I shot my cousins new AirLite. Holy crap is that thing crazy light. Shooting .38s out of it was like a hand cannon. Fired a few Hornady Critical Duty 357 Mags. Ouchy Ouch. I would imagine it is great for deep CC.
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SW 340 Airlite
- Thread starter AyeR15
- Start date
my hand prefers the ruger LCR with boot grip over any J-frame airweight. Something with the back edge of the J-frames just digs right into web of my hand. i have no such issue with the LCR even w 357 mag. that being said i don't both w 357 in a barrel this short...diminishing returns, at least to me YMMV.
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i like how S&W engraves "no bullets under 110 gr" or something alone those lines. like hey keep the pressure down or else!
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It's great right up until it blows up and you have to send it to S&W.![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
-Mike
i like how S&W engraves "no bullets under 110 gr" or something alone those lines. like hey keep the pressure down or else!
With moderate 357 (golden saber 125's) it's a handful but manageable. Break out the Federal full power loads and it's just stupid. +1 for the LG405 grips. They do help a lot!
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dcmdon
NES Member
It's great right up until it blows up and you have to send it to S&W.
-Mike
Do they blow up?
I have one that I won in a raffle at an IDPA match. I really only shoot .38+Ps in it.
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The ruger LCR in .357 is MUCH heavier than the 340. Like 11 oz vs 18 oz.
They don't want bullets under 110 gr because the bearing surface between the bullet and the case is shorter and they can jump crimp under heavy recoil, jamming the gun.
only side-by-side comparison i have done is LCR 38 w boot grip vs. S&W 642 w standard grip shooting the same standard pressure and +P ammo. the LCR 38 is a bit lighter, yet for me shot softer. i do believe this is somewhat subjective as it just fit my hand better and the grip tang is cushioned. i know others who say the exact opposite and favor the J frame.
as you point out, the heavier LCR 357 model is a breeze to shoot 38's. i think this is where that gun really shines, not so much for 357 mag but rather for folks who want a softer recoiling LCR in 38.
the 340 PD I shot quite a while ago i think was before LCR was released. for me it was unpleasant even with 38.
VetteGirlMA
NES Member
Sounds like me when I got my 340PD. I had shooting gloves and everything just to handle it. A +p round would have me going ouchie ouch, never mind a .357. But I kept at it until I had my aha moment. That's when I figured out how to properly shoot a snubbie.
There have been at least 2 people on NES that have had them blow up and have had to return it to S&W for service. (S&W will fix it, but lot of consolation that does)
A friend of mine also had his blow up but hasn't had it recur since he got his repaired.
When they blow up they don't turn into grenades, so you probably won't get injured... the frame cracks though and it warps the whole thing enough to make the gun stop functioning.
Granted these incidents were years ago but all these guns weren't purchased the same year, either. It's either some random metallurgy problem or its just endemic to the gun.
It's the type of thing where if I owned one I would not give it a heavy diet of full bore 357 magnum. IMHO Speer Short barrel 357 would be the max I'd ever put through one of those things, and even that stuff is going to be painful.
-Mike
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360pd all the way.The spur on the hammer is great .haveing da/sa capability is nice and its not really much of a snag issue.although at the range you'd use if for PD it probibly wouldnt matter. I Always liked fullsize 17+1 9mm, but carrying the 640 with 5 .357 is so much better. I put the crimson trace grips on there and zeroed it at 10' so at 0 and 20its an inch to the left or an inch to the right....itll do the job
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dcmdon
NES Member
My feeling exactly. I've owned or shot big heavy revolvers including .500s and .460s.
The only gun I've ever shot that was more unpleasant to shoot than my 340 with .357 magnums was a
2 inch 500 S&W magnum loaded up with 440 grain corbon hunting rounds.
I got the chance to shoot it at an evening event at S&W introducing their "bear survival kit".
I fired one round, opened the gun and handed it back to the range attendant. I didn't need to shoot the other 4.
Don
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With the 340,360 you are trading comfortable shooting for comfortable carry......i carry my PD weapon more than i shoot it.Its not a range gun.
i see the argument to run .38 over the .357... but the range i use it at accuracy isnt really an issue.
A firm grip on your 340/360 is very important...when i practice i give it a death grip which is also handy for properly turning on the laser.
ill be sure to make my next revolver a heavy one, definitely more fun to shoot.
The 460 can be pretty nasty to shoot depending on the load...fun gun.
i see the argument to run .38 over the .357... but the range i use it at accuracy isnt really an issue.
A firm grip on your 340/360 is very important...when i practice i give it a death grip which is also handy for properly turning on the laser.
ill be sure to make my next revolver a heavy one, definitely more fun to shoot.
The 460 can be pretty nasty to shoot depending on the load...fun gun.
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I attended a combat pistol class in 2004 and was told to "bring the gun I intend to carry and 300 rounds of the ammo that I intended to carry in it..."
So off I went with my 340PD, and six boxes of green-box Remington 125g JSP.
Everyone else had semi-autos (sigs, glocks and berettas in mostly 9mm, if I recall) I was the only one with a snubbie wheelgun.
I was at the right end of the firing line and the instructor started on the other end. He wanted to check everyone's level of skill to begin with.
By the time I got to fire, everyone was pretty used to the reports of those semi-auto 9's, then the little snubbie barked. The looks I got... I still remember.
As far as operation, I had no issues with the AirLite except once the ejector rod had to be re-tightened.
The web of my right hand was a different matter. It bled pretty good the rest of the day.
I inspected the frame when the issues started to crop up but mine was rock-solid.
I still shoot .357's through it, just not all day long...
~Matt
300 rounds.... Jesus Cwithe, did someone show up and give you an award for running that gun?
Even the thought of shooting 300 rounds through a 340PD makes my hand hurt just thinking about it.
-Mike
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300 rounds.... Jesus Cwithe, did someone show up and give you an award for running that gun?
Even the thought of shooting 300 rounds through a 340PD makes my hand hurt just thinking about it.
-Mike
It hurt. It hurt bad. One plus is that I can now shoot a box of full-house on range trips with nary a flinch.
It still sports the OEM stocks as they are the smallest I've found for pocket carry.
~Matt
A dissenting (somewhat) view:
The Number 1 criterion of any firearm that one intends to carry against the possibility of needing it for self defense is that you are comfortable shooting enough rounds out of it to learn how to shoot it competently, comfortably, and almost instinctively. That is more -- exponentially more -- than a couple of boxes of 50.
In theory, one could make a pistol as light as a Kleenex, but that, in my opinion, would not make a good pistol for self-defense carry.
The Number 1 criterion of any firearm that one intends to carry against the possibility of needing it for self defense is that you are comfortable shooting enough rounds out of it to learn how to shoot it competently, comfortably, and almost instinctively. That is more -- exponentially more -- than a couple of boxes of 50.
In theory, one could make a pistol as light as a Kleenex, but that, in my opinion, would not make a good pistol for self-defense carry.
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The day I bought my 340PD, I put 100 rounds of .357 and a 100 of .38 special American Eagle, as well as 10ish rounds of .357 Critical Defense through it. Web got a little scrap, arm hurt a bit. My daughter liked it so much, she bought her own. I carry it occasionally when I need something light.
MP-In-The-Wind
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I have a 340PD...and YES, I'd rather shoot a S&W 500 4" model instead! ![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
Code name for it is: "Nasty"! .357s are a handful! I shoot only about a dozen full boat .357s at an outing. It's a joy to carry....shooting not so much!
Code name for it is: "Nasty"! .357s are a handful! I shoot only about a dozen full boat .357s at an outing. It's a joy to carry....shooting not so much!
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