Bought a S&W 340pd today. Went and put 70 to 80 .357's through it. 158gr pill on top of 6.9gr unique, mostly. Recoil is very considerable, I wouldnt recommend this light a gun for weaker hands or most women. (or at least switch to .38s or 38+p's) That said, I loved shooting it. I shot three or four 5-round bursts, that is, 5 rounds as fast as I could control them. Harsh but not the end of the world. Mostly shot 2 rounds at a time. I was hitting pretty good with it, practicing on 8*11 sheets of paper at 7 yards. Also took one 25 yard shot, with elbows on bench. I hit the paper, but about 9 inches high and right from center. (someone left a big target up, not one of my 8*11 sheets) All but 10 rounds were shot two handed. I shot it one handed in each hand 5 times. Now THAT was a treat! 
Had to prove to myself I could do it. Not fun, but do-able.
What is worrying me, is that about 7 times, I had bullets come unseated, and couldnt fire the fifth shot. With reloads mostly which I could/should crimp more, but also locked up once with factory .357mag 125gr Remington Golden Saber. My ruger sp101 has never done that with about 400 rounds thru it, reloads or factory. To clear the unseated round, you can pull the trigger slightly until the cylinder bolt clears and roll the cylinder back till the raised bullet will clear the barrel and allow you to open the cylinder.
I never would have thought to check if I hadnt read about it in another thread here, but mine sparks a tiny bit at the firing pin, which appearantly is pretty common.
After about 40 shots the cylinder was gumming up pretty good and brass was getting pretty hard to eject. The chambers are a mess. Might have burned cleaner if the bullets where crimped better I suppose.
I like the sight picture, mine is a ramp with red insert. I would like to try the Hi-vis sight at some point though.
The factory grip is fine for me. Don't see myself changing it, unless maybe to try a laser pointer in the future.
Again, the recoil is a beast, and I enjoy recoil. I liked shooting it, but most people would not. I would have shot it more, but it was gumming up bad and I was tired of clearing unseated bullets. I cannot imagine my wife shooting it more than once. The beating equals out for the ease of carry for me, and assuming I can overcome the bullet unseating problem, I will very cautiously recommend this gun if asked.
Time to go clean this thing,
Cheers, Jeff
disclaimer... please ignore my load info above
Had to prove to myself I could do it. Not fun, but do-able.What is worrying me, is that about 7 times, I had bullets come unseated, and couldnt fire the fifth shot. With reloads mostly which I could/should crimp more, but also locked up once with factory .357mag 125gr Remington Golden Saber. My ruger sp101 has never done that with about 400 rounds thru it, reloads or factory. To clear the unseated round, you can pull the trigger slightly until the cylinder bolt clears and roll the cylinder back till the raised bullet will clear the barrel and allow you to open the cylinder.
I never would have thought to check if I hadnt read about it in another thread here, but mine sparks a tiny bit at the firing pin, which appearantly is pretty common.
After about 40 shots the cylinder was gumming up pretty good and brass was getting pretty hard to eject. The chambers are a mess. Might have burned cleaner if the bullets where crimped better I suppose.
I like the sight picture, mine is a ramp with red insert. I would like to try the Hi-vis sight at some point though.
The factory grip is fine for me. Don't see myself changing it, unless maybe to try a laser pointer in the future.
Again, the recoil is a beast, and I enjoy recoil. I liked shooting it, but most people would not. I would have shot it more, but it was gumming up bad and I was tired of clearing unseated bullets. I cannot imagine my wife shooting it more than once. The beating equals out for the ease of carry for me, and assuming I can overcome the bullet unseating problem, I will very cautiously recommend this gun if asked.
Time to go clean this thing,
Cheers, Jeff
disclaimer... please ignore my load info above
