Six J-Frames: A few more round counts, and some other observations....
640-3 Purchased new May 2007.
After initial test firing, had action polished, no spring changes, by gunsmith. At about round 300, fired a cylinderful of well-overcharged 38 special cases; cylinder had expanded chambers. Sent to S&W, with letter acknowledging overpressure reloads. Returned within two weeks with new cylinder fit, new barrel. No charge.
Over the following eighteen months, used as a "test mule" for reloading projects--about 18,000-20,000 lead bullet reloads fired, mostly in 357 cases, to 38+P / low-pressure 357 Magnum pressures. Of the total rounds reloaded, perhaps 500 rounds were low-end 'target' loads, and perhaps 200 or so would be current-manual, max 357 rounds. No additional 'overpressure' rounds fired.
I've religiously maintained it, but personally never pulled the side cover. BC gap remains at 0.005--what it was when it came back after the rebuild. The pull is to die for--absolutely smooth, with only a slight ramping up. There's been no spitting; the indexing notches in the cylinder are showing some battering, however.
M&P 340 Purchased new May 2007.
Primarily shot with carry ammo--GDSB 38+P 135-gr. rounds, or Rem 38S12s (158-gr. LSWC-HP, 800+ FPS)--or with lead reloads replicating these carry round ballistics. Total rounds to date, about 2000. Of these 2000 rounds, perhaps 100 have been "heavier rounds"--e.g., the BB 20As, or Win 146-gr. Silvertips--and perhaps 200-300 have reloads I call "FBI900s"--a 357-case, 158-gr. LSWC(-HP) running just over 900 FPS.
While doing routine cleaning last year, marks indicating a possible stretched cylinder were found--so I sent it in, again with a cover letter acknowledging reloaded ammo, but also stating no overpressure rounds (as was true). It was returned ten days later with a new cylinder fit, and possibly some action work. No charge.
60-?, 3" (current version)--purchased new August 2007.
Got it for chrono work with 3" barrels in reloading project--but it actually was my favorite j-frame. Again, shot with the lead reloads identified above. BC gap, 0.004+. Total rounds shot, appr. 2500--At about round 2500, this one blew up--cylinder split, top-strap bent. Of those rounds, perhaps 8% / 200 had been the higher-end 357 recipes. At the time of the blowup, I was shooting my GDSB 38+P 140 LTC reloads. No overpressure rounds had been fired.
Sent the gun in to S&W--and they told me to eat it, with an offer to replace it for a resonable price. Subsequent haggling got me a Pro 60-3" for $300.00--and again, they paid the shipping both ways. I wish I'd gotten standard 60-3" HB again.
60 Pro, 3": The replacement model for the previous one. Received September 2008
Only shot perhaps 300 rounds--mostly with the "FBI800" and "FBI 900" reloads I've developed. BC gap, 0.004+. Unremarkable, except to note that a) this "Pro" version does have better overall QC, and a better out-of-the-box trigger.
442-? current model; purchased July 2008, used.
This was one of those "carried a lot, shot little" revolvers--the ears were worn bright, but I estimated that perhaps only one boxful of ammo had been shot in it. BC gap of 0.005+. Indeed, I called S&W to confirm its manufacturing date--some thirteen months earlier--and received an assurance that even though I was not the original owner they would honor "lifetime" warranty requests for it.
I shot perhaps 500 rounds of the "replica reload" ammo through it and traded it in about fifteen months later. The ownership was unremarkable. I did form distinct subjective impressions about it, however. First, the Airweight standard sights--i.e., the cast-in front sight--were not nearly as easy for me to use. Second, the level of "fit and finish" was not as high as on the other j-frames I have owned. It did shoot a slightly lower velocity than the other nominal 2" barrels, but not to a statistically-significant order.
360J SKU 160377; purchased new November 2008.
I got this one because a) I wanted to try a DA-SA carry gun, and because, in many ways, the cylinder / chamber selection of 38 Special for a lightweight / Scandium frame in .357 size seemed to me to represent the best of all worlds for pocket carry guns. BC gap, 0.004+.
Even this cheaper scandium-frame version has superior fit and finish matching those of the M&P series. It has the best out-of-the-box trigger of any of my j-frames, and the front sight is the traditional S&W pinned-type. Shooting it was not quite uneventful--it has a sticky chamber, even when shot with very low-pressure (580 fps, 125-gr. LTC) 38 Special reloads.
I carried it for perhaps six months--enough to realize that I prefer a DAO carry gun. It's a delightful firearm--but I suspect that I would enjoy the new 360-3" even more as a belt- or underarm-carry gun.
IMPRESSIONS: Based on my experiences shooting these revolvers, I've formed some distinct biases. Because I consider myself not-even-a-home gunsmith for revolvers (Yes, I own Keunhausen and a decent set of tools--but I apply my skills to cleaning and learning, so far), I wish I lived near enough to (for example) Old Fuff or Rcmodel, or any of the other S&W experts on this site. I do not know how to adequately measure a frame to determine changes. So, with this in mind:
1. The 357-framed j-frames are robust firearms. Nonetheless, they are lighter-weight (23 oz in steel) and lightweight (13.3 oz in Scandium) firearms. See 1911Tuner's (and others') comments earlier about shooting any firearm, not to mention the real 357-Magnum loads for which the (now N-frame) Registered Magnums were built.
2. For these current products, the Scandium-framed revolvers appear to be the equivalent-in-strength to the SS-framed revolvers. What I have no sense of, and have been unable to find, is any professional assessment of the lifespan of this alloy in firearm frames.
3. The aluminum-framed models are not equivalent in strength. Others have commented on their usage history--is it Jim Watson? At any rate, based on contemporary marketing technique, it is clear that these j-frames are considered "entry level" models, with a refined set of specs for fit and finish that fits that niche.
4. The S&W (current) warranty policy is generous; it probably drives the higher-retail prices they charge--much as the Dillon reloading product warranty drives their product prices.
As you can see, I've used their service, and not "just" for QC-CS problems. Nonetheless, the lifetime warranty is applied on a case-by-case basis, and its application probably depends on the fine-tuned directives for the CS team at any time you use it as well as the proverbial customer-driven demands. Realistically, they could have told me to pay for the repairs to the 640, and the 340, but they didn't. I was upset that they didn't honor their warranty on the 60--but they played it fairly, and did mollify me with a good replacement price. Overall, I've been satisfied--more than satisfied.
The 360J will be going in shortly for cleaning up that sticky cylinder; the 640 will probably go along with it for a "review". I expect the shipping charges to be paid both ways, and I am curious what, if any, the charges will be for any work to the 640.
5. So how much do you shoot your carry j-frame?
Again, based on pure speculation--I am willing to bet that less than 1% of j-frame owners, and no more than 3% of j-frame carry-ers--shoot their revolver 50 rounds a month. That's 600 rounds a year.
If the life-span of a Airweight revolver is perhaps 10,000 rounds--and it is still shootable--that's at least sixteen years before S&W would possibly need to perform warranty service. For the SS 357-sized j-frames, that life span (with reasonable ammo selection, remember) appears to be about double that or more. And, I think the Scandium-framed guns will be similar. Call it thirty years before service is needed--under that same warranty. (I know of no one who has shot a a scandium-framed j-frame 357 thousands of 357-Magnum factory rounds, internet-warrior claims to the contrary.)
1911Tuner, rcmodel, or others, please chime in as needed.
As an aside--I will probably edit this later for both content and style, not to mention typos.
Jim H.
