Kel-Tec P40 .357 Sig Conversion

[McKamie Wilson]

The mail arrived today and with it came my new .357 Sig conversion kit for the Kel-Tec P40. It consisted of a slide, .357 Sig barrel, steel guide rod, and springs. It took less than five minutes to go from P40 to P357. Two hours later I was standing at the range with a very warm Kel-Tec in my hands and an ear-to-ear grin. This thing shoots!

Okay, admittedly my primary is a .45 Auto, but I needed a small carry weapon. Long story short, I settled on the Kel-Tec P40. Then Alamo (one of the TFL folks) told me that there was a .357 Sig kit for it. It may now be the perfect carry. 2" to 3" groups at 10 yards just below point of aim. 100 rounds. No failures. It ate four different types of ammo, straight and mixed.

Now, if it will just pass the test of time, say, 500 rounds.....

I got faith. Thanks Alamo.

Mac

 

[Dave R]

Wooo hoo! Sounds like a great carry piece. Lots of power in a small package.

How does recoil compare to your .45acp?

 

[McKamie Wilson]

Dave R.

My Sig P220 is smooooooooth by comparison. The Kel-Tec's recoil (both .40 S&W and .357 Sig) is very crisp. Not unmanageable, but you know you've shot something that really barks. After about 50 rounds, the five shot groups got to be about fist-sized. The P11 (9mm) is much easier to shoot. In an extended firefight, I'll take the P220. In an emergency, the Kel-Tec is as close to the perfect tool as I've seen. Again, I am holding the final judgement until I have run enough rounds through it to feel completely comfortable with its reliability.

Mac

 

[Rebeldon]

.357 Sig being shot from such a light pistol has got to hurt.

 

[alamo]

Glad you like your "new" .357 SIG. That is one of Kel-Tecs unadvertised "accessories". They also make a steel guide rod for the P-32 which they don't advertise. Not sure why. They stopped making the P-40 but maybe they'll continue producing the slide, barrel and springs as another unadvertised option.
I wasn't aware that you had to get a new slide for the .357 but I guess it is needed for the different sized barrel. I had always understood that it fit in the P-40 slide.

 

[McKamie Wilson]

Rebeldon:

.357 Sig being shot from such a light pistol has got to hurt.

It's not so much hurt as it is very crisp. In the same way that shooting a rifle in 7mm Mag has a crisper recoil than a 12 gauge shotgun. Actually, the .357 Sig recoil is easier to take than the .40 S&W. Bullet weights must make the difference.

Mac

 

[McKamie Wilson]

Alamo:

When I ordered the .357 Sig conversion kit from Kel-Tec, I didn't know what would be coming with it. I have since found out that if you have a P40, all you really need is the .357 Sig barrel. However, I like the blued slide that came with the .357 kit better than the Parkerized slide that was on my NIB P40. Plus, the new slide fits the P40 frame better and it operates smoother.

The .357 Sig barrel and the .40 S&W barrel are interchangeable in both the .357 slide and the .40 S&W slide. I also got a recoil spring kit from Wolff that had three spring sets (19 lb, 20 lb, and 21 lb) and I'm using the 21 lb set. It made the recoil of the .357 less vicious, reduced the muzzle flip, and generally makes returning to target quicker. I'm really pleased with the whole setup now. I'm getting fist-sized 50 shot groups at 10 yards. Granted, part of that is just getting used to the P40/357 recoil and, of course, the long trigger pull.

Mac

 

[alamo]

Glad you like it. I may have to see about getting the conversion for my P-11 one of these days.

 

[7th Fleet]

I recently sent my P-40s slide back to the factory and had it hard chromed and night sights added, and all it cost was 100 bucks, what does the kit to swap over to .357 Sig cost and can I use my hard chromed slide with a .357 Sig barrel? Also does anybody know why Kel-Tec dropped the .40 caliber chambering?

7th

 

[alamo]

They dropped it because too many were getting returned for service that had nothing wrong with them - limpwristing - small, light weight gun/powerful round. P-40s did have more legitimate problems than the other KT pistols, particularly the early ones.

 

[McKamie Wilson]

7th Fleet:

The .357 conversion kit was $165.00 and included a new slide, the .357 Sig barrel, a steel recoil guide, and a new recoil spring set. I have since experimented with my P40 and used the original slide and springs with the .357 barrel. It worked fine, so I think all you really need is the .357 Sig barrel. That would cost much less.

Mac