Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock – Superb Pocket Revolver

Description

The Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock is the revolver most often recommended when someone asks what to carry and does not want a complicated answer. It is a five shot Centennial: aluminum alloy frame, stainless cylinder and barrel, about fifteen ounces empty, chambered in 38 Special and rated for plus P.

The hammer is sealed inside the frame, so there is nothing to catch on a pocket, a purse lining or a coat hem, and there is nothing to cock. This particular version omits the internal locking mechanism found on most current production Smith Wesson revolvers, which a great many buyers specifically look for.

The Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock has no internal lock and no exposed hammer

The absence of the internal lock is the reason many buyers seek out the Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock specifically. Smith Wesson added a key-operated lock to the sideplate of most revolvers in the early 2000s, and while documented failures are rare, a meaningful number of shooters simply prefer a carry gun with fewer parts that can do something unexpected. Removing it also leaves a cleaner sideplate.

The enclosed hammer is the other defining feature. Nothing protrudes, so the draw from a pocket is completely uninterrupted, and the revolver can be fired from inside a coat pocket if the situation demands it, which no semi-automatic can do reliably. The trade is that you cannot cock it, and every shot is a long double action pull.

Double action only suits the mission. There is no safety to sweep, no decocker, no slide to rack, and nothing to forget when your hands are shaking. Draw and press. For a handgun carried constantly and fired rarely, that is worth more than a crisp single action break.

Sights are fixed, a groove milled in the topstrap and a ramp up front, which is honest about the distances involved.

Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock recoil, capacity and honest limits

Fifteen ounces and plus P ammunition is a sharp combination. The Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock is not a pleasant range gun, and anyone who tells you otherwise has not shot a box of defensive ammunition through one. The small grip concentrates the recoil into the web of your hand, and most shooters find that twenty-five to fifty rounds is the honest limit of a useful practice session. Standard pressure 38 Special is considerably more comfortable and is what most owners practice with.

Five rounds is the capacity, and a revolver reload is slow and fiddly compared to a magazine change. Speed strips and speedloaders help but only with real practice. If five rounds does not sit right with you, a compact semi-automatic is the better answer.

The double action trigger is long and heavy, which is correct for a pocket gun with no manual safety. It smooths out over a few hundred rounds and improves further with dry fire. Do not have it lightened below factory specification on a defensive handgun.

Practical accuracy is limited by the short sight radius and the heavy trigger, not by the barrel. At seven yards it does everything asked of it. At twenty-five it takes genuine skill.

Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 103810
• UPC: 022188038101
• Caliber: 38 Special, rated for plus P
• Capacity: 5 rounds
• Barrel: 1.875 inches
• Frame: aluminum alloy, J-frame, round butt
• Cylinder and barrel: stainless steel
• Action: double action only, enclosed hammer
• Internal lock: none
• Weight: approximately 15 ounces unloaded

Buyers hunting specifically for a Smith Wesson 642 No Lock are usually doing so on principle, and this is the version that satisfies it. As a .38 Special J-frame it is the most widely carried small revolver in the country, and with the hammer enclosed it draws from anywhere without catching. Nothing else about the gun changes; you are simply getting a sideplate without a keyhole in it.

Ammunition for the Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock

This is the decision that matters most on a fifteen ounce revolver, and the page above is honest that +P out of one is unpleasant. You do not have to shoot +P. Standard pressure .38 Special from a good maker is a perfectly sound defensive load out of a short barrel, and it is far easier to shoot well.

Buffalo Bore 38 Special 110 grain TAC-XP is standard pressure and built around a bullet that opens at snub nose velocities, which is the hard part in this cartridge. Buffalo Bore 158 grain SWC hard cast is the traditional answer, also standard pressure, and it penetrates.

For practice, Remington UMC 158 grain lead round nose is cheap, mild and deeply stocked. Shoot that most of the time and confirm your carry load occasionally. A box of defensive ammunition through a Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock is enough to know it works; a case of it is a sore hand and no extra knowledge.

Reloading a Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock

Five rounds is five rounds, and the reload is the part people skip. A speed strip lives flat in a pocket and is the realistic option for most carriers. A speedloader is faster but bulky, and it needs practice to be faster in reality rather than on paper.

We do not currently stock a speed strip or a J-frame speedloader. Ask and we will bring one in rather than sell you something sized for a different cylinder, because the difference between a five shot J-frame loader and a six shot one is exactly the sort of thing that only shows up when you need it.

How the Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock compares on our shelf

• The 642 with the Crimson Trace laser grip is the same revolver with a laser in the grip, which addresses the short sight radius more directly than anything else can.
• The Smith Wesson Bodyguard 38 2.0 is the modern take on the same idea and is worth handling alongside this one before you decide.
• The Taurus 856 gives you a sixth round and costs considerably less, at the price of the Smith Wesson name and the resale that comes with it.
• Against a compact semi-automatic at this money, the Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock trades capacity and ease of shooting for a gun that does not care how you grip it or what it is pressed against.

Why buyers choose the Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock

Buy the Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock if you want the simplest, most snag-free carry revolver made, without the internal lock. Fifteen ounces means you will actually carry it rather than leaving it at home, and the enclosed hammer means the draw is clean from a pocket, a bag or an ankle holster. Revolvers do not care about a weak grip, do not need a slide racked, and have no magazine to seat wrong.

Skip it if you want a gun that is fun to shoot at the range, because it is not. Skip it if five rounds worries you or if you want to cock the hammer for a deliberate shot. And skip it if you will not put in dry fire time, because the heavy double action pull rewards practice and punishes neglect.

Who should buy the Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock

The Smith Wesson 642 Airweight No Lock suits everyday concealed carriers, backup gun carriers, purse and bag carry, and shooters with limited hand strength who cannot reliably operate a semi-automatic slide. It is also the usual first recommendation for someone who wants one handgun and does not intend to become a hobbyist. It is a poor fit for high-volume range shooting, for recoil-sensitive shooters, and for anyone who wants target sights. All firearm sales ship to a licensed FFL dealer for transfer, and handgun and carry rules vary by state, so confirm your local law before ordering.

Learn more from Smith and Wesson, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.

Every firearm we list ships to your chosen FFL and is transferred there after a background check.