New to me MP340

[RHINOWSO]

Well, I've been thinking about one for awhile. I love the utilitarian 442 I own a lot, it is great for pocket carry & cold weather jacket pocket carry as well.

One thing I dislike about the 442 is the black fixed front sight (which I have painted Hi-vis orange). So perusing a local forum I spotted a MP340 w/ front night sight for sale for a very good deal, especially considering it had never been fired and came with 145rds of 38/357 ammo. Everything was in new condition, even though it was purchased originally in early 2012 (I saw the original sales receipt).



I'll ditch the lock and fill it with a plug in short order. The trigger is far nicer than my 442 was stock - seems little lighter and far smoother. My 442 has an Apex kit in it now, so it edges out the 340 by being smoother overall and a lighter by just a bit. So I'll dry fire this some to see if it smoothes a bit more, but then I might get an Apex kit for it.

While the ability to shoot 357 Mag is nice, I intend to stick with the same 135gr Speer GDHP 38SPL +P I use in the 442.

 

[bananaman]

Looks deadly! I need all the help I can get when it comes to seeing front sights. As you stated it makes sense to feed her .38 Special unless MORE is NEEDED. My 357's are much heavier, and they are on that same diet. Bob

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

Very nice!

That's the one thing I want to change on my 642 and M10.

 

[justintyme]

Nice, I found my M&P 340 lightly used at a LGS a couple years ago and its my main carry gun. Very accurate piece, not bad to shoot with .38's but .357's are eye opening!

 

[bananaman]

Nice, I found my M&P 340 lightly used at a LGS a couple years ago and its my main carry gun. Very accurate piece, not bad to shoot with .38's but .357's are eye opening!

You can shoot much better with your eyes open! Bob

 

[307-Niner]

I'm also a fan of the M&P 340. I found mine on this forum.

 

[kaaskop49]

My opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it, but I can't see much of a difference in trading the 442 for the 340 if you're going to shoot .38s only in the 340. Would painting White-Out on the front blade of the 442 enable you to see it more easily?

2. You may have to test .38 ammo for "bullet-inertia-pull" in the 340, as I found certain loads would pull in my 360 (although they're not supposed to), another Scandium number. My 642 handles all .38 loads no problem.

3. Now if you're ADDING the 340 to the 442, that's a whole 'nother story! This is what I would do, as it gives you a 2nd gun when one is in the shop or you wish to rotate your carry gun. Whatever you decide, good luck and good shooting!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[RHINOWSO]

My opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it, but I can't see much of a difference in trading the 442 for the 340 if you're going to shoot .38s only in the 340. Would painting White-Out on the front blade of the 442 enable you to see it more easily?

2. You may have to test .38 ammo for "bullet-inertia-pull" in the 340, as I found certain loads would pull in my 360 (although they're not supposed to), another Scandium number. My 642 handles all .38 loads no problem.

3. Now if you're ADDING the 340 to the 442, that's a whole 'nother story! This is what I would do, as it gives you a 2nd gun when one is in the shop or you wish to rotate your carry gun. Whatever you decide, good luck and good shooting!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. The 340PD with 145rds of ammo cost $550. Taking into account the $125-150 worth of ammo, it was a $400 essentially NIB 340PD. And everything about the gun and box shows it to be never fired outside of the factory. That is a deal that is too good to pass up for a gun that sells NIB for $799. The receipt in the box shows that the original owner paid $850 OTD.

My 442 isn't well worn (yet), but I could get $300 for it I'm sure. Honestly I'll probably keep it as a spare. I travel with a J-frame a lot around the country, so having a spare incase it's lost / stolen etc is not a bad idea IMO.

 

[kaaskop49]

attn RHINOWSO

Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. The 340PD with 145rds of ammo cost $550. Taking into account the $125-150 worth of ammo, it was a $400 essentially NIB 340PD. And everything about the gun and box shows it to be never fired outside of the factory. That is a deal that is too good to pass up for a gun that sells NIB for $799. The receipt in the box shows that the original owner paid $850 OTD.

My 442 isn't well worn (yet), but I could get $300 for it I'm sure. Honestly I'll probably keep it as a spare. I travel with a J-frame a lot around the country, so having a spare incase it's lost / stolen etc is not a bad idea IMO.

You pulled off the deal of deals! I passed up 2 340PD's and 2 640's at a show for a similar low price because the owner was not forthcoming about their provenance. Embarrassing registering a gun at a police station and it comes up hot! You lose the gun too.

Please keep the 442 as a spare. Some shooters use the spare for range work because it hurts to shoot the Magnum gun: not your problem although Specials can still sting. To flog a dead horse, I recall when 2"ers were impossible to come by. An extra can be $ in the bank. Good shooting and good luck!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[RHINOWSO]

Embarrassing registering a gun at a police station...

I have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to registering a gun with the police...

Yeah, he showed me all the paperwork, IDs, etc - I think there was a death in the family and he wanted to move some stuff. He'd sold a pair of 43Cs (missed those by a couple hours) and had a pair of 340PDs, one with CT, one without. All completely NIB, mind you.

 

[Hook686]

Sounds like a good buy to me. I have the M&P 340 CT. I also shoot .38+P, as .357 magnums really rock my boat.