New M&P 340 ( Some guys need to man up...LOL)

[usncorpsman1]

I picked up a new M&P 340 from my buddy and spent some time with it at the range. From everything that I have read on the net, my hand should be permanently swollen or have fallen off by now.

I shot the following ammo.

Winchester 130gr FMJ. Felt good
Remington 125gr +p. Little warmer but still felt good.
Winchester 110gr .357 mag. It felt just a little warmer than the +p but very manageable.

I love this little gun. It feels like you are not even carrying it and with the tritium big dot, is super fast on target..

.

 

[jaymoore]

I have found mine managable. As long as the blood doesn't get all over. (Which would take rather more rounds likely in any serious defensive "social encounter".)

 

[jack the toad]

Yes, those models are about as light as one can get but guess I need to wear my big boy undies then because IMO, the Sc/Ti model J-frames (357) HURT more than any other handgun followed by the same N-frame (329). Then I guess maybe the 500 with non-padded grips.
Of course this is while shooting big boy ammo too.
No injuries that I'm aware of but discomfort level is certainly there. I enjoy it some, in limited amounts.

 

[ridgewalker]

Ha Ha. I get the humor and appreciate it. However the pain is subjective and training your body and mind to ignore the pain is key to good shooting. That is one of the reasons dry firing is effective. You pull the trigger and no explosion, no pain. Your subconscious mind says "cool." You train to keep the front sight steady on your target.

Now you go to the range. Through the miracle of hundreds of years of firearms engineering and thousands of years of metallurgy, you pull the trigger and a tremendously loud explosion propels your bullet in the direction you want from a 13.3 ounce M&P 340. Your body sees the flash, hears the explosion, feels the recoil and your subconscious mind says "not cool." For me the pain is not debilitating, but I have found minimizing it by firing limited strings of shots from my 340 and switching off to a larger, more comfortable gun before coming back to another limited string of shots from the 340 helps me keep my subconscious mind in check so I can minimize anticipation and flinching.

Congrats on your M&P340. I have the small CT grips on mine. I find that those small CT grips don't do much to manage the recoil. I am going to try some Uncle Mike boot grips on mine the next trip to the range. These are about the same size but I am comfortable with them on my other J frames.

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
Ridgewalker has it right.
When at the range us a light accurate load, as you are training your body
to hold and fire correctly and the holes in the target give the feedback.
Carry loads are used to insure you hit where you put the sights.
The notion of shoot what you carry came from the early auto's.
The auto needs enough power to work the action and you need
to be sure the bullet feeds.
Revolvers do not have these limitations.
As SD shootings are under stress, unlike hunting or targets,
you will defalt to what you have done in training.
If you have unloaded into your hand and dumped the brass in a bucket,
that is how they will find you, hand full of brass looking for a bucket.
[ Do not doubt, it has happened]
If you shot, dumped brass on the ground,reloaded and dropped the speedloader- you will pick them up later.
The noise,flash,kick,pain etc will go unnoticed until after.
Find the biggest baddest thing you can shoot well, get the next one bigger and shoot,shoot,shoot.

 

[1sailor]

I put a set of Pacmayer "compacs" on mine and while they don't increase the size much they do minimize that "slap on the palm" feeling when firing magnum loads. Strangely, I have not noticed a lot of actual recoil. Even when watching others fire my pistol there is not a lot of jump. Shooting +p's is actually pretty comfortable all things considered. Photo below is the pacmayer grips.

 

[Swengen]

Congrats! Nice to have one of these to simplify carry. I have the 340PD. You're right, there is a lot of complaints about how rough these are to shoot. Most of that I believe comes from our wimpier brethren! I usually go to the range once a month and put 70 to 80 rounds through the 340PD and a 642. I only shoot maybe one cylinder of full strength .357 just to make sure POI is good. The rest are mainly +P and .38 sp.

 

[huntrfishr1]

There's quite a difference in felt recoil when you lose a few more ounces and shoot the 340PD, mine hurts the front of both the trigger and middle fingers, that said, I don't think a better carry gun exists! I do, however wish the cylinder was machined for moon clips like my 642 Pro.

 

[vermontdane]

I got my 340PD Mag-na-ported. Trust me, worth every cent. Best carry gun ever for the outdoors. Load a couple snake shot rounds and then some .357 and you are ready for all varmints.

 

[luangtom]

Well, the Magna-port or whatever you have done is fine if you never intend to use your light-weight in a night-shoot. Not only will the muzzle-blast blind you for a follow-up shot, it will blow your cap right off if held in close-quarter stance. I will never have a ported revolver for EDC.

 

[SAWBONES]

Well, the Magna-port or whatever you have done is fine if you never intend to use your light-weight in a night-shoot. Not only will the muzzle-blast blind you for a follow-up shot, it will blow your cap right off if held in close-quarter stance. I will never have a ported revolver for EDC.

Yes, that's the common "gun-commando" wisdom, but t'aint necessarily so;
I have some Hybra-ported SP101 2" revolvers, and they demonstrate no greater muzzle flash in the dark than other loads, nor is there any significant blow-back or debris from the ports, even when holding the gun 8 inches from my face. (This is with Buffalo Bore 158gr .357 Magnum JHP.)

 

[SAWBONES]

I picked up a new M&P 340 from my buddy and spent some time with it at the range. From everything that I have read on the net, my hand should be permanently swollen or have fallen off by now.

Winchester 110gr .357 mag. It felt just a little warmer than the +p but very manageable.

And so it is. The 110 gr is well known to be a pussycat among .357 Magnum loads.

Try shooting the full power 125gr and 158gr .357 Magnum loads and report back.

 

[Pitdog02]

Try 180grn .357 or the Buffalo bore 1700 fps. Ive seen guys that work at a local range take the grips off and shoot it bare framed, I wouldn't even try that. Have fun is the main thing but there will come a day you don't wanna shoot that thing anymore.

 

[gunnertwo]

Question to the list, do you see a significant change in the point of impact with the different loads? I shot the standard Fed Nyclad 125 gr and had a point of impact four inches low at 7-10 yards. I would think higher velocity loads would print even lower. Anyone recommend a heaver brand / load. Thanks.

G2

 

[oldguyshoot]

Well, the Magna-port or whatever you have done is fine if you never intend to use your light-weight in a night-shoot. Not only will the muzzle-blast blind you for a follow-up shot, it will blow your cap right off if held in close-quarter stance. I will never have a ported revolver for EDC.

Oh no, my cap flew off 'cause I had my revolver an inch from my nose when I fired it. Oh no, I can't see 'cause I didn't load low-flash EDC ammo. :/

 

[Swengen]

And so it is. The 110 gr is well known to be a pussycat among .357 Magnum loads.

Try shooting the full power 125gr and 158gr .357 Magnum loads and report back.

I can report back on that one and I'm happy to say that the hybra-port 340PD I own helps. I only shoot one cylinder at the range with the heavy stuff just so I know my POI hasn't changed, not to give my hands a break. I follow up with lot's of +P. I also shoot at night sometimes and the flash is not much worse than with a 642 I have shooting +P. I think night shooting is important for the obvious reason. I use steel targets at night for immediate feedback.

 

[Swengen]

I got my 340PD Mag-na-ported. Trust me, worth every cent. Best carry gun ever for the outdoors. Load a couple snake shot rounds and then some .357 and you are ready for all varmints.

If by snake shot rounds you are talking about Glaser rounds, I'm not sure I would use those in a Mag-na-ported gun. I have the Hybra-port in mine and stick with traditional ammo.

 

[KertP]

Ammo Point of Impact

Question to the list, do you see a significant change in the point of impact with the different loads? I shot the standard Fed Nyclad 125 gr and had a point of impact four inches low at 7-10 yards. I would think higher velocity loads would print even lower. Anyone recommend a heaver brand / load. Thanks.

G2

Yep, there is a significant POI change with different loads. For example, if you have one of the original Model 60s, their sights are dead-on for 158 gr Hydrashoks, but not for Hornady 110 gr Critical Defense. The Hornady loads will shoot about 4-6 inches low. Same goes for every fixed-sight snubbie I own. I determine what load shoots to point of aim for each gun and stick with that load for that gun.
I worked on a friend's S&W Bodyguard .38 a while back. The first one he purchased shot 4 inches high and 4 inches left with 130 gr ammo. He sent it back to Smith & Wesson and they replaced it with a different Bodyguard .38. That one still shot high and left, though not as much. So I replaced the front sight with a gold bead sight and shaved the side of the base to move the POI to the right, then with some of the ammo (Hornady 110 gr CD) he intended to carry and some range time, adjusted the height so that the POI matched the sights. Since shooting Hornady CD ammo is not cheap, my friend was going to use Winchester white box ammo for practice fodder. That ammo shot almost 6 inches higher than the Hornady. Incidentally, the distance he wanted the sights set for was 9 yards.
So, yes, the ammo you use will make a difference. Find the ammo that your particular gun shoots to point of aim and stick with that ammo for your self-defense needs.

 

[superfluities]

I also love my M&P360 13oz. that's crazy light for .357 firepower! I wonder if anybody has ever made a chart of weight to firepower of various guns? I don't remember finding any .357 lighter than the M&P 340/360 PD.

 

[Terry]

I picked up a new M&P 340 from my buddy and spent some time with it at the range. From everything that I have read on the net, my hand should be permanently swollen or have fallen off by now.

I shot the following ammo.

Winchester 130gr FMJ. Felt good
Remington 125gr +p. Little warmer but still felt good.
Winchester 110gr .357 mag. It felt just a little warmer than the +p but very manageable.

I love this little gun. It feels like you are not even carrying it and with the tritium big dot, is super fast on target..

.

With out a doubt my 340PD is my most handgun. Having some back problems when I carry heaver guns, I don't even notice the 340PD.

I normally carry the Hornady Critical Defense 357 round loaded in, practice with 38 spcl and fire at least 5 rounds of 357 during a shooting session.

I am supprised you didn't have some problem shooting the 110 grain .357 rounds, I have tried them and the bullets do start de-seat themself in the cylinder. My 340PD does warn on the barrel against shooting anything less than 125 gr rounds.