Thinking of buying a new M&P 340ct for pocket carry. Any downsides I should be aware of?

I don't have an M&P 340 but I have a 340PD, which differs with a titanium rather than steel cylinder, so it's about 3 oz. lighter.
I love it, and it lives constantly in my non-dominant side front pants pocket. I forget it's there. The only downside is, of course, horrendous recoil with .357 Magnum loads. It hurts to shoot, but I still put at least one cylinder full downrange with my weak hand only every time I shoot it. It's a great revolver for it's intended purpose......Saving my hide if the SHTF.
Jim

Jim, thanks for the info. I plan on only using corbon 38 special+p ammo to keep the recoil down from using 357 magnum ammo.

I got one last month and believe, after 40 + years of D frame Colts & J frame Smiths, that I've found the perfect carry gun. It's light enough for easy pocket carry and packs enough punch to do the job. Its best feature, the one aging eyes appreciate most, is the sighting system. I'm using CorBon short barrel 125 gr. .357. The recoil is about the same as the +P 158 gr. HP and the accuracy is excellent out to 10 plus yards (better than me off hand).

In all candor it did have a problem with the cylinder sliding off the crane after the first cleaning (see my previous post). It went back and was returned quickly with no more problems. My '68 Colt Cobra and '92 M442 are now doing back-up duties in the safe with the 340 as my EDC.

Best and let us know what you decide to do.

The trigger is heavy but is getting better each time I go to the range (about 300 rounds thus far).

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

If you are only going to use .38, save yourself $350,and buy a 442.

I have the M&P 340 with XS night sights and think it's great. I was changing grips(speed loaders don't work with factory grips) and the cylinder slid off the yoke. I just pushed it back on and haven't had any problems with it. I also took out the "flag" portion of the IL system. I haven't shot 357 mags out of it. Just 38 reloads and 38 +P

Thanks everyone for the input

I will be installing a Ti Cylinder in one of mine, to bring down the loaded weight to 13.9 ozs. As it is, 15.9 ozs. is a tad heavy for pocket carry in lightweight shorts. IMO.
I did pocket carry all Winter, in regular cargo pants, and it wasn't too bad. The 2 oz. reduction will be a big help.

I concur with this.

If you'd allow me to make an unsolicited suggestion, since you're already buying a fairly expensive gun with the M&P spring the extra couple hundred bucks and get the 340PD.

I can't imagine a better revolver for pocket carry. Mine weighs 14.1 oz. loaded, which happens to be exactly the same as my Seecamp .32! Pop the 340PD into a Mika round bottom pocket holster in your jeans pocket and you can honestly forget it's there!

+1 to DonDee
340 PD
Uncle Mike's Grips (the original ones, not the new squishy ones)
Mika Round Cut
Buffalo Bore 125 38+P's
or
Corbon DPX 110 38+P's.
The BEST!!!

Attached Images

340 PD Uncle Mike's 2.jpg (197.3 KB, 82 views)

i have the 360 pd, and its a great gun. hurts like hell to shoot the full blown mag stuff, but if i need to shoot it i probably wont notice the recoil. as said in another post, for the money the 442 is a great option if your only shooting +p. i got mine because it will take .357. my 442 is in a front pocket holster by Galco, and the 360 rides in a combat master also by galco. the great thing is i only have to carry one speed loader of +p and it goes in each gun.

My wife has bodyguard 38 and I have a 340ct. IMHO there isn't $800 difference if you are shooting 38 special or +p. I like them both. The 340ct weighs an ounce more and they are close to the same size as well. They both sport lasers although the BG38 has the switch on top vs. on the grip. The Tritium front sight on the 340ct is pretty dim and I can't figure out how it made sense to just put Tritium in the front and not in the rear. If anybody knows how to use the sights in low light please explain cause I cant figure it out. I'd sure like to have them in the rear too.

I have both the M&P340 and the 340PD. I like them both. I carry the 340PD most of the time and the M&P-340 is there for when I need it as my NY-reload. The XS sight on the M&P340 is a plus, so I put one
on my 340PD.

I did have to send the M&P340 back once to have the barrel re-tightened. The plug resides in the 340PD and the lock is disabled on the M&P340.

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GA Carry member
Vietnam Vet

I have a VERY early 360PD from 2001. Am interested in learning which .357 factory load y'all use in your PDs which will not suffer the 'bullet-pull-out under-inertia' syndrome. I have had this even with .38 SPL +P JHPs. Thanks in advance!