For a while, all I’ve EDC’d has been a 365; before that a G43. But a number of years ago, an early S&W 638 was occasionally in the rotation.

I picked up a NIB 342PD in the 2000’s, but never actually started shooting it. (The 342PD is the 38 only version of the somewhat more common 340PD. Weighs about 11oz).

With the recent talk about the 43c, I’ve thought about breaking the 342 out, using it for times when something even lighter than the 365 is desired.

These air lites kick with anything substantial. I am thinking of carrying it with just wadcutters, and using ballistol to clean it.

Questions:
- Is ballistol a reasonable cleaner for the titanium cylinder?
- Will using lead wadcutters cause signicantly more fouling that will complicate cleaning and my choice of cleaners?

Any other comments or inputs on the 342 and family appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

I thought anything abrasive or with ammonia was verboten. My understanding was not the titanium per se but the lacquer coating that protects the titanium was at risk. Now whether or not ballistol has ammonia I know not.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I thought anything abrasive or with ammonia was verboten. My understanding was not the titanium per se but the lacquer coating that protects the titanium was at risk. Now whether or not ballistol has ammonia I know not.

That is my understanding also - no “solvents” which I think means ammonia. Ballistol is mineral oil, propane, and isohexane. So I don’t think a solvent.
Not sure how well it cleans if lead bullet?

I had a 342 PD in the early 2000s. I liked carrying it, but boy I sure hated shooting it. I never tried the wadcutters which would have been a big help in recoil. I traded it for a new 642 and am okay with doing that. The 342 PD sure was nice for carry though!

At the time I am pretty sure I just cleaned it with Break Free CLP. That worked fine.

I bought a used one back around 2004 or so. No manual with it.
I just use Hoppes #9 to clean it, in fact I just cleaned it this morning. That said I haven't shot it a whole lot so it hasn't been cleaned that many times.

For cleaning, just avoid harsh cleaners. Hoppes No. 9 or CLP would work. For ammo, look at Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel or Hornady Critical Defense. Both loads test well in snubs with controllable recoil. My LCR shoots the Critical Defense load great!

Thank you for the feedback and experience.

Considering the abusive nature of these ligh5 guns, you probably will never shoot enough round even wadcutters,out of it to worry about significant maintenance
For my revolvers, even after 500 rounds of lead round nose or wadcutters, 15 minutes or less is enough to get it duty ready.

Swab each chamber and the barrel with cleaner of choice ( doesn’t matter whatever you have around)
Let set for 15 minutes.
4-5 passes each chamber and bore with a brass brush.
Run a few patches through each chamber and barrel. ( dispense with the utter BS of run patches till they come out clean- only until chambers and bore dry- embrace “good enough”)
Carefully clean under cylinder star aka extractor. Lube the hand bolt and ratchet with a drop of oil after cleaning.
Done.
Any more than that is a waste of time and will not enhance reliability
In most air weights, 50 rounds of wadcutters usually has most people saying enough already.

Ah, the 342PD. One of the single most unpleasant guns to shoot I ever owned. Second only to the even more ridiculous 340PD. You have to be a masochist to shoot even moderate magnum loads in one of those super lightweights. A joy to carry, an absolute beast to shoot with anything warmer than target wadcutter loads. I owned both and neither ever got shot enough to need more than wiping down and running a brush down the bore.

I ran the same ammo in the Scandium guns as my other J frames. 158 SWCHP or later the 135 Gold Dot. Recoil was STIFF, but even with the SWCHP fouling never seemed to be an issue. I don't think I'd be physically capable of firing enough lead through the gun to make it an issue...

Back when I carried one of the PDs I had steel framed J frames that I shot far more often. Under stress you wont notice the difference in weight. Save the gun (and your hand) the abuse.

Hah!
Thanks for these.
I once shot a 340pd with I believe mild 357 125 grain loads. How bad could it be? They’re only five. Each round more painful… tried… couldn’t… get… past… four.
So bronze brushes and limited use of most any cleaner have worked out for people? I definitely agree I’m never going to shoot high round counts through it.

I’ve had a 340PD for a long time, bought new. I like it, carry it fairly often too.

I go mild with cleaning, my understanding too. That leads to Hoppes 9.

I’ll shoot it enough to test with whatever ammo, then call it good. The 38 +p level is as high as I go, it’s manageable with those. Again, it’s a carry gun, not really a 200 round at the range type gun, I have others for that.

I’m not the type that needs to load or carry 357 ammo in it at ANY time. I realize yours is a 38, that would be no problem here.

Back when I was younger and dumber and just getting into pistols around 2006/2007, my LGS had a 342PD in the rental case and it caught my eye.

I rented it and purchased a box of 50 rounds of .38 Special range ammo and proceeded to shoot the entire box.

By the end of that my trigger finger was bleeding and my hand ached and ached for 2-3 days after that.

I told the RSO on the way out "wow, that was NOT fun to shoot 50 rounds out of!" and he says "Why would you do that? 50 rounds?"

Learned my lesson that day these guns are NOT to be shot a whole lot unless you're a masochist!

I really like the idea of these guns, and I've shot several of them, including the .357 variant. It wasn't exactly fun, but it wasn't completely unbearable, either. What has kept me away from owning one is exactly your question here...concerns about care and maintenance of the coated titanium cylinder. Well, that and the stories about them acting as kinetic bullet pullers under recoil.

I have a 360J...Scandium-framed .38+P with a steel cylinder instead of titanium. It does weigh a couple of ounces more than the PD variants, but it can be maintained using traditional methods and I've never had any issues with it pulling bullets. It's a great little gun and still disappears in a pocket...I can even carry it in in gym shorts as long as I'm not running or biking in them.

In the past year S&W released a batch of steel-cylindered 360Js in .357 Magnum. I wouldn't mind trying one of those out, but it honestly doesn't offer enough over my .38+p to justify the expense.

On my scandium cylinder Smiths I use Ballistol or Hoppes Elite and a patch for the most part. The few times I used a brush it was a nylon one.

I recollect that S&W warned against the use of bronze bore brushes and solvents with ammonia as an ingredient. I’m pretty sure that includes original Hoppes.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
...For ammo, look at Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel or Hornady Critical Defense. Both loads test well in snubs with controllable recoil. My LCR shoots the Critical Defense load great!

I don't know about Critical Defense, but the 135 gr Short Barrel Gold Dots (23921) are +P. I've fired them in my 642 and they're a tad snappy.

If you're a wimp (like me) or old (like me), here's one of several low recoil rounds:

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...001552025?pid=211732

Make sure the grips fit your hand. When I used to shoot one of these, the Hogue "Bantam" grips were too small for me to feel in complete control. I had to move up a size to the rubber Craig Spegal "boot" grips.

For a self defense load in my 642 I use Federal HST micro 130 gr. Recoil is relatively mild.

Thank you everyone for the input and guidance.
It sounds like Ballistol (and maybe even Hoppes CLP or any other CLP) is OK.
Think I will use a nylon brush.
Not going to shoot it much. Practice will be with a regular old 442.
Thank you for the low recoiling load recommendations. I want to stick with wadcutters, as the very lowest recoiling load. Looking just for reliability in a get off me gun.
Do people think wadcutters are a problem?
- I don’t think there would be bullet pulling with such low velocity?
- Is the lead fouling unlikely to be a problem if I shoot it infrequently?
Much appreciated.
Scott

Federal Gold Match wadcutters. Work just fine. The POA and POI work, and the recoil is mild.

These things just plain hurt to shoot.

Mine had a pretty good trigger for a J-frame which I attributed that very light titanium cylinder.