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Picked up one of these from Bud's the other day. (This isn't mine I haven't taken any pics yet sorry)

Traded and paid the difference with a Sig Mosquito.

Best thing about it... no internal lock thingy. Super light and has a huge XS tritium dot as the front sight. Chambered for .357, makes a very stout little pocket/boot gun.

I'm pleased to say the least, 38's were a breeze to shoot but the 125gr magnums were almost painful. Didn't stop me form putting 15 or so down the tube though.

I'm passing this info along in case there's anyone else like me who has been holding off on buying new S&W's because of their unnecessary inclusion of the internal lock but I found one, It doesn't advertise that fact on their website very well so I thought I'd let you guys get first dibs in case the word gets out and they get snatched up.

Gets my seal of approval

Congrats on the featherlite toy. One of the first modifications I did to mine many years ago was to get a grip that covered the backstrap. Makes a significant dif in ouch factor.

I have that same pistol and carry it quite frequently. Carry ammo is the Hornady Critical Defense 125 grain magnum load. It isn't that bad. Stings a bit, but I wouldn't call it painful. It isn't nearly as bad as shooting full house 158 grain loads. Don't ask me how I know.

Critical defense is what I ran through it as well. Recoil's as you say, it'll surprise you at first but its not too bad. Shot some 158 gr gold dots and those weren't bad either.

Have you found any ammo that eject easily from the cylinder? Mine's probably tight being new but I was having a little trouble ejecting. Short ejector rod doesn't help too much either.

Were those Gold Dots magnums?

I didn't notice any particular difficulty on extraction, but the truth is that my reloading technique with a revolver is not as good as with a semi auto, so it could be me and not the gun.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Were those Gold Dots magnums?

I didn't notice any particular difficulty on extraction, but the truth is that my reloading technique with a revolver is not as good as with a semi auto, so it could be me and not the gun.

Yep magnum gold dots. I shot up about 10 of them saving the rest for another special thing I have coming my way... Recoil was pretty close as far as I could tell, they weren't the short barrel style.

My problem was as I would normally tip the gun up and push the rod, the cases came out about half way and stopped there after the ejector was maxed out. Afterwards I noticed that the ejector will still move out a little more even after the rod bottoms out on the crane so maybe gripping 2 opposing shells and pulling them will pop all 5 out at once. Will take some getting used to though.

nice pistol!

texasmusic wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Were those Gold Dots magnums?

Yep magnum gold dots. I shot up about 10 of them saving the rest for another special thing I have coming my way... Recoil was pretty close as far as I could tell....

They must not be loaded as hot as the Remington Express "Pistol & Revolver" 158 grain SJHP ammo I shot in my 340. The Remington ammo was absolutely brutal. I am no stranger to recoil, and it does not normally bother me at all. I own a .44 magnum and love it, and I've shot some .50 AE pistols and thought they were a heap of fun. But I would only ever load my 340 with Remington Express "Pistol & Revolver" 158 grain SJHP if there were absolutely nothing else available, and I HAD to defend myself. If you read the thread I posted previously about it (http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=40803" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), I found that I just couldn't do it anymore. There was a vast difference between that load, and the 125 grain Hornady Critical Defense ammo—which seemed almost mild in comparison. My hand was sore for several days afterward. I would have done just as well to beat the web of my hand with a ball-peen hammer.

They're nice guns, it's just too bad the price of admission is so high compared to say a 442. Here's a pic of mine I picked up a little while back without the internal lock and CT grips.

Here's the partner!

I'm becoming a huge fan of these 357 wheelguns. If anyone want's to trade in theirs I have a few autoloaders that are being severely neglected these days.

I've been wanting a 340 for a long time (like since they first came out with the scandium frames).

My "always" gun is quite similar, a 340Sc. Recoil with .357s was brutal, but I added Crimson Trace grips that cover the backstrap with some rubber and now it's merely unpleasant. (My normal carry load is the 145 grain Silvertip .357.)

One suggestion once you pick a carry load - mark two rounds and fire the other three, then check to see if the two unfired rounds have jumped the crimp. Try this a couple of times (with the same two rounds unfired) JUST to be sure all is well.

So S&W is slowly and quietly phasing out The Lock on some models? That's a GOOD thing. Maybe, just maybe, they've learned something about VOC - Voice Of the Customer.

Nice blaster, I too have been neglecting my semi-autos in loo of my .357 wheel guns.

Beautiful weapon and an excellent choice for with you all the time carry.

HankB wrote:My "always" gun is quite similar, a 340Sc. Recoil with .357s was brutal, but I added Crimson Trace grips that cover the backstrap with some rubber and now it's merely unpleasant. (My normal carry load is the 145 grain Silvertip .357.)

One suggestion once you pick a carry load - mark two rounds and fire the other three, then check to see if the two unfired rounds have jumped the crimp. Try this a couple of times (with the same two rounds unfired) JUST to be sure all is well.

So S&W is slowly and quietly phasing out The Lock on some models? That's a GOOD thing. Maybe, just maybe, they've learned something about VOC - Voice Of the Customer.

I did what you suggested earlier with the 125 gr Hornady's, Used the serrated part of the bullet as a reference and checked them after every shot, no unseating of the bullets after two cylinders.

I'm not sure if they're phasing out the lock. Word on the street is no from people who called S&W, but I'm sure it's their policy to give that as an answer. If they said "Hey the lock will be gone in 6 months" they would get to watch their revolver sales plummet while people held off on purchasing to wait for the model they wanted without the lock. My guess is they are testing the waters a little bit with this run and they will do it slowly if it happens. Most people just bite the bullet now and buy them with the lock but no doubt there are people like me out there that refuse. The almighty dollar will prevail as it always does on the issue.