Thinking about .357 SiG...who has 'em?

[Striker1]

I'm considering trading for a .357 SiG.

I'd like to hear from those who have owned them.

How is the recoil, reliability, ammo cost/availability?

Which brand do you favor?

Thanks

 

[Eghad]

Sold my Glock 31 in .357 Sig........

 

[juliet charley]

Tried it. It doesn't do anything the 9x19 doesn't do in the way of effectiveness, but it does offer less capacity, slower follow-up shots and increased practice (ammo) costs over 9x19. While there is nothing wrong with the 357 SIG there is nothing right with it either--I remain firmly in the "why bother?" camp.

 

[rmagill]

On the winchester web site, comparing similar rounds (same weight, same bullet type, or as close as possible), the 357SIG round is faster/more energy than the 9mm, and is just a tad bit less than the 357mag. It has more recoil than a 9, maybe a .40 as well and the ammo is kinda costly, but walmart does sell it. I basically use the cheapest stuff I find.

Personally, I like the idea of having 10 (or 12) +1 of what is basically 357mag rounds. Cost wise, it is not very practical for practicing with, but that is what my 9mm is for. It is also what I carry, if that tells you anything.

 

[adephue]

I have fired rmagill's .357sig... it is a nice weapon, good for self defense. As for reliability, that depends on who makes the .357sig you are considering buying.

Glock isn't much to look at but you seldom hear anything about reliability issues on that end. Sig Sauer has some good reliable handguns also.

What were you thinking of trading for?

 

[adephue]

Also, as far as recoil goes... that will become a negligible influence as you practice. I have a .454 Casull revolver that bucks like a freakin' mule on steroids with Hornady magnum loads... but after shooting it a few times, you learn to deal with it. I went through a recoil curve with my .45ACP. If you put a thousand rounds through it you will soon forget about recoil and focus on proper sight pictures with steady, crisp trigger pulls.

IMO, shop for reliability first, then cost of ammo, then recoil last.

 

[kirkcdl]

357sig is an insidious addiction that will grip you to the very core of your being.I have a USPc and a Sig P239,both have 40 and 357 barrels.Somewhere down the line I'll probably sell the 40 barrels,too boring...

 

[DonR101395]

Have a Sig 229 in 357. It's ok, nothing spectacular. I'll probably buy a .40 barrel for it.

 

[Mike P. Wagner]

I have shot the SIG P239 and the Beretta Cougar in SIG 357. Recoil is stouter than 9mm, but not "knock your socks off" stouter.

If you put a thousand rounds through it you will soon forget about recoil and focus on proper sight pictures with steady, crisp trigger pulls.

adephue nailed this one, in my opinion. It didnt take me a hundred rounds, but the recoil didn't seem to me to be a factor.

Ammo is definitely more expsensive than 9mm - partly because there is so much 9mm out there. I don't know in comparison to .45 - I assume that there's a lot of .45 out there, too. There is a lot of .40 S&W out there. Poking aronud, it looks to me like 9mm standard loads are the cheapest you can buy (other than .22). It looks to me like there's enough .40 out there that it's a $1-2 cheaper per 50 rounds than 357 SIG. It looks to me like you can pick up SIG 357 for $8-10 per 50 looking around on the internet, and .40 S&W of the same quality is $7-9 per 50. The really cheap practice ammo manufacturers - like Wolf - aren't doing 357 SIG from what I can find, but some are doing .40 S&W.

I am not an experienced scrounger, so there are people that can probably beat this price. I rent the 357 SIGs I have shot, so I have to by range ammo. Scrounging is a theoretical exercise for me.

Mike

 

[Striker1]

Thanks for the replies.

When I asked about recoil, I was refering to muzzle flip as it pertains to fast follow up shots, not the pain factor. I am an experienced shooter and have a .44 mag. I also shoot my .45 and .40's regularly.

Is the round considered accurate or is it still in the developmental stages. I remember the first .40 I shot had disappointing accuracy. However my current .40 pistol is extremely accurate.

Thanks
again

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I love my 229 sport. Accurate easy to shoot and just plain fun. Very reliable! It is a great round for a reloader because brass is all over the place at my range!

 

[juliet charley]

When I asked about recoil, I was refering to muzzle flip as it pertains to fast follow up shots, not the pain factor.

With the same weapon (e.g., P229) and the same level of practice/proficiency, the 9x19 will have less muzzle flip and faster follow-up shots every time. When you move to smaller weapons (e.g., P239), the 9x19 advantage becomes even more apparent.

 

[357 sig 229 sauer]

Test It

Take any hard object,a piece of steel,a piece of concrete,old bullet proof vest,a car door,etc

shoot them with the 9mm,45,40,and 357 sig

i promise you the 357 sig will do more damage to the object then the 9mm,40,or 45

 

[juliet charley]

Test It

BUT, replace that hard object with a human body, and you will find 9x19 and 357 SIG do about the same amount of damage, and the .40 S&W and .45 ACP will do more. So, if you're worried about a dangerous "piece of steel, piece of concrete, old bullet proof vest, car door, etc." the 357 SIG might be for you. On the other hand, if you concern is two or four-legged flesh and blood creatures, you're as well off with the 9x19 or any of the other service calibres. If your concerned about the possibility of more than one two or four-legged flesh and blood creatures at the same time, the 9x19 holds the cards.

 

[IS300_TRD]

My friend was telling me that he wanted a .357 Sig also. I just bought my p226 EQ in .40 and wondering if I should get a conversion barrel to shoot the .357. As for stopping power wise, I believe it has more than the .40 but I am not too sure.

 

[FirstFreedom]

It doesn't do anything the 9x19 doesn't do in the way of effectiveness, but it does offer less capacity, slower follow-up shots and increased practice (ammo) costs over 9x19. While there is nothing wrong with the 357 SIG there is nothing right with it either--I remain firmly in the "why bother?" camp.

+1. It was somewhat interesting during the clinton gun ban decade, and remains so (arguably) for unusual LEO obstacle-penetration-based uses, but if you need more power than 9mm, why not get something in .38 super or 9x23 win, to have more capacity as well?

 

[juliet charley]

As for stopping power wise, I believe it has more than the .40 but I am not too sure.

The .40 S&W will do slightly more physical damage to the target (i.e., slightly larger permanent cavity) than the 9x19/357 SIG will. The .40 S&W has at least the theoretical advantage though in practical terms there's really not enough difference to make a difference. The 9x19 still has the advantage of a higher capacity (in free states, anyway) and greater shootability (i.e., faster follow-ups).

 

[357 sig 229 sauer]

although limited,shooting data from the 357 sig are just as impressive as the 357 magnum

nobody doubts that the 357 magnum is better then 9mm,40,or 45

but the 357sig which is basically the same,to some people is not as good

i recently changed the barrel on my 229 to 40 cal from 357 sig because it is my main house gun and i am concerned about damage to my ears and over penertration after seeing with my own eyes what the 357 sig did to hard objects .

but i just bought a new 239 in 357sig as my car gun because in a street situation i may have to shoot through hard objects

 

[juliet charley]

nobody doubts that the 357 magnum is better then 9mm,40,or 45

I doubt it's any better given current generation, premium JHPs all around--no worse probably, but no better.

When you stick to the big four (Winchester, Speer, Remington and Federal) manufacturers, you'll find the velocities of current generation, premium JHP loads run approximately:

9x19
115-grain +P+ ~1335 fps
124-grain +P ~1220 fps
127-grain +P+ ~1250 fps
147-grain ~990 fps

357 SIG
125-grain ~1350-1375 fps

And just for grins:

.357 Magnum
125-grain ~1450

As you can see, there’s really not lot difference in velocity between the 9x19 and 357 SIG rounds (about as much as between the .357 Magnum and 357 SIG). When it comes to performance on target, the difference is even less. When you look at what really matters for handgun effectiveness (penetration and expansion), the 9x19 and the 357 SIG deliver virtually identical performance in the lab (and identical results in actual day-to-day law enforcement use).

The neat thing is you do not have to go to +P+ (or even +P) pressures to equal (and in some cases exceed) the 357 SIG performance on target. There’s just not enough difference in actual performance (whether in the lab or in actual LE use) to make a difference—that holds as true for the 147-grain rounds at 990 fps as the 127-grain rounds at 1250 fps (and everything in between).

The 357 SIG is a fine little round, and if it is you cup of tea, good for you. Just don't deceive yourself (or anybody else) into believing it's doing anything a 9x19 (or any other service) can't do as well or better.

 

[357 sig 229 sauer]

in 125 grain,the gold dot sig is 155 fps faster then 124 9+p (sig 1375 +p 1220)

in 125 grain ,the sigs energy is 525 ,the 9+p is 410

those are big differences imo

the 357 sig is closer to the 357 mag then the9+p is to the 357 sig