357Sig

[Pretoria78]

It's a fantastic round if someone else is picking up the ammo bill.

I had a P226 in .357 and regret parting with it. It was deadly accurate and shot very flat at extended distances.

 

[alucard0822]

You can get fairly close to ballistics of most 357sig with underwood 40S&W (135gr@1450fps)or 9mm+p+ (124@1300, 147@1175) fairly good indicator of the performance, blast and recoil. Their 357sig is also loaded to it's full potential of 500-600FPE, instead of the 124@1350 most other companies produce. For my defensive purposes heavy for caliber subsonic loads are my favorite, usually best penetration and good expansion, with the least blast and recoil, basically the polar opposite of 357sig's design. If there was a greater likelihood I would shoot into or out of a vehicle, at longer ranges, or any of the other attributes that 357 does well, then I wouldn't hesitate to carry it.

 

[photoracer]

You can get fairly close to ballistics of most 357sig with underwood 40S&W (135gr@1450fps)or 9mm+p+ (124@1300, 147@1175) fairly good indicator of the performance, blast and recoil. Their 357sig is also loaded to it's full potential of 500-600FPE, instead of the 124@1350 most other companies produce. For my defensive purposes heavy for caliber subsonic loads are my favorite, usually best penetration and good expansion, with the least blast and recoil, basically the polar opposite of 357sig's design. If there was a greater likelihood I would shoot into or out of a vehicle, at longer ranges, or any of the other attributes that 357 does well, then I wouldn't hesitate to carry it.

I have some Corbon .357Sig in my collection, forget the bullet weight but is 1550 FPS. And yes 9x19mm NATO is almost the same (1280-1299 FPS) as .357Sig in the standard loadings. But the bottle neck case is a much more reliable feeding round than any of the straight wall cased calibers.

Oh and by the way I accidentally found out that 9mm will fire thru a .357Sig barrel (at least in an HK). Won't always eject the round but surprisingly the firing pin had no issue lighting off the primers in Fed 9mm even though it was farther into the chamber than .357Sig. Managed to fire 2 mags full with the occasional stovepipe until one case ballooned out far enough that the extractor could not pull it from the chamber. If I had looked closer at one of the 2 stove-piped cases I would have seen the problem earlier.

 

[RobMoore]

Its my issued round, but the only time I would ever pull any .357SIG gun out of the bag at the range is if I want to shoot steel plates at 100-300 yards (obviously with the front sight held high). Its an accurate round, I'll give it that, but not much fun to bang away with at pistol ranges.

As far as its fate, as the OP asked, the answer in part depends on how many agencies that are currently with it stick with it.

 

[SCARCQB]

I've been partial to the glock 32 for several years and it still rides in a crossbreed iwb quite frequently.

It actually replaced my g19 as my Ccw gun.

No holdover at 100 yards. Shoots flat for a pistol and extremely reliable. I have not experience any kind of malfunction on it. Even if deliberately limp wristed.
Double tap ammo makes some hot loads that approximate the 357 magnum in performance.

The only drawback ? Ammo is extensive.

 

[fidelity]

So for those of you that think about terminal ballistics more than I do, if you had a pistol that could swap between 357 Sig and 40 S&W barrels, which would you carry as possible black bear defense (putting aside the argument that such attacks are rare)? Would you go with 125 gr FMJ 357 Sig from Underwood or 180 gr hardcast 40 S&W from Buffalo Bore (or Underwood - if they sell such a round)?

Magazine capacity is the same, and let's assume that you are equally effective at getting both on target for the first and subsequent shots. You don't have the option of another semiautomatic (e.g. in 10 mm) or revolver.

Perhaps the percussive blast of 357 Sig will be enough to scare the bear. Lol.

 

[sgt23preston]

" They were too expensive to feed to keep around as toys".

And that is the real bottom line..!

 

[Pretoria78]

P226 DAK in .357 here. Tempting............

 

[Uncle Duke]

357 Sig is a truly excellent round in it's own right. It also has the misfortune to be neither the wildly popular and long established 9mm Luger nor the 45acp.

Some parallels come to mind with the .41 Remington Magnum on the revolver side. With either fine round, a reloading press or a fat wallet are the only way to shoot quantities. Sadly, that reality with either cartridge will likely never change.

 

[DC-W]

First caliber I ever shot and miss it. Next time I buy a handgun, .357Sig is where I'm going.

 

[Mowog]

Sig makes (at least made) a sigtac holster for the 239. Its a paddle style retention holster for OWB carry. I have a 239 SAS 9mm, and fits perfect (as it should) in the holster.

 

[StantonCree]

I just snagged a M&P 357 SigC

 

[sgt23preston]

And that is the real bottom line..!

Couldn't have said it better myself: to expensive to feed & the ammo is too hard to find when things get tough...

 

[pilotguy299]

...
I found a deal on some police-issued only ammunition (not for direct to public sale), forget the ballistics on it, but I can hit what I'm aiming at out to at least 25 yards with it and that's enough for me.
....

Do you mean this:

Speer Gold Dot LE Duty 357 SIG Ammo 125 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

http://www.targetsportsusa.com/speer-gold-dot-le-duty-357-sig-ammo-125-gr-jhp-53918-p-53207.aspx

$600 per 1K with free shipping

 

[Blaster229]

Do you mean this:

Speer Gold Dot LE Duty 357 SIG Ammo 125 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

http://www.targetsportsusa.com/speer-gold-dot-le-duty-357-sig-ammo-125-gr-jhp-53918-p-53207.aspx

$600 per 1K with free shipping

Yum yum. The delicious stuff.

 

[davsco]

i really like the round, and it's one of my primary carry guns, g32. not at walmart, and not inexpensive, but buy a case online and you'll have plenty for a while. definitely with better and hotter 9mm rounds becoming available, the 357sig has lost it's high spot, but still a pretty good round. maybe not best for shtf because of above, but a great carry and house gun round.

 

[Blaster229]

i really like the round, and it's one of my primary carry guns, g32. not at walmart, and not inexpensive, but buy a case online and you'll have plenty for a while. definitely with better and hotter 9mm rounds becoming available, the 357sig has lost it's high spot, but still a pretty good round. maybe not best for shtf because of above, but a great carry and house gun round.

You forgot the best feeding round of any.

 

[Baccusboy]

Couldn't have said it better myself: to expensive to feed & the ammo is too hard to find when things get tough...

Oddly, when ammo was hard to find, it was 9mm I couldn't get. I could buy .40 all day, and .357 sig was about as available as it ever was (not every retailer carried it in the first place).

 

[photoracer]

So for those of you that think about terminal ballistics more than I do, if you had a pistol that could swap between 357 Sig and 40 S&W barrels, which would you carry as possible black bear defense (putting aside the argument that such attacks are rare)? Would you go with 125 gr FMJ 357 Sig from Underwood or 180 gr hardcast 40 S&W from Buffalo Bore (or Underwood - if they sell such a round)?

Magazine capacity is the same, and let's assume that you are equally effective at getting both on target for the first and subsequent shots. You don't have the option of another semiautomatic (e.g. in 10 mm) or revolver.

Perhaps the percussive blast of 357 Sig will be enough to scare the bear. Lol.

Well since my HK USP-C has barrels for those 2 and 9mm I can say that it would depend. Frankly if I was going into bear country I would prefer a magnum revolver of .41 Magnum caliber at a minimum (used to have one). Maybe the hottest heavy .40 round I can find, something like 180g at 1200 FPS or more.