Smith and wesson 351PD

[vikz22]

Hello folks! just wanted to get some 1st hand opinion on my latest acquistion,S&W 351PD 22mag. any recommendation on what ammo I should use for CCW??.I tried it today and I was very impress with the accuracy, the DA is acceptable and the SA is amazingly light. here it is..

 

[ColbyBruce]

Being a rimfire, it is likely to be picky about what it eats and ejects. I supose it will tell you what to use in it. When you find what it likes the best, go back to the store and buy every box of the same lot of that ammo that you can find. I have a #650 that pretty much only likes the 33 grain Remington loads.

 

[Marshal Tom]

They typically have a heavy DA pull which is somewhat necessary for reliable ignition of rim fire cartridges. Some feel that it is very heavy and wish to lighten it a bit. You can have a trigger job done on it or put a wolf spring set in it to help with this situation. Be careful if you do to make sure that it has reliable ignition. They are a very nice little, light gun.

T

 

[Badkarma 1]

Very nice vikz22! I shot one of those little buggers a few years back at a S&W seminar and was very impressed with it! Even at 25yds it made good groups!
As for carry ammo, I suggest you look at CCIs "segemented hollow point" load. It's the .22 Magnum version of the old quick shok 22 LR load! CCI bought the rights or so I'm told.
Also if you ever have to use it (hope you don't) for defense, aim for the neck area. Lots more veins to hit and a soft target. Best B-1

 

[KEN L]

The heck with that! The head is a much larger target.....

 

[RightWinger]

I love that gun and am planning on getting one just as soon as my distributor gets a batch of the no lock ones in stock......should be a month or two they said, and I'm guessing it will be an allocated gun but it'll be worth it.

 

[Stainz]

The stock hammer coil spring in the 63 & 317 (.22LR) is more stout than the most stout of the trio included in the J-frame set from Wolff, as it is designed for centerfire J's. I used the most stout of the trio and a medium rebound spring in my 5" 63 - it made a welcome difference in the DA pull. I am not sure it would be wise in a .22 WMR chambered 351 as the Magnum rim takes a bit more energy. I contacted S&W before I modified my 63 - they said their rimfire J-frame 'Master Trigger Job' was only $85 - inc s/h - no spring changes, just innards cleanup.

For dependability, be careful of any hammer spring change in a personal defense rimfire firearm. In my 5" 63 plinker, a ftf would only be an aggravation.

Stainz

 

[Anton Chigurh]

I had one (351) and diddled with some Wolff rimfire springs I had.
Nothing was as reliable as the factory spring, which had to be around 12 pounds or so. Not a good combo, very light gun, very heavy pull. At 10 feet it may not matter, but farther............sticking with my 342PD. Empty, it is as light, but since no one carries an empty gun, it does outweigh 7 shots of .22 WMR. But not by much.
And, while fun to shoot, it is a dirty sumbitch. Had gunsmoke dirt and particles of unburned powder all over me after a couple of 50 round boxes. Looked like Pigpen, or Wyle E Coyote after some damn genius invention bomb went off in his face

 

[RAMS]

vikz22, that ultralight little bugger will grow on you! You will find it in your pocket often: fishing, hunting, hiking, exercise walking, going out to the corner store for something at night, etc.
You will need a CCL now because you will want to carry the 351 a lot. Get some 22 Mag snake shot and a few boxes of CCI or Winchester 40 Gr. ammo, HP or solids. The latter penetrates better, but HPs dump energy into the target better.
All 22 Mags need more cleaning than 22 LR ammo, under the ejector star especially, so carry a stiff brush with you when you go plinking.

 

[vikz22]

I already have my CPL is what they call it here in wa, and yes i have been carrying it a lot lately..

vikz22, that ultralight little bugger will grow on you! You will find it in your pocket often: fishing, hunting, hiking, exercise walking, going out to the corner store for something at night, etc.
You will need a CCL now because you will want to carry the 351 a lot. Get some 22 Mag snake shot and a few boxes of CCI or Winchester 40 Gr. ammo, HP or solids. The latter penetrates better, but HPs dump energy into the target better.
All 22 Mags need more cleaning than 22 LR ammo, under the ejector star especially, so carry a stiff brush with you when you go plinking.

 

[Marshal Tom]

They are great little guns. A friend put one in each of his cars and loves them. They are very loud though.

T

 

[vikz22]

Range report: My own "Box of truth"

Hello guys! went to the range today to do some ballistic testings with my LCR in 357 mag and with my S&W 351PD. I put together a bunch of old catalogs,phone books and some old magazines and put it in a small diaper box 10 inches deep. I wanted to know which ammo should I carry in my 351PD and i also wanted to find out how the 357mag will perform. Here are the ammo that I used:

Federal premium 130gr hydra-shok low recoil.
Hornandy 30gr V-max 22mag with a muzzle velocity of 2200fps.
CCI Maxi-Mag HP 40gr jacketed hollow point with a muzzle velocity of 1875fps.
38 special reload with 140gr cast bullet.

Results:
The 357 mag penetrated up to 7 to 8 inches but the bullets did not mushroomed or expanded..

The Hornady 30 gr V-max penetrated 5 to 6 inches with little to none expansion..

CCI maxi-mag 40 gr JHP penetrated 5 to 6 inches also but the bullet mushroomed or expanded very well..

The reload 38 specials also penetrated 7 to 8 inches with some expansion.

Here is some pics and video of my experiments..

videos..

 

[noah228]

I've had similar results from my 351PD using CCI HP Maxi Mags or Win 40 grain HP Magnums. I do get about an inch or more increased penetration however with either the CCI Gamepoints or the Win FMJ's both 40 grain. No expansion though. Your results may vary. The 22 mag penetrates reasonably well even from a snub. Check out brassfetcher site for gel tests from a Taurus 941 snub. Hope to put the 351 through a chrony test next week. Regards.

 

[retired2006]

I wonder how the 50gr Federal HP would do ? I have often considered one of the 351's, as they are so light, but have not been able to find one to actually handle, or possibly fire.
The 50gr Federal may give more penetration.

 

[noah228]

I would like to try the Federal 50 grain HP's but have never been able to find any for sale! I live in MA so we cannot order ammo via the mail.

 

[rburg]

I bought one to have. I don't like the noise, but its livable with good muffs on. If I need it for defense, I probably won't care about how loud it is.

When my youngest son wanted to take the local CCW course, he came wanting to borrow a gun to use. I loaned him the 351 and a couple of boxes of ammo. He brought it back wanting me to take the CT grips off it. I was baffled because most people like them. But he got the gun the way he wanted it.

After the course he said the instructor and the others taking the course really liked the gun, some so much they were out trying to find one, and wanting to know if mine was for sale.. Nope.

But the CTs are back on it now. And it still not up for sale.

They're nice little guns.