S&W 360j
- Thread starter Buckeye63
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
An interesting gun, the 360J. Seems to be very little data from S&W pertaining to it. If you do a forum search, there are a few mentions of this gun, including a lengthy, VERRY interesting post about it that is required reading, IMHO.
Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
P.S. I Googled 'S&W 360J" and those Forum posts pop up as the 1st item.
Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
P.S. I Googled 'S&W 360J" and those Forum posts pop up as the 1st item.
Great gun, one of my favorites. I bought mine when the first batch came out in 2008. It's a real sleeper in S&W's line up and it seems they only make occasional runs of them. I really like the plain Jane appearance and no nonsense attitude. Plus it's tough as nails, they use the same frame for the .38spl 360J as the .357mag M&P360.
I used mine for a 9mm (9x23) conversion project. Carried for several years as my BUG when working, still carry it on a regular basis now that I'm retired from LE. It's never given me a bit of trouble. I'm sure that yours will serve you well.
I used mine for a 9mm (9x23) conversion project. Carried for several years as my BUG when working, still carry it on a regular basis now that I'm retired from LE. It's never given me a bit of trouble. I'm sure that yours will serve you well.
Last edited:
Ashlander
Member
Here's an old post from 12/27/12 by Alnamvet68 in a thread entitled "S&W
360 .38 Special:
[T]he Model 360J is chambered only for the 38 special. This is one unique
handgun in that it is built with a scandium frame, and depending on whether
it is an earlier model, or a most recent production, comes with either a carbon
steel cylinder, or stainless steel cylinderl, all finished in melonite. Of course, if
one was to change out the cylinder for one that accomodates a 357 mag, then
it would be safe to use 357, since the only difference in the 360J and the 360
or 360 PD is the cylinder...the 360 uses a stainless steel cylinder and
accomodates the 357, and the 360PD uses a titanium cylinder which
accomodates the 357.
That said, you will not find anything on the S&W site, archived or otherwise,
and you will get a variety of responses when you call and speak with S&W as
to why the 360J 38 cal only does not appear anywhere on their web site. I am
of the opinion that this is a handgun that was built on contract for a foreign
LE/military, and for whatever reasons, either they built more then they
needed, or the contract went *****...S&W will not say yay or nay on either
theory. One last thing, you will notice the serial number is on the left side of
the revolver, just under the cylinder release latch, instead of on the butt,
where all the J frames have their serial numbers. If you take off your grips,
you will notice a hole in the butt which appears to be for a lanyard..
360 .38 Special:
[T]he Model 360J is chambered only for the 38 special. This is one unique
handgun in that it is built with a scandium frame, and depending on whether
it is an earlier model, or a most recent production, comes with either a carbon
steel cylinder, or stainless steel cylinderl, all finished in melonite. Of course, if
one was to change out the cylinder for one that accomodates a 357 mag, then
it would be safe to use 357, since the only difference in the 360J and the 360
or 360 PD is the cylinder...the 360 uses a stainless steel cylinder and
accomodates the 357, and the 360PD uses a titanium cylinder which
accomodates the 357.
That said, you will not find anything on the S&W site, archived or otherwise,
and you will get a variety of responses when you call and speak with S&W as
to why the 360J 38 cal only does not appear anywhere on their web site. I am
of the opinion that this is a handgun that was built on contract for a foreign
LE/military, and for whatever reasons, either they built more then they
needed, or the contract went *****...S&W will not say yay or nay on either
theory. One last thing, you will notice the serial number is on the left side of
the revolver, just under the cylinder release latch, instead of on the butt,
where all the J frames have their serial numbers. If you take off your grips,
you will notice a hole in the butt which appears to be for a lanyard..
cwood8656
Member
Very cool little gun IMO. Here's mine. Hope you enjoy yours.
Chris-
Chris-
forrestinmathews
Member
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2009
- Messages
- 1,063
- Reaction score
- 725
Guy, your gun looks so much like mine I thought I had posted and forgotten. I've got the M&P 360 in magnum with an XS front sight and much of the black worn off the cylinder. Nice hammer bob, I did the very same thing. Sharp looking pieceGreat gun, one of my favorites. I bought mine when the first batch came out in 2009. It's a real sleeper in S&W's line up and it seems they only make occasional runs of them. I really like the plain Jane appearance and no nonsense attitude. Plus it's tough as nails, they use the same frame for the .38spl 360J as the .357mag M&P360.
I used mine for a 9mm (9x23) conversion project. Carried for several years as my BUG when working, still carry it on a regular basis now that I'm retired from LE. It's never given me a bit of trouble. I'm sure that yours will serve you well.
BlackTalonJHP
Member
Are those VZ grips?
hogue extremes
clayflingythingy
Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2010
- Messages
- 40
- Reaction score
- 25
heres mine after I installed the XS night sight
I'm thinking my 360J could use a XS Big Dot front as well.
Any sighting issues? Change of impact? ETC?
just got installed friday. haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. it's real easy to pick up the white dot compared to the black blade. installation was straight forward. sight fit nice and snug. Didn't have to do any filing or anything to make it fit.
These guns are very much a poor man's M&P. I had Robar coat my cylinder with NP3 because it would get surface rust on the edges of the flutes after spending a hot summer day in an ankle holster.
I just realized you said BIG dot. Mine is the XS standard dot. It sights perfect with the rear sight groove. I
I have one and love it. The 640 Pro is my favorite J frame, but the 360J carries like it's not there. I have a fiber optic sight waiting to go on it.
I ordered the "J Synthetic Full Size Grip with S&W Logo" from Smith & Wesson, then cut the bottom such that it just covers the butt. This makes for a nice, thin, boot style grip with a covered backstrap.
I ordered the "J Synthetic Full Size Grip with S&W Logo" from Smith & Wesson, then cut the bottom such that it just covers the butt. This makes for a nice, thin, boot style grip with a covered backstrap.
I took some quick pictures of the grips after I got to work this morning:
that looks much better than they do stock
The extra cushion is nice on the scandium gun and cutting the bottom off of the grips makes it much easier to get out of a front pocket quickly.
forrestinmathews
Member
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2009
- Messages
- 1,063
- Reaction score
- 725
I loaded some super hot .357's some time ago with win296. I shot eight of them yesterday. I am buffing down some spots on the cylinder latch and bandaging one heck of a ruptured blood blister on my thumb. I am investigating heavier bullets and some more powder....there is no me in quit.
wesnellans
Member
They had a 360 for $350? Or just an airweight, say, a 437/637?
If it was a 360, STELLAR price.
Timido
Member
Smith & Wesson Revolver Model 360 .38Spl 5rd Black Scandium Frame 160360
Grab em while you can. I am interested in how Night Sights work out with this gun keep us up to date.
What kind of ammo does everyone recommend for Defense for the 360j? Is there a minimum bullet weight for it?
Grab em while you can. I am interested in how Night Sights work out with this gun keep us up to date.
What kind of ammo does everyone recommend for Defense for the 360j? Is there a minimum bullet weight for it?
OP
Buckeye63
Member
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2013
- Messages
- 238
- Reaction score
- 267
Yep ..that's where and when I got mine ... A smokin deal ..
Not to my knowledge. However, in a lightweight gun like this, it's wise to check ammo for crimp jump. Yes, it can happen in .38, not only in .357.
Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
Ashlander
Member
That's a great deal at Palmetto Armory - $350. I paid a lot more and still think I got a good deal. Anybody who is half thinking about getting a 360J, it would seem that now is the time. Scandium frame guns are not cheap.
Timido
Member
I put mine on the digital scale it was 14.1oz with Houge Bantam boot grips on it.
Shorty 45 MK2
Member
Congrats on your new 360J! 
Like your choice of stocks/grips too.
Like your choice of stocks/grips too.
Shorty 45 MK2
Member
Man, you just had to post that!
Handled one the other day in a LGS for $500 and almost bought it, but for that price I just might....
rburg
Member
Seven or eight years ago I bought one at a gun show. It was a 360, but confusing to me, it was 38 Special. Because my carry gun was a 337 I wanted a backup or 2nd. So I bought it and haven't given it another thought. At one time in the past someone posted that they were part of a short production run, totaling 50 guns. Guess that's not small enough for the guy who said rare is 30. Anyway, the story back then was S&W forged a run of 50 frames made from Scandium alloy but with the small frame window. Meaning it needed a .38 cylinder not a 357 as used in other 360s. So they installed titanium cylinders from a 340 and sold them.
Back to the old adage that S&W wastes nothing. Anyway, that gun still languishes down in the dungeon, unseen by me in a few years since my last general inventory. To me, the gun looked a lot like my 337 and is still serving as the backup if anything untoward happens to it.
So what it seems is S&W has been fishing out the 360 model numbers for a succession of limited runs. It seems when we hear someone asking about that model, we need to be careful about what we tell posters. Any answer based on prior knowledge has a pretty good chance of being wrong.
Back to the old adage that S&W wastes nothing. Anyway, that gun still languishes down in the dungeon, unseen by me in a few years since my last general inventory. To me, the gun looked a lot like my 337 and is still serving as the backup if anything untoward happens to it.
So what it seems is S&W has been fishing out the 360 model numbers for a succession of limited runs. It seems when we hear someone asking about that model, we need to be careful about what we tell posters. Any answer based on prior knowledge has a pretty good chance of being wrong.
Similar threads
