It's been said over the years that Scandium J Frames are a result of marketing hype and are severely overpriced. It has also been said that they are not a viable option when it comes to recoil mitigation and pain management... lol. Further, some say that if you shoot too many high power loads (aka .357 magnum / 340 PD), it's going to cause nerve damage, and you lose accuracy, and so on. In my opinion, I honestly think it's meant for the experienced concealed carrier and someone who has extensive training coupled with excellent marksmanship skills. I think the bottom line here is that you have a super lightweight feasible carry option. While the Scandium J Frame is not going to be your "oh-happy-days" range gun; however, I think it's the best damn niche revolver on the market.

What are your thoughts ...

I prefer the L frame size and a 44 caliber size hole in the end of the barrel. Yep, not your "go to the range every day" gun, but the "carry every day and forget the weight" gun.

Scandium-frame guns are in a class by themselves. I cannot understand how anyone can go through a box of 50 rounds and not be hurting from it.

I think if we really boil it down the idea is that many people go to a gun store and handle a few and buy the “shiniest” one. Most buyers aren’t hardcore gun people so features sell.

Take your average person who might think it’s a pretty good idea to have a gun around or in their purse or pocket but isn’t a dedicated shooter or gun person. The guy behind the counter recommends a snub nose revolver for simplicity and shows them a M60 and a 640 or any Airweight. In my experience behind the gun counter 9 out of 10 will choose the lighter one with no regard for recoil or shootability.

Any short barrel revolver takes a good bit of practice with to reach some level of proficiency, more so for the lightweight models. 357 out of a 640 is probably borderline impossible for the once a year shooter, maybe even the once a month shooter. But I’d guess many are bought, shot once to see if they make a loud noise, and put up or even carried without any more practice.

The gun shop I worked at was in big bear country. 44 mags and the heaviest ammo on the shelf was the order of the day. Almost nobody was interested in buying 44 special to practice, they wanted a 20 round box of 320gr Hardcast 44 Mag and they were ready for anything. The turnover of 329PDs was incredible, I saw some bought and sold 3 or 4 times.

Joe Gunbuyer wants the best, even if it’s not the best for him.

IMHO snubbies of any flavor are not a beginner's or novice shooter's gun and especially not the Scandium guns. I have had an M&P 340 for many years. I've carried it quite a bit and shot it little. I recently put it up for sale and purchased a 649-2 that I like a lot better. Being all steel, it is far more comfortable to shoot. I liked the M&P 340 for coat pocket carry in the colder months. The scandium guns are nice for the weight factor but that's about it.

Good post, very true. You mention aspects that many prefer to ignore. Proficiency is not high on their list.

I have several scandium guns and carry a 360PD regularly. I also regularly practice with it. My practice sessions are mostly with low flash buffalo bore wadcutter 38 spl but I do run two or three cylinders of 357 each trip as my reload when i carry this is 357 Magnum.

I'm fully dedicated to snub nose carry and over the past few years have almost exclusively sought to increase my proficiency with them. The 340PD, 360PD definitely have a place for me. Like another poster said earlier, snubs are not beginner guns and they are often sold to people that do not shoot regularly. They are sometimes regulated to being a "get off me gun" and that is what some people purchase them for. I've found them to be really accurate and actually fun to shoot and get good with.

Finding the right grips for your snubs plays a big part of comfort and shootability for me. I have found for my J frame smith's that the old uncle mikes boot grip works the best for me for concealment/comfort. The old uncle mikes combat grip is more comfortable, but it is less concealable in a pocket for me. Those are the grips that I use on all my J frames.

__________________
Thanks,

Patrick

Airweight is as light as I want to go on anything larger than rimfire.
My mother packed a 337ti for years until she was over one day and I had her touch one off.
Found her a .22 LCR the following weekend....

__________________
Because of the metric system?

Very commendable. These certainly aren't the easiest guns to shoot well and definitely aren't for beginners.

If you use a ratchet to tighten and loosen bolts and nuts over years of repetitive action, you can also develop nerve damage - no heavy recoil required. The human body is a "machine" like all other machines and designed for moderate use of most systems.

While it's currently "tacti-pop" to claim one must shoot any gun upwards of 250,000 rounds with full-bore loads before "trusting with my life," the fact is, that's a mindset that has nothing whatsoever to do with reality - especially with revolvers. First, I would not want to be the one facing down someone pulling out a brand new revolver, and yanking the trigger five or six times - that would be a VERY fast and likely final lesson in statistical probability!

When gun makers such as S&W are innovative enough to develop ultralight - bantamweight revolvers built of exotic materials and offer them for sale, we should appreciate that they went to the nth degree to offer an 11.5 ounce .357 magnum intended to be CARRIED a great deal, and SHOT with full-force loads, maybe five times in a lifetime, and shot with lower powered .38 loads loads for a few cylinders! S&W places a lifetime warranty such products because they know that FEW will ever fire even a full box of .38 shells from such guns, and fewer still will fire a .357 magnum round unless confronted with a life-or-death situation.

For those who love to say "guns are tools" indeed they are, and ultralight, uber-powerful revolvers are very specialized tools meant for a specific application - not range blasting with a padded glove to see at which point one can stretch the frame, or crack the forcing cone, just to prove they could do it.

Attached Images

	S&W360_357Mag horiz.jpg (31.7 KB, 38 views)
	S&W 360 PD conversion.jpg (141.6 KB, 32 views)

I love my scandium revolvers. 340pd, 327pc and 329pd are often in my carry rotation and range trips.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

....are great to carry, but no fun at the range. A couple of cylinders and I'm ready for something else. Oh, and I did put Pachmayr grips on it, too.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I like weight so the J-Frame Smith & Wesson of any persuasion is my least favorite frame size. I have fairly large hands and long fingers. Only three J-Frames live here and I only ever make serious use of one of them, a Model 649.

The scandium models are for someone else.

I have not heard of any new shooters being recommended a revolver by a gunstore in more than a decade.

They’re kind of like a flare gun: lightweight, unobtrusive, and not shot much. But boy, if you need it, you’re sure glad you got it! I had a 360 for awhile, but wanted a 340 because it’s hammerless. Sold the 360 and ended up with a 342, which the wife carries when needed and I’ll slip it in my gym shorts pocket for around the house carry sometimes. I’m still looking for a lock free 340.

__________________
USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

I like my scandium J-frame fine but since its last paint job I've been carrying a ltwt Colt Mustang. Those odd ergo grips work great for me. I use Hornady Critical Defense ammo in both.

Attached Images

IMG_0272.jpg (47.8 KB, 40 views)

If anyone picks up a Scandium Airweight and wonders what it's good for -- well, he is just severely limited in brainpower. Its sole niche is as "the lightest". If you are looking for anything else, you will be disappointed.

For me, its numerous drawbacks outweigh its single advantage, by far.

__________________
Pisgah

What are some of the numerous drawbacks in your opinion?

__________________
Thanks,

Patrick

I’ve had my no-lock 340PD for about 10 years and keep it loaded w/+P. The magnum rounds produce too much recoil for quick, accurate follow up shots. While it’s not made for range fun I’ve shot it enough to be confident w/it & it’s significantly lighter/easier to carry than a standard air weight J Frame. I got it b/c my back & hip problems mean I need the lightest weapon out there. It was worth the money for me.

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I made the mistake of putting a pair of buffalo horn boot grips on my 340PD the first time I went to the range with it. Two-finger grip + slick stocks + full power .357 loads = no fun at all.

The guy in the lane next to me said "Son, even if you miss, you just might set him on fire with the muzzle blast." So there's that.

I know I had not seen any marketing when I traded for my M&P340 with the classic box of 45 shells!
But unlike the prior owner, I knew what I'd do with it if it proved it's worth, and it has. It's been a regular companion (usually a backup to another gun) for over a decade, and it's most certainly not for sale.
I bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a box of 44 shells some 3-4 decades ago in Alaska. It beheaded countless Ptarmigan, and took its share of large game, and was a very comforting companion for many years. The fact that the first owner didn't like the recoil, or could not shoot it accurately (no surprise!), most certainly does not mean that these niche guns are not up to a given job, and maybe then some.
Nor does all that mean that there's not marketing hype! Where there's marketing, there's usually a certain amount of that hype stuff.
I like my little Scandium gun for exactly what it is. I think S&W did a fine job on it.

I have a very limited imagination. I think that most people think like me, and are capable of making rational decisions pretty much on their own, although sometimes we can benefit from others' experience without paying the price.

I bought a 342PD when they first came out, and managed to make it work well for me for some purposes. Later, in my seventies, I couldn't, so I sold it.

Nowadays, I am slightly more recoil-sensitive, and a few guns lose accuracy and usefulness with certain cartridges. For me, the 342PD lost usefulness with all cartridges, at least as long as I had a SB 37 or a 40 to replace it. I do have a few.

I have no reason to doubt anyone who explains why a scandium Airlite is or is not a useful gun for himself or herself (?). Since I think that I am competent to make that determination, I think that others are, also.

__________________
Formerly Model520Fan

I really liked the old Uncle Mike's J Frame grips. It's too bad, that they stopped producing them. I now prefer the Hogue Bantam over the new S&W factory grips believe it or not. I do have large and very strong mitts, but I also have very good dexterity. I shoot very well them ... even the high-powered Federal C357B Load. Believe it or not, I have been known to hit 3"x5" cards @ 25 Yards in the single action mode and I did this with no modification to the trigger. I am no different from anyone else, but all I can say is that I had very good training instructors in the past. As for the 360 PD... it is a dream to carry. The weight is perfect as well as the size and mass. If I do shoot a high-powered .357 magnum load it's the 125 JHP. I have shot high-powered 158 gr. JHP by Federal, but that grain weight is absolutely brutal. It's like getting hit with a sledgehammer. I occasionally put them into the cylinder just to keep me humble and help build toughness. It's a character builder for sure. lol. Funny, but true.

My favorite is the 360 Airweight. Enough mass to shoot .357Mag if need be, cylinder will last and is easy to clean, and it's still light enough to be carried all day in all kinds of holsters and pockets. Too bad they discontinued it. And let's be honest: The guy/gal shooting .357Mag from the 360PD could handle the additional 3 oz of the 360 Airweight ...

I love the versatility of the .357 chambering. I do carry the high-powered 125 JHP's in the cyclinder, but it's also comforting to know that I can also run a full cylinder loaded with the 148 gr. Wadcutters as well.

Good luck getting back on target quicky to make that follow up shot or shots. For that reason I go no lighter in a snub that fires .357 magnum than a steel M640 or M60. My lightweight J-frames are loaded with quality .38 +P defense loads.

I agree with data on all points...
the advantage is very light weight for the many hours you may not need a defensive gun. However, I have little difficulty in hitting a bowling pin at 20 yds, multiple hits on a silhouette at 10-15 yds and find the gun manageable for 5-10 rounds.....I shoot 125 gr. ..357 magnums .
Also the detergent in not shooting it is the potential legal costs.
I do practice a bunch with 148gr. wadcutters, but I do the with my RM and Python as well.

__________________
Terry
SWCA, SWHS, IWLA, NRA

I have 2 325s one with a TI cylinder. I can run through 60 rounds with it no problem. If you wasn't a big bore carry gun they fit the bill so do my 396 and 296. Summer time light weight clothes I just drop one of my 2 alloy J frame 32 mags in a pocket.

There is no need for a steel carry gun IMHO

Everyone's pain tolerance is different; however, I can manage full house loads of .357 125gr. JHP @ 20-round box... 10 rounds left-handed and 10 rounds right-handed. I have tried the 158 grainers and they are absolutely brutal in the 360 PD... but I will shoot them on occasion for the sake of keeping me humble and keeping me tough. I call it character training in a nutshell. It never hurts to let oneself get their a** kicked every now and then. On the lighter side of things ... I will run the.38 special 148 gr. wadcutters. They give me a pain-free session, plus they are much faster on the follow-up shots and they are very accurate at 21 ft.

My wife is 67 years old and stands 5-2 yet she bought a s&w 360j non fluted cylinder and its now wearing hogue mono grip to make it useable with a 14.7oz weight.

Her daily carry is still a p365xl or kimber ultra 9mm .

Believe it or not, the .357 Magnum full house load isn't as bad as you might think. Your mindset certainly plays a role. Professional training also plays a role. But then again, I am not your ordinary firearm owner. I am an equal shot when it comes to shooting accurately. If you take your training seriously (as I do), you might surprise yourself with what you're capable of. Stay safe and carry on!