RickyD, I didn't think that S&W had the 360 PD or the internal hammer 340 PD in anything but .357 Magnum. Not to say that they couldn't be fed a steady diet of .38 Specials or +P Specials which according to all the reviews most people will use in them anyhow. One review I remember called a 12 ounce J Frame with .357's "a flamethrower with like a bomb going off in your hand." Actually I thought that I was pretty happy with a stainless Colt Government .380 as an every day carry piece and then I went to a gun show in Lakeland, FL. and fingered a 12 ounce 360 PD Scandium framed S&W. I've always liked the option of having an exposed hammer on my handguns because like most of us, I'm a hands in the pockets kind of guy anyhow and I can cover that hammer coming out of my pocket with my thumb, or shoot single action better than I can double action only. That 360 PD was nearly perfect, but not quite because I don't like the S&W lock. Then I got looking at previously made Scandium J Frames in .38 Special only. Bingo. Turns out that S&W made the 337 PD .38 Special +P only version for two years pre-lock and two years post-lock back in the late 1990's to early 2000's. My pre-lock version found on Gun Broker weighs 9 ounces empty and 12 ounces loaded and replaced that 20 plus ounce Colt .380 for EDC. Shot snake loads for snake country or +P Hornady Personal Defense other times or a combination of the two. The guys here jumped me for suggesting that 5 rounds should be enough in a defensive situation and we can agree to disagree on that scenario. That 337 PD is perfect for my EDC. Your mileage may vary.
Well, it doesn't vary much since we have about the same gun. Mine does have the lock and I'm not very concerned about that. Mine is a scandium frame, too, an exposed hammer. And it's 38 only but it's not 9 oz. I wonder how they could get another 3 oz off the gun. I did check online and see Smith sold some 360J's to Japan a while back that are 38 only. Maybe mine was that. I'd had two 360PD 357's prior to this one and I thought it was designated 360 also but was a 38 only which I know it is. I'll check and see if it has a model number on it tonight.
