Wheelgun Wednesday: Smith & Wesson Model 640 Engraved Review

Can a gun have a soul? The ancients wouldn’t have considered that such a silly question. They firmly believed that everything had a spirit—even inanimate objects. That carried over even after the Christianization of the West. It was once a near-universal belief that certain relics of saints were imbued with the Holy Spirit. Even certain weapons were believed to have supernatural attributes, most famously Excalibur (or Caliburn), the sword wielded by King Arthur.

That was before the Industrial Revolution, in a time when every armament was crafted by hand. Armorers and their patrons took great pride in carefully etching elaborate designs into their weapons, often featuring scenes from ancient mythology or the Bible. Even many of the first firearms were beautifully decorated.

While we may not agree on whether a gun can have a soul, we can certainly agree that certain guns are soulless. As industrialization advanced and the handgun was perfected through precision engineering and advanced polymers, they became incredibly accurate and reliable, though somewhat jejune.

My friend Hal Herring and I debated this point at The Wagon Box, where he pointed out that while my black polymer carry piece might be more practical, his revolver had a soul. How could I argue against that? Fundamentally, we saw the issue through separate lenses: I was focused purely on how effectively my pistol could defend myself, while Hal was viewing the matter through a much broader scope. His revolver can take down a man as well as my semi-auto, but he gets more out of it than just that.

Ideally, you spend more time wearing your carry pistol than wielding it. Should it be more than just a blunt tool of death? Should it, like the knights of old, mean more?

That’s why when Smith & Wesson invited me to review one of their J-Frame revolvers, I was immediately drawn to the Model 640 Engraved simply because it’s beautiful. I wondered if I might add a bit more joy to my life by trading in my boring but trusty pistol for something a bit more spirited.

I also wondered if Smith & Wesson would actually send me this model—which retails for $240 more than the basic Model 640, even though it appears functionally the same.

Turns out, they would. And they did.

The Model 640 Engraved In the Hand

The main thing that separates Model 640 Engraved from the plain Jane Model 640 is, well, the engraving. The frame is covered in beautiful floral swirls, as is the wooden grip. The frame is constructed of stainless steel—another improvement over the basic Model 640.

Despite the artistry, the Model 640 Engraved is still a mass-produced product, albeit with the semblance of the hand-crafted days of yore. If you want the real thing, Smith & Wesson is more than happy to provide it, for a price. They will custom decorate a handgun with your choice of design and materials—even gold and ivory.

But that’s not to say the Model 640 Engraved feels like anything less than a premium product. As a matter of fact, it arrived with a surprise: A separate locking Mahogany “presentation box” with a blue felt liner. This was in addition to the regular plastic snap box that pistols are usually packaged in. Having the Model 640 Engraved shipped to my thoroughly confused FFL dealer almost felt like the wrong experience. This is the sort of gun that should be handed to you in a high-end store by a man in a three-piece suit and white gloves.

Of course, the hidden hammer means the 640 engraved is limited to double-action. The 10-pound trigger pull is long and luxuriant, with a crisp, satisfying break. Having not shot a revolver in a while, I had forgotten how satisfying a wheelgun’s trigger pull can be—watching and feeling the cylinder rotate into place as you draw back the trigger, giving you a moment to hold and consider before activating the firing pin.

While I don’t keep a revolver as my everyday carry, I certainly get the appeal. A striker-fired pistol is something of a black box: You pull the trigger and it fires, with no sense of how it happened. By contrast, the mechanics of a revolver feel strangely organic.

Does the Model 640 Engraved Have an Internal Lock?

Before we move on to the range, let’s address the elephant in the room: the dreaded internal lock, AKA the “Hillary hole.”

The internal lock has been one of Smith & Wesson’s most controversial moves in its long history. Ostensibly, it’s a safety feature: a small hole in the revolver can be locked with a key, and when locked, it can’t be operated. However, it’s unsightly, of questionable value, emblematic of a gun-grabbing gynocracy, and there are legitimate concerns that could lock itself at inopportune times, such as when you need to fire on an attacker.

Unlike the base Model 640, the Model 640 Engraved has no internal lock. For revolver purists, that alone could make the Model 640 Engraved worth the extra money over the regular Model 640.

But How Does It Shoot?

Enough about philosophy and aesthetics: How does the Model 640 Engraved shoot? Despite being astonished by the beautiful wooden grip, I had doubts it could handle the .357 Magnum that it’s chambered for. I stopped at my friendly local gun store, R_Tac in Lafayette, TN, and picked up two boxes of ammo for testing:

Ammo Incorporated .38 Special Signature Target, 158 grainPPU .357 Magnum, 158 grain

For newcomers to the wheelgun world, almost any revolver chambered for .357 Magnum can also fire .38 Special, with much less recoil. I decided to try the .38 first to get used to the pistol, and then follow up with .357 Magnum.

I had trouble right after the first shot of .38, as the gun jammed, with the trigger stuck in the rear position. Thankfully, I was able to open the cylinder and safely unload it. I didn’t have that problem again, so I’ll chalk it up to it being a brand-new gun that needed a little breaking in. Despite that snag and the 10-pound trigger pull, my first group wasn’t too terrible.

The 640 Engraved performs admirably with the .38 Special, though after years of shooting semi-autos with 10- or 15-round magazines, the 5-round capacity’s limitations became apparent. I have no doubt it would be enough in most defensive situations. It certainly satisfies the “ rule of threes,” three rounds in three seconds at three yards. But even a simple cheap Ruger LPC II offers a six-round capacity, albeit in a less charming package.

After about 20 rounds at 20 and 10 yards, I grew more confident and decided to try my luck with the .357 Magnum, and my fears about the grip were immediately confirmed. Despite a firm two-handed grip developed over years of farm work and weightlifting, the pistol delivered a hard kick to the fleshy part of my palm beneath the thumb, akin to a 12-guage’s kick to the shoulder. I found myself having to adjust my grip for follow-up shots, slowing down my reaction time and making a mess of my target.

I stuck it out for about 20 rounds before crying uncle. My palm was screaming and was still sore the next day. .357 Magnum is one of my favorite rounds—in a sufficiently large and heavy revolver. It provides a loud but oh-so-satisfying report and does an equally satisfying amount of damage to any target.

Unfortunately, these J-Frames are just a bit too small for such a powerful round. I would highly recommend sticking to .38 Special with a revolver this small.

Is the 640 Engraved a Good Carry Option?

The 640 Engraved has a lot going for it as a concealed carry revolver. It’s small, reasonably lightweight, and thanks to its milled-in rear sight and hidden hammer, it has little to snag on your clothing. Unfortunately, it has some major limitations inherent to a snub-nosed revolver. You’re limited to only five rounds of .38 Special, given that .357 Magnum would be ill-advised when your palms are sweaty.

That said, I would be eager to buy a pistol exactly like this, but in a larger frame, like an L-Frame or maybe even an N-Frame. There’s the machine-engraved Model 29, but it lacks the stainless frame and just isn’t quite as nice, in my opinion.

For practical concealed carry, you’d be much better served by the semi-autos in Smith & Wesson’s lineup, like the M&P 9 Shield, the just-released Bodyguard 2.0, or any number of modern-day semi-autos on the market.

As much as I love the stylings of the Model 640 Engraved, it’s not the tool I want on hand when my life is on the line. No, this is the sort of handgun that belongs in the drawer of your handcrafted mahogany desk, situated in your stately rural manor, next to the bottle of Macallan, for when your mistress has fled to Argentina with the pool boy and half of your fortune, and you’re considering your options.

In happier times, it’s the kind of pistol you bring out at the range to impress your friends, both with its exquisite stylings and your ability to handle the kick of five rounds of .357 Magnum without wincing.