First time shooting Smith M&P 340 .357 Mag

[alexa071]

Hi,

I spent some time at the range yesterday shooting my new Smith M&P 340 .357 Magnum. I was a little worried from what I'd read here about how punishing the Scandium J-frame revolvers could be in .357 rounds. I started out with some 158 grain .38 special rounds and they felt like I was shooting a .22. I immediately dropped in some 110 gr. .357 rounds and I was shocked to find they didn't hurt at all but were, in fact, a "blast" to shoot. I did appreciate the 18 inch flame shooting out of the barrel and the concussion felt in my chest but my hands were quite unscathed. Most of the bad reviews I read were of the 340PD revolver at 12 oz and the M&P weighs in at 13.3 oz. having a stainless instead of titanium cylinder. Is there really that much difference in felt recoil with 1.3 oz. difference or were the reviews just over the top? I do a lot of shooting as I'm an LEO and I'd say the M&P 340 was about 1.5X the felt recoil as my normal Glock .40.

Randy

 

[Jim March]

Which 110gr 357s? Winchester white box? Or?

Most of the 110s are pretty mellow. Try a 180gr Buffalo Bore hardcast in there . Or any of the "full house" Buffalo Bore, Doubletap or Grizzly Cartridge loads. Unless those 110s were really wild, any of those will be over double the recoil...

 

[alexa071]

Yup, came in a white box... I tried to get something tame for my first run but was told there was little difference when considering the "grains" or weight of the bullet... basically it determined the speed of the bullet and not the felt force or recoil... will the heavier bullets afford more felt recoil?

 

[alexa071]

and yes, winchester...

 

[FranklyTodd]

I would say 1.5 times a Glock .40 is about right, but then factor in the exposed metal backstrap and that extra force goes right into your hand over a smaller area.

I LOVE my 340, and carry .357 SBGD every day, but I am too much of a pencil pusher to call shooting anything more than standard .38s as "fun." I find hotter loads don't hurt while I'm shooting, but my hand is a little tender for a few days after shooting .357s.

By the way, the Short Barrel loads, on top of having a little less recoil, have much less flash, too. IIRC, the flash with standard loads comes from powder still being left to burn after the bullet leaves the barrel. SBGD powder is designed to be used up in the 1 7/8".

Congrats on the new gun! Check out this thread if you have a couple hours to kill: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=282173

It's like 25 pages of nothing but "340" talk.

Best,
FT

 

[DAdams]

Jim, Jim, Jim

Try a 180gr Buffalo Bore hardcast in there . Or any of the "full house" Buffalo Bore, Doubletap or Grizzly Cartridge loads.

Randy you don't have to listen to Jim.

Double the .40 with those, at least, and maybe more.

Not like one should be out looking for self abuse but that should take it to the limit.


Just get some SGDFSB 135 .357s and give them a try. A bit in short supply these days though so you may want to look at some of the Buffalo Bore product specifications and see what may appeal to you.

Frankly Todd is right on the money.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=282173

Enjoy your M&P 340.

 

[wnycollector]

+1 dont listen to Jim

I was shooting at the range last summer and a guy was showing off his new 340. I was shooting my 28-2. To make a long story short we traded for a cylinder or 2. I loaded it up with my ammo (doubletaps 158gr .357's). Lets just say I wont be doing that again!

 

[jfh]

I can't speak to the recoil benefit of the M&P 340 over the 340PD, but I can say that, with the same 38+P ammo (GDSB 135-gr), there is a very small but noticable difference between the recoil of the M&P 340 and the 442. The weight difference between those two is also about an ounce-and-a-half, plus-or-minus.

FranklyTodd summarized the CW for typical (civilian white-collar) carry-ers, I think for loads we can typically shoot comfortably--but with training, and after some hand conditioning and muscle-memory acclimation.

Since you're an LEO, you are probably in better shape than the rest of us.

So--yeah, consider either the 38+P or the 357 GDSB (ATK) rounds as your carry round. Streichers has the former, but the 357s seem to be OS nearly everywhere now.

Meanwhile, every one who carries a lightweight owes it to themselves to get and shoot the Buffalo Bore 38 Special "Heavy" 158LSWC-HP ammo--at least once. It does an honest 1000 fps out of a 2" barrel--I've chrono'd it.

And, I too will suggest chasing the M&P 340 thread--lots of good info there.

Jim H.

 

[Jim March]

Winchester white-box 110s are pretty gelded as far as 357s go.

If you want an effective low-powered 357, the Speer Gold Dot 135gr "357 short barrel specialty load" are not THAT much hotter than a 38+P. Good ammo, more likely to expand than those Winnie 110s.

The next step up in power without going full house are the Remington Golden Saber 125gr 357, and the Cor-Bon 125gr DPX. Both do between 1,225fps and 1,250ish from a 4" barrel, so that's downloaded some from "full house" which starts at around 1,450ish from a 4" (and goes up from there if it's Buffalo Bore, Doubletap, etc.).