Comparing S&W 340pd and R9

[mjt]

I just discovered the R9 and this forum. Both seem really good!  I know some members of this forum own both a S&W 340pd and an R9.  One thing I have not seen discussed is the comparison of the 340pd loaded with .357 and the 9mm R9.  How do you compare these two?  I have heard the 340 (loaded with .357) has a lot of recoil, but have read different "bottom lines" such as it is not really so bad or it is too much and I load it with 38+P.  Some questions: How do they compare in concealability?  How do they compare in shootability? Etc. Is the extra power you get with the .357 worth the small increase in size over the 9mm R9?  A related idea here is that I could take my $900 and buy the 340pd ($600) and carry it when I can (most of the time) and when I cannot I could also buy a p3at (<$300) and carry it.  Thanks in advance for any and all informed comments!

[Fud]

The 342PD loaded with .38+P is a handful!   Haven't even tried the 340 with .357 loads but I suspect that it would be even more of a handful!

[R9SCarry]

mjt .. welcome to the forum....  

I have fired a PD and +P is about as far as I'd want to go!  Even in my SP-101 ... quite a heavy gun .... +P's are enough!  That is not to say that carry with .357's would be impossible but not my choice .... I don't own a 340 - just had a chance to try one out.  I think control would be the prob' for me . just too punishiong and unmanageable (and I am a recoil junky!!).

The R9 is plenty stiff enough with its normal diet of std pressure but manageable .. not to mention, the more concealable IMO.  I know the price factor is a major one but - for me the R9 is in a class of its own really.

[DDGator]

I have shot +P loads from a S&W Airlite, but not .357 Magnum.  Recoil is very subjective, but I find the R-9 with recoil to be very similar to +Ps in an Airlite.  The Magnums would be considerably more stout.

You could buy both guns -- that is the setup I had before the R-9.  First, let me say I love j-frames.  However, the R-9 is the first thing I found to replace one.  Unless you are carrying and profiicient with Magnum ammo, you are better armed with the R-9 -- 9mm hollowing points are as effective as .38 +P, but you have two more rounds on tap.  The R-9 is also easier to conceal because it is flatter.

As to the 3AT, the size/weight difference is not that big and you give up a lot of firepower.  I find I can carry the R-9 in all situations I carried the 3AT.

Also -- there is something to be said for carrying guns with similar functionality so you don't get confused.  I would suggest going with the R-9 and then buying the next size larger pistol for carry when the situation allows.  Get something with a similar functionality (i.e., a DAO or Safe-action type) and maybe even in 9mm for ammo sharing.

[jimacp]

DD Gator hit it on the head....if there are times you need something smaller than a j frame, why start compromising then with a kel-tec or any other 380 or 32 caliber. The beauty of the R9 is that it is so much better than the other small pocket guns , and especially when you HAVE to have something smaller than a j frame.  I have, and regularly shoot and carry a 340. With Crimson Trace grips it is a very formidable weapon, especially at night. However, I guarantee you that 357 loads in it are MORE than a handful. I shoot them when I am feeling masochistic but I ALWAYS leave those sessions with a bloody hand that feels like its been hit with a hammer.  So, if a j frame meets your needs 100% of the time for CCW, then that is fine. However, I have found there are times I need something even more concealable than a j frame and it is then I am much happier with the R9 than I would be with a Kel tec 380. A Kel tec is much better than nothing, but an R9 will trump a Kel Tec. If you have the money, get the R9.   I am sure a 357 even out of a j frame is more powerful than a 9 mm. But, anybody who says a 357 out of a 340 is no big deal recoil and pain wise hasn't shot one.  Bottom line for me is that I carry the 340 some, especially at night, because of the Crimson Trace grip option which I have found to be VERY effective FOR ME (YMMV). I ALWAYS carry the R9

[GeorgeH]

Guns are tools. A J frame isn't a pocket gun. It serves a different purpose than a Rohrbaugh.

If in 1980 you told me that I would become a pocketgun fan, I would have told you that you were smoking too much juju weed. Then one day, in a gun store, looking at the used gun trade-ins, I saw a Seecamp 25. It was love at first sight.

What the pocketgun allowed me to do, was to be armed when I wouldn't be otherwise. I carried that 25 in a Galco wallet holster for years, and in the process went from a Seecamp 25 to a Seecamp 32.  Then to a Guardian 380 and 32 and now to a Rohrbaugh, with a side trip with a Kel Tec 380.

For some reason, people like to take compact firearms and try to claim that they are pocket guns. You want a test: here is one. Go into a gun store wearing jeans. Take a gun and put it into your rear pocket. If it can be totally concealed in your rear pocket, then you have found a pocketgun. If a little of it peeks out, then you have a small gun, but not a pocketgun.

Don't lie to yourself. A pocketgun isn't a substitute for a primary defensive firearm. What a pocketgun is is a BUG, an always gun. That little insurance policy that no one should know about except for you.

You like the J frame--buy it. But also consider a pocketgun as a BUG and as a gun that you can carry when you otherwise couldn't.

Think of it this way--a J frame is like a small travel clock. A Rohrbaugh is a watch. You could carry the travel clock in your pocket instead of a watch--but do you really want to do so? No. Likewise, when on a trip, do you want to rely on your watch instead of a travel clock? So you get both, knowing that each has its purpose, and in a pinch each can cover for the other.

[rtw]

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/OtherHandguns.htm

I think you may find some useful info at this site.

I, for one, have found the knowledge/experience of the members of this forum to be broader, deeper and more objective than at any other site I have visited. And while the group is generally quite positive about the Rohrbaugh, their feelings are the result of many years of wrestling with issues of self protection and concealability.

[R9SCarry]

Thx for that link rWt .. some interesting reading to be had.

[BillinPittsburgh]

Lots of good thoughts on this subject here:

http://www.rohrbaughforum.com/YaBB.cgi?board=R9S;action=display;num=1092588684

The .357 scandium J-frame is the only gun that has actually drawn my blood from recoil when I shot it.  The cylinder latch was slammed into my thumb hard enough to lacerate it.  Trying to hold it in a manner that both protected my thunb and permitted accurate shooting was very difficult.  For the same size gun, I'd rather make center hits with my Glock 26 than peripheral hits or misses with the .357 J-frame.

[Bob79]

I have shot .357 mag out of a Airlite J-frame before, did 10 rounds before I stopped.  It was the most recoil I have ever felt, no I didn't bleed, or cut anything, but afterwards my hands felt slightly numb/stinging for a couple of minutes. Also during firing I felt debris block back on my face, could have been the ammo though (Winchester).  So, it was manageable, but I only carried +P's because I just felt it was a little too much.   The +P's bite, but after several cyclinders I don't feel any ill affects, most in one shooting was 40 rounds of +P.  If you like the J-frame (none of mine have ever misfired) then I would try to find a 342.  They are just as light, but cost about $450-500, check at gunbroker.com, they can shoot +P just not .357

If size is an issue, and you don't mind the weight of a R-9 versus that of a Kel Tec than I would get the R-9 (assuming money isn't a big issue).  I don't own nor have I shot an R-9 but I have seen them and spoke with people who have them, and all say they are top notch.  But in the end I say go with the Wheelgun if you can deal with the additional size (but less weight).  

[Bob79]

Just looked on gunbroker and there are currently two 342's for $450 or less for each.  There are also a few for like $560 or so also.

There is a 342PD (black one) for $580 also.  

Just FYI......happy hunting

[Fud]

I'm looking at my S&W342 J-frame (the same thing as the 340PD but in .38 instead of .357) next to my R9S ...



... and there is no comparison. Being made of Titanium, the snubbie is an ounce or two lighter than the R9S but that's about the only advantage that it has. The R9S is more compact in every respect especially the width making it much easier to conceal. Plus it offers two extra rounds of firepower in a caliber that is equal, or even superior, to what the J-frame spits out.

True, the 340PD shoots .357s which are more effective than 9mm's but .38's are more than a handful for this light-weight revolver.

[BillinPittsburgh]

I understand the .357 J-frames to be larger than the .38 J-frames.

[DDGator]

No -- a j-frame is a j-frame.  They are the same size.

[GeorgeH]

I can't speak to the alloy J frames, but with the stainess versions, the 357 mag versions have the same size frame but the barrel is longer and the cylinder a tad wider.