Four calibers in a P250... my impressions

[Technosavant]

For grins and giggles I have obtained conversion kits for all the calibers for my Sig P250.* 9mm, .357Sig, .40S&W, and .45ACP- all are full size, and only the .45ACP requires its own grip frame (same exterior size, but the magwell is bigger). I thought it would be nice to be able to shoot everything if need be, but I also had wanted to be able to compare the three main** autoloader self defense calibers (9mm, .40, .45) and one I always wanted to try (.357 Sig). Since all three run through the same platform, it would give me an excellent ability to compare one to the next in terms of the respective cartridge "feels."

I used rounds that were more or less midweight to heavy for the caliber- 124gr for 9mm and .357 Sig, 180gr in .40 S&W, and 230 gr for .45ACP. The results surprised me.

The recoil did increase as I went up the scale, but not by near as much as I expected. Not at all. I expected .357 and .40 to be much snappier than 9mm... they really weren't. The .357 added a touch of snap to the 9mm and a fair amount of muzzle flash (the .357 definitely wins the muzzle flash award). Going to the .40 took a touch of the snap and while the felt recoil got a touch heavier, it felt almost like a split between the 9mm and .45 ACP. Where the .45 is more of a shove/push, the .40 seems to be a touch of snap and a bit of shove.

So generally, I'd always thought and expected the .40 to be a handful- it really wasn't. There was much less variation between them as you went from one to the next, and although going from 9mm directly to .45 shows a big difference (more felt recoil, but no snappiness), you really don't notice as huge a difference. I expected to like the .357, but I came away kinda liking the .40 (which I never expected to enjoy).

Lessons learned:
1) In the same platform, recoil isn't a huge deal when going from cartridge to cartridge. The feel of the recoil can change, but at least for me I could handle any of these very easily.
2) Round capacity and ammo price is pretty much an equal consideration to recoil characteristics... if the actual cartridge can be handled well by the shooter, then it's more a matter of preference (since terminal ballistics between these four rounds tend to be not terribly dissimilar) regarding those other factors.
3) A morning at the range beats a morning at the office.


* This thread isn't about the P250. It worked great, neither gun (used two different fire control modules) failed at any point in any way. There's really no other platform where you can rotate between all four of these rounds, so I just thought I'd give it a whirl.

** Yes, I know there's others, but these are the usual suspects of self defense calibers in a bottomfeeder.

 

[JohnKSa]

Good idea for a post.

If you have a shot timer, it would be interesting to see the results of several drills shot with each caliber to see the differences in times/scores.

 

[Misssissippi Dave]

I did something similar with the P250 using compact models. A little less weight and barrel lenght. I enjoyed the 9 mm and .45 the most. Between the .357 and .40 I would choose the .357 if I didn't have to worry about ammo costs. I load 9 mm and .45 so I tend to use my loads rather than factory. For my test I used WWB for all four. At the moment I prefer a load I worked up using 185 grain JHP and WST powder for a mild good shooting load in .45. I like that load with the .45 so much I even ordered the Sub Compact kit recently. That will give me all 3 sizes in .45.

I have to admit the P250 is a great platform to compare all 4 calibers side by side and have the same general size with the same trigger. I can't think of another pistol you can do this with. One thing is for certain, when ammo starts drying up again I should be able to find something I can use until it is all gone.