Stainz: that is a sweet revolver, very nice.
I have a 340pd and a 686+ 6", I love them both, but they have different applications. I agree the 340pd would NOT make a good first revolver (the 686, any of them but particularly the newer models) would be a perfect choice. The 340pd has painful recoil, it feels like an intense bone shattering vibration, not a "kick". I, too, load it with .38+p for the first two rounds, which should do the trick, and the next three are 158gr. Gold Dots (not fun, but they work). This is strictly a conceal carry piece and it is phenomenal at that one job. What they call a "belly gun".
You can shoot the 686 all day long. It is so much fun, my wife is VERY recoil sensitive, but she enjoys shooting this one, even with the heavy loads. With .38+p it almost shoots like a .22. The trigger on the DA 340pd is heavy, long, and safe. The 686 (mine at least) is smooth and long DA, but SA has a feather trigger that I laboriously honed and polished. I'd go so far as to say it is my favorite of all my weapons. I got it for just over $200, including tax, in '99. I'd buy a case of them at that price now if I could.
S&W make newer models that, I think, may be better, like the 8 shot. Some now are large frame scandium with steel cylinders, all kinds of choices (the scandium frame with the steel cylinder is probably the better compromise now, but I got the titanium one right when they came out). The performance center pieces are awesome, such as Stainz's.
All of them hold up to the .357 mag now, but not all of them are fun shooters. The lighter it gets, the more painful it gets. Note that the 340pd is so light that it has a warning ON the barrel stating that bullets <125gr. not be used. This is because the thing is so light and so powerful that the first shot or two will unseat the rest of the rounds in the cylinder. It also happens with heavier bullets, but not so bad. I also would refrain from shooting reloads or handloads in this revolver. I blew out parts of the cylinder around the forcing cone using N110 and 140gr. xtp's. They were not hot, they were fine in the 686, but they are hot and long winded and I think that was the culprit. S&W graciously replaced the cylinder --I sent it out on Monday and got back on Friday, now that is service!