AustinMike
New member
Howdy, ya'll. There's already plenty of range reports on the light little Scandium revolvers, but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents out here for what it's worth.
I acquired a 360PD a couple weeks ago. I wandered into a local shop and was fondling their new Scandium selection. I've contemplated one of these light J-frames for some time, as an "always" gun that I have no excuse not to carry. It's something that just fits nicely with any attire in any season. The high $600 price tags were not something I was ready to handle though. I was getting ready to leave when I walked by the used gun case and noticed a 360PD in there. I asked to see it and there was no indication that it had ever been used. It looked like factory grease was still on it and it was otherwise clean and could have passed for new. They wanted $495 for it. Too good of a deal to pass on, so it came home with me!
Now, I originally wanted a 340PD, but for the price I decided I could live with the hammer spur. I prefer to carry IWB and I can't forsee problems with a draw from a holster that surrounds the spur, as long as I get the shirt out of the way. I've got a Concealco holster on the way, but in the mean time I'm carrying in an Uncle Mike's pocket holster. In my jeans pocket, it doesn't look like any thing more than a cell phone in there. Practice draws from jeans and shorts have not produced any snag issues. Empty, this little cannon weighs about 11.5 oz. on my scale. It does not drag down in any pockets I've tried and it's easy to forget that it's there.
So, how does it handle? With standard pressure 158gr. 38 loads, it's a pussy cat. No recoil issues for me. For the record, I'm 5'11", 230lbs, with medium size hands. Some 125gr. +P 38 loads were certainly more stout, but still very controllable. Recoil rise is higher. Muzzle flash is not too bad. On to .357 rounds. I chose some 130gr. Federal "low recoil" rounds. Recoil? Hell, yes. Did I mention the gun is less than 12 oz.? Based on what others have said, I braced hard for the first shot. It was loud, smacked back hard, and there was considerable muzzle flash. That said, it wasn't all that bad! I shot the rest of the cylinder in fairly rapid succession. The gun hit my hand hard, but no serious pain and no blood drawn.
For further experimentation, I fired a few .357 rounds with strong hand only. No problem controlling recoil for me, but it is a wild ride! BTW, I'm firing at 7 yards and keeping everything in a 6-8" circle with double action trigger pull. At this point, I've convinced myself that recoil is not a reason to NOT carry .357 loads. However, I'm concerned about the noise and flash. Here's where I do something semi-stupid. I want to know what I'd be up against if I had to fire magnum loads in a real-life situation. So, I removed hearing protection from one ear and turn that ear away from the gun (I'm shooting outside.) I fire one shot to assess the noise factor. In a word...deafening. I didn't expect any less, but it is something that you have to experience to appreciate. I think a lot of folks might think twice about carrying .357 loads if they tried this test. You can say that you won't notice the blast so much in a crisis, but I must say I'm not convinced. Additionally the muzzle flash in the daylight was very much visible. At night, it may be temporarily blinding. The shock and awe factor of firing is sure to get the bad guys' attention. I feel that it may be overwhelming for the shooter as well.
I didn't have my chrono with me, but I plan to do some ammo comparisons later. Given the flash out of the muzzle, I have to think that MUCH of the benefit of the .357 magnum is lost as a great deal of powder is burning outside of the <2" barrel. All things considered, I believe that I will be carrying 38 +P.
Accuracy-wise, this little gun is not bad for a snubby. I didn't bother shooting past 7 yards. A gun like this is for up close and personal engagement. At 7 yards, with a single action trigger pull, I was able to contain off-hand shots on a 3" target dot. Rapid fire (with 38 SP) at a silouhette was easy to keep in the torso area.
The double action trigger pull is about what I've come to expect on factory Smiths. The weight is OK, but it is a little rough. I'll be doing lots of dry fire practice to see if it smooths out, as they usually do. I may have my gunsmith do some polishing work was well, without modifying any springs.
I like the dark finish on the PD series a lot. It cleans up easily with good ol' Hoppes No. 9. One curiosity is the front sight. The one I got came with the H-Viz fiber optic sight. Now, I use such sights on my competitions guns and they are pretty cool in daylight. Low-light, they're virtually worthless. Makes me wonder why S&W chose to put them on a pure defensive weapon like this. In any event, it's kind of cool for practice, but in a real world scenario, I'm not counting on having any time to line up a sight picture on a snubby anyway!
I fired about 75 rounds in my range session, 20 of which were .357 mag. I had a little ache in my strong hand which I felt for the next day or so. This is not a fun range plinker and I certainly didn't buy it for that. I plan to shoot it a couple of times a year to keep accustomed to it and to ensure proper function. Other than that, it will be my companion for personal defense. The light weight, concealability, and fire power of this little gun make it one of the best choices for carry in my opinion. There is a lot to be said for the reliability of the revolver and these Scandium J-frames make it real easy to carry one.
Hope this is helpful to anyone considering one of these great little guns!
I acquired a 360PD a couple weeks ago. I wandered into a local shop and was fondling their new Scandium selection. I've contemplated one of these light J-frames for some time, as an "always" gun that I have no excuse not to carry. It's something that just fits nicely with any attire in any season. The high $600 price tags were not something I was ready to handle though. I was getting ready to leave when I walked by the used gun case and noticed a 360PD in there. I asked to see it and there was no indication that it had ever been used. It looked like factory grease was still on it and it was otherwise clean and could have passed for new. They wanted $495 for it. Too good of a deal to pass on, so it came home with me!
Now, I originally wanted a 340PD, but for the price I decided I could live with the hammer spur. I prefer to carry IWB and I can't forsee problems with a draw from a holster that surrounds the spur, as long as I get the shirt out of the way. I've got a Concealco holster on the way, but in the mean time I'm carrying in an Uncle Mike's pocket holster. In my jeans pocket, it doesn't look like any thing more than a cell phone in there. Practice draws from jeans and shorts have not produced any snag issues. Empty, this little cannon weighs about 11.5 oz. on my scale. It does not drag down in any pockets I've tried and it's easy to forget that it's there.
So, how does it handle? With standard pressure 158gr. 38 loads, it's a pussy cat. No recoil issues for me. For the record, I'm 5'11", 230lbs, with medium size hands. Some 125gr. +P 38 loads were certainly more stout, but still very controllable. Recoil rise is higher. Muzzle flash is not too bad. On to .357 rounds. I chose some 130gr. Federal "low recoil" rounds. Recoil? Hell, yes. Did I mention the gun is less than 12 oz.? Based on what others have said, I braced hard for the first shot. It was loud, smacked back hard, and there was considerable muzzle flash. That said, it wasn't all that bad! I shot the rest of the cylinder in fairly rapid succession. The gun hit my hand hard, but no serious pain and no blood drawn.
For further experimentation, I fired a few .357 rounds with strong hand only. No problem controlling recoil for me, but it is a wild ride! BTW, I'm firing at 7 yards and keeping everything in a 6-8" circle with double action trigger pull. At this point, I've convinced myself that recoil is not a reason to NOT carry .357 loads. However, I'm concerned about the noise and flash. Here's where I do something semi-stupid. I want to know what I'd be up against if I had to fire magnum loads in a real-life situation. So, I removed hearing protection from one ear and turn that ear away from the gun (I'm shooting outside.) I fire one shot to assess the noise factor. In a word...deafening. I didn't expect any less, but it is something that you have to experience to appreciate. I think a lot of folks might think twice about carrying .357 loads if they tried this test. You can say that you won't notice the blast so much in a crisis, but I must say I'm not convinced. Additionally the muzzle flash in the daylight was very much visible. At night, it may be temporarily blinding. The shock and awe factor of firing is sure to get the bad guys' attention. I feel that it may be overwhelming for the shooter as well.
I didn't have my chrono with me, but I plan to do some ammo comparisons later. Given the flash out of the muzzle, I have to think that MUCH of the benefit of the .357 magnum is lost as a great deal of powder is burning outside of the <2" barrel. All things considered, I believe that I will be carrying 38 +P.
Accuracy-wise, this little gun is not bad for a snubby. I didn't bother shooting past 7 yards. A gun like this is for up close and personal engagement. At 7 yards, with a single action trigger pull, I was able to contain off-hand shots on a 3" target dot. Rapid fire (with 38 SP) at a silouhette was easy to keep in the torso area.
The double action trigger pull is about what I've come to expect on factory Smiths. The weight is OK, but it is a little rough. I'll be doing lots of dry fire practice to see if it smooths out, as they usually do. I may have my gunsmith do some polishing work was well, without modifying any springs.
I like the dark finish on the PD series a lot. It cleans up easily with good ol' Hoppes No. 9. One curiosity is the front sight. The one I got came with the H-Viz fiber optic sight. Now, I use such sights on my competitions guns and they are pretty cool in daylight. Low-light, they're virtually worthless. Makes me wonder why S&W chose to put them on a pure defensive weapon like this. In any event, it's kind of cool for practice, but in a real world scenario, I'm not counting on having any time to line up a sight picture on a snubby anyway!
I fired about 75 rounds in my range session, 20 of which were .357 mag. I had a little ache in my strong hand which I felt for the next day or so. This is not a fun range plinker and I certainly didn't buy it for that. I plan to shoot it a couple of times a year to keep accustomed to it and to ensure proper function. Other than that, it will be my companion for personal defense. The light weight, concealability, and fire power of this little gun make it one of the best choices for carry in my opinion. There is a lot to be said for the reliability of the revolver and these Scandium J-frames make it real easy to carry one.
Hope this is helpful to anyone considering one of these great little guns!