Customer Reviews for Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 642 38 Special Revolver

As always, Bud's service is excellent. Unfortunately I did not read the online reviews for revolvers coming out of the S&W Performance Center prior to making my purchase. The performance center 642, which boasts a tuned trigger and action, locks up with the trigger in the rear position and does not properly reset on a regular basis during dry firing. I have not and will not fire it until it comes back from S&W for warranty work. This all happened on Day 1 of receiving the revolver. I will never part with my classic S&W revolvers because I now know they can never be replaced with something new.

Hard to find gun in Buds Gun Shop inventory. Fast shipping and competitive price.

Nice looking gun. Unfortunatelt for me my wifes hand was meant for it.UGH

The perfect pocket pistol. The PC model has a light, crisp trigger pull. Lighter than my wifes regular 642. The grips are rubber, and the inlay is a little darker and not as red as in the picture. There is no internal key lock on the model I purchased. It's beautiful

I've found it to be a very pleasant firearm to own. The parts are well polished and it's fun to shoot by J-frame standards. The boot grips packaged with the gun are well made, although i ended up opting for a set of larger hogue grips. Buds was a pleasure to buy through and expediently shipped my firearm to my ffl. I look forward to future gun purchases through them.

Buy it. Perfect weight, perfect size, perfect trigger. Summer self defense perfection. Sometimes a man needs to get the best and it is hard to carry anything else. Bud’s is the best.

One of the first guns I ever bought. Fits right into your pocket and is easy to carry. Little snapper though. Shouldn't be an issue to a typical gun person. Bids was fast and simple as always.

Who doesn't like a good revolver? This gun is beautiful and feels good in the hand.

This is a great revolver with a smooth surprisingly light trigger. Very light and easy to carry concealed. 38 special in a revolver like this is a bit snappy though. Fit and finish are perfect.

First, I want to thank BUDS for another flawless transaction and fast delivery to my FFL!
This is this first revolver I’ve bought in probably 40 years but had to have one! This S&W is absolutely beautiful! Very easy to handle and shoot!
Even with +P AMMO it’s very manageable, I thought the recoil would be worse, but it’s not. I use this in a STICKY HOLSTER in my jeans pocket and it fits perfectly. I also have a small OWB Kydex holster that conceals under my shirt very well. This will be a gun I never sell. I’ve owned many guns over my 74 years since my ARMY days and I keep the guns that I really like to shoot and for defensive purposes, sold the others.
This is a great defensive gun for anybody, but particularly for the ladies! Of course the S&W QUALITY is unmatched, beautiful finish with a beautiful wood insert in the grip for a nice touch. This is the PERFORMANCE model so the trigger is awesome and very smooth, fires first time, every time!
Buy it, you’ll really like it!

I bought this to complete my set of performance center j-frames, I already own the sister gun the 637 PC and this gun is even nicer. The polished flutes and cylinder release are striking in person, the pics do not do it justice. I wish the 637 PC had the polished bits like this gun. It has a smoother but not necessarily lighter trigger than a non-PC model (I also own a non-PC 642). Remember that the long DA pull is the safety, particularly if you pocket carry. The little grip with wood inserts is cute but I replaced it with a diamond pro that covers the backstrap so that I actually enjoy shooting it. For what it's worth my gun came without the lock though I would not have cared if it had it. Highly recommended and well worth the small dollar premium for the PC enhancements.

I waited for months to get this gun. Although I've had it a few weeks I haven't shot it yet. Doing business with BUD's was a 5 STAR experience. I will do business with them again......

I have been wanting for a few years, and actually trying to buy for several months, a Model 642 from the Performance Center at S&W. But the gun has been scarce at gun dealers that I tried, and too expensive at auctions. I was pleased to purchase this from Buds, the price was right and the gun came in packaged well. I am pleased with the quality of the gun and the fit and finish. It shoots just as I expected.

Amazing trigger, lightweight and the grip is perfect for my hands. I plan to order another and the 637PC.

Very impressed with this firearm, the trigger is excellent. I love shooting this gun.

I purchased this gun for pocket carry. The lack of a hammer is ideal for pocket carry, and the guns grip is amazing. Just holding it in my hand makes me smile. It just fits well. The fact it is a performance center model is a bonus, the action is very smooth. Probably one of the most popular guns for pocket carry, and my favorite out of several small 9 mm I own. If it got damaged or lost, I'd buy the same gun all over again.

My only issue is the grips are so small and there is no good way to fire it without hurting your hand.

I just got back from my first range trip with this Performance Center Model 642. I put just over 40 rounds through the revolver. The ammo was a mix of Winchester 'White Box' FMJ and some Federal +P JHP's. There were no failures of any kind. At 7 Yards, the revolver seems to hit about 3 to 4 inches to the right. This is probably my fault. I am left-handed and tend to sometimes pull shots to the right. I probably just need some more 'trigger time' with this new gun. Speaking of triggers, the one on my revolver is nice. It is smooth and breaks at about 9 1/4 lbs. That is a nice double-action trigger pull for a little J-Frame. Clearly, the PC guys worked on the trigger. Overall quality of the gun is excellent. I checked the cylinder gap. A 0.0025 gauge would easily enter but a 0.003 gauge would not. Clearly, my new revolver has a tight cylinder gap and the gap seems uniform on both sides of the cylinder. This is clearly a high-quality little revolver. If you are in the market for a little J-Frame 38 Special revolver, say for concealed carry, then I can recommend this model.

Quality piece! Excellent trigger! It has become my EDC! Good job Smith & Wesson!

Bought this at the suggestion from a friend. I am not usually one to like smaller framed revolvers.. this one is no different..I do not like it... I LOVE It! Even though it's small it fits nicely in my hand, I fired about 50 +P loads through it with zero issues, it is extremely concealable in a front pocket of jeans or dress pants... I didn't say slacks, because I hate that word. SW did a fabulous job on this weapon. As per usual, Buds delivered as expected... there is NEVER an issue with their products or shipping

perfect for pocket carry, to me it's not much recoil ether..

Very nice j frame revolver. The wood/rubber grips are very comfortable. At the range the trigger job makes shooting nice and smooth. Well worth paying extra for that. Polished parts, especially the trigger are a nice touch. My only complaint would be a faint outline of maybe agunrest on the right side. Not really noticeable though. Very happy with my purchase. Shoots well!

Update to my previous review. I got the gun back from S&W. the problem diagnosed was a defective sear. Are you kidding me ? On a Performance Center Revolver ! The trigger was still very rough with a pull of approximately 8-10 pounds. So I was still very disappointed with this gun. My gunsmith fixed that with an Action Job. My advice....Save yourself some $$ and buy the regular 642 (163810). Then have your gunsmith perform an Action Job on it and add a set of Crimson Trace LG-305 laser grips which you can find on sale for less than $200. Or buy the gun with the grips installed (150972) and then have your gunsmith work on it. Just some options to consider.

Excellent choice I made for this revolver - S&W 642 - Performance Center - I'm an older retired shooter coming back to the hobby after relocating from the West Coast to now in Texas.. I was looking for a small J frame, carry/conceal purchase made with quality - this little 38 packs a serious punch ( has some recoil due to the small lite frame and short barrel ) however, After shooting several boxes of rounds, I found this piece to be very accurate even though it only boast a little 1.87 " barrel - I was very pleased with this purchase and also the service levels and follow thru I received from " Buds " ... Thanx Guys... Repeat customer and looking forward to more. Creston2

This is a very nice S&W revolver. First the Good...It is a Performance Center pistol. Period. Fit and finish are Excellent. Craftsmanship is Excellent. The rubber grip and wood inserts are very nice, but the overall grip is very short. The trigger pull is very heavy, but that is normal and can be remedied by any competent gunsmith. The polished cylinder flutes and polished trigger and side plate screws add a nice touch to the pistol, but add nothing to it's functionality. Now the Bad...It is supposed to have a Performance Center tuned action, however the only action that I experienced was random cylinder trigger lock up during test firing with snap caps. As of this review, it has been returned to S&W under their warranty for testing and repair. This is a Five Star pistol, but at this time I can only give it 2 Stars due to the problems described in this review.