Convert to .357 Sig?

Not sure what the benefits are, I wouldn't want to be shot with either! That said, I have a Glock 23 with a Storm Lake barrel so I can shoot 357 sig. I do that just for fun; convert it back to a 40 for home defense, mainly because of reliability (I.E., factory parts).

You can use the same mags.

I've done it. Worked out perfect.

I came buy a new Glock 33 (357 SIG). I'm not a big Glock fan, although I have several, but I couldn't turn down the G33 price.
I had never even shot a 357 SIG before, but I liked it.

Now I'm a big fan of the powerful round and have reloaded several thousand rounds and loading more.

I wanted a bigger gun (not a Glock) for the 357 SIG round.

I had the choice of buying a barrel for my Browning Hi Power 40 S&W, Beretta 96 or Taurus 101.

I did a little research and bought a "EFK Fire Dragon" barrel.
It was a little expensive. A little less than $200 delivered, but it's very well made.
And it's been Zero problems. Swap barrels, a two minute job and shoot.
The same barrel fits the Beretta and Taurus and works perfect in both guns.

Since I reload, the cost and availability of 357 SIG ammo is no problem, so I shoot the gun a lot (backyard range).

I like the round so much, I installed a Streamlight TLR-2 laser/light and I use the Taurus (357 SIG) as the primary nightstand gun.




BTW, not only do 40 S&W mags work with the 357 SIG round but so do many (most) 9mm mags function fine. During last weeks shooting all I was using is 9mm mags.

And recently I came by a Beretta Cougar in 357 SIG. Nice gun.



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The M&P .40's mags are stamped both for .40 and .357, no issues there whatsoever.

I keep intending to pick up the .357 barrel for the M&P, but I keep on taking the wheelguns out for exercise instead, or paying for Child-related stuff. (Who made that silly rule that they like eating more than once per day, and being entertained on top of that.... Madness I tell you!! MADNESS!!)

Eventually though It's on "the list". Go get a Barrel and let us enjoy your fun vicariously.

As to actual advantage... It's a good round.. I don't really see anything to make it THAT much better or worse than a .40, but I won't mock it for not being a .45 Colt. It works.

Variety is the spice of life.

I have a P226 in 357sig. I enjoy shooting this pistol. The magazines will work on 357sig and 40s&w rounds. The recoil is not that different from the 40, but the flash and report are very different. The 357sig has ballistics closer to a 357mag.

Converted my 357 M&P to 40---just factory barrel swap

Bought the barrel mainly to take advantage of the cheaper and more available 40 ammunition.

For those of you reloading .357 Sig (and you probably already know this), I'd highly recommend using a slow powder, such as AA#9. Setback's a real possibility with such a paucity of neck bearing surface as one finds in the .357 Sig.

Kennydale said:

I am curious to the benefits of converting .40 barrel with a Sig357 (I imagine it fits the 40 magazine)

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The ammo selection is worse and prices per box higher?

The .357 Sig is my favorite carry round. A lot of people have never shot true .357 Sig ammo as it was designed which is 125 grains at 1450fps. There is only one place that I know to buy ammo that meets or exceeds this spec and that is Underwood and it will chrono 1500 fps. Corbon and Buffalo Bore get close but not quite there. Speer, Winchester Ranger, and Federal HST are good loads and not as weak as some others . They only claim 1350fps and they will test at that. The true .357 Sig will penetrate just about anything except the human body where it stops and dumps a lot of energy. The Secret Service uses it for good reason but recoil and cost keep it from being more popular with LE. I would love to know the exact loading used by the SS.It shoots very flat and the bottle necked design feeds very good. When buying ammo pay close attention to what you are getting and only judge the .357 Sig based on at least 1350 fps and only 125 grain ammo. The people claiming that it is just a funny looking nine and that it kicks less than .40 are not shooting the right ammo. This round in its true form is pretty much a secret to the general public because of wrong or lack of information about it.

A few 357 SIG loads I've choreographed.
I load practice ammo a little light.


Gun-Glock 33

Bullet-XTreme 100 gr plated RNFP.
10 grains Blue Dot powder
Average velocity=1213.4 FPS

Brand - Bitterroot Valley
125gr Speer GD bullet
AV= 1317 FPS



Gun-Taurus 101

Bullet-XTreme 100 gr plated RNFP
10 grains of Blue Dot powder
1304.9 FPS

Bitterroot Valley
125 gr Speer GD bullet
AV= 1406.2 FPS



I'm loading several other bullets and powders but haven't got around to choreographing them yet.

zeke4351 said:

The .357 Sig is my favorite carry round. A lot of people have never shot true .357 Sig ammo as it was designed which is 125 grains at 1450fps. There is only one place that I know to buy ammo that meets or exceeds this spec and that is Underwood and it will chrono 1500 fps. Corbon and Buffalo Bore get close but not quite there. Speer, Winchester Ranger, and Federal HST are good loads and not as weak as some others . They only claim 1350fps and they will test at that. The true .357 Sig will penetrate just about anything except the human body where it stops and dumps a lot of energy. The Secret Service uses it for good reason but recoil and cost keep it from being more popular with LE. I would love to know the exact loading used by the SS.It shoots very flat and the bottle necked design feeds very good. When buying ammo pay close attention to what you are getting and only judge the .357 Sig based on at least 1350 fps and only 125 grain ammo. The people claiming that it is just a funny looking nine and that it kicks less than .40 are not shooting the right ammo. This round in its true form is pretty much a secret to the general public because of wrong or lack of information about it.

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Zeke, your post intrigues me. I just picked up my first .357 Sig pistol, an H&K P2000SK with both the .357 Sig and .40 barrels. The Gun is stamped .357 though. I have some Speer GD 125 coming in, but you make me want to try the Underwood. How is the CorBon in .357 sig by the way?

righteoushoot said:

Zeke, your post intrigues me. I just picked up my first .357 Sig pistol, an H&K P2000SK with both the .357 Sig and .40 barrels. The Gun is stamped .357 though. I have some Speer GD 125 coming in, but you make me want to try the Underwood. How is the CorBon in .357 sig by the way?

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Corbon and Buffalo Bore are running closer to Underwood than others. Take a look at a test video on YouTube by tnoutdoors9. He tests a lot of different .357 Sig ammo but one that stands out to me was the Remington Golden Saber bonded. Massive wound track! I read that the inventor of the Black Talon later went to work for Remington and came up with the Golden Saber design. There seems to be a lot of interesting information about ammo and ballistics that is buried and not discussed much. I just like to keep digging. It seems to me that most all ammo has been quietly watered down for some reason. The good stuff can be bought but the differences don't seem to be noticed or talked about much. The talk of soft shooting and quick follow up shots has blinded most people to the truth about the weak ammo the majority of people are using. Don't get me wrong it will all kill you. I thought I had shot .40 S&W until I shot some issued to state police. Damn!!! It was hot!! The 10mm has been watered down to nothing compared how it was when invented also. Just my opinion but I really do think that +p and +p+ = normal as designed from all I have been finding. All ammo has been getting made less destructive and now there seems to be a big surge for silencers which will have people going to even weaker and quieter ammo so they can't hear the gun fire. Gun control is never going to fly in most states but it will wind up being ammo control that comes along quietly.

I run a KKM conversion in my G24, for the .357 SIG rounds, and it has become addictive. There's many reasons that LE from FLA to AZ run these babies.

For a true SHTF pistol with vehicle contacts, .357 SIG is the way to go.

My favorite is my Glock 20 with 6.2" 357Sig barrel. Not sure but the extra 2" may add a little velocity, not a ton but some. Sure is fun to shoot.

Kennydale said:

I am curious to the benefits of converting .40 barrel with a Sig357 (I imagine it fits the 40 magazine)

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Found this picture of a forum members leg from another forum. This is the entrance wound from his .357 Sig round. He let his Glock get the best of him.

Kennydale said:

I am curious to the benefits of converting .40 barrel with a Sig357 (I imagine it fits the 40 magazine)

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In any ammo shortage you might find .357 Sig when you cannot find .40 (or vice versa.)

Deaf

The above picture looks like a grazing wound and is apparently taken after medical intervention had begun. As the recipient was shot by his own gun this seems highly probable and one could reasonably conclude that a standard 9 mm round would inflict the same damage if it coming from the same angle.

The .357 sig is a fine round but I doubt that it offers any significant advantage over .40. It certainly does come with higher costs to shoot. Supposedly TX DPS adopted it to defeat wind shields but greater barrier penetration hardly seems a positive characteristic for the defensive handgun of the standard citizen.

M2, are you saying choreograph on purpose?

M2,

Love to see that Glock 33 chrono some Double Tap 115 gr. ammo!

Their website shows:

3.5" barrel - 1494fps

Not bad at all.

And here is some comparisons.

http://www.ballistics101.com/357_sig.php

Deaf

JustinJ said:

The above picture looks like a grazing wound and is apparently taken after medical intervention had begun. As the recipient was shot by his own gun this seems highly probable and one could reasonably conclude that a standard 9 mm round would inflict the same damage if it coming from the same angle.

The .357 sig is a fine round but I doubt that it offers any significant advantage over .40. It certainly does come with higher costs to shoot. Supposedly TX DPS adopted it to defeat wind shields but greater barrier penetration hardly seems a positive characteristic for the defensive handgun of the standard citizen.

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Conclude all you want but you can read the whole story with questions and answers from forum members if you want to find out for sure. There is an exit wound and you can google .357 Sig wound and go to the forum and read about it. There is way too much concluding that goes on various gun forums. It was a 115 grain and went through a blanket and pants leg. The guy is now completely sold on the .357 Sig but maybe not so much on Glock.

I've thought about going the .357SIG route, but chose the .38 Super instead. The major advantages of the Super for handloaders are the ability to load select .357mag bullets at factory .357mag velocities, lower operating pressures, stronger casings, lower brass cost and very fast split times.

One of the biggest issues for the .357SIG are a number of bullets loaded for this potent caliber are designed for 9mm velocities. For instance, we know from feral goat culling that 124gr XTPs come apart in the high 1300s to low 1400s.

Gel numbers from Double Tap ammunition;

http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=336612

There is also the 9x25 Dillon for 10mm frame guns.

The .357 Sig is a necked down .40S&W to 9mm. The 9x25 Dillon is a necked down 10mm Auto to 9mm.
The 10mm is the parent cartridge of the 40S&W and is longer with more case capacity but with the same diameter brass and bullets. 10mm is to 40S&W what 9x25 is to .357 Sig.

A reloader could use the same bullets for the 9x25, and reach higher velocities easier.

Of course you won't be buying factor 9x25 Dillon many places (double tap sells some) and reloading is a must.

You can shoot the same bullets with a 20-30% velocity increase. And be over 800 foot pounds of energy in many loads. With some up around 900.

The primary thing that keeps me from using such rounds defensively is the noise. You would do serious hearing damage shooting those loads without hearing protection from a pistol barrel. They are louder than many rifles.

M2, are you saying choreograph on purpose?

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I just can't spell.

Here's probably more information about the 357 SIG than you want to know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.357_SIG

Refering to the speer reloading manual, I got some 124 gr loads up to 1580 ft/sec. After shooting it a few times through my chrono and seeing those velocities out of my glock 23 with a wolf barrel, I decided to stop that. I actually loaded a couple of tenths less than the books max load. I can't remember the exact load but, it was 124 gr Speer gold dot and Hornady XTPs with AA#9.