342PD - Is it Punishing?
- Thread starter MarkAlt
- Start date
I've had a 342PD .38+P for several years; use Speer 135 gr GDHP +P "snubby" ammo for social purposes.
GOOD NEWS: It's so light it feels like a kid's plastic squirt gun. Once you get used to it, it's plenty accurate for defensive shooting -- I can get 18-19 (sometimes all 20) rounds into the X ring on a 1/2 size silhouette target at 21 feet. It's very compact and pretty much proof against fouling on anything during draw. I'm keeping mine. . . .
BAD NEWS: When a +P round comes to life in the li'l sweetie, you can really tell something happened. 50 rounds will usually give me blisters and a sore, shaking hand; 20 proficiency rounds with reasonable results does it for me. When I first got it, I was having accuracy issues and sent it back to Mother Smith. Talking to 'em on the phone, they chuckled politely, told me nothing was wrong with the gun, and to quit flinching. They were right. The Speer "snubby" ammo mentioned above has good terminal performance, somewhat reduced perceived recoil and muzzle flash, and a lot of PDs are using it. It's sometimes hard to find.
IMHO, .357 mag in a snubby revolver is a waste of time -- most of the powder burns out in front of the gun. What you get is an impressive blast, blinding flash, and sore hand. I guess S&W makes little snubbies in that caliber because lots of folks buy 'em.
GOOD NEWS: It's so light it feels like a kid's plastic squirt gun. Once you get used to it, it's plenty accurate for defensive shooting -- I can get 18-19 (sometimes all 20) rounds into the X ring on a 1/2 size silhouette target at 21 feet. It's very compact and pretty much proof against fouling on anything during draw. I'm keeping mine. . . .
BAD NEWS: When a +P round comes to life in the li'l sweetie, you can really tell something happened. 50 rounds will usually give me blisters and a sore, shaking hand; 20 proficiency rounds with reasonable results does it for me. When I first got it, I was having accuracy issues and sent it back to Mother Smith. Talking to 'em on the phone, they chuckled politely, told me nothing was wrong with the gun, and to quit flinching. They were right. The Speer "snubby" ammo mentioned above has good terminal performance, somewhat reduced perceived recoil and muzzle flash, and a lot of PDs are using it. It's sometimes hard to find.
IMHO, .357 mag in a snubby revolver is a waste of time -- most of the powder burns out in front of the gun. What you get is an impressive blast, blinding flash, and sore hand. I guess S&W makes little snubbies in that caliber because lots of folks buy 'em.
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S&W "J" Frames I stick with standard velocity ammo.
Does one gain anything by using Plus-P ammo ?
A couple years ago I did my qualification using a S&W Model 642 with Plus-P ammo (60 rounds). This was a lesson learned.
Does one gain anything by using Plus-P ammo ?
A couple years ago I did my qualification using a S&W Model 642 with Plus-P ammo (60 rounds). This was a lesson learned.
I have the short, boot-type Crimson Trace laser grip on the 342PD, as well as on a standard S&W 640 and a 640-2 (the batch that was made for NYPD Detectives, basically a .38 on a .357 mag 640 j-frame; gun is a tad bigger, barrel a bit longer). Don't have any problem shooting +P out of the steel revolvers, but the lightweight 342PD puts me outta the mood after about 20 rounds.
p8riot
US Veteran
Owning only a 360J and 637 - I can't imagine (although, I hope I'm wrong!) these little aluminum revolvers holding up well with lots of .38+P let alone a few magnums now and then. Ruger puts a steel insert in their alu-framed LCR, even the .22, but neither of my S&W's have a similar insert. Not an engineer, but I assume the steel insert in the Ruger's reduces the chances of play or looseness developing in the frame to cylinder lockup. I suppose the alu-framed S&W's must continue to work fine, without a similar insert, and shoot just as well even though they have loosened up ...
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