The Honeymoon's over with my 340SC

[22luvr]

Yes, if I could undo this purchase, I certainly would. For the price I paid for my Smith and Wesson 340SC, I'm disappointed. Hey, I take total responsibility; I did the research and listened to the drawbacks; then I ran all the stoplights and bought it anyway!

I bought it for 100% full-time concealed pocket carry but I still do not feel entirely comfortable or concealed with this revolver.

The recoil is really stout and the gun is not fun to shoot or practice with (yeh, I knew that going in)

Finding ammo that does not pull loose from it's casings is proving to be a hassle. I knew about this going in but had no idea it would be so much of a liability.

Permanent blackened flash stains are forming around the front of the titanium cylinder and S&W cautions against using caustic cleaners and abrasives to scrub the titanium cylinder, due to the protective coating that has been applied. So I have a gun, that when I've cleaned it, looks like it needs to be cleaned! Yuck.

And I sold a perfectly cream-puff Smith Mod 638 Bodyguard to free up funds for the 340!

I'll probably sell it, lick my wounds, and my eternal quest for the nearly-perfect pocket gun will begin anew.

I'd also like to mention that I have been a past proponent of the "latest" technology in modern firearms. This has caused me innumerable problems, both with ammo and handguns. It's time for me to do a little back-pedaling here in the direction of perhaps more traditional materials.

Lay some "SITYS's" on me ("see? I told you so!") because I EARNED them with my Gullible's travels! Thanks for letting me dump this on you. As always your comments are welcome!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! :banghead:

 

[Elkslayer]

Hi 22luvr, you and I have exchanged a few posts with each other over the last couple of years.

If I were you I'd keep the 340SC and use only 38+p ammo. That way you are saving the cost of the original purchase and still have a viable concelaed weapon. Reminginton makes 125 gr mild load 357 ammo (so stated on the box) which should tame the beast.

You and I were doing a lot of "what revolver should I buy" inquiries last year about in January if I recall. If you remember, I responded to those who told me to "rent" the handguns to determine which I liked with a post of "they don't rent guns out here, they sell them!" and I had the attitude of "I'll buy all of the styles I'm attracted to and sort'em out".

Well, I bought a bunch of handguns in January and Feb of last year; s&w 60 357 2", s&w 37 Airweight 38 1 7/8", Glock 36, Taurus 445 44 spl 3", Taurus 445 SS 2" 44spl concealed hammer and my favorite a s&w 342 38. Now my evaluation of all of these.

S&W 60 2" - recoil snaps pretty good with 357 but haven't experienced any bullet jump. Not "overly" painful to shoot but wouldn't put 50 rounds thru it at one time. Hammer poses a bit of a problem with pocket carry.

S&W 37 Airweight - A sweetheart! this was a nib purchase. Great pistol but don't like the hammer spur for pocket carry. ended up giving it to my daughter for her use in her apt.

Glock 36 - GREAT pistol! verrrrry accurate! I feel it has mild recoil, can't bitch on that. A bit large for pocket carry and I still haven't warmed up to the "trigger safety" for concealed carry. Altho I do use it for map pocket carry in the car or in the car's console.

Taurus 445 44spl 3" - Truck gun. Too heavy for concealed carry (IMHO). fun to shoot, packs a nice heavy 240 gr lead bullet easy to shoot.

Taursu 445 44spl SS CH 2" - same as above, put it into the night stand.

S&W342 38 - This is THE one!! shoots nice! there is plenty of lethal ammo out there for 38s and it isn't a killer on recoil.

That is why I say you should keep the 340SC and use 38s in it.

Good luck..... Elkslayer

 

[ChristopherG]

22, on my reading, you've got one or two serious issues here. First, what I'm not counting; the cosmetics. My 340 has the flash-burn marks on the cylinder, and I couldn't care less. To me, these are marks of love, and I am confident you could get over them if you work the more substantive issues out.

The first and most obvious problem you're having is with concealment. I can sympathize with you here, because although pocket carry may be the best or only option at times, it still is imperfect. I got my 340 because I knew I wanted this option, and I use it; but often, depending on my pants, I still feel the need to have a 'cover' garment to hide the outline of the handle. Carrying a concealed gun is just a compromise; something's got to give. You can dress for it to some extent, or you can carry an itty bitty gun. The 340 comes about as close as you can come, given the current options, to a 'full-power' gun with no wardrobe impositions--but it's not all the way there. I've just kind of decided that's the price for carrying a gun I'm confident with (as opposed to a pea shooter).

The second and less obvious problem is your ammo/recoil/nofuntoshoot problem. This might be a problem of your own making. I mean, I shoot a box of .38s (+Ps) every couple of weeks out of mine, and have gotten to the point where I don't feel the recoil is at all unpleasant--though I surely did at first. I shoot very few .357s out of it. I have shot a number of them, however--easily a couple hundred of various sorts--and the number of lock-ups I've experienced from bullet pull can be counted on one finger. So I don't shoot Silvertips (which may prompt the question, what kind of idiot tries to shoot Silvertips from a 12 oz gun? In retrospect, a good question ). If I have to measure bullet pull with a micrometer, I'm not going to worry about it, and there are plenty of rounds out there that are reliably stable enough to shoot with confidence. So this second problem is one that can be worked through with ammo choices; though I don't know what you've been shooting, so I don't know how easily it will be solved.

I just like my 340 so well, it saddens me to hear you're unhappy with yours; but obviously you should do what you want. It's your gun, your money, etc.

Finally: I know you've talked about pocket carry issues and your quest for the perfect pocket gun before; can I ask why (and pm or email me, if you want to tell me but not broadcast it over the universe) pocket carry is your preferred or only option?

Okay, enough. Jeez, what a blabbermouth I can be. Take care, and I hope you find gunny happiness with whatever solution you try.
cg

 

[VictorLouis]

Carbon stains on the cylinder are a mark of character.

I only remove the lead, and that's all you really need to worry about. Just drop down to lighter weight .38s until you feel satisfied with their reliability. The way I see it, even the lowly 110gr. Silvertips beat any .22/.25/.32/.380 auto cartridge in performance. Then, you've got the reliability of a revo vs. lackluster pocket-autos.

Don't feel so bad.

 

[M1911]

And I sold a perfectly cream-puff Smith Mod 638 Bodyguard to free up funds for the 340!

Well, that was your first mistake. That type of regret is one of the reasons why I seldom ever sell a gun.

 

[22luvr]

Hey ChristopherG - great post

If my post sounds "whiney" it sure is! All of my issues (except ammo unseating) are trivial and probably not worth a hill of beans. I normally shoot .38 spcls through the 340 in practice and switch to .357's towards the end of my session. To my credit, I'm not exactly a recoil weenie and have no problem keeping my .357's on-target from close-range.

I'm toting Proload 158 gr JHP's at present and don't expect these to lose their integrity with recoil. I also have heard good things about the Remington 125's and Winchester 130 gr JHP's which are not prone to separating.

I live in Atlanta and I am a die-hard pocket kind of guy. In the summer, I wear a lot of camp shirts with a long loose tail which hide the 340 in my pocket beautifully. Pocket carry it is and pocket carry it will be.....

What I need to comfort myself is a set of hardwood combat boot grips for the 340SC and put the gooey Hogue rubber grips in the box. Next, a better holster would help. I'll probably keep the gun and address/conquer the issues. Thanks again for your helpful posts; I'm coming out of my funk already.

 

[ChristopherG]

Hey, 22, I'm glad to hear you're snapping back so quick. I'm thinking I'd like some smoother grips on mine too--sing out if you find any you like!
cg

 

[Greybeard]

.22 -

Coincidently, you are posting being dissatisfied with 340 just as I am transitioning from 340 to a new PM9. I am not "dissatisfied" with the 340 after two years as "always" gun. Or the 342 for two years prior to that. As others have stated, just because the little guns can handle +Ps or .357s does not necessarily mean you must repeately punish yourself with them. And I don't lose a wink of sleep either over flash marks on front of cylinder.

My first suggestion to those who get the ultralight j-frames is to consider an oversize grip that covers the backstrap. I realize tho, that is not especially conducive to pocket carry.

The aquisition of PM9 here is merely a result of it being perceived as the most "practical" of anything on my "want list" at a time when I happened to have a once-in-a-lifetime batch of gift certificates to cash in. I'm certainly not going to be looking to sell my 340, even if the PM9 does shake out to be more "likeable" on ankle or IWB. Heck, with their size and weight, except in the summer, I don't anticipate a problem if choosing to carry both.

I need more trigger time (and otherwise) before much more input on PM9. Overall, I've been quite pleased with it's K-9 ancestor (carried daily for 2 years prior to j-frames mentioned above). I suspect that only time will tell here if PM9 will get the nod over the 340. It's proven to be a favorite companion for a long time ...

 

[Baron Holbach]

For those guns prone to powder burn marks at the nose of the barrel and mouth of the slide, I wipe the area clean with a cloth as soon as the barrel begins to heat up during my shooting stints at the range. Rather than wait for the barrel to cool and the powder burns to harden, wipe the area every now and then while the barrel is hot. I have had much success using this method and avoided difficult clean up jobs where powder burns are most prominent.

 

[mikey357]

...well, I'm NOT INTO "I told you so's"...after all, YOU 'fessed up to us...HOWEVER...I'll STLL give ya' a hunnerd dollars AMERICAN CASH MONEY for the 340...give it some consideration, will ya'???....mikey357

 

[JCM298]

340SC

I knew in advance that the "beast" would kick like a mule but I wanted an "always" gun that was light, had power, and concealed easily. The "beast" does everything that I wanted.
After the first few shots, I applied band-aids, switched to rubber over-size grips, and used my shooting gloves.

My re-loads don't pull and neither do the Federal 130 gr that I carry. After my range session, I switch grips again and fire the last five rounds of the Federal 130 gr.

The blood cleans up easily and leaves no marks on the SC/Ti.

It is with me all the time and serves it's intended purpose.

For plinking, I'll use the Pyhon or Sig 220,
John

 

[Greybeard]

I'll double Mickey's offer - and pay the freight.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Taurus 445 44spl 3" - Truck gun. Too heavy for concealed carry (IMHO). fun to shoot, packs a nice heavy 240 gr lead bullet easy to shoot.

Elkslayer:

Not to get off the subject here, but I didn't think Taurus offered the 445 in 3." Do you mind telling me how you managed this? 'Cause I want one also! In fact, the 2" tube has been what has kept me away from one for the better part of 6 months.

 

[WonderNine]

This ammo unseating think has really got me perplexed. I've had ultralight revolvers .41 mag and regular snubbies .357 and have never come across this problem.

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

Jeff...

If you keep shooting, the front of that titanium cylinder will look like it's painted or stained black. At least that's how I look at the Ti cylinder of my 331.
It costs more, however you could try some .38 Special or .357 RBCD ammo. Not loaded to +P and I like it. I carry RBCD in everything I've got but the 331. (RBCD doesn't make ammunition in .32 H&R Mag.)

KR

 

[22luvr]

Some responses............

Kentucky Rifle: The RBCD's I tried in the 340SC dangerously unseated; so much so that I could practically pull the projectile free from the casing with my fingers! No thanks. I'm presently using Proload 158 gr JHP's which should solve my problem.

JCM298: Got your private message. The recoil on this little cannon has not hurt me yet to the point of drawing any blood. The day after shooting off 20-25 .357 mag loads, the web of my hand does cramp a little. Other than that, I can deal with it.

Mikey and Greybeard: $100? $200? Do y'all know how to spell "fat chance" and use it in a sentence ?? Haw-Haw.

Thanks for kindly responding. I'll keep it and again, a new pocket holster and some slick wood combat boot grips will go a long way in making me feel better!

Best wishes all...................

 

[Elkslayer]

SouthpawShooter - You have a PM.

 

[concerned citizen]

Hey Jeff..I sent you an e-mail..

 

[Sox]

22luvr, try the airlites in a .32 H&R magnum. I went through the exact same dilemma. The .32's are fun!

 

[280PLUS]

what sox said...

i'm waiting for some georgia arms ammo for the .32 mag, these are advertised 100 gr / 1000fps ,,,as far as we know we're talking 4" barrel,

anyone want to guestimate velocity out of a 2.5" ?

federal hy shoks are 85 gr / 1100 so i can't wait to compare!!

definitely a fun gun to shoot, and good protection too.

6 shots not 5 ,,, sa/da

nice loud bang...



i've been very GENTLY scrubbing my cylinder exterior on those spots with a soft brass brush and hoppes and it cleans up pretty good. i don't THINK i see any damage to the cylinder,,,let me look again,,,,,,,nope,,,

scrub in the direction of the grain of the finish, mine goes across the axis of the cylinder.

there IS still a very faint mark at each chamber but i didn't want to get too rough with the brush, i'm thinking future cleanings will reduce it even more, i just tried this for the first time so, be careful!!

let me know if you have any problems. please?

someone else said try a pencil eraser, but i havent yet, again, BE CAREFUL

AND i've found a light coat of militec on the frame will ease the cleaning of those areas, it basically wipes right off, other light oil products may work as well.

be careful (again) iv'e heard some chemicals can crinkle the finish.

thats all i can think of right now...

oh, i like the gooey grip, i didn't at first but now i'm used to it, you just have to make sure you grab the whole grip so it doesn't contact the pocket lining on the way out. takes a little practice.

or actually you have to hold your hand a little wider open to get around the grip as youre reaching in, to spread the pocket lining out away from the grip. once youve got your hand firmly around it, it slides right out! triggerless that is...

 

[280PLUS]

more on cleaning...

i just wanted to bump this because theres a couple of things i thought of since last post.

very important - don't try scrubbing the frame finish with brass brush, that WILL take finish off!!

when brushing out chambers if youre not careful you can remove finish from the swing arm, this lesson learned the hard way of course

to remove the gunk from the crevices, ive been using a nylon wire tie that i cut on a sharp angle to form a nice point.

uhhh, i think thats it!