Smith Wesson 340pd and the M&P 340 357mag

[perado]

I found a used 340PD a couple of weeks ago. My hand still hurts.

 

[307-Niner]

I found a used 340PD a couple of weeks ago. My hand still hurts.

So, what's you're asking price?

 

[perado]

Sell it? I just bought it. I want to try out some Pachmayrs; the Ergo Deltas didn't seem to help much.

If I were to get rid of it, it would be in a swap towards a 386Night Guard. Ask me in a couple of weeks.

 

[307-Niner]

Sorry, had to ask.

Hopefully you will grow to like it. They are great little guns.

 

[Outlaw2013]

I just bought a NIB no lock 103061 model last night. One of the very few on the Net. Paid about $915 FWIW. Felt like that was a good price for the most desirable no lock model and also considering that the other few that are out there are $1k+, with locks, or even used at $800+.

Very excited. My first S&W. Pics when I get it.

 

[jrandyh]

I have carried the 357 model in my back pocket for 10 years. I don't leave home without it. I also have this 38 I keep as a backup if needed. I understand that volleyball tors have gotten ahold of them so you know what that means. I would pay 1500 for one if I needed it. There is nothing that's so light and fits in my back pocket in a soft uncle Mikes holster. I usually carry a speedloader or two. With the barrel insert they aren't as accurate as the airweights which I find are excellent shooters. I wouldn't think of carrying full load 357's in a 10-11 oz gun. Guy at the gunshop messed up his shoulder shooting them. 38 +p are just fine for me.
JR

 

[Outlaw2013]

Here's something interesting. I just bought a 340PD off of GunBroker. NIB. 103061 no lock model.

Fired shell casing pouch has a collection date of 8/12/2014.

103061 doesn't even come up on the main site anymore. I believe it's been re numbered to 163061, which is archived. 163062 still shows but is a HiVis lock model (and is not in stock anywhere).

S&W confuses the heck out of me sometimes. Is the 340PD still available? In no lock with red ramp? Or did I just get one of the last produced that they finally got around to testing and sending out the door?

 

[Mister_Smith]

It has been quite some time since I created this post and I'm sorry to say that in the few years since I've only gotten on this site maybe a handful of times.

Winster, you asked about the trigger, yes, your trigger fires at around the same point of travel as mine does.

I went to the range a couple weeks ago and brought some of my J frames, but what I wanted to do more than anything was hammer out full power .357 rounds from my 340 M&P as fast I as realistically could.

The range had speed restrictions but they allowed me to fire much faster than our other range. I was firing faster than one round per second for sure. At 5 to 7 yards I had no problem keeping all rounds on target and muzzle flip was no problem using Jerry Miculek's grip style/hand hold for Smith J frames.

I was using 158 grain full power magnum ammo, and I was NOT using the sights, rather, I was using the late Jim Cirillo's method, he was an NYPD cop during the 70's, a veteran of many many gun battles, and if you do a search of his name you can read about his method. In a nutshell though, it's about using the entire gun as a "sighting tool" and is very fast but it is not "point shooting".

Oddly, this time around I did not notice the heavy recoil nor sting of the recoil while using the very same .357 rounds from the very same lot of ammo, maybe because I was firing so fast and I had the adrenaline flowing, I don't know, but I was not in the least bothered by the recoil of full power ammo.

Years later I'm still impressed by these little 340's and they are daily carry guns.

Something else I want to point out though, you do NOT NEED the 340 to have most of the virtues of this gun. You can buy the Smith 442 or 642 in .38 Special and you SHOULD buy these guns if you intend to shoot only .38 because when you shoot .38 through a gun designed for .357 you will LOSE velocity, and I believe 50 fps velocity loss is unnecessary if you just buy the .38 gun if you're gonna shoot .38 and not magnum ammo. I myself intend to buy either a 442 or 642 and I already own more than a few .38 Special J frame Smith & Wessons. If you intend to use .38 Special, save your money, you can almost buy two for the price of one!

A google search will explain why there is a loss when shooting .38 in a .357 gun.

The 442/642 is nearly as light, same Centennial frame, same dimensions, all the benefits of the scandium gun at nearly half the cost, but of course you cannot shoot .357 through it.

Given that I also own and carry J frames that are only .38's I don't see this as a problem, I just carry .38 +P in them, the heavy ammo, 158 grain because I don't like light AND slow bullets and I've seen that 125 grain +P from a .38 is actually coming in at around 850 to 900 on a chronograph from a snub.

Personally, I would like to pick up a 642 because some are sold from the factory with cylinders modified for moon clips, and that's a much faster reload than speed loaders and it's a nifty modification.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for tonight, I just wanted to tell you all a bit about my recent range session with my 340 M&P.

Also, as I write this, prices have come down for the 340 series, both M&P and PD's. I have seen M&P's as low as $650 to $750 new, and PD's as low as $700 to $900 new, much better prices than a few years ago when you had to pay stupid premiums if you wanted one of these 340's.

Oh, one more thing, my only "function" problem to date is that the rubber outer shells have been separating from the hard plastic inner shells on the factory boot grips. At first I used two part epoxy to glue them together but that failed, so I tried Gorilla Glue and so far that's been holding up, at least for the past week. I can pull them apart if I try so it's not a great bond, but it is not coming apart just from being in my pocket.

I have had grips on two of my pocket guns come apart like that, but so far the Gorilla Glue has been working, but it's only been a week or two. I really really like the stock factory rubber grips that come with the 340's, they feel great and look perfect for the gun.