Ok, so I’m not a stranger to revolvers by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve got my fair share of pre lock and post lock guns from 36s to 19s, J,K and L frames galore.
This particular J frame, in .357 magnum, has evaded me for years...
A .357 j frame? Have people gone MAD?!
I’ve heard stories that shooting it with the MILD .357s are hellacious by themselves, never mind full House 158 grainers.
So after picking up the M&P 340, I grabbed a few boxes of normal 38s, a box of +P .38 and a box of full house 158 grain .357 magnum to test out this bone breaking, world shaking j frame.

For general knowledge, my .38 +P load of choice is speer 125 grain +P gold dots and whatever I hand load in the off season.

So, to let the cat out of the bag early, I first load up some 158 .357s... expecting the worst pain and concussion imaginable, akin to a jdam.... I pull the trigger , BOOM!
I waited for the shock to set in, my body to start trembling from the concussion..alas, nothing happened.
yes, it’s a pretty sharp kick, however, nothing like what other people have recounted with lesser loads. I’ve shot Winchester and magtech .357 out of this little 13 oz gun, and to my surprise, it’s not bad. It’s a thump, definitely, but not a world ending, bone breaker.
I managed to put 50 rounds of .357 down range 25 of win and 25 of magtech without all that much discomfort.
All this with the stock grips from s&w with the backstrap exposed.
I don’t find myself to be a masochist, enjoying pain brought about purposefuly,but I do like the wallop of the .357 in this little j frame, and that’s what I will be carrying from this point forward.
Brings a new meaning to “I got a pocket full of sunshine” because of the fireball, but I think it kicks ***!




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Wow you must have a screw loose somewhere . I won't even shoot .38+p in an airweight anymore. The web of my thumb starts to look like hamburger after about 3 cylinders.

Running full house .357 thru that 340 must be like riding an angry mountain goat, bareback

Well, you just may be on to something lol.
But I wouldn’t know what riding an angry goat bareback is like, but I suppose what you do on your own time is your business ;-)


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My 340PD is an EDC and when I first got it put a cylinder full of full house .357 and five was enough. I was not hurt but what I learned was quick & accurate follow up shots were all but impossible. I’m pretty big, 6’1” & 200 lbs so even @ 71 I’m still pretty strong but there are realities. I keep it loaded w/the old FBI +P 158 grain b/c when I had to use it during my career it worked.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I remember those days shooting my lightweight 357 on the Range, laughing at all the wimps that couldn’t take it. I had arguments with guys on the web that didn’t believe that I enjoyed shooting it. Now I must hang my head . I can’t do it anymore. That’s ok. I can still handle 38+ P.

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Two Handguns every day

I often carry my 340, yes, it is a handfull. But shooting it isn't the end of the world.
I tried some Hogue Tamer Grips, they do help, however they also increase the size a bit. Old Cop is correct, rapid, accurate follow-up is difficult. But most of the lightweight J frames fall into that category. Range time helps that also.

Owning (and firing!) both 340 variants, I find the M&P version to kick substantially less than the PD model. Cannot explain why, perhaps something to do with the steel cylinder, as opposed to the Ti cylinder of the PC. An additional 2 ozs. of weight should not matter that much, yet it does.

Also, the steel cylinder allows me to use the 110gr .357 JHP load that is forbidden in the PD. I find the 110 kicks less than other magnum loads, including the medium 125gr and 158gr magnum rounds which do well in the PD.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

I've owned my M&P340 for a few years (don't remember exactly when I bought it). I never found the recoil to be very extreme. It does however transmit energy to the palm of my hand that feels like it's being slapped with a ruler. I have watched others shoot it with magnums and it really didn't buck all that much. I think people imagine that little pistol jumping around uncontrollably making it difficult or even impossible to place any follow up shots. That's really not the case. I wouldn't want to go out to the woods and put a couple hundred rounds of full house magnums through it but it was never intended for that purpose anyway. As far as accurate follow up shots go, if my own past experiences are typical, it's likely you won't be much farther away then arms length. You're not likely to be aiming when the trigger is pulled.

Everyone is different. I wouldn't even attempt it.

Having owned and shot 357 out of a 340PD, I only ran 10 rds through it while at the range a few years ago. Eventually traded it for some other must have. Today I picked up a new M&P 340, put on a set of Pacmayr compacts that I prefer on my j-frames. I expect the same feel of the 340PD when I ever get this to the range.

Well just call me Mr. P-man. Shooting my 337 with 148gr Fiocchis in .38+p pretty much brings tears to my eyes. Can't imagine what a full house .357 would feel like.

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Forum consigliere

Everybody has different tolerances, and those tolerances can change over time. With my 642 I can shoot around 75 rounds of std pressure .38 Special ammo, maybe another 10-15 +P on top of that, in a given range session before I need to apply ice to my hand. Given that, I know I won't be trying .357 Magnums through a lightweight J-frame anytime soon. But if you can handle it, more power to you (pun intended ).

When I practice with heavy magnums I put a bandaid on the web of my hand near my thumb. This weekend I went out in the woods to practice with some 38special and some .357 Gold Dots, the short-barrel variety and at the end I wanted to test for crimp jump on some Buffalo Bore 180gr. Outdoorsman 357.. I made sure my Band-Aid was properly positioned..LOL and found that the heavy crimp works well on those Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman, they shoot about 2in high but man do they knock the steel target for a loop! These little 340s really are amazing...we recently started seeing bear sign on our road at the cabin, and the neighbors have had black bears in their yard mostly just going after bird feed and such. After repetely nailing the paper plate sized steel target from 15 or so yards with the heavy cast and finding no problems with crimp jump I'm going to start carrying these while up in the woods. I'm well aware that there's bigger/better options in revolvers but for now my little j-frame is it...Pocket Cannon indeed!

The middle gun rides in the upper slash pocket of my rain jacket -- easy to get to. It's loaded with 185gr WLNGC hard cast from Beartooth Bullets. Over a charge of 15.0gr of Lil'gun, it chronos right at 1,000 fps. Don't practice with it, but shoot a lot of 2 3/4" M69 44 mags, so if needed, the 360's recoil wouldn't be noticed until after the fact.



I split the web of my hand and had to have stitches trying to make the 340 (upper right) a range gun with .357 Mags -- it isn't.

Very handy piece, but don't try to make it something it isn't.

You need to shoot enough to be proficient. But, that can be done with guns that don't hurt. When the chips are down, recoil will be a non issue.

FWIW,

Paul

Hahahaha! Good for you OP. Recoil is subjective and what is moderate to one is a hand wringing to another. People look at me crazy when I say I shoot and enjoy 300 grain loads in a 3" M629 at steel. Then I let them get 6 behind it and they say: "Wow, that was fun, can you let me have another 6?"

I've put quite a few Buffalo Bore and Underwood 150 and 158grain +P's thru both of these M36's with these Altamont grips on below without any real displeasure.


Then I got the idea to put back on the stock Magna's and pair them with a Tyler-T grip. This combo are the most comfortable grips I've ever shot, carried, pulling during presentation... that I've ever held. They make shooting +P's a joy. Some if not most of the Buffalo Bore and Underwood 158grain .38Special +P's are about equal to low-low pressure .357 Mags. They make shooting these feel like standard pressured .38Special pills.

You owe it to yourself to try this combo OP! Best yet, I gained conceal-ability with them over the larger Altamont grips pictured above... of which I'm selling off at half price.

If you really want to carry Full House .357's more power to you. But I can promise you will get follow-ups and into target if you carry .38Special+P's...

I carry Buffalo Bore's 150grain "Standard Pressure-Short Barrel" Full Wad Cutters in Hard Cast Lead... 2-3 of these "little b!t(#es" to the pelvis/groin area...
"And it's a rainy night in Lyndhurst!"

You're a better man than I am, Gunga (Jon442) Din.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

That's a hell of an effective load on soft tissue!

Agreed!
Practice is paramount. I've noticed that my groups open up between 2.5 to almost 3+ times the group size I normally shoot as compared to when shooting Un-Stressed. To elaborate, I consistently shoot fist sized group at 10 yards... pulling a shot every 4/5th's of a second thereabout on average. When stressed to the max, tunnel vision, time stopped, adrenaline dump... my groups opened up to that of a soccer ball, maybe more, and at even closer range than 10 yards. I'm in real-estate, all our properties are Downtown Atlanta and Buckhead. I carry the "J's" for work and "N's" for the Woods and nightly dog walks. I carry what I train with; and make sure my revolver/belt/holster rig is comfortable; because if it isn't comfortable I probably ain't gonna have it on me.

I really enjoyed the OP's post. I have a customer that loves to shoot his snubbies at 75' offhand. We really have fun then I bring in my 340PD and a couple boxs of hot 38sp. handloads.
Recoil is very subjective and somehow it bothers neither of us over 100 rounds. For others ... That explains why it is possible to pick up one of these little gems that may have been shot a couple of times at a much reduced price.

Oh boy... You're going to end up costing me money. I'm assuming you didn't just buy factory new magnas, eh? Because from what I can tell they're flatter and not as nice as older ones..... I really want to try this combo for stocks, but it is much more expensive than other options out there. I've got the rubber factory boot grips on my 442 now. And they work. But I think I'd like something wider, and I think the older magnas ARE wider. Eh?

edc m&p 340 like 357 mag golden sabers, great mid vel load. only thing i do for range use is a band aide on web of hand and good to go for 25 rds

You’re KILLING me with those amazing pictures!!!!!
I might have to keep scouring the gun and pawn shops....

My grip of choice are the uncle mikes boot grip. The newer s&w version aren’t bad, but they aren’t the UM.

As far as the .38s and the .357, I can get back onto target just as well with .357 as 38s. I’m a big guy with hulking hands of a woodworker and mason. Maybe that’s why the full house .357s aren’t as painful as they are to some.
All in all, I wouldn’t hesitate to carry .38 +p. In my other J’s I use gold dot 125 +P


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No my friend, as LEO, you are a FAR better man than I.

I appreciate your service !


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