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So, I take my son and his fiancé to DPC for some range time earlier today, and we bring along an assortment of pistols - my Ruger .22, my 3" 1911, my son's 4" 1911, my M&P 45, my 5"1911, my wife's Glock 19, my Model 29, and both of my S&W .357 snubbies. We shot all of them today.

Now, I'm no stranger to recoil in handguns. I haven't yet shot a 500 S&W, but I've shot a .50 AE and most pistol calibers smaller than that. My Model 29 has some truly stout recoil with some loads. But today, I had an experience I don't care to repeat.

One of my snubbies is a M&P 340 scandium J-Frame, and it only weighs 13 oz. To date, I've shot 110 grain WWB for practice through it, and a few rounds of my carry ammo which is the Hornady Critical Defense 125 grainer. The WWB is a piece of cake. The recoil is sharp, but not a big deal. The Hornady, which according them clocks 1200 fps and 400 ft lbs from a 2" barrel, stings the hand a little bit, but it isn't bad. I shot five fast rounds of it, and at the end, the palm of my hand stung a little bit, but it wasn't what I would call painful.

So today, I happened to have a box of Remington Express "Pistol & Revolver" 158 grain SJHP. Remington's website claims 1235 fps and 535 ft lbs from a 4" barrel, so I'm figuring somewhere between 1035 to 1085 fps out of my 2" barrel. No big deal, right? WRONG!!

My son tried it first. I was relaxing on a bench when he started. After the first shot, he started whining about how it hurt his hand. I encouraged him: "Man up you big wussie!" By the third round, he was near tears. He shot the last two on pure willpower alone. I was laughing at him. "What's the matter? You never shot a REAL handgun before?" He said, "You try it."

So I did.

I wish I hadn't.

158 grains stepping out of a 13 oz gun at over 1000 fps is a startling experience. After the first round, I thought, "this is pretty stout, but it doesn't hurt." After the second round, I thought "OK, now it hurts," but I didn't want to let on to my son that I was in pain, so I shot a third round. My eyes began watering, but my son was behind me so he couldn't see my face; but he shouted "Don't try to pretend like you're superman! You know it hurts!" So I tried to act normal, gritted my teeth and I shot a fourth round and immediately erupted into a string of the sincerest sort of profanity. I went ahead and shot the fifth round simply because I'm not right in my mind. And then, just to confirm that I should be institutionalized, I shot 5 more rounds of this demon possessed ammo out of my 23 oz Model 640, thinking that because it was heavier, the recoil wouldn't be so bad. All in all, it was a really bad idea as it is now almost 12 hours later and my shooting hand is still sore.

There was a couple of guys behind us waiting for one of the bays to become available, and I turned to them and asked them if they wanted to try it out. The smart one shook his head "no," he didn't want any part of it. The crazy one said, "Sure, I'll try one." I asked "are you sure you want to try just one?" (I have a sadistic streak in me.) He said that, no, just one was fine. He shot the round, winced and quickly set the gun down like it was radioactive or something and said, "I'm done!"

I confirmed one thing, and that is that I'll never carry a full house 158 grain .357 round in my M&P 340 for the simple reason that if I ever needed to draw the gun, I'd be afraid to shoot it. It's hard to tell which is worse, shooting that load in that light pistol, or getting beaten with a 9 iron.

So that is how I brought the year to a close. I wish you all a happy new year.

A great story for the first post of the year!! Happy New Year!

My son has these T-shirts that have a picture of a cartoon monkey on the front. The monkey is standing in a semi-crouch with his eyes squeezed shut. He is holding a stick of dynamite in one hand with the fuze lit, and the other arm is a stump wrapped in a white bandage. Underneath, it says "I am a slow learner."

That's kind of how I felt. Here's a picture of me after I fired the first 5 rounds:





(...edited to correct the spelling of "shirts" ~~ TAM)

I find that, the older I become, the less fond I am of high pressure loads fired from lightweight handguns.

This post brought tears to my eyes too - I couldn't stop laughing at Dad continuing to destroy the tendons and joints in his shooting hand to outman his son, who was simply honest about how shooting that beast felt.

TAM's experience here is the reason my lightweight snubbie revolver is a .38 only.

I didn't see any reason to pay extra for the .357 model because I'm not masochistic enought to pull the trigger on that ammunition in such a light gun.

Glad you enjoyed my pain.

Yeah, I shot 158 grain loads from my old 642 before, and I thought it was unpleasant; but it wasn't leaving me wondering if I had lost all control over my faculties. No, a 158 grain .357 load out of a scandium J-frame is suitable only for the shooting gallery at an S&M bordello. I can see it now: "Lick my boots, worm, or I'll make you shoot the snubbie!" "No mistress, NO! I'll be good!"

*MUST-SHOOT-IT-NOW*

not fan of revolvers long live hi cap pistols

The stock grips on my 340Sc were terrible, so I replaced them with a set of Crimson Trace lasergrips that covered a portion of the backstrap with rubber - the model number is LG-305. They're also just a bit longer than the stock grip (by about 1/4") which fills my hand better and yet doesn't interfere with pocket carry.

Shooting .357s - my preferred load is the Winchester 145 grain Silvertip hollowpoint - is no longer painful, merely unpleasant. (At least for a cylinder or two.)

Lol. Darn.

I was hoping by the time I was a little ways into this tale that it would end with "which is why I'm just gonna give the bloody thing to the next CHLer who goes by Ropin and visits this thread."

(the aforementioned CHLer needs a more carry-able size gun to run with...lol)

Great story, though. Especially the "surely this can't be the way if the thing. I'll try the thing in this similar design just to prove the fluke-ness."

My first experience with a Scandium J-Frame was about 5 years ago, and it was the first time I'd shot a .357 in over 20 years. It was a gun that belonged to my shooting instructor, who basically "dared" me to put 5 rounds on a 7 yd target in 15 seconds.

I succeeded, but at the cost of suffering terrible wrist pain over the next two weeks, in spite of a 2-handed grip. By the time I was done, my hands were shaking so bad that I couldn't even open the cylinder to unload. Took me months to get my man-card back I wouldnt even THINK of using something like that as a BUG.

And TAM -- that pic sums up exactly how I felt too!

Well I think I ducked a bullet (so to speak) because my hand isn't too bad this morning. I just feel a tiny bit of muscle stiffness in my hands, as if I had done some heavy manual work yesterday, but it really isn't that noticeable. I'm just going to put the rest of that box of ammo aside until the day I have a chance to try someone's full-sized .357.

Full power .357 loads should only be fired in L frame and N frame guns. I have fired them in a K frame and it hurt. I can't even begin to imagine how harsh and painful a ..357/158 would be - - - absolutely unfathomable out of a J frame. A scandium J frame is punishing enough with 125 gr .38 Spl +P. I'm too old and arthritic to get into a "who's the manliest man contest." I earned a lifetime man card when I was in the 82nd Airborne Division.

MoJo wrote:Full power .357 loads should only be fired in L frame and N frame guns. I have fired them in a K frame and it hurt. I can't even begin to imagine how harsh and painful a ..357/158 would be - - - absolutely unfathomable out of a J frame. A scandium J frame is punishing enough with 125 gr .38 Spl +P. I'm too old and arthritic to get into a "who's the manliest man contest." I earned a lifetime man card when I was in the 82nd Airborne Division.

You go boy! That's one of the best lines I've heard in a while. Can I use it if my son challenges me to repeat my stupidity of yesterday?