340 PD, best ammo?

Other that the notation/warning about no bullets less than 120 grains what are your thoughts? .38 specials or .357, hollow points or what? I carry with the small grip on it and you can call me a wimp but I qualified with it shooting mid range.38 specials and it was a very unpleasant experience. If I ever need it I could care less about comfort obviously but I would also like to practice with the same ammo I carry in it so I won't say comfort/pain is not an issue, lol.

Welcome to the Forum

A 12 ounce gun and 357 Magnum ammunition is not for everyone. That does not make you a wimp. It shows that you understand your limitations

Carry the 340 with the most powerful ammunition you are comfortable with My J-magnums have never seen a round of 38 Special put through them. When I shoot 38s I use my 38 Special revolvers

I do qualify with my 340PD and the full power 357 Magnum Remington 158 ammunition that we have been using for decades. About 100-150 others have used my 340PD for qualification over the years, less than half succeed and go on to buy themselves a 340 after the experience.

Since the recoil bothers you, I'd stick with 38 Special +P for carry. Try the Speer Gold Dot 135 gr. Short Barrel. Then stick with standard pressure 38 Special for most of your practice.

If you consider mild 38's unpleasant, you're not gonna want any part of a 357. I have the M&P and 357's are just plain wicked in it. You might to try the Winchester Train and Defends. They have a 130 gr in 38 and they are whats in my wifes 642. They shoot soft and seem to perform well. I haven't shot them in my M&P, though.

I carry either Speer 135gr +P or Speer 135gr .357. Both of these loads are very effective, and manageable. The 357s are very hard to find so I am currently carrying the +Ps. I have no desire to carry full load 357s in this gun.

I carry Speer .38 Special 135gr SB-GDHP (my first choice in snub revolver carry ammo) and practice mostly with ~130gr FMJ standard pressure loads (currently PMC 132gr FMJ) in my 642.

I don't think it's necessary to do all of your practice with carry ammo. For example, a typical practice session with my 642 might involve 50 rounds of 132gr FMJ and 15-20 rounds of Speer 158gr TMJ +P, which has felt recoil similar to the SB-GDHP. Every once in a while I'll fire a couple of cylinder-fulls of the SB-GDHP, usually ammo that I've been carrying a while so I can rotate in a "fresh" set.

Normally I would suggest that if you do want to practice with your carry load, Remington 158gr LHP +P would probably be the best option. However, I've read numerous reports of lead bullets pulling loose from cases in the scandium alloy revolvers, usually with +P loads, IIRC. The bullets may pull loose enough to stick out the front of the cylinder, tying up the gun as the cylinder rotates. I can't remember if this issue included models with the stainless steel cylinders or just the titanium cylinder models, though. So you may want to stick with JHP in your 340.

If you prefer standard pressure loads because of the recoil, than any of the mid-weight standard pressure loads should work ok. I like Federal 125gr Nyclad for standard pressure carry ammo, but I would consider Winchester's 130gr JHP Defend ammo as an alternative. While Nyclads aren't jacketed, I don't believe bullet pull would be a problem because they're standard pressure. You can use less expensive 130gr FMJ ammo for practice. If you go the Winchester route you can get matched sets of their Train and Defend ammo.

Above all else, the most important things are that the rounds you carry are reliable in your gun and you can get quick hits on target.

Just some options to think about.

I use Cor-Bon 125gr DPX full copper HP in mine……a bit stiff, but I feel secure. After all, I practice with another .32 Mag or .38 Spl J-frame.

As the non-recoil-sensitive owner of two 340PDs, it was originally my idea to have the lightest but most powerful little compact CCW package available when I originally bought the two little AirLites NIB years ago.

I then shot all the available premium .357 Magnum loads in bullet weights from 110gr to 158gr through the little buggers, minimum 20 rounds of each.

None of those loads proved to be as accurate or as precise as certain .38 Special+P loads.

The single best load, in terms of accuracy AND precision, proved to be .38 Special Gold Dot "short barrel" 135gr+P JHP, in my guns, in my hands.

Your guns, in your hands, may give different results, but be sure to at least try the Speer 135gr load.

Nice to hear from some other non-recoil sensitive shooters. I have had my 340pd for a long time. Absolutely nothing better for pocket carry in dress pants. Along with a great many others, I prefer the Short Barrel 135gr Gold Dot 38sp. ammo in all my SD snubbies.

I bought my 360pd with exactly 2 rounds through it. That's how long it took for the previous owner to become afraid of it. Since then it has seen a grip upgrade and a steady diet of 39+P ammo. I think 38+P is the perfect balance of power and shoot ability in this 11 oz gun.

attn OP

The 11oz 340PD can be a bear to handle. There is a retired LEO on this forum who has more experience with handguns than most of us. He has the 342 in .38 Spl. This gun, a precursor of the 340, weighs some 10oz. This individual finds the 342 painful to fire. So no harm, no foul if your PD is also a handful in .38, let alone magnum ammo.

What to do? Sell the PD. No sense barely tolerating a gun with which you're not comfortable. Pick up an Airweight .38, a 642 or 442 which will run 15oz. You'll be able to fire the 100s of practice rounds an above poster recommended, and you will find all .38 ammo to be tolerable, including +P defensive ammo.

When it comes to recoil, we all have different tolerances. My old 360Sc, with a titanium cylinder like your gun, hurts like heck to fire. I have much less difficulty with my M&P 340s at 13oz and stainless steel cylinders. Can't explain why. Good luck.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

When I first got my 360sc, I tested a lot of .357 rounds, and chose Federal 158gr Nosler "Hi-Shoks" (NOT "Hydra-Shoks"). They exhibited no bullet-pull, and expanded and penetrated well. The Hydra-Shoks didn't expand ... in fact, they actually became more pointed! Lots of other brands I tested DID show bullet-pull. The Hi-Shoks were considered full-spec then, but not compared to today's Underwood and DoubleTap.

colt_saa said:

Welcome to the Forum

A 12 ounce gun and 357 Magnum ammunition is not for everyone. That does not make you a wimp. It shows that you understand your limitations

Carry the 340 with the most powerful ammunition you are comfortable with

My J-magnums have never seen a round of 38 Special put through them. When I shoot 38s I use my 38 Special revolvers

I do qualify with my 340PD and the full power 357 Magnum Remington 158 ammunition that we have been using for decades. About 100-150 others have used my 340PD for qualification over the years, less than half succeed and go on to buy themselves a 340 after the experience.

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Thanks for the response. That is a nice selection of snubbies you have there. When you qualify with my 340PD and the full power 357 Magnum Remington 158 ammunition do you use the little boot grips it came with? Since starting this thread I found another grip that came with the gun. I bought it from an officer whose department was changing duty guns and he wouldn't be using the 340 PD as backup anymore. He said when he qualified he used the larger extra grip he gave me. If I could have found it sooner I would have used it also. Anyway I'm going to give it a try.

mike campbell said:

Life will be easier if you rethink this.

First, if you carry premium factory self-defense loads, the expense has to be a factor. Coupled with the discomfort, you may not practice nearly as much as you coulda/shoulda/woulda. You're either going to spend a ton of money or not practice very much.

I believe many, many rounds downrange practicing hitting a target with double action fire from an airweight revolver trumps a much more limited number fired with carry ammo. There's much more to being competent with a J frame than just learning to tolerate the recoil.

I think if you shoot a few hundred mild loads, you'll find you do just as well when you slip 5 heavy loads in. OTOH, if you attempt to shoot carry ammo constantly, it could seriously hinder your ability to become competent with the little gun.

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Good information, thanks. Bob

SAWBONES said:

As the non-recoil-sensitive owner of two 340PDs, it was originally my idea to have the lightest but most powerful little compact CCW package available when I originally bought the two little AirLites NIB years ago.

I then shot all the available premium .357 Magnum loads in bullet weights from 110gr to 158gr through the little buggers, minimum 20 rounds of each.

None of those loads proved to be as accurate or as precise as certain .38 Special+P loads.

The single best load, in terms of accuracy AND precision, proved to be .38 Special Gold Dot "short barrel" 135gr+P JHP, in my guns, in my hands.

Your guns, in your hands, may give different results, but be sure to at least try the Speer 135gr load.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you did some thorough testing, thanks for sharing that. I'm curious though what exactly you mean by accuracy AND precision .

bigbob76 said:

Sounds like you did some thorough testing, thanks for sharing that. I'm curious though what exactly you mean by accuracy AND precision .

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For simplicity's sake, accuracy is "nearness to the mark", while precision is reproducibility of impact.

A round which shot a one hole group 4" above and to the left of the ten ring would be precise but not accurate.

Bob,
Don't let anyone fool you. We are all "recoil sensitive" ...except JM.

40,000-ought C.U.P from an 11 or 13 oz. sub 2" barrel j is stout and nobody I've ever met can just keep filling the cylinder with 357 and not be recoil sensitive pretty quick.

We could debate follow-up speed too, but there's also tinnitus. Hearing loss is nothing compared to tinnitus. We can poo-poo it, but there's nothing pleasant about having a little jet in our ears that never goes away and is untreatable. If a .38 (vs .357) has a chance to mitigate that possibility, It is something to think about.

Ok: After all that, Speer Gold Dot short barrel 135gr is my vote for carry. Remington UMC 130gr for practice.

MarkAlt said:

Bob,
Don't let anyone fool you. We are all "recoil sensitive" ...except JM.

40,000-ought C.U.P from an 11 or 13 oz. sub 2" barrel j is stout and nobody I've ever met can just keep filling the cylinder with 357 and not be recoil sensitive pretty quick.

We could debate follow-up speed too, but there's also tinnitus. Hearing loss is nothing compared to tinnitus. We can poo-poo it, but there's nothing pleasant about having a little jet in our ears that never goes away and is untreatable. If a .38 (vs .357) has a chance to mitigate that possibility, It is something to think about.

Ok: After all that, Speer Gold Dot short barrel 135gr is my vote for carry. Remington UMC 130gr for practice.

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Thanks Mark. I don't take myself too seriously so I know a thread like this is bound to get some boasting and it doesn't bother me. I've been impressed by the best and I certainly don't have anything to prove. I have paid attention to a lot of good information y'all have offered and you seem to be in good company recommending the Speer Gold Dot short barrel 135gr so I ordered a box. I will also be trying the slightly larger grip that I finally found in my safe.

bigbob76 said:

[...]
Since starting this thread I found another grip that came with the gun. I bought it from an officer [...]. He said when he qualified he used the larger extra grip he gave me. [...]

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My two 360sc scandium/titanium snubbies (the predecessor of the 360pd) came with "Hogue Bantam" grips. I've noticed that the 360pd's come with a slightly different grip. Is it the Bantams that you are talking about?

135gr SB Gold Dots are my go to SD load in a snub.