Grips for a S&W 340PD

F

FJC

New member
I picked up one of these amazingly-light little .357's. Great little gun! Recoil isn't bad with .38's, gets your attention with +P .38's, and I haven't tried full .357 loads yet. :)

Anyway, the Hogue Bantam grips just aren't doing it for me. I'd like somethign that covers the backstrap a bit, and maybe makes the trigger reach just a tad longer for me; but I don't want to sacrifice too much concealability-wise.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Take a look at Don Collins -

http://www.collinscraftgrips.com/

Type J Frame into his search, and scroll down to his "picture ID #160". They cover the backstrap, and the square butt configuration and finger grooves give great control (they will nearly tame the 110 gr. Mags. in my 640 and 649). The rear profile is very slim, and the lay flat against your side, with the right leather - they hide almost as well for me as the4 various boot grips I've tried. A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.
 
With the grips that came on the 340, get ready for 357s to make your hand feel like you hit a baseball with a broken bat :eek: :( :o

Possibly beyond your desire or budget, but I (and several friends) have been quite please with Crimson Trace "overmolded" model for j-frames. (softer rubber, covers backstrap, room for little finger, on/off switch for laser.) For me anyway, the cat's meow.

With the 340, I would not even consider the smaller one from CT. It has an even a harder surface than the one that comes on the guns and will have you constantly repeating what was stated in the first sentence above.
 
A much cheaper solution that fills the hand nicely (and covers the backstrap) is Pachmayr's Compact (not the compact pro, which has the exposed backstrap). $22 of hand-love. It does add a couple of ounces to your wonder-gun, but that's not a bad thing if you're really planning on shooting any serious amount of .357. It's also a bit bigger for pocket carry. I keep it for when I want to do a bunch of range work; carry with the Uncle Mike's boot grips.

cw
 
:eek: I had the 340pd and had to get rid of it. Not fun to shoot. what ever grip you choose I think you should go a little bigger then what it comes with. With 357s I found it hard to keep the barrel from pointing up. good luck
 
Well, I bought mine for ccw in a pocket or ankle, and so the rubber grips were out. They snag too much on clothing. I got some of the diamond wood charcoal/ruby grips sold by Smith&Wesson. With .38's, which is all I use, the recoil is not an issue and they look real "purty".
 
The Uncle Mike's are a little heavier (maybe a half ounce?) and a little less grabby than the Hogue Bantams. I have no problem with dragging or snagging pulling it out of my jeans pocket, and they're fairly snug. Also, they have a regular screw, rather than that wing-spread thing with the Hogues, so you can change 'em out without wrecking them. Surely worth the 15 bucks, or whatever they cost, at Cheaper than Dirt (I'd get the Pachmayr's in the same order; save a little shipping and wear whichever seems right for the occasion).

cw
 
How does the size of Crimson Trace compare to say, the grips Brasso has? I just got a 340PD I have grips like Brasso's on my Model 60 and like them. I was looking at CT but adding a lot of bulk or weight kinda defeats the whole purpose of the AirLite.
 
I have the 340PD and shoot full-power .357 in it (Fed 125gr 357B) with decent control. I'm using Uncle Mike's 59007 grips, with 1/2" ground off the bottom - so they are like boot grips that cover the backstrap. They also work good unground. These are the grips that come stock on the stainless 640.

When drawing from a front pocket, your pinch grip on the stocks covers much of the rubber and then your fingers and thumb open the top of the pocket as you come out. The cutoffs are best.

I'm not saying that shooting the Fed 357B is easy. It's not. It really smacks the hand HARD. But recoil is pretty much straight back, so there's not much flip. Faced with a lethal attack, I think there would be no problem placing the shots.

I practice mostly with weaker ammo because I think the full-power stuff might damage your hand and the gun. I fire only 20 rounds per week of the Fed 357B.

Here's a pic of the cut-off grips:
 

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Thanks for the info!

Brasso, those do look nice - those were from S&W's site? How are they for shooting the +P's, compared to the stock Hogue Bantams?

ADK, I may have to get a set of those Uncle Mike grips and cut them down and give them a try - how hard were they to cut down, and what did you use to do it? In your picture I can't even tell they were cut down, you did a nice job.
 
Grinding the Mike's #59007 Grips

I got this idea from VictorLouis. He did a set and posted the info.

I got the grips from Ajax Custom Grips for about $14. I ground them, one at a time, on the side of a fine bench grinder wheel. A bench disc sander with a table would work better. There are some steel inserts inside, but they grind away just like the rubber - to dust.

Be careful holding them so the angles will be right in both directions. Stop about 1/16" from the plastic crossrib inside. You will see it. Then screw them together and drag-sand them on about 200 or 220 or 320 open-coat sandpaper on a hard flat surface until the halves are straight and matched up. Take some fine sandpaper to the corners to dress them up.

The bottom will still be ugly. There will be a big trench, and the steel inserts will be showing too. I dabbed all this with black paint until it had some texture and looked OK. Not good. But I never look under there.

I sent the description to Mike's and Hogue's, hoping they will make them. Good luck. Let me know if need more info. adk
 
Try www.cdnninvestments.com: look at Jframe grips. Fingergroove type which cover backstrap for 3.99! These are comfortable with these Ti frame guns. They are thin, with a good front to back span, which allows a better trigger finger placement. I can't find a pic of my 60 with them installed. Good hunting.
 
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