There are so many downsides to the .357 sig... Ammo isn't cheap nor is it easy to find (as in might not be in your local S-mart)

Yet, I still think its a good round but I've definitely got some 9s and 45s and even a 10mm on my list before .357 sig

It's not hard to find if you know where to look. I ordered 1000 rounds a couple months ago and got them in 4 days from an online retailer. Just as cheap as the .45acp that I order too.

I think people get "not easy to find" confused with "forgot to plan ahead" a lot of times.

I have a Sig P229 with a .40 cal and a .357 barrel.

I've never installed nor shot the .357.

Could someone tell me how the .357 is better than the .40 or .45 ?

I just haven't done the research.

Thanks

Law enforcement personnel need ammo that can penetrate barriers like windshields and sheetrock. The .357 Sig does this better than 9mm or .40 caliber according to tests I've read.

But civilians are not called to get in shoot outs so I don't see it as a factor in that regard.

My call on this is that in the .357 revolver, Federal's 125 grain at 1400 fps is considered by many experts to be the gold standard for man stoppers.

You can get .357 Sig from Federal in 125 grain at 1400 fps, so I would say by reading the specs that the .357 Sig should do as well as the .357 S & W.

And that would be good company to keep.

On the down side the ammo is more expensive than the .40 caliber ammo.

new_guy, your question can't be answered correctly by the poll's choices, unless you understand that we're answering 'yes, the 357SIG is good or bad' and 'no, the 357SIG is good or bad'.

Personally, I love the cartridge, believing it to be the best combination of magazine capacity, knock-down power, accuracy, and reliability. The only two handguns I own are two Glocks so chambered, a new 31Gen4 and a 32Gen3, after going thru three .40s, three .45GAPs, and a 10mm.



If you don't reload, the best-overall PD cartridges available are the Speer 125 Gold Dots and smaller companies' loads using the Barnes 125g. TAC-XP, the best PD bullets money can buy IMO.

For Law enforcement or those less concerned about ammo cost & availability, the .357 Sig is probably just peachy. Is the ammo hard to find? I'd guess that it depends on where your located. Around my neck of the woods, it's less common and more expensive than the typical alternatives. Since I reload most of my range ammo, there is less to be gained IMHO, because bottlenecked cartridges have a larger PITA factor. As for the "feeds more reliably" thing. Is there a large problem with the traditional semi-auto cratridges feeding reliably? If my 9mm or my .40 has never had a failure, does that mean I could still see improvement by switching to .357 Sig? If I for some reson wish to duplicate the ballistics of one particular .357 magnum load (the 125 gr "hand of God" load) I'll use a .357 magnum.
Heck at the end of the day, it really isn't an improvement (ballistically) over the .38 Super. I'd much rather have a 1911 in .38 Super than a Glock in .357 Sig.
YMMV.

Police seem to like the .357 Sig for its ability to penetrate barriers like windshields and plasterboard. They also deride the .40 for not doing well at those same tasks.

But civilians have different needs than cops do, and the .40 is well-suited for civilian use where penetrating barriers moves the event into a "shoot-out" situation (which civilians are not supposed to engage in). For a defensive role, I think the .40 is fine.

Also the .357 Sig does not drive a 9mm slug. It drives a .357 Sig slug; if you load 9mm slugs in a .357 Sig casing (they have the same physical dimensions) the 9mm will blow apart.

And although the .357 Sig drives a like weight bullet at a like velocity to the .357 S & W they will not behave the same way as the construction of the bullet is different. I'm not saying which is better; I really don't know. But I know that the bullet configurations are different so the expansion and penetration will be different too.

ammo is hard to get
i haven't seen any for quite some time
there are other calibers that do the same and a lot more plentiful ammo

Originally Posted by Packard

Also the .357 Sig does not drive a 9mm slug. It drives a .357 Sig slug; if you load 9mm slugs in a .357 Sig casing (they have the same physical dimensions) the 9mm will blow apart.

Seriously?
Contrary to all the noise, the .357 Sig's ballistics aren't that remarkable. You can interchange 115gr XTPs all day between the two, without any kabooms. Compare the two cartridges in a reloading manual, the differences in performance aren't that spectacular. The .357 sig can make better use of slower powders for maybe 200 FPS +/- or so more. If you start going into +P & +P+ 9 mm, the gap closes.

I should have been more specific. Plated and cast bullets do not hold together well; the jacketed rounds are fine.

I would recommend getting the .40 S&W first. Later purchase the .357 Sig barrel. Check out Stormlake Barrels

Got my old 229 in 357, purchased an extra barrel in 40. Both nice, I do favor the 357. Seems to have less recoil than the 40.

I have a stainless 226 in 9mm for which I got a black slide with .357 SIG and .40 S&W barrels. I think the .357 is the hottest of the various combinations. It certainly is very accurate.

I have a lone wolf barrel on back order and have not shot this round yet my only question being a hotter round than 40 is it also noticeably louder? I have fired a 357 mag now that is loud.

It's a great round. They did an amazing job trying to match the great 357 magnum. The 357 sig is worth your attention and one thing I don't look at is the cost of the ammo, your life is worth an extra couple of dollars to get the kind of results that are produced by the 357 sig.

The 357 sig is a great cartridge. And, so is the 9mm, 40 cal, 45 acp, 357 magnum and 10mm. Of course there are others but if I try to list them all I would forget one. What's more important is the skill of the user and a person mind set during a stressful encounter. If a person couldn't defend themself with any of the calibers that I listed, then they need practice more than they need a new gun. Truthfully, with today's choices of ammo, I believe that any advantage one of these calibers would offer is statistically insignificant. Just my opinion, but the 357 sig is as good as any.

Wild Bill Hickok's favorite pistols were a pair of Colt Navy model 1851 blackpowder pistols in 36 caliber. I think those pistols would have failed the FBI standards in 4 layers of denim covered gelatin. Terrible shot capacity and a booger to reload. I still wouldn't have wanted to face him with any of the above mentioned calibers. I just sayin

Originally Posted by dondavis3

My 15 y/o Sig P229 is chambered for .40 & .357.

I like it being able to just swap out the barrel & it's a .357.

Did you have any trouble with the "drop in" conversion? I bought one and it didn't fit my slide.

Originally Posted by SigShooter599

Did you have any trouble with the "drop in" conversion? I bought one and it didn't fit my slide.

My Sig came that way from the factory - I didn't alter it at all.

The poll is ambiguous...No answer is right or wrong. I like the .357 Sig round very much. I bought a G32 and rebuilt it and gave it a sweet trigger and then bought a Lone Wolf barrel and put it in my G27. Magnificent weapon. Recently I found a used Sig 229 in .357 and bought it. First Sig I have encountered with a magazine disconnect...and I wish I could get it out of the gun...but it too is a sweet shooter.