Smith & Wesson M&P 340 - Tactical Tim

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Smith & Wesson M&P 340
Pre-Review Comments:
I would be lying to you if said I was a big fan of revolvers.
Heck, I’m a “recovering engineer” and engineers tend to like
machines to be as complicated as possible. But... I realize
that LOT of people like revolvers, so I thought I’d pick up
one of Smith & Wesson’s super-light, Scandium guns.
And let me tell you my friend, this baby is REALLY
light. I couldn’t believe how light this thing felt when I first
picked it up. I am not really looking forward to shooting
.357 Magnum loads through this thing.
Well, actually I AM looking forward to it. ;-)
Nitty-Gritty Specs:
Caliber .357 MAG / .38+P
Gun Type Double Action Only (DAO)
Capactiy 5 rounds
Height 4.31”
Length 6.38”
Thickness 1.31”
Weight (Unloaded) .840 lbs
Weight (Loaded) 1.008 lbs
Concealability Factor 1.651
Barrel Length 1.75”
Sight Radius 3.188”
Sight Type U-Notch - Dot
1st Trigger Pull 15+ lbs
2nd Trigger Pull n/a
MSRP $1,272 ($980 w/o laser)
Street Price (New) $900 ($750 w/o laser)
Used Price $850 ($670w/o laser)
Quality, Fit & Finish:
This is beautiful gun. As mentioned above, the frame is
made of a Aluminum-Scandium alloy and the cylinder is
made of stainless steel. Scandium is a rare-earth element
that improves the material properties of Aluminum thus
allowing the engineers to shave extra ounces from the
design of the gun.
All of the assembly pins are mounted flush and smooth.
The cylinder is rock-solid in lock-up and releases easily
when the cylinder release lever is pushed forward.
The finish of the gun is always very nice. Both the frame
Extra cushion here.
This is nice.
Stainless steel
cylinder.
No room for your
pinky finger!
Here you can see the integral
U-Notch sight. The front sight is a
Trijicon night sight. The white part
you can see does NOT glow... the
part that glows is in the middle of
the white ring.
Integratl U-Notch with
Trijicon front sight.
Trijicon front sight.
Laser activation
switch.
Crisp trigger!
(15+ lbs)
Scandium Alloy
Frame.

and cylinder have a nice matte black finish. The Crimson
Trace laser grip is also expertly designed to work flawlessly
with the gun.
Okay, enought of all the gushy praise. Now it’s time to
talk about the giant elephant in the room.
Ergonomics & Shootability:
Well, the first thing that will take some getting used to is
the pinky-less grip. Now, I realize that almost ALL snubnosed
revolvers don’t have a spot for your pinky... but dangit,
I’m used to having a spot to put that little finger of mine.
The laser grip activation switch is on the FRONT of the
grip, so your middle finger activates it when you grab the
gun. (Note: there is also a secondary on-off switch at the
very base of the grip.)
As expected, the trigger-pull on this Double-Action-Only,
snub-nosed revolver is simply HUGE. We actually had to
put a + sign after our measured value of 15 lbs because
that’s as high as our trigger pull scale went. Yep... you really
gotta pull this trigger!
Reliability & Accuracy:
Well as far as reliability goes, you just can’t beat a
revolver. Especially when it’s a high-quality revolver from
Smith & Wesson. (Sometime I’ll have to tell you the story
of a friend’s revolver (brand & model witheld) that did NOT
advnace the cylinder when you pulled the trigger!)
As far as accuracy goes, I found the revolver a bit of a
challenge to shoot. The laser grip design causes your stronghand
pinky to flap in the wind and the trigger pull is over
15 pounds. Well, at least those are going to be my excuses
for the poor shot grouping you’ll see on the third page of
this report!
Concealability:
The concealability rating is determined by the formula below. The lower
the number the better! Cfactor = (LxWxTx(loaded weight))/(7*π)
This gun absolutley CRUSHES the concealability factor
rating. The rating turns out to be 1.651. That is really low.
Heck, this gun has a loaded weight of just over 1 pound.
Now don’t forget you’ve only got 5 rounds of .357 Magnum
in the wheel... but WOW that is a really light gun!
Conclusion & Summary:
This is a great gun. It is a well-made, snub-nosed revolver
with all the drawbacks of this type of gun. I would say that
this is the ultimate, back-up handgun! Super light and super
reliable.
Smith & Wesson
manual.
The S&W plastic
storage cas is actually
worth keeping!
Things I LIKE:
¨ Super low weight (thanks to Scandium-Aluminum).
¨ I LOVE the laser grip on this gun.
Things I DON’T like:
¨ Trigger pull is a little to much.
Crimson Trace manual
& storage pouch.
Insert gun here... ;-)
¨ Wish the grip recess under the trigger guard was a little
bigger so my pink could fit on the grip.