New (to me) J-frame

[MetalgodZ]

Picked up a S&W 438 last week, and I'm loving it. The problem, of course, came in the form of a lighter than anticipated wallet today when I walked into First Defense intending only to pick up an 03 A3 receiver Dennis ordered for me.

You have any decent pocket holsters?
Yup, I think we've got a Desantis Nemesis over there on the wall.
Great...speedloaders?
None of the standard speedloaders for a 5-round cylinder, but we've got the speed strips.
Sounds good...'nother box 'o ammo and ring me up!

I check out and the guy taking my money mentioned the grips on his 438, and mentions that he's waiting to drop the Apex Tactical drop-in kit that he thinks they have in stock...right...over...there...must...not...spend... Crap.

I'll take one. Ring me up again, please.

So I spent a little more than I intended to, messed around installing the Apex kit tonight instead of doing the reading/studying I should have been doing, I button up the gun and end up with one more piece in the bag than when I started!

Oh, wait, that's supposed to come out. Stupid in-gun locks.

All in all, very nice to have a place locally that I can walk into and ask for random stuff I've been looking at on the Internet, and they have it in stock. Trigger pull with the Apex kit is almost pleasant, and the very (very) little bit of polish on the rebound slide has really smoothed it out.

 

[Viper22]

Nice.

The trigger kit is the way to go. I didn't use that specific kit, but I did replace springs and polish things here and there on my Model 36...And what a difference.

 

[Independence Arms]

Nice. I plan on ordering a spring kit for my 642 very soon. Any brand suggestions? Apex, Wilson, wolf, etc...
Who has real world experience here to guide me in the right direction?

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[MetalgodZ]

Nice. I plan on ordering a spring kit for my 642 very soon. Any brand suggestions? Apex, Wilson, wolf, etc...
Who has real world experience here to guide me in the right direction?

Sorry for the hijack.

No worries - Not really a hijack. I don't have experience with the other kits, but the Apex pull is nice so far, and I haven't seen a single report of someone having an ignition problem after installing the kit. It's a mainspring, a return spring, a firing pin spring, and a firing spring.

The springs are noticeably lighter than the stock ones, and I had no problems installing them by hand, without the specialized tools or vice to put the mainspring assembly in. The firing pin appears to be either a totally different metal, or coated differently. It appears marginally longer when set next to the stock one, and the shape of the tip is slightly different.

I don't have a trigger pull gauge, but others are reporting an approximately 3 lb drop (from around 12 lbs stock to around 9 lbs), and I'd guess that that's probably pretty accurate. I'd guess that it doesn't change the feel of the trigger on the 438, and you can feel the "stack and stop" before the break just the same as it was before installing it. I can't say this for sure, though, since I did polish the return bar.

For $25-ish and an hour (most of which was locating the tools) to install it, I'd say it's an excellent deal.

 

[mike01824]

How easy is it to get into single action?

 

[jasons]

None of the standard speedloaders for a 5-round cylinder....

Hmm....

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/12...-arms-s-and-w-5-shot-38-special-polymer-black

 

[Retired-LEO]

Very Nice!

Love my 640-1

May do a spring kit or trigger job in the future...

 

[Diskothek]

Congrats, I had all the same done to my new (to me) 642 recently. Do you have a plug for the hole left behind from the internal lock? If not I could point you in the direction to get one.

 

[endus]

Nice dude.

I put the Apex kit in my Model 60 and did some polishing in there. Made a nice difference. Single action is ridiculously light now, but double action is totally reasonable.

 

[MetalgodZ]

How easy is it to get into single action?

Easier. It was pretty easy before before the kit, though.

Hmm....

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/12...-arms-s-and-w-5-shot-38-special-polymer-black

Yeah...they just weren't in stock locally this week. They will be next week or the week after, but I'm realizing how much of a bulge the pocket holster makes in thin shorts and thinking I may stick with the strips anyway.

View attachment 35037
Very Nice!
[...]
May do a spring kit or trigger job in the future...

Very nice grip. I need to get my hands on one of that length before I order a new one for mine, to see if it still fits in my pocket. I've got a little more space in my pocket for that extra 1/2" or so of grip, and I'd gladly trade that for a solid third finger grip. I've been looking at the Altamont grips, which are supposedly who S&W used for the Talo exclusive J-frame a couple of years back.
http://www.altamontco.com/shared/photos/SJR-BF05-L01.jpg
http://www.altamontco.com/shared/photos/SJR-CF05-C01-M03.jpg
http://www.altamontco.com/shared/photos/SJR-FO05-C01-M03.jpg
^^Those are the three I like. The rubber ones it came with are fine, but I'd really like that 3rd finger grip, and if I could get one of the 2nd two with the carving detail on the 1st, I'd be REALLY happy.

Congrats, I had all the same done to my new (to me) 642 recently. Do you have a plug for the hole left behind from the internal lock? If not I could point you in the direction to get one.

Where'd you get it? I removed only the flag, so the hole is just a tiny pinhole, and since it's the 438, I've got a semi-shrouded hammer, so it's not like adding a plate will stop it from getting crud from my pockets into it.

Overall, my only complaint about the gun is that I'd have to get the sights machined off to get night sights put in. It's probably not worth the cost to me...at least not any time soon.