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1. What a story! I have read the Applegate diary published as a Lakeside Classic. That Rex Applegate had that sort of story from WW2 just adds to it all. Wish I could know more.

2. A lot at has been written about the pros and cons of small framed revolvers. Since I have nothing new to add, I’m just going to steal something written by Jason (of Armed Culture) in response to “A Snubby For The Pretty Lady?” at https://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2011/03/snubby-for-pretty-lady.html way back in 2011 (9 years ago):

   Snubbies have a U-shaped utility curve.

   At zero experience the utility is high compared to other guns. You’re not going to be all that accurate with anything you shoot. At least you have a gun if you need it, and can reliably get 5 shots off at contact distances. There’s no safety to forget. It’s unlikely to malfunction unless it breaks, and it probably won’t break because you don’t shoot it enough to put any wear on it. And since you don’t shoot it, you never notice that it’s painful.

   At moderate experience, it’s a horrible firearm. It’s painful to practice with, the short sight radius and long trigger are difficult and frustrating. It makes a horrible and discouraging range gun. It’s only a matter of time until it breaks, or you give up. Hopefully you don’t give up shooting entirely, and just buy a proper range gun for range use, while keeping the snubby, because…

   At high experience, the snubby becomes a great firearm again. The trigger and sights are no longer an issue, you’ve learned to deal with them. You’ve lost your flinch and your hands have callouses. You own more than one gun, including all-steel revolvers that are functionally similar, but better for high-round-count range sessions. Having tried to conceal many different firearms, you deeply appreciate a handgun you can easily carry everywhere, and that has very few failure modes as long as you treat it with a little care.

   It’s really not about male vs. female shooters, it’s about whether or not they’re going to enter the middle of the ‘U’ at all, and if you do, whether or not you intend to move to the other side.

   I’ve seen good firearm trainers escort women who’d never touched a gun from one side of the ‘U’ to the other in about 2 days. There was crying and bandaged fingers at the bottom of the ‘U’, and I did not blame them in the least. But by day two, it looked like Linda Hamilton out there. Ever since watching that, I have felt that telling women that the .38 is not for them is almost a bit condescending.

   1. @anonymous, excellent comments regarding small framed revolvers. I’ve carried versions of this weapon for many years, currently a S&W M&P340. You nailed it with “You’re not going to be all that accurate…..at least you have a gun if you need it”! As you say, “no safety to forget and it’s unlikely to malfunction”….Over the years I’ve found that the best gun is the one you have with you, and this weapon is most certainly one of the best for ease of carry and reliability, easily slips into the pocket, no doubt my EDC choice!

3. “Shooting +P ammo wasn’t all that much fun, and I stopped my testing after a little more than 200 rounds.”

   I’ve heard that using 148 grain target wadcutters makes shooting these guns much more pleasant – both in the gun press and from people I know.

   Unfortunately, I’ve never seen such rounds available in stock. I gave up looking a long a time ago. So as much as I would like to test that theory for myself, I have never been able to.

   Instead, the gun industry keeps marketing high velocity hollow points, which I think is a disservice for gun owners; especially new ones.

4. That 642 is a nice example of a no lock J frame.
   I have a 442 which is the blue version of the same revolver.
   They are snappy with +P ammo but the recoil is definitely manageable.
   My wife really likes that she doesn’t have to operate a slide and it is concealable.
   S&W J frame revolvers are very easy to safety check.

   Thanks for the review.

5. I got to meet the Col. at a 3 gun match in the early 90’s when I was on the Al Mar Knives shooting team. I still have some material he wrote along with an autographed photo of the Col.
   He and Al seemed to know each other quite well.
   I remember the Col. as being a super nice guy. I was in awe.

6. I carry a 642 daily as my backup. It’s nice to see an article reviewing them, and the information about Col. Applegate is very interesting!

7. I have a 342, the evil twin to the 642 only with a titanium cylinder and bore liner. The barrel shroud is aluminum alloy. 11 oz empty. Wonderful to carry in a Thunderwear holster or jacket pocket, or even in a front trouser pocket if you take out ALL of the other stuff. Change mars the gun.
   Standard fodder for it was Speer’s +P 135 grain Gold Dot, since I bought a 250 round box of it.
   I never replaced the grips because it would be harder to hide in the crotch holster and slow the presentation. i carried this piece in a non-permissive environment for periods of uncertainty. Five violent .38s were better than a green umbrella.
   At an advanced course, I could put all rounds onto the target (silhouette) at 50 yards, but it took intense focus and discipline to ignore the vicious recoil and blast. I’d have to choose between deafness and a liver transplant before I’d shoot this little gun without hearing protection.
   I have a Model 60 Chief’s Special that belonged to my dad. During a battlefield pickup drill in a class, the lock work inside failed. Yeah, revolvers can break. A trip to Smith and Wesson that lasted 6 months repaired the 60. They must be very busy there.
   Women, as Anonymous pointed out, are not very happy with this little gun! It takes a special girl to tough it out long enough to master it. Most become terrified of it in about 10 rounds. Muzzle shakes wildly by round 5.
   Current carry round is Federal’s Micro HST 130 grain +P, but I wonder about the + designation as it is a lot more pleasant than the Speer load. Lucky Gunner’s Handgun Ammo Test suggests that this unconventional load (bullet is seated flush with the case mouth) expands in gel to .72 caliber nearly every single time and penetrates to 13 inches out of a 2″ tube. Owww!
   On the J frames, a little trick to enhance accuracy is to rub the trigger fingertip on the frame just before the shot breaks to eliminate trigger over travel. Gives you a lot more control of the trigger. YMMV.
   Great writeup Pat!

8. Being a firm believer in major caliber, I prefer a snubby in 44 spec to the 38. I had a Taurus 5 shot snubby and it was reliable, surprisingly comfortable, and still had the oomph I was looking for that you just can’t get out of a 38.

   They say anything inside 21 feet is melee range, meaning even if you can get a shot off, you’re probably going to end up grappling or striking before the fight is done. If your opponent is armed with a knife, you are going to get stabbed and/or cut, maybe several times, before the fight is over. Being able to draw and shoot while evading contact your opponent is an important aspect of self defense with a snubby given their effective range. But there’s a reason why 38 cal was abandoned over a century ago and replaced with major caliber (44/45). 38’s simply weren’t stopping opponents with anything less than a head shot.

   Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

   1. “But there’s a reason why 38 cal was abandoned over a century ago and replaced with major caliber (44/45).”

      You do realize that the 38 cal ammo that was abandoned over a century ago was NOT by ANY stretch the 38 cal ammo that is available today. Apples and oranges (or maybe watermelons) benjammin.

      I too prefer a 44 special, but would not feel terribly disadvantaged having to use a 38 with what I can get for it these days.

9. “38’s simply weren’t stopping opponents with anything less than a head shot. ”

   ???? You speak as if that is a bad thing. At 21 feet, what is wrong with head shots –esp given the spread of body armor? The brain is as big as the heart. Well, in most people. Lungs are bigger but unlikely to deflate in the second it take to reach you.

   1) at close range under intense stress, trying to evade and shoot may lead to tripping and falling — esp if you are trying to backpedal. Although it might make sense at longer ranges. I myself don’t think I would be able to move very far skipping to the side or backwards but I am not very fleet of foot.

   I am not an expert. But FBI stats indicate a lot of shootings are at less than 21 feet. Their handgun qualification course of fire has 36 out of 50 shots being fired from 21 feet or less with fairly tight time limits. 18 are within 15 feet or less.

   https://www.usacarry.com/2019-fbi-handgun-qualification/

   2) However, they still shoot to center of mass but in 3 to 6 round bursts with their hi-mag Glock. Maybe with the idea that the impact from that many 9 mm rds will slow down even someone with level IIIA body armor and the 9mm will penetrate level II armor. Or that a speed rock draw at 6 feet is no time to get fancy.

   A video I’ve seen of their training indicates they do a sidestep if they fire in darkness to avoid an enemy firing back at their muzzle flash

   3) Department of Homeland Security qual test has 30 out of 46 rds fired at 21 feet or less — 6 at 4 1/2 feet. Most still center of mass but 2 to the head at 18 feet.

   https://www.range365.com/shoot-dhs-qualification-test/

   Again, no backpedaling.

10. I have carried a variant of the “J” frame as a back up or off duty firearm for over46 years and have never had a failure to fire incident. As a firearms instructor for over 30 of those years I have had the opportunity to carry or shoot almost anything on the market and I choose the “J” frame model 340 PD in .357. That’s a handful but a real solid main stopper. I don’t shoot a major amount of .357 but put at least 10 rounds a month and replace with 158 grain hollow points. I’ve attended numerous off duty/backup handgun classes and at each one at least one of the smaller autos have malfunctioned but not a revolver! As I got older and retired I have replaced the grips with a set of Crimson Trace laser grips and feel very comfortable with it as a defensive firearm, additionally I carry a speed strip in my pocket with 6 extra rounds.
    Overall it does exactly what it was designed for and I go nowhere without it!

11. Wow! Great article

12. Pat,
    Did Rex talk to you about the guns he owned that were still in Mexico? Every time we talked that would come up. We first met at the Soldier Of Fortune convention in Charlotte, NC. He was sharing a booth with Al Mar. When he heard I lived in Roseburg he opened up and shared some good tales with me. I had a gun shop and he visited me there several times.
    If you have the time, please email me a short note.

13. I own a 442. Interestingly after the first 20 rounds it would not fire any more. Ship back to S&W for repair. Surprisingly only took 3 weeks to get back. Seems a sliver of metal prevented the internal hammer from fully striking the firing pin. So yes revolvers do malfunction. Been fine since. New grips on for more effective control with hit loads and decent EDC gun. Because it is pocket carry easy I do have it on me probably way more than any of my other handguns. Is it recoil heavy with hot loads, yes. But not unmanageable by any means. Not my number one handgun choice but as so often said something is better than nothing.

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