Wheelgun Wednesday: Smith & Wesson 340 PD Review

Welcome back to another Wheelgun Wednesday. Today, I want to look at a true pocket rocket in the small revolver market. Everyone knows the legendary Airweight line from Smith & Wesson but not many know about the spicer variants like the 340 PD. In a market full of small semi-auto pistols, revolvers are still a valid option in various situations. I’ve had this 340 for the last few months and after a fair amount of rounds through the gun as well as a decent amount of time carrying it, I am ready to give you some insights into carrying this style of revolver. Let’s take a closer look at the Smith & Wesson 340 PD.

Specs

There’s nothing new about the J-frame revolver. First debuting in the 1950s, it has been a staple of the carrying world for the last 75 years. Smith & Wesson has updated the J-frame with newer materials and alloys to create the strongest and lightest J-frame possible. With the 340 PD, the key to this revolver is the fact it’s rated for .357 Magnums while weighing 12 ounces. This weight reduction is possible by making the frame from Scandium alloys and a titanium cylinder allowing for an incredibly strong pistol that weighs next to nothing.

One of the noticeable features is the inclusion of a HI Viz front sight with a frame notch rear sight making it a fairly basic sight picture that makes sense when looking at the overall firearm and the relative size of the 340 PD. Another key feature of a lightweight revolver for concealment is the addition of rubber grips. Smith & Wesson gave the 340 PD a Double Action Only trigger that has a heavy but crisp trigger pull and audible clean reset. The capacity of 5 rounds either of .357 Magnum or .38 Special and the short 1.88” barrel make it a big bang in a small package. MSRP on the 340 PD is $1,149.99 and is available in retailers currently.

Range Time

I have had the 340 PD for roughly three months and put about 225 rounds through the revolver. As many of you know, I typically like to put 800-1,000 rounds through my firearms before sitting down and writing an article. This gun is one of the few guns that is built strictly for self-defense and making it as easy as possible. There are countless guns out there that serve multiple roles but I would argue the 340 PD is built to be the lightest and best revolver it can possibly be. This focus has shifted the 340 PD from being a fun range gun to more of an ultra-lightweight carry gun that may not be the easiest to shoot for fun at the range.

I shot a mixture of full-power .357 Magnum, self-defense .357 Magnum, .38 Special +P rounds, and regular .38 Special rounds. Shooting the 340 PD is actually fairly enjoyable with regular powered .38 Special and it's very possible to train with a small revolver. When bumping up to a higher pressure round like a .38 Special +P or .357 Magnum, the gun can certainly jump around more creating a situation where the gun starts to be difficult to shoot accurately. With a revolver this lightweight, I would certainly advocate keeping it loaded with .38 Special self-defense rounds or the .38 Special +P rounds that are made for self-defense.

Personally, I still like to carry all my guns in some sort of holster just to be absolutely sure the firearm is secure. For the 340 PD, I have been carrying it in an ANR Design LLC IWB holster as well as trying out a Galco ankle holster in more of a backup gun role. One of the unique aspects of small revolvers like the 340 PD is that they allow a concealed carrier to carry the gun either as a small primary carry gun or a lightweight backup gun. The 340 PD can offer multiple roles while allowing people to have a light yet capable firearm