Alan Fud: In the M&P340 thread, a few of us who shoot reloads for practice have had trouble with cylinder binding. There's a question of what exactly causes it, but it appears to be related to the use of 1) lead bullets, possibly, and the related lube / burnoff at ignition, or 2) the powder-load recipe selection for complete combustion.
The binding shows up after fifty rounds or so, and can become quite significant by 75 rounds. It's completely fixed by a cleaning that includes cleaning the ejector shaft and cylinder. The 'inconvenience' of that fix is a small price to pay for shooting rounds that replicate my PD factory load, but cost about ten cents each plus some time.
I've put about 700 rounds through my M&P340 now, and all it really needs is to be cleaned after any range session. IOW, for carry use, clean it after practice every time.
I have no experience with the PD version--i.e., the titanium cylinder version. We've all read, I imagine, about the cylinder distortion / expansion issues, and how S&W has replaced at least some of these with the steel cylinders. The other very rare times I experienced binding was early on in shooting my 340, and I eventually figured out that the binding was really short-stroking the trigger. Once I became profient at recoil control, it went away.
While I share ArchAngelCD's umbrage about current retail pricing, I really do just see the pricing as a simple reflection of market economics, the recent cost of litigation in the Gun Control Game, and the issues of inflation. The dollar in 2007 is now worth about 15 cents in terms of the 'real dollars' of 1967--which, given the current OTC price of a 340, would mean it costs about $110.00 or so in real dollars.
Does anyone know what a lightweight j-frame sold for in 1967? How would that version compare with today's 340 frames and versions--i.e., with the materials used today? I've read elsewhere that the typical aluminum frame life before distortion was about 2,000 rounds. I get a lifetime warranty with my Scandium version. Shooting reloads invalidates that warranty--maybe; it didn't with my 640 / overload experience.
Jim H.
