Scandium

[Hart]

Anyone have thoughts they can share regarding experience with Scandium? Always had stainless revolvers but considering a scandium J frame for CCW for my wife. Wishing all the very best to you and yours.

Update after reading input and doing some research:
I am now looking at the 640Pro Series ( 178044 ) for my wife. She is 5'2", 105 lbs and a lot of recoil is not good for her. I love my 686, and two PC 627's but too much for her. I am now thinking the 178044 with .38's in it. Thank you again for your thoughts. Happy Easter!

 

[colt_saa]

Scandium is the best thing to happen to revolvers since stainless steel came along.

It allowed for very light firearms that can be carried all day while providing ridiculous power.

Just remember that the lighter the firearm the greater the recoil is to the shooter. If your wife is not a seasoned shooter you might want to borrow or rent one before you buy it.

 

[NE450No2]

I agree, a Scandium, or the older Aluminium Airweight S&W's make great carry guns. The wife and I are still using an Airweight Centennial and a Bodyguard, that I bought @1972. They have been shot quite a bit, and are still going strong.

I have a Scandium Night Guard in 45ACP/AR, and I really like it.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Sc: what's you favorite color

We've got several Sc guns: 325NG, 329NG, 360J, 1911 Sc-E & we like them all. Crazy light for the size. Practice mostly with light loads if recoil bothers you because full loads do kick more. One of the best things about them is you can get them in any color you want....as long as it's BLACK
(The black is pretty durable but will scratch & then all you can do is get out the black Sharpie & try to make it disappear.)

 

[JNewell]

The Al/Ti and Sc/Ti revolvers are great revolvers and awesome carry guns, but be advised that the recoil is both a lot more noticeable than the Al/SS and SS/SS versions. In addition, it is a lot "sharper." Your wife may not find firing the gun very pleasant, especially with .38 Special +P or .357 Magnum loads.

 

[WC145]

I have a 327 Night Guard and a 360J, no trouble with either and the lighter weight makes them great carry guns.

 

[boatboy]

I have a Pro Series 1911 its SC
I am picking up a 310NG its SC
This post gets me that much more excited about it
I know where there is a brand new Night Gaurd the 41mag
I love all things 41 but I know darn well it would be quite a handful I have a TI Taurus in 41 lets just say its a handful but its so light you can forget you are carrying it
Hank

 

[Neumann]

Scandium gives aluminum nearly the stress crack resistance of steel. That is an ideal property for firearm frames.

Since revolvers have a rigid frame, recoil can be brutal in a light frame, even for .38 Special. However a scandium framed 1911 "Commander" (30 oz) is easy to shoot and light on the belt. A 20 oz Kahr or Springfield XDs .45 is not hard to shoot either. You can get a .38 J frame weighing 14 oz or so, but I'd rather have a steel frame weighing 24 oz. The ultra light frame smacks you as hard as a full sized .44 Magnum.

 

[turnejm]

M&P 360 Scandiium

By all means, don't be afraid of the lightness of a Fine Revolver! It will carry all day, and you will forget that you are carrying it. Be forewarned, It will be a handful to go to range and practice with it. Load it with 357 Mags and carry proudly! At the range, practice with a Model 60 Stainless Steel and 357 range ammo, you'll still get the feel of the carry revolver without the stress of magnum loads in it!

 

[kaaskop49]

My 360 dates back to September 2001, one of the first made (SCA0xxx). It is a handful in .357. I have put less than 200 rounds, factory mags, through the gun. It has been back to S&W warranty service twice. When the trigger is back and the hammer fully down, as would be at the instant of firing, there is slight side-to-side play of the cylinder. Normally, the hand and bolt should hold the cylinder rigid at this instant, but the warranty folks seem unable to correct this, despite replacing these 2 parts twice.

The other posters are all VERY knowledgeable, but I am surprised none has mentioned the issue of bullet-inertia-pull (accurate term please, someone?). The gun is so light that the bullets in some unfired rounds jump their crimp when the gun fires and pull forward out of the cartridge case. You can test for this at the range by loading 5 rounds and seeing if the bullets in the unfired rounds jump their crimp. (Boy, it's hard to describe this in 100 words or less!) So you are limited as to what loads you can use.

I find the recoil brutal, but I have had surgery on the web of my hand from shooting many 'planet-wrecker' loads in lightweight handguns. This is my experience with the 360 Scandium J-frame. Hope it helps.

 

[MikeyB]

I carry a scandium framed M&P 360. And yes, the recoil is brutal with the boot grips shooting 158gr .357 magnum loads. Installing Pachmayr's Compac grip did help. I practice with .38's but carry 357's designed for short barrel revolvers.

 

[Hart]

Thank you all for your insight. I think I will take the advice of renting one at the range first before buying, as recoil may be too much for my wife (maybe me too ). Thanks again and all the best to you and yours.

 

[shouldazagged]

The Pachmayr Compacs are great for giving a higher hold and better control of muzzle flip. I've used them for years on my EDC. But I really don't want to think about shooting .357 Magnums in a 14 ounce snubby.

Apart from the hellacious recoil, .357 in any short-barrel revolver gives even more blast and that godawful fireball. It's moot for me now because my hands are pretty much wrecked; but I also gave up the magnums for fear that if I had to use one to save my hindquarters at night, I'd be so blinded by the flash that I couldn't assess the changing situation or make a good second shot. Flash-retardant powder will help only so much in .357, and an adrenalin download dilates the pupils something wonderful.

 

[coach22]

Love my 340PD.
But recently went back to maybe the best J Frame ever made.
640 (38).
Both are loaded with Corbon DPX 38 +P's.

Not Scandium but just as light as the PD, is my new 351C.
7 Hornady Critical Defense 22 Magnums.
No weight. No recoil. No jams.

 

[shouldazagged]

recently went back to maybe the best J Frame ever made.
640 (38).
QUOTE]

That's been my EDC gun for over twelve years, and I agree it's probably the best ever. Certainly one of them. Mine's a no-dash built in 1990 and is laser or electrochemically etched "Tested For +P+" inside the frame on the bottom strap. I carry +P 158-grain LSWCHP in it.

Fine little piece.

 

[Eliakim]

I have a scandium S&W 340SC that is a medium grey color so they have made scandium revolvers in a different color than black, but I think the 340SC is now discontinued. For me the big advantage of scandium frame revolvers is the light weight for easy carry, especially with a titanium cylinder. I also have a S&W 642 airweight and the few ounces of weight difference between the two snubbies is noticeable for carry.

I found Federal 140 gr Barnes Expander .357 magnum, Winchester 145 gr Silvertip and the Federal American Eagle .357 Mag 158gr JSP to all work well without excessive bullet pull, as well as the (relatively) tame Speer .357 Mag 135gr Gold Dot HP Short Barrel.

You can always carry a milder .38 special load or even a 148 gr wadcutter if you or your wife are recoil sensitive. The 357 mag scandium snubby loaded with full-power ammo is certainly NOT for recoil sensitive people.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

I carry a scandium framed M&P 360. And yes, the recoil is brutal with the boot grips shooting 158gr .357 magnum loads. Installing Pachmayr's Compac grip did help.

That's for sure! I ran off to the range to try my new handloads of +P & Super loads in my 325NG & still had the Badger wood grips on. The web of my hand was off color for also two days. The Pacmayr's wrap all the way around the grip frame & make a big difference on what gets transferred (felt) to your hand. I'll remember the Pach's next time!