Who here has shot an S&W 340PD? (Airweight .357)

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yes.

...and finally sold it about two weeks ago.
To be honest, I never shot it all that well with it (or any j-frame for that matter).

Pros:
--It is very light and concealable.
--Plenty of grip options available.

Cons:
--Pricey, although you can save a lot buying one barely used.
--Trigger is way too heavy.
 
S&W 340PD

I have a 360PD and when I first shot it with the original grips it had a tendency to snap causing the trigger guard to hit the trigger finger causing a painful situation. Changing the grips to larger Hogues allows the little finger to get a hold on the grip. This made a HUGE difference! With a better grip you avoid that snap which caused the trigger guard to hit the trigger finger. The short of this is that while I don't want to shoot a hundred rounds of 357's through this gun at one setting, I feel confident I can shoot it accurately without fear of being beat up or painfully abused. There are other choices in snubbies which have more mass and as a result have less recoil, but if you want a gun that is very concealable and easy to carry the 340 and 360 variables are worth considering.
 
I've carried a 340PD for a few years. Shooting .38's will get your attention and .357 Mag is like slapping your palm on a table as hard as you can. But I carry it as a back up gun, so I'm not too concerned about long distance shoots with it, as I anticipate the fight being up close at that point.
 
Just get a 340. You can always shoot 38 +P or +P+ with it if you find 357 bothersome. For about $150 more you shave 2-3 ounces off the weight of an Airweight.
For a pocket carry gun it may be a difference between "I forget it's even there" and "I am only stepping out for a little while, so I won't bother taking it".

miko
 
A while back I wanted one. I ignored all the advice against it and went for it. Wish I hadn't. I had it less than a month.

It's superlight and great to carry, but I could not hit a darn thing with it and it hurt bad with .357, and wasn't much better with +p.
 
Shooting the scandium revolvers is painful for me but I find that I just won't carry my model 60 all the time due to weight. So my solution is to take a steel framed revolver to the range and put a few boxes through it then I shoot a few cylinders through the scandium revolver. This allows me to check my point of aim yet it minimises the chance of developing a flinch.

There is quite a bit of salt water here which means that I do carry the 60 for a lot of my activities just because of a fear of electrolysis between dissimilar metals on the 630sc. They are both carried a lot, just on different days.

So I would say that if you have one of the super light revolvers you have a good damn reason to go back to the gun store to pick up a "range" gun.
 
I have the 340PD, 640, 642, and 640 in magnum persuasion and I can say the 340pd, with full magnums, is doable if you are used to fair kicking guns. Now I doubt you will go through a full 50 round practice session with magnums but you can use the other guns for practice and shoot the 340 now and then (which is what I do.)

And look on the bright side. A BG that gets ahold of your 340PD, stuffed with REAL magnums, will probably have the gun fly out of his hands with the first shot.

The 340 is an excellent pistol, but like all snubbies, they are honestly for experts not newbies.
 
The 340 is an excellent pistol, but like all snubbies, they are honestly for experts not newbies.
Click to expand...

Here, let me fix that for you.

The 340 is an excellent pistol, but unlike most snubbies, they are for masochists, not shooters.
Click to expand...

There you go.

You're welcome. :)
 
Went through 50 Magnums - just to see...

I felt somewhat inspired by this post at a recent trip to the range. Like an idiot I tried to shoot a whole box og 50 125gr Rem JSPs. Now I know that it is very unlikely that any real life situation would require one, let alone 10 reloads. Furthermore, at most I only carry one speed strip with me on most occations. I just wanted to see if I could duplicate some of the problems that some other members have had with this gun. I normally go through about 15-20 magnum rounds with relative comfort at each session, so I didn't think that throwing a few more cylinders down range could hurt much. Wow, was I wrong. The last 5 rounds REALLY hurt. This will definatly be the last time I try this stunt. It will not, however, be the last time I carry the 340. This is not and was never intended to be a range gun. It is a survival gun that can go anywhere with you. Practice primarily with .38s and just a few mags and you will be fine.
 
Hi
Just got done trying to chrono my little used 360PD, with Corbons 125 grain 1450 fps load.

Got error reports on my two shots. Was sure i HIT my mark, but, no reading. My friend rang it, and, came back with 1210 fps. With the Hogue bigger grips, I could shoot the Corbons. Without them, I had a cut finger, and forget about it...
;)

I KNOW at legit self-defense distances, I could hit, and fire multiple shots...

Have to learn the gun a bit. Never been able to fire .357 out of it, before...

I consider the CONSIDERABLE increase in velocity over the 38 to put the .357 in a different category. While I'd like heavier bullets, these worked, and, I'm sure they would be effective at the ranges you would need them...

I can't think of a more packable, easier to conceal, powerful handgun then the 360PD.

S
 
I have a 360PD (external hammer version) and have found that I get more use out of it than any of my other guns. For me, standard .357's were too hard to control and the bullets tended to pull. I switched to these "short barrel" Gold Dots that are designed for 2" barrels and my troubles went away...

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=121256

Recoil is sharp but manageable - just a little more than .38+P. To set your expectations correctly, this gun is all business and is not going to be a plinking gun. When I practice, I wear a shooting glove and shoot white box .38's, saving the .357's for last. This is not a gun you will want to run .357 through all day at the range. But when it comes to needing a serious CCW gun that you can conceal anywhere, the 360PD/340PD line is unbeatable IMO. I usually keep mine in a pocket holster in my shorts.
 
I carry the 340PD as a backup and chambered in 357 it comes close to the recoil of my ported 454 casull with 6" barrel. Its manageable but it took about a year to get as consistantly accurate with it in 357 as I was with 38+p. I think its a great weapon for that fact alone, you can carry 38 for as long as you would like and always have the option to move up to 357. I trust my life with that gun and for deep concealment there is nothing better IMO.
 
I shot a few cylinders out of one....ouch.

If I had my eyes closed I would have sworn I was shooting a .500 snubbie.....like a sledgehammer hitting the palm of my hand.

My hand shook for the better part of 30 minutes after that....
 
Joey, like many have suggested I'd try shooting it if you can before buying. The recoil when I tested it with an open backstrap and solid wood grips was tame for me with +p, (could shoot it very accurately all day) but silly painful with .357.

Changing the grips to larger ones with room for the pinkie and that covered the backstrap made all the difference in the world. Now .357 is no problem at all, not exactly something id want to shoot all day, but certainly controllable and not painful. If S&W sold this gun with slightly different grips, you would find that a lot more people hold onto them. (literally! :p )

That being said, recoil is different for all people, and I wonder when people say that +p is a handful out of this gun... it's really not, for me. Muzzle rise is no more than an inch, followup shots are fast, and there is no pain anywhere. Short of like shooting 9mm, to me. I'm a normal sized guy, with skinny hands, I don't work out at all, am not particularly strong, etc. but with recoil, YMMV quite a bit.

With proper grips on the gun, .357 feels like .44mag out of a steel 6" ful lug barrel, like a S&W 629 (the only thing I can really compare it to). Big bang, muzzle rise of a few inches, but easy enough to bring back on target quickly to unleash more .357 goodness. :)

I love it, it's light weight and overall carryability is amazing.
 
Yup, I opted for the 332 (now the 432) myself after shooting the .357. Brutal would be another way to put it. I liked the extra shot idea. And it actually packs a pretty good wallop...
 
Get a Ruger SP101

Unless you're going to pocket carry, get something with a little weightin it. I have the 2 1/4" and my son the 3 1/16" model and we absolutely love our SP's. Dry fire it for a week and run 100 rounds through it and the trigger smoothes right out. The 3" was perfect right out of the box.
 
I agree that a 340 pd is not good for a first gun.
I love mine. I've had an airweight forever. First time I shot my 340 I put the target at about 5 yds loaded it with 158gr 38sp. (don't think they were plus p)
and told myself if I could rather quickley keep 5 on the paper I wouldn't have to shoot it anymore. And let be tell you my hand hurt.
I'm sure I'll get roasted for saying this.... they were having S&W day at the local range. it says on the barrel not to use less then 120 gr
bullet so I asked the rep from S&W about it and he said mag safe or glaciers were ok to use. the light bullets are much more manageable. I would recomend asking S&W yourself before doing it. (maybe I asked an imposter) I load mine with first two mag safe +P and the last .357
ok roast me.
Even an sp101 with .357 kicks pretty good. IMO
 
340pd

+1 Sawbones. I settle on gold dot 135gr 38 +p. I fired many 357 mag rounds through the 340pd. They where all manageable and not uncontrollable ( I have Crimson trace rubberized grips in it), however they where not as accurate as the Speer gold dot 135gr 38 +P. It is the only snobby that is truly a pocket gun with any kind of pants. I bike, run, and go to the gym with it. I carry it in an uncle's mike pocket holster strong side, just held by the running shorts waist band or the bike shorts.

All the people that are telling you not to waste your money in a gun so light are also right. The gun is really made to carry a lot and shoot little. I wouldn't buy this gun as my one and only gun because I would miss plinking at the shooting range. Good luck with your decision. Double O
 
I'm a bit surprised that so many people can't tolerate shooting the 340 AirLite.
With .38 +P the recoil is substantial but not intolerable (clearly, YMMV). I don't see the point in loading it with .357 magnum--too little gain for too much pain.

For me this gun is only for pocket carry where the ultra light weight makes it all worth while. If you are especially recoil sensitive and you really need/want the extra weight reduction then do most of your practice with a steel J frame and put a minimum of practice rounds through the Airlite.
 
I don't see the point in loading it with .357 magnum--too little gain for too much pain.
Click to expand...

The gain in energy is about 25%. Considering that 38 - even +P - out of a snub is clearly on a low-power side, that 25% might just get you into effective penetration/expansion range of a bullet. The pain you would not feel while shooting in anger.

miko
 
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