S&W J-Frame Airweight Models Life Expectancy

[PanhandleGlocker]

What would you say the life expectancy is on say a 642 or any of the other 38special Airweight models?

What would you say your personal round counts are on your specific models and any issues?

For me I probably only have 200 rounds down my 642 but plan to shoot it more soon. Obviously at 200 rounds I don’t have any issues with mine but just wondered how many rounds could one get out of these models?

Obviously if yours is rated for it, shooting +p would be harder on the gun. I’ve also read that shooting regular .38special lead rounds is easier on them than shooting copper plated since the lead just glides through the throat.

Discuss away, OSA!

 

[HiredHand]

Thousands of rounds…

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Yeah... You probably won't shoot it enough to wear it out.

 

[xseler]

Don't think that I'll ever need to buy one to replace the one I've got.

 

[Glock 'em down]

The mighty Jaybird, especially the Airweights, were designed to be carried a lot and shot a little. Basically, it's for the armed professional who spends more time behind a desk than on the front line. Hence the name, "Chief's Special."

I would think with today's metallurgy and technology, the little snubbies would surely outlast their respective owners. Because let's face it, they are not range guns.

I would even venture to say that most folks that purchase them are first time gun owners and after a cylinder or two (especially +P loads) the little fellers wind up in a nightstand or a sock drawer, where they reside for the rest of their lives.

But then again...what the hell do I know.

 

[CutBaitNBlowSh*tUp4ALivin]

My 1966 and 1968 model 37s are still going beyond strong. I've shot them a lot. And they have the older "weaker" frames....

 

[forindooruseonly]

They're tougher than you think. One of my buddies has a 442 that he does drills with every time he goes to the range. Not much, just 12 or 18 shots at a time. But over the years that has accounted for probably a thousand rounds of +P ammo going through it and it is still fine.

 

[HiredHand]

I read an account of some department that carried and shot J-frames as backup guns. They shot thousands of rounds through them and it wasn’t target loads. The guns held up to the punishment.

While I have no doubt that most small revolvers are shot little and carried a lot, I don’t believe that they were designed with that in mind. In reality, if you can afford to shoot a few thousand rounds through a small revolver, replacing one if it gets worn out shouldn’t be a financial issue.

 

[jhb33rd]

Well here is something to chew on. The 38 is anywhere from 700fps to the +p 1200 fps (High End) muzzle velocity. This article is for a rifle with a 24" barrel. You do the Math cause I ain't smart enough......

Startling Facts About Barrel Life

Barrels Lose Accuracy After a Few Seconds of Bullet-in-Barrel Time

Here’s a little-known fact that may startle most readers, even experienced gunsmiths: your barrel wears out in a matter of seconds. The useful life of a typical match barrel, in terms of actual bullet-in-barrel time, is only a few seconds. How can that be, you ask? Well, you need to look at the actual time that bullets spend traveling through the bore during the barrel’s useful life. (Hint: it’s not very long).

Bullet-Time-in-Barrel Calculations
If a bullet flies at 3000 fps, it will pass through a 24″ (two-foot) barrel in 1/1500th of a second. If you have a useful barrel life of 3000 rounds, that will translate to just two seconds of actual bullet-in-barrel operating time.

Ah, but it’s not that simple. Your bullet starts at zero velocity and then accelerates as it passes through the bore, so the projectile’s average velocity is not the same as the 3000-fps muzzle velocity. So how long does a centerfire bullet (with 3000 fps MV) typically stay in the bore? The answer is about .002 seconds. This number was calculated by Varmint Al, who is a really smart engineer dude who worked at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, a government think tank that develops neutron bombs, fusion reactors and other simple stuff.

On his Barrel Tuner page, Varmint Al figured out that the amount of time a bullet spends in a barrel during firing is under .002 seconds. Al writes: “The approximate time that it takes a 3300-fps muzzle velocity bullet to exit the barrel, assuming a constant acceleration, is 0.0011 seconds. Actual exit times would be longer since the bullet is not under constant acceleration.”

We’ll use the .002 number for our calculations here, knowing that the exact number depends on barrel length and muzzle velocity. But .002 is a good average that errs, if anything, on the side of more barrel operating life rather than less.

Gone in Six Seconds. Want to Cry Now?
Six seconds. That’s how long your barrel actually functions (in terms of bullet-in-barrel shot time) before it “goes south.” Yes, we know some barrels last longer than 3000 rounds. On the other hand, plenty of .243 Win and 6.5-284 barrels lose accuracy in 1500 rounds or less. If your barrel loses accuracy at the 1500-round mark, then it only worked for three seconds! Of course, if you are shooting a “long-lived” .308 Win that goes 5000 rounds before losing accuracy, then you get a whopping TEN seconds of barrel life. Anyway you look at it, a rifle barrel has very little longevity, when you consider actual firing time.

People already lament the high cost of replacing barrels. Now that you know how short-lived barrels really are, you can complain even louder.

 

[gerhard1]

Minor quibble: the 642 is not an air weight. The frame is stainless steel.