Are Scandium frame S&W snubs made any better than the regular ones?

Higher price, lighter frame. I bought a 340PD when they came out. I have never regretted that purchase. It is a really nice pocket carry revolver. I have has no problems with solvents etc. over the course of many years.

Does a 442/642 fill the same gap albeit a couple of oz. heavier? Yes. Do I really appreciate the 2oz. saved in the 340PD? Yes.

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No, I don't think there is anything inherently better in the scandium frame guns.../ the scandium frame guns I have had apart, looked like they had the same parts of other models with same frame size..in same caliber.

On some of the scandium frame models...you can see the pins thru the finish...which I don't like / and in general, I don't like the lighter weight guns, they jump around too much in my hands on rapid fire...and there is a lot more recoil because of the weight.

Personally, I think weight in a carry gun...( especially since in most cases you're talking about a pound or less )...is an overrated issue. An extra 1 lb ....or even 1 1/2 lb ...is not a factor I consider in whether I carry a gun or not....vs does it fit my hand, does if have features I want ( like a hammer ), sight plane length, how good is trigger, sights, etc....
 
Only the frame of a 340PD is Sc. The cylinder is Ti. The barrel is SS. All that adds up to an 11.8 ounce weight and why the MSRP is $1,019.00. Otherwise, it's no different than any other 'J' frame.
 
They make a fantastic "tucksman's pistol" as it were, when you simply need to "tuck" a gun into the wasteband for very short jaunts or errands.
 
Very light to carry ..... very jumpy in the hand when fired.


It would be better for one to lose a couple of pounds than shave a pound off one's carry gun ..... provided you ....actually, you know, shoot it ..... it's a tool, not a talisman.
 
The selling point for me on a 342 vs a 642 was the pinned front sight on the 342. The weight difference wasn't as important as the ability to easily install a front sight I can see much better than the fixed ramp on the 642.
 
A poster once reported that in his area the gun shops were full of used scandium frame .357 revolvers, each with a box of ammo from which three shots had been fired.

The first shot was really bad; the second was to see if it really was that bad; the third was to prove that it was. Back to the store to trade the gun in.

Jim
 
I hear you Jim about people hating recoil. I got a new Winchester Stainless Classic in .375 H&H magnum with a box of 17 cartridges along with it. Guy bought it at the LGS one morning and brought it back the same day and traded it on a .270. I got a great deal.
 
I managed five shots from an Sc Smith, but then I have been shooting for a few weeks. It darned near destroyed me; I could not have fired a sixth shot for anything. I guess I would use such a thing if I had to, but I don't much like the idea of self-defense with a gun i have not practiced with and I guarantee I would not practice with that gun.

Jim
 
I happen to have a shootable one. Mine is a 315 Night Guard. It is a K Frame, 2-1/2" barrel, Round Butt, chambered in 38 Special +P. It has Pachmayr ComPac Grips. It has an XS Tritium Front Sight, and a Cylinder & Slide Extreme Duty Rear Sight. Is it put together better than a 2" Model 64 snub? Not that I can tell. The action is not bad for factory, but like every other standard production S&W, it could stand a trigger job. I happen to have a 2" 64 and a 3" 66 that are both DAO Custom Shop Revolvers. Both have a smoother action than the 315. In my opinion the 315 Night Guard is the best Air Weight Snub ever made in 38 Special +P. It is light weight, you can forget that you have it on the belt. It is also enough gun that you can stand to shoot it.
I have owned my last air weight J Frame in anything larger than 22 LR. I shoot what I carry a lot. The J Frame air weight is way too unpleasant to shoot for any extended practice with it. My last one was a 442 Pro Moon Clip. I traded it even for a Ruger SP101.

Bob R
 
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They are just lighter, and more expensive. The alloy itself is more expensive, plus it's a tiny bit harder on the tooling, or slower to machine, thus making it more expensive to machine. Titanium, which is used in some of the barrels & cylinders on the high end models, needs to be hot machined, so it is markedly more expensive to manufacture anything machined in titanium. The titanium machining quality is very good but not great. A titanium gun would cost $3000+ if it was polished up like a mirror, inside and out. These are lightweight & reliable, but shooting .357 S&W Mag is a rather miserable experience. This is part of the beauty of .357, being you don't need to shoot .357. You can shoot .38 Special for fun, and upload to .357 for carry. They are still too jumpy for my tastes, even with low recoil .38 Special.
 
My Scandium frame S&W snubs 242 (38spl) & 296 (44spl) are really not bad to shoot. They make great CC guns and with the right grips really are good shooters and with a good holster can be carried all day and not even feel them after a long day. I have even carried them in a pocket holster with boot grips but with the smaller grips the 44spl is a little snappy.
 
I have a S&W M&P 340 CT which is the scandium with laser grips. I carry it daily which is extremely light and, comfortable. I don't really have a problem with the recoil using 38 special +P ammunition (110gr. SPHP) however, I will not use .357 ammunition it in, I'm not that much into the sharp discomfort it produces, in a live or die situation I suppose I would not notice. On a range outing....forget it. Other than the stout recoil using magnum ammunition, it really a very nice revolver for CC. Worth the price? I don't know, but I like it.
 

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I own a scandium S&W 1911 PC and it's pretty light. I read somewhere that the Sc alloy really does make the frame stronger but not to the point that it matters. Other 1911 makers don't use scandium and have strong and light weapons.

My aluminum alloy 638 and 438 are both so light I forget they are in my pocket. During the ammo buying craze of 2014, the ONLY street-proven hollowpoint I could find in any quantity was the famed FBI Load (158 grain, +P, all lead hollowpoint).

I carried this in both my .38's when I worked at a stop and rob....five rounds of that and my hand would literally HURT. I read also that the super lightweight Smiths would break if firing that load.

If you want a scandium framed revolver, go for it. Performance and weight-wise, I think you'll do just as well with the regular alloy framed weapon for less green.

*Once the ammo craze abated, I went to Speer Gold Dot 135 grain +P in my .38's.
 
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