Miscellany: I Think I'm Learning Vietnamese, Part 1

One of my biggest regrets is never learning a second language growing up, but thankfully that's something that can be rectified with some dedication.  After reading this review of DuoLingo from Justin at Swift/Silent/Deadly, I'm taking the plunge and trying to learn some of my mother's tongue, Vietnamese:

Of course, just typing words into an app (DuoLingo to start) isn't enough to really learn a language, so I am supplementing with textbooks and phrasebooks, audio courses, and plenty of interaction with a native speaker (thanks Mom). I'll post updates on the blog as my journey into tiếng Việt continues.

Guns: S&W 640 Pro review - The Riddle of Steel

Introduction

Even in 2022, my most carried gun is the humble five-shot S&W J-frame, a 70-year old design that still has some advantages over a small .380 in extreme close quarters fighting. If you want to keep your proficiency with these snubnose revolvers, though, you have to train with them, and that's where the S&W 640 Pro comes in.

The 640 features a steel frame that ups the weight on the gun by about half a pound.  That's too heavy for most people to conceal in a pocket, but much more pleasant to shoot at the range.  It's a great training aid, sparing both your hands and your CCW gun from the wear and tear of recoil.

Sights and Trigger

The "Pro" model comes with a couple bells and whistles over a normal 640, including front and rear tritium sights and a cylinder cut for moon clips.  The dovetail sights are pretty much the best available for a J-frame; they're tough, low-profile, and visible in all light conditions. The moon clip-compatible cylinder is nice to have, but not significant for most people.

One thing the "Pro" model does NOT have is any trigger or action work done on it. In fact, this particularly 640 Pro had the worst trigger I've ever experienced on a J-frame, a very heavy and creepy double-action. I had a local gunsmith work it over, and also added a Pachmayr Compac grip (too big for pocket carry, but perfect for a steel-framed revolver).

Range Report

Theoretically, you can shoot .357s in the 640 Pro, but the concussion and recoil from this 2-1/4" barreled snub is so severe that it's really impractical to use .357 ammo, including for self-defense, unless you have no other choice.  I carry and shoot .38s and .38 +Ps out of this gun, which I think will serve most people well.

At 10 yards, the 640 Pro shot decent groups with old-school 158 grain lead round nose:

Things get spicier with the Federal HST Micro .38 round, which has a flat ogive hollowpoint giving it a profile similar to a wadcutter. This is one of the newest, most advanced .38 Special self-defense rounds on the market, and it shot reasonably well once I got used to the recoil.

Conclusion

In my mind, an all-steel 640 Pro is a very specialized gun. If I'm going to carry a 22 ounce piece on the hip, it's going to be a modern slim polymer 9mm, which holds more than twice the ammo, is more accurate and powerful shot-for-shot, and easier to reload and maintain. On the other hand, if I need to throw down a couple boxes of .38 Special every month to keep my snubby revolver skills in shape, the 640 Pro is one of the only choices on the market.

Books: The Snubby Revolver, 3rd Edition

Despite the continuing popularity of the snubnose revolver for concealed carry, there are very few books covering the defensive use of the snubby. One of the best (and only) choices on the market is Ed Lovette's classic, The Snubby Revolver, now in its third edition.

Lovette is a retired police officer and CIA paramilitary operations officer, with decades of experience instructing agents in the finer points in concealing the humble short-barreled wheelgun. You'll get information on shooting, reloading, and carrying the snub, along with personal safety tips and tactics to keep you out of trouble. The book reads like a scrapbook of information Lovette has deemed worthy of retaining; many portions are directly sourced from interviews or even guest-written by other fine instructors like Lou Chiodo, Massad Ayoob, John Benner, Dave Spaulding, and Craig Douglas. 

Lovette is the editor in chief of it all, however, and the best parts of the book are his sobering examples of the consequences of breaking the first rule of gunfighting (such as the tragic kidnapping and death of Bill Buckley). If you need motivation to bring that J-frame with you whenever you walk out the door, let The Snubby Revolver be that reminder.

Movies: Everything Everywhere All at Once

In a cineplex stuffed to the gills with superheroes, sequels, and remakes, Everything Everywhere All at Once is the proverbial breath of fresh air - a wild adventure that's part slapstick and part serious:

Michelle Yeoh plays a downtrodden laundromat owner straining over her relationships with her husband and daughter. On a particularly dreary visit to the IRS for an audit, she becomes aware of the presence of parallel universes - an Everett many-worlds collection of possibilities showing choices she could have made and lives she could have lived. But there is a darkness out there in the multiverse, and it's up to Yeoh's character to make things right, using all the skills and knowledge of her other lives.

Everything is sort of like that old Jet Li flick, The One, if you crossed it with Kung Fu Hustle and The Joy Luck Club. I can see the trailers struggling to communicate what the movie is about - is it action? Is it comedy? Drama? Well, it's all of those things, and if each genre perhaps isn't executed as well as a standalone piece, the directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert do a good job of keeping the mélange entertaining.

Rating: 8/10