Scandium Shoot

B

BigG

New member
I purchased a used Model 360 Scandium Airlight 357 Magnum revolver. The revolver is like the classic Model 36 Chief's Special but with the Airlight Features, including Scandium frame and Titanium Cylinder. The trigger pull is excellent, both SA and DA. The gun does have the Saf T Hammer integral lock. :( The grips are pebble finish wrap around one piece marked with the S&W logo. The grip allows one solid finger grip and about half of your ring finger to find purchase. The pinky goes below as there is no place for it.

I took the revolver to the range Saturday and put nearly a full box of 357 Magnum 158gr JSP through it, firing the gun DA except for one or two SA shots.

Firing DA was quite exhilarating with heavy, though manageable recoil and spirited muzzle blast.

SA was very uncomfortable, I believe due to changing your grip to cock the piece and then resuming your normal grip. It just did not feel right touching off that hair trigger S&W is so well known for.

One con: The fired cartridges must be tapped out of the cylinder with firm raps on the ejector rod. I accomplished this by holding the cylinder and punching the ejector rod down onto the wooden shooting bench. If you think you may need more than five rounds, carry a second revolver!

I was firing at debris on the fifty yard berm so no groups to report, but I did manage to make a few sticks and bits of paper jump. :D

In all, I was very satisfied with the performance of the little Scandium 357 on the firing line. It is not for the recoil sensitive but would make a good belly gun for the seasoned pistoleer.:eek:

I would recommend firing it DA only as the accuracy seems to be just as good and the recoil is not near as punishing.

Hope this was of interest.
 
CAUTION......if you are havin to work that hard to extract the empties sumpin is WRONG.

Either the loads you are shootin are too stiff for the gun or the chambers are rough. Rough chambers can result in stress concentrations and cause the gun to blow at lower than spec pressures.

Sam
 
Big G. Were you using CCI Blazer (non-reloadable) ammo? If so, the ammo is the problem, and probably with not your weapon.

I found all my brass case .357 ejects w/ narry a problem, while the CCI aluminum case stuff darn near has to be pounded out much the way you described; the "Blazer" ammo (158 gr JHP) is junk in my book.... I'll never use it again.

Try ammo from a few different mfgrs. then see how they eject.

Hope this helps.

John
 
This was with Sellier & Bellot brass case 158 gr JSP.

I heard that the Titanium cylinder stretches so maybe the brass expands more then the titanium shrinks down on it.
 
One additional insight...

When I reconsider the DA vs. SA shooting of the lil monster, the grip I assume shooting SA typically means I pull the trigger with the pad of the tip of my index finger. When I shoot DA, I pull the trigger with the second part of my index finger. Therefore, I think the DA trigger pull adds to the security of the overall grip on the pistol, whereas the SA pull leaves me only holding the gun with my middle finger and part of the ring finger. The result is a manageable recoil shooting DA and a punishing recoil shooting SA. Just an observation. HTH
 
Might be the ammo. I had a batch of S&B 158gr TCFMJ in .357mag that was extremely difficult to eject. Never figured out why though it was suggested the brass might have been too soft causing the casings to overexpand. Called Natchez about it and they told me there were no other reports of problems with that ammo. I'd check out another brand, which is what I did. Everything else worked fine so I knew it was the ammo.
Ronin
 
Indeed

The literature that Smith includes with the Ti models indicates that extraction should be easier than with the comparabe steel model.:confused:
 
Lack of crimp will cause excessive pressure in a titanium cylinder. Very common in the 646PC, but does happen on occasion to the .357's. Results in stuck cases. If you are a reloader, adding crimp will solve the problem. And if not, just change the brand of ammunitions.

Gabriel
 
Update:

I had the chance to shoot the Scandium 360 again today. I fired at the same 50 yard range, this time using American Eagle 158 gr. JSP. The empties extracted just like they were supposed to.
Those of you who said to change the ammo were right. The S&B ammo cases were probably too soft as Ronin said. As a bonus, the American Eagle (Federal) was right on target at 50 yards. The S&B was a couple feet high at the same distance.

Woo Hoo!
:D
 
My pleasure Mr. Sam. Thank you for your kind words. Now that I got the ammo thing sorted out I would highly recommend the lil revolver. The titanium revolver is also nice. I have the 342, I believe (the hammerless Centennial 38 Special).
 
When I bought my Taurus 605 there were some burs in the chambers and on the ejector star. I loaded it with Blazer first and the cases got all scratched up, but so did the hornady brass. For steel revolvers, use some ultra fine sanding paper and run that through the chambers a few times until the burs are gone. Then use some kind of soft fabric and run that through the chambers, that will clean all the metal dust out. Then you douse it in oil so it won't rust. I don't know about the titanium...you could try some heavy duty metal sanding paper. The last thing anyone needs is a revolver that won't spit shells.

Shine that baby till she's smooooth!:D
 
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All due respeck, I would not take Clipper's advice. A revo should not need polishing. :eek: It was the ammo's fault.

If the revolver is rough, buy a S&W (used of course).
 
Under no circumstances should you take any abrasive to a ti/scan revolver. The ti is coated. Once you remove the coating(normal shooting/solvents will not) the ti will erode FAST!
 
Weeelllll, a 340 followed me home tonight. Reckon I'll go shoot it tomorrow.

Didn't want BigG feelin' like the Lone Ranger....:D
 
Full house .357 125 gr are, um, brisk but controllable. Accuracy is exactly what you would expect from a snub. I took along some less powerful handloads that are better than .38 sp. +p, and that may be the way to go. Kind of a .357 mag "lite".

Fun gun, and you don't even know its there when you're carrying it!

J
 
Hi all,

I picked up a S&W 360 Scandium (the one with the exposed hammer) at the Houston gun show today for $529. This thing is light as a feather, it's hard to believe one can shoot 357 Mag with it. I'll be testing it out this week, so I'll let you know just how bad it is and how decent the accuracy is.
 
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