Well after wanting one of these guns for a long time I finally bought one recently and just wanted to share my thought and impressions of this little beast of a snub nose Revolver. I find this gun a breeze to carry due to its extreme lightweight,and small size. The stock hogue bantam grips don't make for the most pleasurable shooting but they certainly aid in pocket carry of the gun.
The gun in review is S&W's 340M&P lightweight magnum centennial J-frame revolver. This has to be the most advanced revolver ever produced,an engineering marvel that just a generation ago wouldn't have been possible. Its truly a state of the art product. I love mine and its crazy light,my AT&T PDA phone weighs more than my 340 M&P,this thing is sick. Also believe me the recoil of .357's isn't nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I practice/carry with 125gr Remington golden sabers these are a mid-level .357 load and the recoil isn't much more than the +P .38's I put through it. I also practice/carry with 130gr. Federal hydrashocks,be warned though these .357's are full throttle loads.
I think its very misleading that federal puts "high energy-low recoil" on the package. They got the first part right,but trust me these things ARE NOT low recoil. Their recoil is snappy and a bit painful after a few cylinders. Another great .357 load for this gun is speer's Gold Dot JHP its a 135gr. specifically designed for snub nose .357's. The great thing about this little pocket rocket is it can also eat ANY .38 special ammo you want to feed it,so your ammo options are vast.
I found the .357 hydrashocks to be very accurate in my gun at least,these are the 130gr personal defense JHP's. The gun was more manageable with .38+P's but again with the .357 magnum loads listed above I didn't find this gun uncontrollable. I was able to keep all 5 round of the hydrashocks on a silhouette man sized target a 7 yards,and this was firing at a brisk but not fast pace.
This gun has an awesome sight system with its deep grove gutter trench rear sight and its XS big dot front night sight,sight acquisition was quick and easy. This has to be probably the best sight systems for a snub nose revolver ever devised. In my opinion even if your intention is to NEVER fire a magnum round out this gun the upgraded sight system alone in worth the price as you'll have a gun lighter than a 642/442 with a lot better sights. I believe the sights on this little snubby really helped in my shooting this gun as accurately as I did.
The trigger to me anyways seems a lot smoother out of the box than other J-frame DAO guns I've owned or shot. I would venture to guess that these M&P J-frame maybe receive a little more TLC when being fitted/assembled perhaps? The trigger on my gun seems very smoother and light with little slack or stacking.
Overall I'm very pleased with this gun for its size,power,weight and reliability. There is simply nothing else like it on the market its truly and awesome snubby. I like the idea of having .357 magnum power in a 13.3oz package,even loaded this thing weighs in at only 14oz. I would take this over a kel tec or Ruger .380 any day. well theres my overview of this great little gun. In my opinion anyone seeking a small,lightweight and reliable gun for concealed carry would do well to take a serious look at the 340M&P or its titanium cylinder sporting kin the 340PD,either is a cutting edge snub nose.
The gun in review is S&W's 340M&P lightweight magnum centennial J-frame revolver. This has to be the most advanced revolver ever produced,an engineering marvel that just a generation ago wouldn't have been possible. Its truly a state of the art product. I love mine and its crazy light,my AT&T PDA phone weighs more than my 340 M&P,this thing is sick. Also believe me the recoil of .357's isn't nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I practice/carry with 125gr Remington golden sabers these are a mid-level .357 load and the recoil isn't much more than the +P .38's I put through it. I also practice/carry with 130gr. Federal hydrashocks,be warned though these .357's are full throttle loads.
I think its very misleading that federal puts "high energy-low recoil" on the package. They got the first part right,but trust me these things ARE NOT low recoil. Their recoil is snappy and a bit painful after a few cylinders. Another great .357 load for this gun is speer's Gold Dot JHP its a 135gr. specifically designed for snub nose .357's. The great thing about this little pocket rocket is it can also eat ANY .38 special ammo you want to feed it,so your ammo options are vast.
I found the .357 hydrashocks to be very accurate in my gun at least,these are the 130gr personal defense JHP's. The gun was more manageable with .38+P's but again with the .357 magnum loads listed above I didn't find this gun uncontrollable. I was able to keep all 5 round of the hydrashocks on a silhouette man sized target a 7 yards,and this was firing at a brisk but not fast pace.
This gun has an awesome sight system with its deep grove gutter trench rear sight and its XS big dot front night sight,sight acquisition was quick and easy. This has to be probably the best sight systems for a snub nose revolver ever devised. In my opinion even if your intention is to NEVER fire a magnum round out this gun the upgraded sight system alone in worth the price as you'll have a gun lighter than a 642/442 with a lot better sights. I believe the sights on this little snubby really helped in my shooting this gun as accurately as I did.
The trigger to me anyways seems a lot smoother out of the box than other J-frame DAO guns I've owned or shot. I would venture to guess that these M&P J-frame maybe receive a little more TLC when being fitted/assembled perhaps? The trigger on my gun seems very smoother and light with little slack or stacking.
Overall I'm very pleased with this gun for its size,power,weight and reliability. There is simply nothing else like it on the market its truly and awesome snubby. I like the idea of having .357 magnum power in a 13.3oz package,even loaded this thing weighs in at only 14oz. I would take this over a kel tec or Ruger .380 any day. well theres my overview of this great little gun. In my opinion anyone seeking a small,lightweight and reliable gun for concealed carry would do well to take a serious look at the 340M&P or its titanium cylinder sporting kin the 340PD,either is a cutting edge snub nose.
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
