342 v. 342 PD

[DDGator]

What accounts for the 1.2 oz. weight difference between the "regular" 342 and the 342 PD?

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Alan Fud]

Typo

Seriously, I honestly don't know but I have seen numerous numerical mistakes from S&W on both their website and in their annual catalog. This might be one of them.

 

[280PLUS]

good question,,,

better yet, whats the difference between the 342 and 342 pd besides color?

fwiw my 332,,,which is similar but in .32 mag,,, weighs a tad over 14 oz loaded

i weighed it

m

 

[DDGator]

Other than color, all I can see is the grips. The regular model has Uncle Mikes Boot grips, the PD has the bantam grips. Could that alone account for the weight difference?

Or could it be--truly--a misprint on the S&W website?

 

[LoneWulf]

The Bantam grips are lighter, no metal in them and no screws either.
They slip on with a tool that spreads them.
I bought them for my 342, since it came with the boot grips and the Bantams didn't exist at that time. They are indeed lighter.

 

[tomkatz]

Lonewulf has it right, the bantams are 1.2 oz lighter than the uncle mikes, other than that the difference is the color and the PD has the orange insert front sight.....tom

 

[Joe Foraday]

The 1.2 oz is partly due to the denser hard rubber of the UM's grips compared to the lighter rubber of the Bantam grips (more air in them, I guess).

There is another difference, at least between the early 342s and the 342PD. The fluting on the cylinder on my copies is larger on the PD than on the early non-PD cylinder. Whether that difference has been maintained, I do not know. Given that we're talking about not much more than a few shavings of titanium, though, most of the difference must be in the grips.

 

[gggman]

I've been carrying a 342PD for about 5 years now. It's a sweet little carry gun. Mine is carried in a Don Hume pocket holster, and the gun, ammo and holster together weigh less than 16 oz. The only drawback is the recoil is somewhat punishing with +P ammo, but you get used to it. It's controllable.

 

[DDGator]

Here is my update...

I bought a 342 (12 oz.) and replaced the Uncle Mikes with the factory Hogue Bantam grips.

When I weigh the gun on my digital postal scale, it comes in (empty) at 11.2 oz. -- still .4 oz. heavier than factory specs on a 342 PD. Could this be the fluting issues that Joe mentioned?

Still, I am very happy with it. The gun, fully loaded, with a leather pocket holster is under a pound. Throw in a speed strip with 6 more rounds and you are still pretty darn close to one pound.

 

[JNewell]

.4 oz is a pretty small error...but yes, the fluting probably accounts for that difference, or most of it anyway.

I was going to try posting links to the S&W website pictures of the 342 and the 342PD, but no luck -- they're not on the website any more.

 

[gunslinger387]

When I carry it is a 342PD with CT grips. Does anyone know why they got discontinued?

 

[JNewell]

Hard to sell the 11 or 12 oz Al/Ti .38s when you can buy a 15 oz Al/SS 642 for $300 new? And, maybe people who are willing to spring for the Ti .38s were going all the way for the Sc/Ti .357s. Not sure, just theories.