Would you load a Scandium J-Frame with .357 Magnum rounds??

[RightWinger]

I own a 342, it can ONLY shoot .38's, but I have shot magnums in a 340 before and it was miserable. I am very impressed with the speer +P ammo I have been carrying. Some might call me sick, but while working on my father in laws farm we had a steer that needed to be put down, I took this opportunity to see how much penetration I would get with a .38+P....the first shot did not put the steer down immediately, but definately hindered him, the 2nd shot put him down. Both of these shots were in the side of the steer. This steer was 1200+ lbs. After the animal expired I cut it open and both rounds penetrated around 9-10 inches, and one had hit a rib first.....talk about impressive ammo huh?

 

[Old Navy]

360Sc 13.5 Oz wonder and a real hand full with stock grips and full house loads. However with Pachmayr Decelerator grips and LSWC-HP loaded to about 1050 FPS the recoil is straight back with little barrel rise, these loads are manageable as long as I don't shoot too many.

This is really quite an excellent gun for the back packer and trail bike riders where the gun is not used for hunting but for SD only. If however one wants a shooter either step up to something like a 642 or a 60 or what ever strikes your fancy. Otherwise they end up like mine a safe queen now sitting in its box and the box in the shipping carton wasting space in my safe.

 

[deadeyeluke]

I like the option i mostly practice with 38 but run 357 thru it on a regular basis when i go in the woods its 357 all the time if something is chewing in me i plan to screw the barrel in its ear and tug away at the trigger.in town 38 are good and mowing the lawn snakeshot for the first two. i think its all about the options.

 

[STL9MM]

So, based on many answers in this thread...have some of you purchased the .357 because you like that particular weapon, knowing that you'd use it as a .38?

 

[Andy Engemann]

I carry it with 357's. I can practice with 38's but the 357's are great to carry. You won't shoot too many 357's at the range. It will make your hand hurt!

Andy

 

[makeminestainless]

Yes I do, 125 Winchesters. As stated by several above this will likely change in the future. I think the lighter bullets make it easier. I'm already done with 158's. BTW I own a 329 and it is pretty mild compared to the 340!

 

[Chuck Jones]

Been there, done that, not fun.

/c

 

[Robert B]

I have run a cylinder full of Speer full house 125's and I had crimp jump on the 5th round. Noone is mentioning this. I wonder if crimp jump is being assessed. I am very concerned about it as it can tie up the cylinder. That being said, the recoil from these 125's wasn't that bad at all. I normally shoot and carry the Speer 135 grain 357 short barrel load. No crimp jump with these. Recoil is manageable in my M&P360, and I am more confident knowing that penetration will be better than with 38 +P.

 

[Andy Engemann]

Robert B,

My Scandium J-Frame has a warning on the barrel to use 120 grain or heavier bullets. I believe that warning was put there specifically for the "crimp jump" issue. Using a 125 grain bullet is just a little too close to the minimum for me. I am using the Winchester Silver Tips. I believe that they are 140 or 145 grains. I have fired a full cylinder with no crimp jump issues. You may want to look into that as a solution.

Andy

 

[vermilion]

I do it everyday. Carry my M&P340 with 5 Speer GDHP Short Barrel rounds. The only reason I don't shoot many 357's through it is because of ammo costs now days. But I regularly shoot 38's 38+p's and 357 FMJ's through it.

It has a good bit more pop too it than the 38 +P's but, its not as bad as most make it out to be.

 

[LoneStarWings]

Yes.

I just thought I'd share my opinion on the matter.

I've had an airweight M&P 340 for less than a week, but on my first trip to the range I fired a mix of 130gr .38 special FMJ, Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 135gr .357 magnum, and Corbon DPX 125 gr .357 magnum.

I fired 50 of the .38's 20 of the Gold Dot's, and 10 of the DPX's.

Recoil on the .38's was about the same as shooting .40 s&w out of my full sized semi auto, not much at all. I fired 50 of these rounds.

Recoil on Gold Dot's and DPX's in 135 grains was about the same. I expected my hand to get blown off and the revolver to fly out of my hands and hit the wall based on what i've read about these guns with magnum ammo. To my pleasant surprise after the first shot, I found the recoil quite tolerable. No big deal at all. The second shot was a little bit worse, and I started to feel some pain. After the third shot my hand was throbbing a bit, but not enough to keep me from finishing the cylinder.

That was 3 days ago and my hand is still a little bit sore, but only if I grip something tightly. Also i was checking every 5th round for crimp jump in the .357 loaded cylinders, and found none.

The point is, if I was in a life or death situation, I feel like I could handle the magnum and the performance increase is significant enough to justify carrying those rounds rather than .38 specials. All my shots were hits on a man sized target at 7 yards even with my first cylinder of .357. I'm going to do some expansion tests on milk jugs before I decide if I want to carry the gold dots or DPX's, but it will be one or the other.