357 sig......tell me more

Have a Glock Model 33. For years it was my LEO son’s off duty piece but he left it here a few years ago when he went with something else.
It’s kind of heavy, trigger is OK, recoil, for me, is just a little to much for this old dude for accurate follow up shots but it does pack a wallop.
I got a great deal on some home brew ammo at a show a few years ago and I also have about 200 factory loads. Not an every day carry for me but nice to have around.

IMO you don't gain enough speed over 9mm to justify holding a little less ammo. 9mm is close enough in performance and much easier to find and cheaper.

357 Sig is available in Glock 31, 32, 33 - Can use appropriate 357 Glock or Lone Wolf barrel in Glock 22, 23, 27 (40 S&W).
I'll include 9mm for comparison.
Glock 19 (9mm)
Federal HST 124 gr. +P @ 1,210 fps / 403# KE
Federal HST 147 gr +P @ 1,044 fps / 356# KE
Glock 32 (357 Sig)
Speer Gold Dot 125 gr. @ 1,344 fps / 501# KE
Federal HST 125 gr. @ 1,358 fps / 512# KE (This is a 21% and 30% increase in KE over HST 9mm +P)
Glock 22 with Lone Wolf 357 Sig barrel
Speer Gold Dot 125 @ 1,363 fps / 516# KE
Federal HST 125 @ 1,385 fps / 533# KE
Ranger T 125 @ 1,389 fps / 536# KE
Glock 35 with 357 Sig Barrel (This is essentially a 16 shot 357 Mag, see below)
125 Gold Dot @ 1,399 fps / 543# KE
125 HST @ 1,415 fps / 556# KE
125 Ranger T @ 1,428 fps / 566# KE
125 PPU FPJ @ 1,461 fps / 593# KE

Lucky Gunner ammo test
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/
Couple of "full power" 357 Mag loads to support what I said. (Fair comparison to Glock 35 cause 4'' revolver doesn't include chamber)
4'' barrel 125 gr. Remington SJHP - 1,473 fps
4'' barrel 125 gr. Gold Dot - 1,427 fps

I have 3, a glock 23 with 357 Sig barrel, a Sig 226 with 40 and 357 Sig barrels and a Sig 229 with 40 and 357 Sig barrels. I handload and the 357 Sig definitely has lots more poop than 9mm.

jmr40 said:

IMO you don't gain enough speed over 9mm to justify holding a little less ammo. 9mm is close enough in performance and much easier to find and cheaper.

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Im seeing the opposite. 357 sig is around while 9mm is gone.

I have a G32 that I’m working with now to see if I can get it as accurate as my G19 and 43X but so far it’s not. Federal HST 125 grain JHP seems to be most accurate so far but I’ve only tried Speer a Gold Dot 125’s beside that load and still have Underwood 125’s to shoot.

I’ve also tried Montana Gold 125 JHP with several powders but nothing that’s really got me excited yet.

So far it hasn’t overtaken the G19 with 147 grain Federal HST in the CCW role.

I have converted three handguns from .40 to .357 Sig: A G23 and G22 (both gen 4s). They are my carry guns, and both have KKM barrels. And the wildly unsuccessful Sig P224, which just has a factory replacement barrel.

I have only two handloads right now. One is with RMR's 124gr FMJ-FN bullet and Power Pistol. It's averages 1425fps from a 4" barrel. The other is Speer's 125gr Gold Dot and BE-86. It averages 1405fps from the same barrel. Accuracy from these two loads is acceptable, but not amazing. At 25yds 10 shots gets me about 2" groups from either one. They both show signs of being better than that, but I'm not a Ransom Rest. And practical accuracy only needs to be so good for self defense.

I carry Federal HST 125gr when in populated areas. But the 124gr FMJ-FN load for a lot of hiking these days. I also use it for practice.

It's very loud compared to other more common semi-auto cartridges. But to my perceptions, offers slightly less recoil than .40S&W in the Glocks. Others may not see it that way. The recoil is just "different". The bottle neck design has given me very reliable feeding even in the KKM match barrels (which are supposed to have tighter tolerances than most factory barrels).

Overall, I like the .357 Sig enough to continue shooting it. And trust it enough to continue carrying it. The two extra rounds I could have with a G19 vs a G23, or G17 vs a G22 aren't a big concern to me. And right now, if I could only have one handgun cartridge for the rest of my life, it would be .357 Sig. Though if I had gotten interested in 10mm instead, I probably would say the same about that too.

I have a Sig 1911 factory chambered in 357 Sig. Much more pleasant to shoot and groups better than my S&W 357 M&P.

Current group think is that 120 year old German round is the ultimate man stopper. In reality the 357 Sig is considerably more powerful by any measure. Ignore anyone who brings up Buffalo Bore, Underwood, +p+, etc. Paul Harrell has excellent videos on the round.

The 357 Sig is still made by 2 of the most popular handgun makers, Sig Sauer and Glock. If I was going to buy a new 357 Sig it would be the Glock 31. If I were a really patient man, I would wait for it in the 5th Gen configuration that Glock stated is forthcoming for non-9mm's. You'll pay a premium for the ammunition but there is a reason you can't buy a Hi Point in 357 Sig.

.357 Sig is an excellent round. It is more powerful on average than the 9mm, it has sharper, snappier recoil than a 9mm. Any given pistol will hold fewer rounds of the Sig than 9mm.
As far as accuracy is concerned, it is more a function of the quality of the firearm, the quality of the ammunition and the quality of the nut behind the trigger.
The ammunition is far more expensive than 9mm and much more difficult to find. It may be and probably is somewhat more effective than an equivalent 9mm.
Like decisions about what beer you like or what females / males you like, it depends on what YOU want in a defensive pistol. Just a defensive pistol. Its not a
bullseye pistol, nor a weekend plinker or one you'd enter your local clubs pistol competition with. A defensive pistol round and a good one, how good depends on what YOU want
or need in a defensive firearm.

jmr40 said:

IMO you don't gain enough speed over 9mm to justify holding a little less ammo. 9mm is close enough in performance and much easier to find and cheaper.

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9mm (9x19) is just so ubiquitous, it’s hard not to admire all its configurations, etc., that said, the .357sig is a great round IMHO. Its performance exceeds the 9x19 and it’s the superior cartridge, especially in the hands of someone who trains with it and is comfortably shooting it, JMHO

PS I have a Glock 23 with a .357sig conversion barrel from KKM.

I have a steyr m in .357 sig. also a xd in .357 sig. dont know if either is still made. dont think so though. I find it a good round. its recoil is similar to bit more than 9mm or about like a .40s&w in other words easy to handle. I only have full sized handguns in it though. dont know in smaller platforms how it feels.

it popularity never really took off very fast or far, but i enjoy it. in hindsight not sure it really delivers anymore than .40s&w or 9mm today. I realize its different just saying more in the regard of a shooter who isn't clocking speeds and ft lbs and drooling over ballistics.

9mm is NOT that close to 357 Sig. Ridiculous to say it is. Not much experience with it I'd imagine.

Antihero said:

I see loads for the 357sig hitting 2100fps with 65 GR bullets......that sure doesn't seem like anything 9mm does.......

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I think the Liberty Civil Defense ammo does 2000 fps w/ a 50gr bullet in 9mm. Does the same thing when it his soft tissue tho: it explodes and doesn't penetrate much.

I’m a 1911 guy but my favorite handgun is the sig 229 in .357 sig. I don’t know why but I just shoot that gun better than any other gun I have ever shot and I have owned 2, you do lose capacity over 9mm, that’s a given but the necked cartridge is much more difficult to have failure to feed or failure to eject or stovepipe. Outstanding penetration and expansion.

The negatives are that the ammo is more difficult to find and much more expensive. It is one of the most difficult rounds to hand load well

Still my favorite. Currently I have a sig p229 and a glock 23 with .357 sig barrels.

jeff-10 said:

Ignore anyone who brings up Buffalo Bore, Underwood, +p+, etc. Paul Harrell has excellent videos on the round.

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Care to elaborate on the above comment as I’m currently in possession of Underwood ammunition for the .357 Sig

jeff-10 said:

Current group think is that 120 year old German round is the ultimate man stopper.

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Current group think is that 120 year old German round is t̶h̶e̶ ̶u̶l̶t̶i̶m̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶p̶p̶e̶r̶ good enough with "modern" HP.
FIFY.

1220 vs 1400 OR 1800 vs 2100. Not worth it to me. None of them are anything more than a handgun round. 40S&W is more available right now than 9mm or 357Sig.

Hartkopf said:

1220 vs 1400 OR 1800 vs 2100. Not worth it to me. None of them are anything more than a handgun round. 40S&W is more available right now than 9mm or 357Sig.

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Perhaps but variety is the spice of life.....lol

Lennyjoe said:

Perhaps but variety is the spice of life.....lol

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.

If money were no option I would probably have a couple 357Sigs. I do like the round just not enough to go down that road.

There was a time when I bought all of my guns in .357 Sig. I have a couple Glocks and 6 Sigs that were originally in that caliber. When I realized that most .357 Sig loads were actually loaded down to .40 S&W power I converted all but 2 to .40 S&W and now all but 2 of those are 9mm.

I love .357 Sig as a caliber and, if I reloaded, I would be all over it. However once .40 S&W and 9mm became dirt cheap a few years ago it made no sense to convert most of my guns over to less expensive ammo.

Now that I have switched over to p365 variants for EDC and am enjoying the reasonable carry weight along with lighter relative recoil I don't think I would go back unless I were to be transported to that proverbial land of 'You can only have one pistol for ...'

richkratz said:

9mm is NOT that close to 357 Sig. Ridiculous to say it is. Not much experience with it I'd imagine.

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if you're referring to me, you imagined wrong.

I have an M&P Compact 40 1.0 with a conversion barrel for 357 Sig and 9MM. I would not feel undergunned with any of them. That being said, the 357 Sig is snappier than 9. Have not chrono'd it yet, but there is a lot of "authority" to it. Reloading is a little different than a straight walled case, you really have to watch the belling and neck tension - just kiss the case mouth enough to alow the bullet to start. I also recommend the Lee FCD for good measure. Not all 9mm bullets are compatible with 357 Sig - they need enough bearing surface for the correct surface tension. Ammo is normally more expensive than 9 or 40, or was before Covid. I am still trying to find the best powder for my pistol, so no recommendations there at this time.