A revolver tour #7: Smith & Wesson 640 Pro Series

Smith & Wesson 640 Pro Series cylinder open

I have talked about this gun a lot on the blog, and there’s a good reason for that. It’s a really good gun. It’s probably one of the best examples of a carry revolver that you can buy right now; although it is too heavy for pocket carry. But it’s great too shoot, and so long as you have a quality holster, you’re in good shape. Of course, the best thing about this gun? No lock.

Personally, the lock issue gets overblown a lot, but at the same time there’s a genuine appeal to having a gun without the S&W interal locking system. I don’t have a problem with the lock…but I’d rather have guns without it, all things being equal. But we should focus on the really great stuff about this gun, like the sights. More small carry revolvers should come with night sights, and in fact this is the only one of my small carry guns that doesn’t wear Crimson Trace laser grips, because it has three dot trijicon night sights on it. They’re great! #tonythetiger

Smith & Wesson 640 Pro Series

The trigger has an apex j-frame kit in it, which means it’s also pretty excellent. It’s exactly 8 pounds, with a nice positive reset. The gun is also cut for moonclips, which I’m rather “meh” on in a carry gun. I don’t use them for carry or for my reloads, so it’s a feature that the gun doesn’t really need, in my opinion. But some people like that sort of thing, I guess. In my opinion, moonclips are reserved for competition guns, not carry.

This gun gets carried a lot. It’s my default belt gun for when I want something that’s easy to conceal and good to shoot, it sights by my nightstand along with a flashlight, it’s just a great little gun. Yes, I know carrying a j-frame will get me killed by ninjas, but I’m carrying the BEST j-frame ever, so I try to not worry about it.

7 Comments

  1. I was hoping you would talk more about the Ergo grip you have on that pistol. I had an airweight 638 that I really didn’t like to shoot because of the small grip, but adding a larger grip would have defeated the purpose of a pocket sized revolver. How controllable is the gun with this non-traditional grip? Does it still have a natural pointability or does the change in grip angle make it require more conscious effort to align the sights on the target?

    1. The Ergo grip produces nearly the same grip angle as a Glock.

      That is either a feature or a bug, depending on how you feel about Glocks.

      1. Interesting. I would have guessed based on the picture it would be a much steeper angle. Maybe I’ll have to track down a J frame and give them another shot

  2. Years ago, I had the 9mm equivalent to this gun, the 940. It was a couple ounces heavier and had the old plain sights, but the big deal was the moonclips.
    We since have restored citizen carry and the moonclip offers a huge advantage when loading and clearing are frequently necessary, such as in Illinois with its 23 million prohibited locations.
    Unloading a semi ruins the ammunition in short order: I’ve had my .45 HSTs go bad after only two or three chamberings (check your overall length!).
    Unloading a revo in a compromised location such as your car means spilled cartridges on the floor, in the cupholders, inside the seats…
    Moons have some notable advantages!

  3. It is indeed a great little firearm. I’ve got the “2-finger” CT grips on mine, and frankly, it carries great in my jeans pocket.

  4. 357 Magnum is good for three ninjas per shot versus 9mm’s single ninja. The flame alone may account for a fourth ninja. I am sure you will do fine.

    Does the Ergo grip make the gun more difficult to hide? Does it help with recoil?

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