Glutton for punishment? (new revolver purchase)

M

MXD

Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
684
Likes
115
Location
Boston Area
Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
Despite all the "I thought I broke my hand" posts about shooting this gun, I just purchased a S&W M&P 340CT. I fell in love with the size, weight and concealability of my wife's 432PD so I took the plunge. I reload so I have the option of developing a load in between a full house .357 magnum and a .38 +p. The other deciding factor was the sights. Even if I shoot mostly .38+p, the sights on the 340 (XS 24/7 tritium night sights) are much better than the 642. So the extra cost is somewhat mitigated.

As long as I practice enough to put all 5 rounds COM at 5-7 yards quickly, I could care less how much it hurts my hand. After all, its not a range gun. Its a self defense gun and in a self defense situation, the last thing I will consider is how much my hand is going to hurt.

Also, I ordered the CT version to help with follow up shots. Hopefully I will develop some muscle memory for quick follow up shots. In the meantime I will rely on the laser as a training tool.
 
Last edited:
Full house .357 loads probably won't hurt your hand too much while you're shooting them, in my experience. It's the next day when you'll regret it.

Which is fine with a self-defense gun.
 
TheRoland said:
Full house .357 loads probably won't hurt your hand too much while you're shooting them, in my experience. It's the next day when you'll regret it.

Which is fine with a self-defense gun.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm hoping for. I assume that if I practice correctly, I can develop some sort of conditioning or tolerance as well. I'm sure the fact that I'm 6'2, 235lbs will help also.
 
MXD said:
That's what I'm hoping for. I assume that if I practice correctly, I can develop some sort of conditioning or tolerance as well.
Click to expand...

I'm not a doctor, but I think you're more likely to mess things up in your hand than promote positive developments. After I ran 150-200 rounds (just of 38 and 38+p) in one night, my hand hurt for a week, and felt 'off' for more than another week. It's fine a month later, but I figure that's not good.

I'd shoot full-house loads just enough to be sure you know how they feel. Others may chime in.
 
MXD said:
That's what I'm hoping for. I assume that if I practice correctly, I can develop some sort of conditioning or tolerance as well. I'm sure the fact that I'm 6'2, 235lbs will help also.
Click to expand...

I used to think that way too. I now have no feeling in my fingers from the knuckle to the finger tips.
 
Suggestion.... carry Speer Short barrel .357s in it. Full power .357 out of a snub doesn't really do anything better than that load other than hurt your hand more and make a bigger fireball.

As far as the "I dont worry about it hurting my hand thing" it's pretty apparent that you've never fired an S+W 340 before. [laugh] I would strongly suggest to "try before you buy", otherwise you could be
making a very expensive mistake. I don't care how big you are, or how big your hands are, etc.... this is a "love it or hate it" gun, and the airlite .357s have made many grown men cry.

-Mike
 
MXD said:
That's what I'm hoping for. I assume that if I practice correctly, I can develop some sort of conditioning or tolerance as well. I'm sure the fact that I'm 6'2, 235lbs will help also.
Click to expand...

As Carl from ATHF would say... "None of this matters. " You literally will not know until you shoot one. I know young ladies that love these guns and big, burly men, that can't make it through one cylinder of 5 rounds. It's all about the individual.

-Mike
 
Man up, Nancy. [smile]

Seriously though - in the warmer months I carry a S&W 642 loaded with Speer short barrel .38 Special +P. After about 10 rounds those things start to hurt. Feels a lot like catching a baseball bat at full swing bare handed.
 
MXD said:
Despite all the "I thought I broke my hand" posts about shooting this gun, I just purchased a S&W M&P 340CT.
Click to expand...

drgrant said:
the airlite .357s have made many grown men cry.
Click to expand...

Grown Dwarves, too... I won't shoot one of those ever again.

Hey, MXD... will you post when and where you're going to fire it for the first time? I'd like to video tape that... AND your reaction, too.

Hell, I'll bet you could sell tickets.
 
Shooting old school 125 grain .357 Magnums like the fearsome Federal C357B and Remington R357M1 through an Airlite J frame is going to be just freaking brutal.

Shooting them through a 35 ounce K frame is harsh. I cannot imagine doing so in a little pistol that weighs less than half that much.

Dude, it's like having a major league slugger swing into the palm of your hands. Seriously reconsider.
 
Jose said:
Shooting old school 125 grain .357 Magnums like the fearsome Federal C357B and Remington R357M1 through an Airlite J frame is going to be just freaking brutal.

Shooting them through a 35 ounce K frame is harsh.
Click to expand...

Really? I never found it so with either my 4" or my 2.5" barreled K.
 
Brin747 said:
Am I missing something? I have run 50 rounds of +P through my S&W 642 without a problem or any pain the next day...
Click to expand...
Yes, you are. We're talking about a 340, which is a scandium-framed .357 that weighs 12 oz. It's a miserable gun to shoot with .357 ammo. YOUR gun is an aluminum-framed .38.
 
dwarven1 said:
Yes, you are. We're talking about a 340, which is a scandium-framed .357 that weighs 12 oz. It's a miserable gun to shoot with .357 ammo. YOUR gun is an aluminum-framed .38.
Click to expand...

Correction, the 340PD is 12 oz, the M&P 340 has the SS wheel and its much heavier, its like 13.5 oz LOL.

I figure the worst case scenario is that I hate the .357's and only shoot .38+p's. In that case, I've essentially got laser grips and tritium night sights on a 642. When you factor in those two accessories and then take into account I would not be shooting .357's, I only overpaid by a few bucks. No big loss in my opinion.

I'll certainly give you guys a range report. I am planning on hitting the range this weekend.
 
Jose said:
You must be using rubber grips......
Click to expand...

Which reminds me of the other reason I ordered it with the CT grips. From what I have read, the rubber CT 405's with the "pocket" on the back strap for the webbing on your hand is supposed to make a big difference.
 
Brin747 said:
Am I missing something? I have run 50 rounds of +P through my S&W 642 without a problem or any pain the next day...
Click to expand...

You're a manlier man than me....

MXD said:
Which reminds me of the other reason I ordered it with the CT grips. From what I have read, the rubber CT 405's with the "pocket" on the back strap for the webbing on your hand is supposed to make a big difference.
Click to expand...

The rubber grips are more comfy, but they're too "tacky" for a pocket gun IMHO. They tended to stick to the inside of my pocket and mess up my draw. I switched to some smooth polished wood grips and my draw is much smoother now.
 
MXD said:
Correction, the 340PD is 12 oz, the M&P 340 has the SS wheel and its much heavier, its like 13.5 oz LOL.

I figure the worst case scenario is that I hate the .357's and only shoot .38+p's. In that case, I've essentially got laser grips and tritium night sights on a 642. When you factor in those two accessories and then take into account I would not be shooting .357's, I only overpaid by a few bucks. No big loss in my opinion.

I'll certainly give you guys a range report. I am planning on hitting the range this weekend.
Click to expand...

Ah, my bad. I was thinking the 340. Hey, that 1.5 ounces will sure make a BIG difference in soaking up recoil. [laugh] I'd still like to see the look on your face after you touch off the first round. You don't belong to Harvard Sportsman's by any chance, do you? [devil]

Jose said:
You must be using rubber grips......
Click to expand...

Nope. Wood grips on the 2.5". But I do have a set of Hogues for the 4". I love the factory grips on the 2.5" so much that I'm seriously considering getting the 4" converted to a round butt and getting another set of those grips.

DSC02235.jpg
 
I understand we might be talking about a slightly different gun, but this I believe this is relevant to the discussion


Taken from The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery by Massad Ayoob:
Pg. 32
Model 340 Sc Scandium
"Chambered for .357 Magnum, this gun manages not to tear up the FBI load in the gun's chambers, but doesn't shoot it worth a damn for accuracy. Admittedly, this isn't the most accurate .38 Special cartridge made, but the load gives me about 5 inches at 25 yards in my Airweight, versus 15 inches of what I can only call spray out of this gun, with bullets showing signs of beginning to keyhole. This gun also shot way low. Recoil with Magnum loads was nothing less than savage. The little Scandium beast was somewhat more accurate with other rounds, but not impressively so. After five rounds, the hands were giving off that tingling sensation that says to the brain, "WARNING! POTENTIAL NERVE DAMAGE." When passed among several people who shoot .44 Magnum and .480 Ruger revolvers for fun, the response was invariably, "Those five shots were enough, thanks." I didn't even try to shoot a 50-shot qualification with it. Unloaded weight is 12.0 ounces."

Ayoob continues on pg 33

"The thin steel barrel sleeves of the Ti and Sc guns just don't seem to deliver the accuracy of the all-steel barrels of the Airweight and all steel models. All four guns [he was comparing Centennials of steel, Airweight, Ti, and Sc] are DAO, so it wasn't the trigger. The same relatively deteriorating accuracy was seen in the super-lights with mild .38 wadcutter ammo and big Pachmayr grips, so it wasn't the recoil. To what degree this is important to you is a decision only you can make.

Now let's put all that in perspectives. In the 1950's when all this ultra-light gun stuff started, Jeff Cooper defined this genre as meant to be "carried much and shot seldom." Alas, the days when we can do that are over, atleast in law enforcement. Any gun that we carry on the job is a gun we are required to qualify with repeatedly. As I look at my 340 Sc and 342 AirLite Ti, it occurs to me that if I'm deliberately going to do something that hurts like hell, I should go to Mistress Fifi's Hous of Pain and at least get an orgasm out of the deal."


Massad shows pictures on pg 34. These are the captions

"Here's what happens when you use full-power lead bullets in a Ti or Sc S&W. Inertia from the violent recoil pulled the bullet nose of the 158-grain Magnum forward, "prairie-dogging" out of the chamber preventing rotation"

"The model 340 Sc jammed after the third shot. Note how the bullets of Remington 158-grain SWC .357 cartridges have pulled forward from recoil inertia"

Worthless without the pics, but you get the idea.
FWIW, with the Sc guns you are only saving 3 oz or so. For the money and potential unshootability (think Colbert's truthiness), I'd say those extra hundreds of dollars would be wasted as opposed to getting a 442 or 642
 
Last edited:
People that put full house 158g rounds in it are getting what they deserve. A light weight gun like this is probably best served with 110 to 125g rounds with a slightly "detuned" charge. Even a "detuned" .357 Magnum round should out perform any .38sp +p.

But what do I know, I haven't even fired it yet. I'll tell you on Monday. I plan on reloading but I did buy 110g Cor-Bon .357 Magnums to try it out with.
 
MXD said:
People that put full house 158g rounds in it are getting what they deserve. A light weight gun like this is probably best served with 110 to 125g rounds with a slightly "detuned" charge. Even a "detuned" .357 Magnum round should out perform any .38sp +p.

But what do I know, I haven't even fired it yet. I'll tell you on Monday. I plan on reloading but I did buy 110g Cor-Bon .357 Magnums to try it out with.
Click to expand...

I don't have it in front of me right now, but I'm pretty sure there is a stamping on the barrel telling you not to use anything with a bullet lighter than 120 grains. The reason is the lighter bullets may jump the crimp and as you get to the last shot the cylinder may not even rotate any more. But then if you're going to test it out at the range first and you don't experience any problems you may be clear.
 
The only thing I want to know is

BigMike said:
Taken from The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery by Massad Ayoob:
Ayoob continues on pg 33

As I look at my 340 Sc and 342 AirLite Ti, it occurs to me that if I'm deliberately going to do something that hurts like hell, I should go to Mistress Fifi's Hous of Pain and at least get an orgasm out of the deal."
Click to expand...

Where is Mistress Fifi's Hous of Pain? Is that in New Hampshire somewhere? [devil]
 
I have the 340PD with CT. It stays in my pocket! Good luck trying to shoot this torture device in any type of string. From my experience the bigger and fatter your hands are, the worse the abuse you'll receive. Btw don't plan on using your primary hand for at least a week after you put five .357's through it. Although, shooting .38's after a string of .357's will make you think the .38's are pussycats.

About BigMike's post. That article was pretty spot on, although I wouldn't agree with his accuracy results. The only problem I've seen with this gun and accuracy is that .38's seem to shoot low, the looooooong heavy trigger pull tends to bring you off target when you have long fingers, and recoil anticipation (because you know you're doing a BAD thing when pulling that trigger). The .357's I've shot seem to be dead on target (158's and 125's). I've also experienced the "prairie-dogging" he mentioned with my own .357 reloads (I tend to make them fairly robust). All factory ammo I've shot from it didn't exhibit this problem though, and I haven't seen it happen with .38 factory or reloads.
 
Last edited:
jeffishness said:
I don't have it in front of me right now, but I'm pretty sure there is a stamping on the barrel telling you not to use anything with a bullet lighter than 120 grains. The reason is the lighter bullets may jump the crimp and as you get to the last shot the cylinder may not even rotate any more. But then if you're going to test it out at the range first and you don't experience any problems you may be clear.
Click to expand...

I had the prairie-dogging with 158's.
 
jeffishness said:
I don't have it in front of me right now, but I'm pretty sure there is a stamping on the barrel telling you not to use anything with a bullet lighter than 120 grains. The reason is the lighter bullets may jump the crimp and as you get to the last shot the cylinder may not even rotate any more. But then if you're going to test it out at the range first and you don't experience any problems you may be clear.
Click to expand...

This is true of the 340 PD with the Ti wheel. The M&P 340 has a SS wheel and the warning does not apply.
 

Similar threads

Purchase a lower as a lower or rifle?
Replies
23
Views
587
Twigg
Twigg
Show me your latest purchase
Replies
11
Views
482
AmeriKHAN
A
New member
2 3
Replies
64
Views
1K
Canndo
Canndo
New use for TLR 7
Replies
5
Views
249
Reptile
Reptile
NEW 2A group comes out SWINGING
Replies
0
Views
250
Gidge
Gidge
Back
Top Bottom