M&p 340

[FranklyTodd]

Anyone ever use one of these canted pocket holsters? Seems it would make the gun a bit "taller" but not stick out of the pocket so much.

http://pcsholsters.com/catalog_item_NUC.html

I've used a Nemesis everyday for months now. It's getting worn (though not yet worn out), so I've been poking around for a replacement. I've heard good things about the Mika, but stumbled into this one. They look fantastic to me, but I'd love to find at least ONE person who has tried it before I buy!

[kurtiss]

DAdams - Yes, the shaved Uncle Mikes works great in the pocket. I also should have mentioned that I took the stitching out of the plastic clip that was attached to the holster and removed it. It is a very minimalist type rig, but it works very well. It stays put and only the gun comes out. For $13, it is pretty hard to beat! I have not tried to alter any of the other holsters, and have not really looked for others since this set up works so well for me.

That No-seeum holster looks sharp. It is one of the few that looks like it would not add much height or bulk to the gun when sitting in the pocket. I don't know of anyone who has one!

[imabballer]

Guys I am REALLY interested in buying myself a 340 with the c.t. grip, but am a little worried I'd be unhappy changing from my current gun. I have a Kahr PM9 and it is really about as big as a gun I would want to pocket carry. I see that the 340 looks to be considerably bigger, but I'm just wondering if the shape of the j-frame makes it any easier to carry than the little kahr? If anybody might have a PM9 and a gun similar to the 340 for comparison pictures I would love to see them to help me make up my mind.

Thanks in advance!

[DAdams]

This is really an apples and oranges comparison. If you like your PM9 you will like the 340. In my view the 340 is the PM9 of the revolver world, reliability assumed being equal. (Which many Kahr owners or previous owners may argue when it come to the polymer PM series, and there are plenty of threads that deal with that on THR if you do a search).

I have both. My PM9 does not have night sights. The 340 comes standard with them. Finish on my PM9 is the same as the 340. DLC.

http://www.kahr.com/PA-1_9mm_pm.html
Karh Specfifications from the website.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/w...egory_rn=15704
S&W Technical Specification


Face off










Comparison 340 PM9

Capacity 5/ 7

Height 4.25/ 4.5

Width 1.375/ .90

Length 6.31/ 5.8

Weight 13.3/ 16.9

PM9 9mm
340 38spl/357

I added revolver carry since I had issues early on with the PM9. That is no longer a factor. I would 98% trust the SA vs 100% on the revolver.
Trigger is much lighter on the PM9. The 340 is physically lighter by 3.6 ounces or over 25%.
The overall form factor LxWxH although a different displacement; doesn't effect pocket carry.
If you do IWB, then it might be significant. Weight difference is a big factor.

If you feel more comfortable with 7 rounds vs. 5 so be it. Caliber is not a factoral IMO, shot placement and expertise with the respective device is.

The PM9 is slimmer (width) but in a DeSantis Nemesis vs Mika Roundcut for the 340 neither prints significantly.

I'm not certain if CT makes laser grips for the PM9. They may add some width as they do slightly to a J frame.

If you don't own a S&W J Frame snub nose revolver and are keen on adding one to your collection from a utilitarian standpoint the 340 or 360 are in my opinion the way to go. Unless that is you covet the "old school" look of blue, or nickel, then the weight goes up and no .357.

In summary I will leave you with a comment made by Wiley Clapp following a glowing Guns and Ammo review of the PM9 in 2002. Finally, while the PM9 is unlikely to make me give up my S&W Scandium .357 Centennial revolver (which is both lighter and more powerful), I would not hesitate to carry the Kahr - and I will.

[Bob79]

Does the 340MP have the XS regular sights or the Big Dot sights?

[DAdams]

Does the 340MP have the XS regular sights or the Big Dot sights?

The S&W literature does not differentiate. It states:

Front Sight: XS Sights® 24/7 Tritium Night
Rear Sight: Integral U-Notch

I measured the dot and it is 3mm if that tells you anything.

Based on the XS Website and observation of the sample Big Dot vs Standard and comparing it to my actual sight I would surmise it is their "standard" model.
XS has a nice website btw.

[jfh]

My M&P340, purchased 10 mo. ago, has what we would call the "standard" size dot. The 360 I handled at the time of buying the 340 had the Big Dot--and I was distinctly uncomfortable with how much it would occlude a target.

However, that was before adding the CT grips and learning some point shooting. Now, the dot size is irrelevant.

DAdams, thank you for doing the excellent 340 / PM9 comparison above. Since you've carried / shot both for awhile now, what's your feelings about the "ease of shooting" issues--i.e., getting off that first shot--of a revolver vis-a-vis the semicauto?

Jim H.

[DAdams]

DAdams, thank you for doing the excellent 340 / PM9 comparison above. Since you've carried / shot both for awhile now, what's your feelings about the "ease of shooting" issues--i.e., getting off that first shot--of a revolver vis-a-vis the semicauto?

I carry the 340 approximately 50% of the time and a Seecamp LWS 380 the other 50%. Depends on what I'm wearing and where I am going.
I also have a handgun in my truck. I haven't carried the PM9 in quite awhile. After I get another 100 flawless rounds through it I may...but perhaps not since it is so much heavier than the two aforementioned. I like it though and will never sell it. I have too much invested in it going through two "break-ins".
I'm keeping it.

I have no problem deploying the Seecamp, and 7 rounds of SGD 90 gr .380 doesn't make me feel under(over)whelmed. The Seecamp comes out of the DeSantis Nemesis in a jiffy and as you can see point shooting at 5-7 yards is not an issue.

[Alfred Hitchglock]

I was quoted a price of $575.00 on the M&P 340 by my Gun Dealer.

I gave up a stainless model 60 (exposed hammer) on another transaction and have been wanting a shrouded j-frame since.

I really like the looks of the 340 PD finish but I'm thinking the M&P's finish would be more durable.

(Input/thoughts would be appreciated on this)

I was also thinking the difference in price could be applied towards the CT grips (you can buy them direct from S&W's website for $260).

[Dollar An Hour]

Like DAdams, I own both a Kahr PM9 and a M&P 340.

I like he capacity of the Kahr... 7 rounds of 9mm +P is nice. IMHO the Kahr is much more pleasant to shoot, and easier to shoot accurately, and with quicker follow-up shots.

The wheelgun is a bit lighter and has an edge if the fight goes to the ground, or if you're pressing it up against the BG as a semiauto could be taken out of battery and not fire at all.

My Kahr is threatening my J-Frames for EDC duty.

[jmt1271]

Guys, I have a LNIB M&P340CT that I bought this past Christmas. Less than 20 rounds through it, AS NEW. I have a new project that is requiring a lot of funds and the M&P is basically duplication considering I have other J frames. If anyone is interested please let me know.

jmt1271@bellsouth.net is best. I am in West TN.

[Marvin KNox]

Hey guys,

I'm just taking posession of the new 340. I understand that the triggers can be rough on new snubbies.

I've read that some people put in some snap caps and dry fire the thing for a thousand rounds or so before ever taking it to the range - just to smooth the trigger out some.

What do you think of this? Will it help? If so, do I need to take it apart and clean up any filings before taking it to the range.

etc. etc. etc.

Any ideas would be appreciated along these lines or any other angle you can think of to help me with break in/lube etc. concerning the new revolver.

Thanks!

MARV

[DAdams]

The break-in so to speak for a revolver is optional and will happen on a defacto basis everytime you operate it be it dry or live fire.

If you wish to speed up the process you can certainly dry fire the revolver to accelerate the "smoothing".

Although S&W says it is not necessary to use snap caps in the Centennials for dry firing, that debate still goes on. Use or not use. For the price of a set I guess it is inexpensive insurance.

I have to tell you I can't tell the difference in relative smoothness between my 642 that I dry fired over 500 times and have over 500 rounds through it. In addition it went back to S&W for repair and was probably "cleaned out".
And the M&P 340 with 500 rounds through and perhaps 50 dry operations.

I found that in conjunction with the break in of the revolver for me and just as important was developing sufficient hand and finger strength to properly hold and operate the revolver. I am a desk jockey and my hand strength was what I would call "whimpy".

The combination of the two events, breaking in the revolver and developing hand strength has improved my performance.

I don't know how much difference you would be able to actually detect following 1000 operations.
Pull to stack point, realign and break. This all takes place in microseconds.
I'm concentrating on grip and target acquisition not how smooth things run.

Others comments are welcome.

[Dollar An Hour]

New J-Frame triggers are pretty bad out of the box.

Mine went to a gunsmith who left the springs stock for the sake of reliability, but deburred and polished the internals. Man, what a difference!

[philvis]

Just got my M&P 340 last night. Already sporting the Clipdraw (also have an UM pocket holster) and loaded with RBCD .357 ammo in it and Speer SBHP's in the Bianchi Speed Strip. Gonna shelf the Charter Bulldog for awhile...

[kanderson586]

The j frame in a cheap pocket holster prints much lighter than my old pm40. also I had trigger reset probs with my pm. Maybe only twice after 2000 rounds, but I have fired MANY more rounds thru j frames with NO probs. hence i put trade of pm40 towards M&P 340ct four months ago and am NEVER going back...(SURE!!!) I always dream of better.

[jfh]

A few days ago, I decided to (at least) remove the side plate of my 340 and do an inspection: nominally 1000 rounds have been fired through it, and I wanted to check things out.

This revolver has been carried daily for about nine months now--always in a Mika pocket holster, and typically in my right front pocket. Other than the comments mentioned earlier in this thread about cylinder binding from shooting reloads, I have had no complaints about it.

Typically, the rounds shot through it have either been the Speer GDSB 135-gr 38+P factory PD load (perhaps 100) rounds, or "Replica Reloads" of this cartridge that use a 140-gr. LTC bullet and either a 38 or 357 case charged with AA#5 powder to achieve the same subjective recoil. It has also had the Buffalo Bore 38+P+ load fired through it, (1020 fps, 158-gr. LSWC-HP), and the Speer 357 Magnum (970 fps) 135-gr factory round as well. I am recently starting to test fire other "replica reloads" of the FBI load using a 158-gr. LSWC-HP bullet. These latter rounds are stout, to say the least--but what DAdams said above (and I have said in earlier posts) about hand conditioning is the factor.

Even with that initial polishing by my 'smith, the action still feels a bit notchy--not like new, but not as smooth as my 640 (about 6000 of the same type of rounds fired)

The (aftermarket) CT grip is the third one--this one is beginning to also tear out at the lower left of the recoil pocket after 700 rounds or so; look closely and you may see it. CT has replaced them as needed, and I have no complaints. If you put CT grips on, be sure to protect the lens while cleaning. It is a PITA to clean off the dried residue, as noted earlier in this thread.


Here's some pictures I took as I went over it...


1. Disassembly, four groups--







2. Close up: action, no cleaning done--



I was quite surprised at how little gunk was in the action. I freely spray degreaser (including original formula Gun Scrubber) and CLP, as well as use the Hoppes' "Elite" cleaning products recommended by S&W.

3. Close up: wear points on frame--




This wear appears to be entirely normal. The only one I hadn't noticed earlier was at the crane insertion point in the lower front. The "dots' you see on the frame are not missing finish, but dust, or hot spots in the camera CCD, BTW.

4: Left side: after cleaning and reassembly.





5. Right side: after cleaning and reassembly.




Although I still haven't located my feeler gauges, the fore-and-aft cylinder freeplay is still quite minimal, and I suspect it is still about .0005, which is what my gunsmith measured when he did the action job at about round 5.

As you can see, there really is no wear of the DLC finish, save for the wear spots at the cylinder and crane. The kind of indexing wear on the cylinder suggests to me that the pawl is burnished during the assembly process; something one rarely sees with standard assembly procedures.

BTW, these photos had no unusual "enhancement" from the camera (a Fuji F30) or in PSE--I simply cropped and adjusted some contrast, besides converting the image size to 144 dpi.


Jim H.

[stripenow]

Hi. What CT grip is on the pic on the 340? It looks a lot beefier than the one I have? Love to know.Thanks
Pete

[Marvin KNox]

I just received a box of Speer 135 gr. +p short barrel 38 spl ammo in the mail. It is Speer part #23921.

They are 135 gr. bullets and have what appear to be the same hollow points as I have on their 357 short barrels.

The 357's came in a box that appeared to be a new box (graphics) than their plain 357's. They were clearly marked "short barrel" all over the box.

The 38's, on the other hand, are in an older style (graphics wise) box with no "short barrel" anywhere on the box. The Speer product #23921 is correct for the short barrels as far as I can research from the web.

But why are they not in the new box and marked "short barrel" as they should be?

Again - the product number seems to check out and it seems to be the same 135 gr. bullet as the properly marked 357' I also have.

Does anyone know what gives and why they are not in the box that they show on the web for the short barrel 38 sp. +p 135gr??????

I suppose it's OK. I just want to be sure since these are my carry rounds.

MARV

[FranklyTodd]

I don't know the "why" but I've bought 4 boxes in the last few months, and all are the old box with no reference to Short Barrel. If you look at the Speer site (as you have done), the 125gr is regular, the 135gr is short barrel (plus, of course, the part #), so I figure they are ok, too. They seem to shoot great, but that's purely subjective - no chronograph or anything. I'm confident jfh will give a better answer! He's the ammo-guru!

I'll be interested to see if anyone says different.

[Marvin KNox]

Good!

I'm supposing so also. And it is true that the only 135 gr. they make is for the "short barrel". And it really does seem to be the same 135 gr. projectile as the poperly marked 357's.

It will be great to get some more feed back though. Otherwise, there is that (very slight but very persistent) doubt in my mind.

MARV

[Marvin KNox]

I just got off the phone with a guy from CCI. He says that they packaged some early stuff in the boxes without the new graphics. But all of the newest stuff is is the newest boxes.

He says that any 135gr. stuff is automatically the short barrel stuff. Also he confirmed that the part number was indeed short barrel stuff - no doubt about it.

Very polite and sure of his statements as well. I'm OK with it now.

MARV

[jfh]

About the GDSB-135-gr. 38+P loads--

Yup, you got it sorted out properly, Marvin.

Keep in mind that you can order these same rounds in boxes of 50, under a CCI part number: 53921.

Streicher's sells those boxes for $26.00, or $.52 a round, plus shipping--that's noticably cheaper than the nominal $1.00 per round in the 20-count retail box.

Another site sells this round for about $210.00, IIRC, for 500-count orders, including shipping.

Finally, you can reload--the bullets are available, and such a round costs about $.23-.24.

Or, you can reload with 140-gr Lead bullets, for a cost of about $.10-.12.

stripenow: That's the CT-405 gripon DAdams' M&P340. It's the one with the recoil pocket built in, and is the same one shown in my pictures.

Jim H.

[jgorniak]

So I’ve had my M&P 340 for a little over a month. Finally got it out to the range the other day…

I decided that I was going to shoot this gun, no matter what, on Tuesday. I took a box of Magtech 38spl 158 gr LRN, a box of Winchester 357 Mag 125gr JSP and a cylinder of CCI 357 Mag 125gr GDHP. I left my range bag and target stand, since I really just wanted to concentrate on the feel of this gun. I grabbed on old cardboard box to use as a target, and off to the range I went.

15 minutes later, before making my last turn, I realized that I didn’t have any hearing protection with me (left ‘em in the range bag). For a moment, I thought about popping a couple of rounds au natural. My safety sense got the better of me though, so I headed back home. When I returned to the range, I was happy to see that I had the place to my self.

I tossed the box out about ten yards and walked back to the line. I loaded 5 38s in the cylinder and got ready. I was wary of what was coming from everything I had read here. I remembered how it felt the first time I shot a Kel-Tec P-3AT. That was only the second gun I had fired, and I thought the recoil was huge (plus the slide bit the top of my left thumb real good – lotsa blood that day).

I got my death grip on, sighted, and squeezed. Wow. That felt…not too bad at all. I liked the trigger, I liked the grip, and the ripped palm flesh never materialized. 19 bangs later, and I knew I’d be carrying this little beast a lot. Now onto something a little more stout…

I had already decided that, barring unforeseen issues, I’d be carrying the 125gr HP Gold Dots, so they were first up. I wasn’t so concerned about how it was going to feel this time.

This was a Mistake.

The sensation from the first shot was really weird. Kind of a delayed reaction, like “WTF was THAT?” I definitely knew I was playing a different game now. Did a quick inventory: 10 digits…check…sore trigger finger, maybe bounced off of the guard…check…scraped palm with road rash…felt like it, but it looked fine. No blood spatter, so apparently my grip was positioned correctly. I finished off the cylinder, wondering if I’d ever be able to accurately shoot this thing.

I finished off the remaining 38s, which now felt mild compared to the 357s. By the time the box was empty, I had the cardboard target box dancing. I really enjoyed the way this gun shot. I didn’t miss having an exposed hammer, and the trigger was very nice. Since my first gun was a Sigma, I’ll probably think every trigger is pleasant.

I loaded the cylinder with the 357 Winchesters. I’d like to say that I now had the gun bent completely to my will. This would be Untrue. I shot better than the first five, but there’s lots of room for improvement. I can see a typical range session consisting of something like 20 38s, then 5 357s, and repeat. For me, at least at this point, more than 10 357s is pushing it.

I’m currently carrying in a Desantis Nemesis in my front pocket (got a Mika round cut on order). This gun makes CC effortless; I just have to remember to put all of my change / cash / Carmex in my other pocket.

I’ll need to put some +P rounds through it for comparison’s sake. If I never shoot another 357 round, I still couldn’t be happier with this purchase. I guess I’ll have to try a Hogue Monogrip on it to see how much (if at all) CC is hampered.

Bottom line - I am a happy camper.

[jgorniak]

Didn't mean to kill this thread...

...or is my range report the definitive word on this fine 13.3 oz hand cannon (doubtful)

Anyway, BTT for anyone who's forgtten about it!