S&W Scandium J-frame durability with magnum loads

[Ramjet-SS]

The hardest recoiling gun I have ever shot just freaking brutal with full house 357 magnum rounds

[warboar_21]

I shot a cylinder full of 125gr full power magnum. My pinky and ring finger went numb for weeks and took even longer for my full grip strength to come back.

I will agree with all the above posters that say he will not shoot many before he decides to stick with low power 38 spl loads.


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[fatelk]

I sat there and watched him shoot half a box of full magnum loads through it, with a big grin on his face. He offered it to me to try, and I politely declined. I’m still “on the sunny side of fifty” but I’m way past the time in my life when I enjoyed such pain.

It’s funny; I’m a fan of the .44 Magnum, and a few years back I looked down my nose at downloading it, like a lot of you guys do. If I’m going to shoot a magnum, I wanted to shoot a magnum! Kind of like driving a high-performance sports car on a leisurely drive in the country. I want to go fast!

Now I’m getting to the point where I understand it. A couple cylinders of full house .44 mags and I’m pretty much done. It’s just not fun anymore. Downloaded to about 80%, and I’m good for a box or two.

[ebner glocken]

This is exactly how I got my M&P340...it also came with a couple of partially full boxes of ammo.

This is exactly how I ended up owning a 329 and a 360J. Great to carry, I do believe recoil is subjective. Shooting the 329 reminds me of shooting a full house 454 casull as far as impulse. The 357 really digs into the web of the hand mostly due to the narrow footprint of the grip and gripframe and thus seems more painful to me than the .44. I own a number of revolvers that outclass the .44 mag by a fair margin so my datum may be a bit different. The wood grips are on mine as rubber tends to drag on clothing.

Neither of them were purchased by me for anywhere near full price and also before the gun buying madness going on currently. The titanium cylinder on the 329 wasn't even stained yet. I figure 6 rounds and the original owner had enough. They're not for everyone but there's worse things to touch off.

Ebner

[Baltimoreed]

I bought a set of these Ergo grips for my scandium j-frame and would never go back to the boot grip style. They look weird but work great. They make the gun much easier to shoot. I also had my revolver cut for moon clips, another great revolver mod.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I like the idea of the alloy j frames. Makes it so much easier to be armed. But I would not subject one to a lot of full bore rounds.

[samari46]

I've seen some pics on the S&W forums about the scandium frames and cylinders. Looks like someone took a cutting torch to the fave of the cylinder. If I remember right the 110 and 125 grain bullets are the ones to stay away from. Something about high speed bullets and hot powders being very hard on the cylinder faces. Frank

[Three44s]

I bought a set of these Ergo grips for my scandium j-frame and would never go back to the boot grip style. They look weird but work great. They make the gun much easier to shoot. I also had my revolver cut for moon clips, another great revolver mod.

I never thought of that but it makes good sense!

The radical grip angle of that grip gives your wrist more degrees of rotation before it runs out. Also more of the recoil impulse is absorbed into your arm before the wrist has rotated very far.

Three44s

[Three44s]

My take on .357 in a small framed snub Gun is to get a Ruger SP101 and don’t look back.

Three44s

[Cosmic_Charlie]

My take on .357 in a small framed snub Gun is to get a Ruger SP101 and don’t look back.

Three44s

I like those too, have a .38 police trade in. But the scandium framed Smith's can ride nicely in a coat pocket because they are light. Or in an ankle holster for deep cover.

[Rodfac]

A tongue in cheek response would be, "the gun'll last longer than his wrist will, firing that featherweight cannon with full house magnums!"

In my case, I routinely carry a S&W M60, all SS, .357 with a Hogue monogrip installed. It's manageable, but still a handful for 2nd, & 3rd follow on shots. Mine is a 3" full lugged barrel too. I've been a competitive handgun shooter for over 50 years now, and still have a powerful grip but still find this rather heavy M60 a challenge. It is not comfortable for a full morning's range session with moderate to heavy loads.

YMMv Rod BTW, my carry load is the Gold Dot 135 gr .38 Special +P...not only for its superb performance and lighter recoil, but also as the shorter .38 Special case ejects and speed loads more uniformly from any J-frame Smith....a point to consider.

[Lloyd Smale]

i had a 396. Shot it alot. The forcing cone started to erode about the same time my hand was starting to erode from shooting it. That gun made me bleed about everytime i shot it with any real load and id rather shoot full power 500 linebaugh loads out of a 4 inch bisley then that gun. Traded it on a 696 and it was the best trade i ever made. The scandium guns are great to carry alot and shoot seldom. only exception might be a 329 shooting loads at the level i was in the 44 spec. Go steel youll never regret it.

[Three44s]

I shot a 329 with nearly full house magnum loads and was very impressed. As I already have the all stainless Mountain Gun I am sticking with it though.

Three44s

[Sc0]

Early serial number 340PD, CJD. Some cylinder erosion on the front face in which I haven't sent it in for yet, also had a weld bead on the hammer which caused a horrendous trigger pull and scarred the inside of the frame until it was discovered and removed. Shot about 50rds of 158gr lead .357 magnum, actually jammed up the cylinder a few times due to recoil pulling the bullets loose, only shoot .38spl out of it now and to keep things lightweight I prefer the CCI Aluminum cased 158gr +p. For carrying heavier .357 158gr loads I prefer my 3" model 60, or a larger K or N frame.