340 PD issues

[Trixie]

I have had several failures to fire with Hornady 357 magnum
Critical Defense. They did fire the second time around. (Probably not a good idea to have tried a second time.) This has not happened with other 357 magnum. 38, 38 +P ammunition. A call to Hornady says this pistol might not be striking the bullet hard enough. I am wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

I have second question regarding this pistol. The barrel says "Not less than 120gr bullets." I did not think about this until after I purchased a box of Hornady Critical Defense Lite- 38spc with a 90 grain bullet. I wanted my wife to try this gun with the Lite ammo but I have not done so. Does anyone know what the issue is with a bullet less than 120gr ?

 

[71velle]

Are the stock springs in the gun?

 

[Old cop]

The issue is the bullet will jump crimp tying up the cylinder. Aparently the very light frame causes severe recoil that makes lighter rounds still in the cylinder jump their crimp. Not a good thing since this locks up the gun.

 

[1sailor]

The 340PD has a titanium cylinder that is sensitive to hot escaping gases and unburned powder. My understanding is that firing a bullet of less than 120gr allows hot gases and unburned powder to attack the face of the cylinder and etch into it pretty badly. there was a thread a short time ago with pics of an instructor (who should have known better if he was going to instruct others) shooting lightweight bullets and showing the damaged caused. Something to do with the short bullet not sealing the barrel cylinder gap long enough to allow all the powder to burn. As pointed out by Old Cop, having the bullet jump crimp would not be desirable either.

 

[vinny77]

I have had several failures to fire with Hornady 357 magnum
Critical Defense. They did fire the second time around. (Probably not a good idea to have tried a second time.) This has not happened with other 357 magnum. 38, 38 +P ammunition. A call to Hornady says this pistol might not be striking the bullet hard enough. I am wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

I have second question regarding this pistol. The barrel says "Not less than 120gr bullets." I did not think about this until after I purchased a box of Hornady Critical Defense Lite- 38spc with a 90 grain bullet. I wanted my wife to try this gun with the Lite ammo but I have not done so. Does anyone know what the issue is with a bullet less than 120gr ?

A .357<120 grain can cause bullet jump in the cylinder causing it to bind up. the unfired bullet (s) will actually unseat from the case and cause the cylinder not to rotate. this is caused by excessive recoil produced by the light weight 357 cartriges. If you are using 38's the 340 will work just fine with all loads including +p.

vinny
RVN 67-68

 

[slabside2]

I've been shooting Reminton full power 125gr. sjhp 357 ammo for years out of mine with out any problems. Some primers are harder then others. Try some different ammo. The 340pd is a great little gun. Love mine.

 

[caryg]

I have had a lot of problems with Hornady ammo. I quite buying it altogether. To many light strikes from a lot of different guns and calibers.

 

[rondooley]

My understanding is that hornady had a bad batch of that exact load about a year ago, so you might ask about that. Also the 90 grain will be fine as it is a very mild load which will not cause any issues.

 

[markyboy57]

The 340PD has a titanium cylinder that is sensitive to hot escaping gases and unburned powder. My understanding is that firing a bullet of less than 120gr allows hot gases and unburned powder to attack the face of the cylinder and etch into it pretty badly. there was a thread a short time ago with pics of an instructor (who should have known better if he was going to instruct others) shooting lightweight bullets and showing the damaged caused. Something to do with the short bullet not sealing the barrel cylinder gap long enough to allow all the powder to burn. As pointed out by Old Cop, having the bullet jump crimp would not be desirable either.

This is correct, the gases damage the cylinder face.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Let your wife try it with 38 spl target ammo. She'll like you longer.

 

[overthehills]

I kinda hate to jump in here as I have had primer strike problems on the hammerless J frame models (owning & competing with several). I generally immediately change out the frame mounted firing pin with one from Cylinder & Slide. The trade off is "do not dry fire" as the pins are not as forgiving as the factory titanium ones. This has been a 100% fix for me even running reduced power hammer springs and testing with rifle primers. As far as 38's in the 340, I only know of the recoil setback in the higher pressure .357's. As far as 38's & erosion...I can't say. The titanium cylinder being as fragile as it is, I took mine out & replaced it with a S.S. 38 cal. only cylinder (they pretty much swap right out in the new production guns) so I could shoot my 38's & clean it my way without worry. A few snappy .357's & "the missus" might be more than reluctant to pull the trigger when necessary IMHO. Good luck & safe shooting

 

[David Sinko]

Whatever you do, do NOT use the 90 gr. bullets in your 340PD. Damage to the front of the cylinder with these lighter than recommended loads has been documented. There are plenty of other decent loads you can use.

I'd be surprised (disappointed?) if Hornday is making "bad" ammo. A modern S&W J Frame is typically oversprung and will reliably fire any and all factory loaded ammo. That said, try different ammo and see what happens.

And if your ammo doesn't go bang the first time, there is no harm pulling the trigger on it again. You just don't want this to happen if/when your life is on the line, which is why you test your carry ammo.

Dave Sinko

 

[Trixie]

Thanks for the confirmation of ammo problems.
Will be avoiding the brand in this gun.

 

[36general]

I have a 340pd and haven't had any problems with the gun. You can fire ANY weight bullet in .38. The restriction is ONLY for .357 ammo. Firing 90gr .38s will not have any negative effect on the cylinder or gun.

 

[Trixie]

I will heed the warning and avoid trying the 90gr for the wife. As far as the 357 Hornady Critical Defense, yes it extremely important to try at the range any ammo you are considering carrying for self defense. I used to think that was a must for a pistol only.