. Brand new gun with crooked barrel, its back at the factory getting repaired.

I would have sent the revolver back to S&W and told them to fix it. With Lipsey's involvement there is a high level of attention to these.

I have several .38 J frames with D&L sights, and they are $500 including shipping. The factory sights and no lock are desirable to me, plus .32 revolvers being unobtanium.

Well, to add insult to injury, my rebate submission just got declined. Apparently my SKU doesn't qualify for the $50 J-Frame rebate that they're currently advertising everywhere...even though it's a J-Frame.

I'm getting ready to call S&W, just so I can tell them to go piss up a rope.

That’s pretty chickenshit of S&W.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
The sights are really nice. A black U-notch serrated rear with a green big dot front that really pops.

Interesting. Looks like S&W finally addressed (just) one of the half dozen or more reasons why I hated my 642.

It's been 3 or 4 years now, but I sure am glad I bought a new M&P 340 back then as it was mid 800's delivered. Shrouded ejector, XS big dot, and an awesome trigger. Plus the added bonus of being .357 which as it turns out, isn't wrist breaking out of that gun despite the rumors. Sorry your new J frame isn't living up to the hype, hopefully it works out.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
That’s pretty chickenshit of S&W.

Why would S&W pay a rebate on a Lipsey's special, that is in such demand, that they are selling for a big premium on GunBroker, when the product in question is not listed as being rebate eligible?

https://assets.contentstack.io...W_LEGAL_APPROVED.pdf

Very nice write-up, and many thanks for your candid assessment. I was considering one myself, but, DANG, how in the world did that barrel make it through QC?? I know it's only cosmetic, but that's unacceptable.

quote:

Originally posted by GJM AK:

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
That’s pretty chickenshit of S&W.

Why would S&W pay a rebate on a Lipsey's special, that is in such demand, that they are selling for a big premium on GunBroker, when the product in question is not listed as being rebate eligible?

https://assets.contentstack.io...W_LEGAL_APPROVED.pdf

You are correct, it is not on the list. But the ad for the rebate has been everywhere for the past month or so...literally flooding my inbox, and there was even one on the gun counter when I picked up the gun. I just assumed since it was a J-Frame, and I was purchasing it within the appropriate timeframe, that it would be honored...because that's what the ad said. I didn't even know there was a list of eligible SKUs until I got the email telling me I was declined.

Here's a screenshot from my inbox of the ad I've been getting from a different LGS at least once a week...as a consumer, what would your understanding be after seeing this? Yes, "Select SKUs apply" but that sure isn't prominent.

I think it is indeed kinda chickenshit.

Yea it’s chickenshit. Huge letters then tiny little disclaimer. Plus fuck them for that crazy double stamp. Send it back. Let them sort it out.

They lost one customer for that gun already.