I've been a J-Frame fan for years. I am fully aware of the platform's limitations, but there are some things that it provides that nothing else does, and it suits my needs very well. Particularly, in the airweight variety, it's the perfect gun to carry when you can't, or don't feel like, carrying a gun. I’m not a rich guy, an “influencer”, or an industry insider…just a shooter who has found a few platforms he likes and probably spends too large a percentage of his income on them. Here’s my humble J-frame collection…each one has a purpose, and that 640 Pro has been on my person in some capacity pretty much every day since I bought it.
This year at SHOT, Lipsey’s announced a new release in the J-Frame lineup. It's an airweight Centennial J-Frame with a dovetailed rear sight and pinned in big-dot front, with some action enhancements, cylinder chamfering, and titanium pins for added durability. They're offering it in .38 Spcl +P and .32 H&R Mag. I immediately looked up my nearest Lipsey's dealer and got put on the list for one of the .38s (I'd like a .32 as well, but can't swing the price of two at the moment, so I decided to start with the one that covers a broader range of usefulness in my situation). Here’s an excellent article on the backstory of the gun if anyone is interested: https://revolverguy.com/the-lipseys-smith-wesson-ultimate-carry-j-frames-part-i/
I got the call a week ago that my gun was in, but had to wait all weekend to pick it up because I was working. Monday morning I went and got it. There were a few issues with that gun…some mis-printed lettering on the barrel that didn't really bother me that much, but there was also a problem with the cut of the ratchet. The trigger would bind or drag on a couple of the chambers. I posted a review on another forum that talked about that issue, and within a day I got an email from Jason, the senior VP at Lipsey's who had directed the entire project, asking me to call him about the gun. We had a great talk, and it's obvious to me that they are really invested in this project, will stand behind it, and want to do right by their customers. I told him I was ok with keeping it and cleaning the action up myself, but I didn’t want to void the warranty. He told me they wanted them all to be right and to just send it back. Within an hour he had a replacement gun on the way to the dealer to trade out for the first one.
Yesterday, two days after our phone call, the replacement gun was at my dealer and I drove over there and did the exchange. This new gun is excellent…everything I'd hoped these would be when I first heard about them.
The gun is at it’s heart an aluminum airweight J-Frame. It’s not a scandium gun, which saves on the price, but limits it to .38 Spcl +P/.32 H&R Mag, which IMO are much more pleasant and efficient calibers to shoot in this platform anyway. The action pins were re-designed to be made from titanium, which mitigates some of the issues with bent pins that were sometimes a problem when working on the older aluminum guns. Supposedly they also added bosses at the base of the pins to keep the moving parts off of the sides of the frame and reduce friction for a better pull. I haven’t opened mine up yet to see that for myself, though. You’ll also notice the absence of the much-maligned internal lock.
Issues with my first gun aside, the fit and finish on the replacement is superb. Everything lines up like it should, and the silver aluminum frame has a nice glossy finish that is easy to clean (I did actually do that after these pictures were taken, lol). They went with black controls, which accent the stainless look nicely, and go well with the black and gray grips in my opinion.
The grips, made by VZ, are incredibly nicely made. The fit is absolutely perfect, and I actually had to tap them with a delrin hammer to get them off after removing the screw. You can’t even feel the seam where they come together on the backstrap. I have traditionally been a big fan of the regular old rubber S&W J-Frame boot grips, so I was skeptical about the larger size of these. I have to admit after shooting it, though, that especially with the airweight frame, the exposed backstrap of the factory rubbers will hammer the web of your hand after a while. The high-horn design of these grips spreads the recoil force out wider, and they are very comfortable to shoot. I put 100+ rounds through each gun this week, with both sets of grips, and there was noticeable soreness after the factory rubbers, which was not present when shooting with the VZs. They are no longer than the factory boot grips (both are flush to the bottom of the grip frame) and the gun fits in my pocket just fine with them installed. They do produce a longer length of pull which took a little getting used to, but I think I’m figuring it out.
The two quibbles I still have with the grips is that I wish there was a bit more texture (they’re pretty smooth), and G10 is heavy. They’re about 2 ozs heavier than the factory rubbers, which is noticeable on an airweight gun. I’m planning to leave them on here, though, at least for the time being as I get used to the gun, and I can always swap them out for something lighter if I really want to. I don’t know as I will, though, as even with them installed the gun is still about 6 oz lighter than the 640 Pro that I’ve been carrying daily up until now. I do think that if VZ decides to offer these as a standlaone option, especially if they offer a variety of textures, they're going to sell a lot of them.
The trigger on the replacement gun is as good as any J-frame I’ve ever owned. It’s smooth throughout the entire pull, and consistent across all five chambers, which is much more important to me than the pull weight. The weight averages 10lb 12oz on my Lyman scale, compared to 10 lb 2oz on my 640 Pro, and 10lb 7oz on my 360J. If you’ve ever used one of those lyman scales you know they’re not exactly precise, so those results are more “ballpark” than exact, and these three were close enough to be practically the same.
The front of the cylinder is beveled for easier re-holstering. This beveling is not very pronounced and I’m not sure how much practical difference it will make, but it’s there. The charge holes in the cylinder are chamfered, and I can attest that it’s definitely noticeable and appreciated when loading flat-faced wadcutters.
The muzzle crown on the two-piece barrel assembly is nicely cut and recessed.
The sights are awesome and a little weird all at the same time. That big dark green front dot is easy to pick up in broad daylight, and in the dark it glows like a flashlight. It’s also pinned in, so it could be replaced with a different style, unlike the integral front sight found on the traditional 642. The rear is a blacked-out deep U-notch that is serrated to reduce glare, dovetailed into the frame, and doubly-secured with a set-screw. For a close-quarters defensive tool such as this, the sights are great.
I initially had some problems on the range getting my point of impact to coincide with my point of aim. My typical sight picture aligns the top of the front post with the top of the rear notch, and uses that line to bisect the center of the target. The rounded front post of these made that difficult, and I was also hitting high. I learned there were a couple of things going on.
I loaded up a new load (that my chronograph says is still a little too hot at just under 800fps) and adjusted my sight picture, and the gun yielded much better results (the targets below were shot unsupported, and the dispersion at 25 was the fault of the shooter not the gun). A DAO Centennial J-Frame was never intended to be used as a target pistol, but it’s nice to know you can make hits at distance if you have to.
One other thing to note about revolvers with these types of sights…make sure they are compatible with your holster. The sharp corners at the top of the rear sight on this gun catch on the leather of my Galco pocket holster. I had the same issue with my 640 Pro and ended up dressing the corners down with a file to make it work. I haven’t decided if I’m going to do that with this gun yet, or find a different holster. It’s definitely something that can be easily resolved, just make sure you’re aware of it and make sure the sight profile works with your holster so you don’t find yourself in a situation where the gun gets stuck on the draw.
Ultimately, I think Lipsey’s and S&W did a great job on these. The updates are practical and provide real benefit to somebody who actually works with and shoots the guns. I enjoyed talking to Jason at Lipsey’s, and he seems very passionate about this project and actually producing guns that shooters want. I was also very impressed with his dedication to quality and customer service. They’ve hinted that they may have some similar projects in the works to update some other revolver platforms, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with!
This year at SHOT, Lipsey’s announced a new release in the J-Frame lineup. It's an airweight Centennial J-Frame with a dovetailed rear sight and pinned in big-dot front, with some action enhancements, cylinder chamfering, and titanium pins for added durability. They're offering it in .38 Spcl +P and .32 H&R Mag. I immediately looked up my nearest Lipsey's dealer and got put on the list for one of the .38s (I'd like a .32 as well, but can't swing the price of two at the moment, so I decided to start with the one that covers a broader range of usefulness in my situation). Here’s an excellent article on the backstory of the gun if anyone is interested: https://revolverguy.com/the-lipseys-smith-wesson-ultimate-carry-j-frames-part-i/
I got the call a week ago that my gun was in, but had to wait all weekend to pick it up because I was working. Monday morning I went and got it. There were a few issues with that gun…some mis-printed lettering on the barrel that didn't really bother me that much, but there was also a problem with the cut of the ratchet. The trigger would bind or drag on a couple of the chambers. I posted a review on another forum that talked about that issue, and within a day I got an email from Jason, the senior VP at Lipsey's who had directed the entire project, asking me to call him about the gun. We had a great talk, and it's obvious to me that they are really invested in this project, will stand behind it, and want to do right by their customers. I told him I was ok with keeping it and cleaning the action up myself, but I didn’t want to void the warranty. He told me they wanted them all to be right and to just send it back. Within an hour he had a replacement gun on the way to the dealer to trade out for the first one.
Yesterday, two days after our phone call, the replacement gun was at my dealer and I drove over there and did the exchange. This new gun is excellent…everything I'd hoped these would be when I first heard about them.
The gun is at it’s heart an aluminum airweight J-Frame. It’s not a scandium gun, which saves on the price, but limits it to .38 Spcl +P/.32 H&R Mag, which IMO are much more pleasant and efficient calibers to shoot in this platform anyway. The action pins were re-designed to be made from titanium, which mitigates some of the issues with bent pins that were sometimes a problem when working on the older aluminum guns. Supposedly they also added bosses at the base of the pins to keep the moving parts off of the sides of the frame and reduce friction for a better pull. I haven’t opened mine up yet to see that for myself, though. You’ll also notice the absence of the much-maligned internal lock.
Issues with my first gun aside, the fit and finish on the replacement is superb. Everything lines up like it should, and the silver aluminum frame has a nice glossy finish that is easy to clean (I did actually do that after these pictures were taken, lol). They went with black controls, which accent the stainless look nicely, and go well with the black and gray grips in my opinion.
The grips, made by VZ, are incredibly nicely made. The fit is absolutely perfect, and I actually had to tap them with a delrin hammer to get them off after removing the screw. You can’t even feel the seam where they come together on the backstrap. I have traditionally been a big fan of the regular old rubber S&W J-Frame boot grips, so I was skeptical about the larger size of these. I have to admit after shooting it, though, that especially with the airweight frame, the exposed backstrap of the factory rubbers will hammer the web of your hand after a while. The high-horn design of these grips spreads the recoil force out wider, and they are very comfortable to shoot. I put 100+ rounds through each gun this week, with both sets of grips, and there was noticeable soreness after the factory rubbers, which was not present when shooting with the VZs. They are no longer than the factory boot grips (both are flush to the bottom of the grip frame) and the gun fits in my pocket just fine with them installed. They do produce a longer length of pull which took a little getting used to, but I think I’m figuring it out.
The two quibbles I still have with the grips is that I wish there was a bit more texture (they’re pretty smooth), and G10 is heavy. They’re about 2 ozs heavier than the factory rubbers, which is noticeable on an airweight gun. I’m planning to leave them on here, though, at least for the time being as I get used to the gun, and I can always swap them out for something lighter if I really want to. I don’t know as I will, though, as even with them installed the gun is still about 6 oz lighter than the 640 Pro that I’ve been carrying daily up until now. I do think that if VZ decides to offer these as a standlaone option, especially if they offer a variety of textures, they're going to sell a lot of them.
The trigger on the replacement gun is as good as any J-frame I’ve ever owned. It’s smooth throughout the entire pull, and consistent across all five chambers, which is much more important to me than the pull weight. The weight averages 10lb 12oz on my Lyman scale, compared to 10 lb 2oz on my 640 Pro, and 10lb 7oz on my 360J. If you’ve ever used one of those lyman scales you know they’re not exactly precise, so those results are more “ballpark” than exact, and these three were close enough to be practically the same.
The front of the cylinder is beveled for easier re-holstering. This beveling is not very pronounced and I’m not sure how much practical difference it will make, but it’s there. The charge holes in the cylinder are chamfered, and I can attest that it’s definitely noticeable and appreciated when loading flat-faced wadcutters.
The muzzle crown on the two-piece barrel assembly is nicely cut and recessed.
The sights are awesome and a little weird all at the same time. That big dark green front dot is easy to pick up in broad daylight, and in the dark it glows like a flashlight. It’s also pinned in, so it could be replaced with a different style, unlike the integral front sight found on the traditional 642. The rear is a blacked-out deep U-notch that is serrated to reduce glare, dovetailed into the frame, and doubly-secured with a set-screw. For a close-quarters defensive tool such as this, the sights are great.
I initially had some problems on the range getting my point of impact to coincide with my point of aim. My typical sight picture aligns the top of the front post with the top of the rear notch, and uses that line to bisect the center of the target. The rounded front post of these made that difficult, and I was also hitting high. I learned there were a couple of things going on.
- The sight picture with these is different. Instead of aligning the posts, you need to stick the dot in the bottom of the notch, and cover your target with the dot.
- The sights on this gun are registered for 148gr wadcutters running at about 750fps. Mine were almost 200fps faster than that, so they were hitting high.
I loaded up a new load (that my chronograph says is still a little too hot at just under 800fps) and adjusted my sight picture, and the gun yielded much better results (the targets below were shot unsupported, and the dispersion at 25 was the fault of the shooter not the gun). A DAO Centennial J-Frame was never intended to be used as a target pistol, but it’s nice to know you can make hits at distance if you have to.
One other thing to note about revolvers with these types of sights…make sure they are compatible with your holster. The sharp corners at the top of the rear sight on this gun catch on the leather of my Galco pocket holster. I had the same issue with my 640 Pro and ended up dressing the corners down with a file to make it work. I haven’t decided if I’m going to do that with this gun yet, or find a different holster. It’s definitely something that can be easily resolved, just make sure you’re aware of it and make sure the sight profile works with your holster so you don’t find yourself in a situation where the gun gets stuck on the draw.
Ultimately, I think Lipsey’s and S&W did a great job on these. The updates are practical and provide real benefit to somebody who actually works with and shoots the guns. I enjoyed talking to Jason at Lipsey’s, and he seems very passionate about this project and actually producing guns that shooters want. I was also very impressed with his dedication to quality and customer service. They’ve hinted that they may have some similar projects in the works to update some other revolver platforms, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with!
