Shot my friends S&W 340pd (11.4 oz) .357 Revolver.

One of the many reasons I like the .357 Magnum so much, is the ability to safely shoot such a wide selection of different ammo through one. Everything from mild to wild. Not that WILD is always a real good idea, as the O/P discovered.
 
"S&W only labeled them as .357 Magnum as a practical joke." And there it is, kids. The Truth. I think that building a gun that is nice and light for all day carry is not a really bad idea but there is a limit beyond which you enter into the Realm of Stupid.:rolleyes:
 
I agree. The thing could be even smaller and lighter if they built it on a .38 Special frame instead of the J-magnum frame. A 10-oz .38 Special Centennial would be sweet. I think they made one for a year or two.
 
For .357, my 21-ounce Charter Arms Mag Pug is about as light as I want to go.

Definitely "lively", but still a lot of fun with .357. By contrast, my S&W 642 with .38 +P feels like catching a fast ball bare-handed. OUCH.

The Pachmayr Compac grips make a big difference, though.

magpug1.jpg
 
An 11 oz 357 Mag? You guys are masochists. I shoot my friends sp 101 and it's interesting enough. I'm used to 40+ oz in Magnums, usually more. :D
 
Before I bought my first Scandium J-frame (M360) I read a number of comments about the recoil. The most imaginative was something along the lines of:

Go to a junkyard and find a late 60s full size GM four-door sedan (Olds, Buick, Cadillac). Open a door. Place your hand in the door jamb, and slam the door. Now, do it again.

I bought one anyway...as a matter of fact, at one point, I owned one 360 and two 340s. I did not pay more than $450 for any of them--each looked brand new--probably one cylinder (or maybe one round :)) was enough to convince the original owners. Using "real" .357 Mag ammo, that description wasn't far off. :) I developed a pretty good flinch, and never totally overcame it, even using .38 Spl+P. I sold each...these days I kind of wish I had hung onto one. Or not. :)

My 55-y.o. wrists would not appreciate that recoil. In fact, when asked, I usually say, "I sold the last one about six years ago...and my wrist still hurts."
 
I own a 329PD. I've been told the .357 version kicks worse.

It really depends what grips you shot it with. My 329 with the stock wood grips or even the stock rubber grips, versus after I put on 500SW grips, was night and day. I can shoot several cylinders of top end 240s now with no bad effects, but I will say I would not go over 300gr bullets even for bears....it would effectively become a single shot as you would never get it back on target before the bear was on you.

I very much enjoy shooting it with mid range (1100-1200ish fps) 240gr loads. It's just a little harder to hold tight groups than it would be with its steel cousin.
 
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