I'm having a debate on the the 342ti frame material. I say that it's aluminum alloy not scandium alloy that the scandium was added to the frames of the 357 airlite snubs. That the atomic symbol signifies a gun with a titanium cylinder. Am I wrong?
342ti frame material
- Thread starter regalsc
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The production 342ti did not use the scandium alloy frame in the regular production .38 revolvers. They did; however, display a number of scandium alloy frame .38 revolvers at Shot Show the year they came out. For some reason they decided to change to scandium frame .357 magnum guns. There are a few .38 frames in existence that are scandium.
My boss and I bought 342ti's and carried them as backup and later primary law enforcement guns. One day at the range we shot a practice round and then immediately went into a daylight qualification round. We were firing 38 +P ammo (yes it hurt). About half way through the qualification course, and at the same time, both cylinders "jumped" the cylinder stop and almost fell off the gun. We assumed it was due to the extreme heating of the crane and/or frame which warped.
We stopped the course and the next day went to the S&W distributor in Raleigh, NC. He called S&W and they wanted photos of the guns. We took detailed photos (unfortunately I don't have them now) and forwarded them to S&W. The factory requested that we return the guns, which we did.
About a month later we received the guns back, with no explanation of what was wrong. We were only told that the guns would not have a similar malfunction again. We examined the guns and they had the same cylinders, same barrels and same serial numbers. What was interesting was that when they left they had four line addresses. When they returned they had two line addresses. We called S&W and inquired as to why they replaced the frames. The factory rep vehemently denied that the frames were changed. Even when told about the addresses he refused to admit the frames were replaced.
We believe that the frames were replaced with some of the prototype scandium frames; however, S&W would not verify that when we later questioned them about it. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.
My boss and I bought 342ti's and carried them as backup and later primary law enforcement guns. One day at the range we shot a practice round and then immediately went into a daylight qualification round. We were firing 38 +P ammo (yes it hurt). About half way through the qualification course, and at the same time, both cylinders "jumped" the cylinder stop and almost fell off the gun. We assumed it was due to the extreme heating of the crane and/or frame which warped.
We stopped the course and the next day went to the S&W distributor in Raleigh, NC. He called S&W and they wanted photos of the guns. We took detailed photos (unfortunately I don't have them now) and forwarded them to S&W. The factory requested that we return the guns, which we did.
About a month later we received the guns back, with no explanation of what was wrong. We were only told that the guns would not have a similar malfunction again. We examined the guns and they had the same cylinders, same barrels and same serial numbers. What was interesting was that when they left they had four line addresses. When they returned they had two line addresses. We called S&W and inquired as to why they replaced the frames. The factory rep vehemently denied that the frames were changed. Even when told about the addresses he refused to admit the frames were replaced.
We believe that the frames were replaced with some of the prototype scandium frames; however, S&W would not verify that when we later questioned them about it. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.
attn: WCCPHD
Great story. Nice to have a boss interested in service weapons, not common IME. S&W's reaction was classic: Who Meee? A really classic case of CYA. BTW, how did the weapons function after they returned? Be safe, partner. Check 6.
Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
Great story. Nice to have a boss interested in service weapons, not common IME. S&W's reaction was classic: Who Meee? A really classic case of CYA. BTW, how did the weapons function after they returned? Be safe, partner. Check 6.
Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
Apparently S&W sold a number of these guns to law enforcement and our attorney said that they were trying to limit their liability by not admitting a design flaw which would have triggered a recall. We speculate the issues law enforcement had with this gun lead to them dropping the .38 and moving to a scandium-alloy .357.
The weapons functioned perfectly after that. We purposely "shot them hot" several times and could not reproduce the problem in those two weapons.
I carried mine until I retired.
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S&W doesn't label the Sc framed revolvers differently than the aluminum alloy framed, which are typically flat/matte black.
Both commonly say "Airweight".
The best way I know to tell if it's a Sc frame is to look at the left side. If you see (3) pink/gold pin ends, which are said to be titanium, then it's a Sc frame. (see picture below)
On the (black) aluminum alloy frame revolvers you will not see any colored pins in these (3) spots.
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One of the commonly mentioned, & much questioned, S&W 38 Spcl. revolver which had a Sc frame & carbon steel cylinder, was the 360J, product code# 160360. It was a 38 Spcl (+P) model. My son had one for a while.
Confusingly, a year or so ago S&W came out with a 360J Sc framed revolver again, but this time in .357 Mag, which I have.
Both say Airweight on the right side & have the colored pins on the left side & are defined as being Sc frames in the literature.
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S&W 360J, 38 Spcl, prod code #160360, notice the pins
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