340PD Ammo

[Sg73]

I know it's been discussed before, but ammo and opinions constantly change. I bought this gun new about 12 years ago and finally decided to run some 357 mag thru it. Seems a shame to have a gun marked 357 mag and not use it. Did a little research and found the Speer Gold Dot short barrel was about as tame as 357 got. I put a cylinder thru, the 4th and 5th rounds were a little difficult anticipating the punch but I made it. Buffalo Bore also makes some lower recoil 357, I sent them an email asking which was lowest. The reply was the 2 lowest rounds were indistinguishable when he fired them from a 340/360. He said he uses their 20D in his J Frames, that's a 38 wadcutter. Now that I'm looking at the other end of the recoil spectrum, does a wadcutter round violate the lead bullet restrictions on the 340?

 

[MRH]

Didn’t know there were any. I use 158 gr lswchp.

 

[Sg73]

Somewhere along the way I remember lead bullet restrictions, maybe the way they fowl the barrel/cylinder or they're more likely to become unseated from the casing.

 

[SpartyME]

I find both of these very manageable in my M&P340CT, even with a titanium cylinder installed.

 

[studenygreg]

I never heard of the lead ammo issue. I think I have Winchester pdx .357mag in mine right now. I cant remember.

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[BLUEDOT37]

...does a wadcutter round violate the lead bullet restrictions on the 340?
.
Somewhere along the way I remember lead bullet restrictions, maybe the way they fowl the barrel/cylinder or they're more likely to become unseated from the casing.

Most factory loaded lead bullets are on the soft side & not loaded that hot, such as a swaged full wadcutter load. Try them in your gun & if they shoot fine then you're good.

Medium to hard cast lead bullets are likely going to have a crimp groove & therefore not have an issue with jumping crimp.

Lead bullets with a gas check will not lead your barrel either.

.

 

[Sg73]

Thanks for all the input. As much as I like the thought of putting 357's thru a 357, I may look into wadcutter rounds as I've heard recoil is low and they're still effective.

 

[Major911]

If your looking for a low recoil, high performance round. Check this out.
Civil Defense .357 Magnum | Liberty Ammunition


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[Major911]

And it’s lead free so no fouling.


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[Sg73]

I was tempted by that Liberty Civil Defense ammo, but it is well below the bullet grain weight restriction on the 340PD.

 

[Sg73]

I've decided to go with the Speer Gold Dot 357 short barrel as my carry round. It's the lowest power 357 self defense round I could find and even though it wasn't pleasant, I survived putting a cylinder through with decent accuracy. I guess my thought is you don't buy a Corvette to drive under the speed limit and you don't buy a 357 for self defense to shoot 38's.

 

[michpatriot]

My daily carry is a 340PD, loaded with GoldDot 357 Short barrel 99% of the time. When I'm up north in the woods its Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman 180gr... I fired about 35 rounds of the 135gr this weekend, hands a little beat up but I love every minute. These little PDs can be really accurate, choke up high on the blackstrap, really firm grip and squeeze. Light,Reliable,Powerful. Someday I'll get a 296, but that'll be a belt gun or shoulder holster affair, my 340PD rides all day in my front pocket' and fills my needs perfectly.

 

[Sg73]

So I ran across this in my quest for lower powered 357. Any opinions?

https://minutemanammo.com/collections/revolver/products/357-magnum-short-barrel-148-grain-dewc