357 sig

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What is it to be used for? Two legged beasts-fine, four legged - as said above; they're better choices.
 
The 5" barrel will give you similar performance to the .357 Magnum 125-grain load in the same barrel length, but with the advantages of a semi-auto. It should suit you just fine for all applications except dangerous game. The real factor is the cost of the conversion; if there are other .357 Sig pistols that can be had for less, you might consider them instead.
 
Not many woods guys would use a 125gr in a 357 mag not when soooo many better choice's out there. So thats the way i would look at the 125gr in a sig load. There are better choices unless thats all you have. With the 357mag you can have a 158gr moveing along at 1400fps +
 
If bears are a concern, a 10mm might be a better choice, but if coyotes (either variety) are what you're worried about, the 357 sig will do everything the 9mm will, with a bit of extra range, but a couple less times per reload.
 
Not many woods guys would use a 125gr in a 357 mag not when soooo many better choice's out there.
As a "woods guy" with several decades of experience, I would disagree. Unless you are in Alaska where big brown bears are found, a .357 mag is IMO the perfect woods handgun. More than sufficent for any 2-legged or 4-legged trouble you are likely to encounter in the lower 48. I honestly don't see the need for a .44 magnum, let alone any of the bigger "hand canon" calibers.
 
.357 Sig

If you like the .357 Sig you should go with your thoughts and wants instead of worrying about the naysayers. I had Glocks, large and small, in .40S&W and then after I spent some time studying and shooting the .357 Sig I traded my G22 for a G32 and changed over my G27 to the caliber. I have several choices of handguns to carry and if I decide to carry my Glocks I don't feel at all undergunned. Regards.
 
In my opinion it all depends where your hiking and what kind of beasts you may encounter. I own a p226 in .357 sig and it has been my companion on my walks in the woods. But the biggest thing i may have to deal with is a black bear, Wich i am extremely confident a 125 gr gdhp at about 1450fps would take care of. There are obviously better choices but a .357 sig is not a BAD choice by any means. Try shooting some 147gr out if it. They pack a little more punch.
 
Yes, Double Tap offers 147gr JHP at 1325 FPS IIRC. Of course this still doesn't put it on par with the .357 Magnum, but it might offer the .357 Sig more versatility than only having only one weight to work with.

If I lived near Yellowstone, sure... I might want something in 10mm or .44 Magnum. However, in the mountains of WNC I've carried my M&P40c (with .357 Sig and .40 S&W barrel), Steyr M40 and even M57 in 7.62x25 and feel I was well armed for the environment.

Again, if you hike where you might encounter large cats, grizzly, aggressive moose or other dangers creatures of that size, you might want to consider something of a different magnitude all together.
However, if you carry where you're most likely to encounter a problem with something smaller, such as an aggressive stray dog or a transient meth-head who wants your granola bars, you probably can make do with something that lacks the magnum moniker.
 
A .357mag is NOT a .357SIG. The mag has much more power with a long barrel, say 6". I can shove 125gr. bullets at around 1700fps (maybe more) with a 6" bbl. I doubt the Sig is doing that.

So for autoloaders, I agree with the 10mm. I like the G20. It has more power than the .357mag in general, but less than the .41mag. Good for anything defensive short of big brown bears.

Make sure you take a can of bear spray with you too. It works better on animals than bullets really. Bears have a sense of smell several times greater than a dog... It will stop them and make them think twice, they don't like it. If for some reason that doesn't cut it, it may give you the extra time you need shoot well. Bullets hurt them and scare them and only make them charge harder until they lose blood pressure unless you anchor them (which ain't happening with most handguns). So even if you unload you mag in a bear or big cat, you're probably gonna have to hang in there for a few minutes until they collapse. This is saying they attack at all in the first place, they usually run off.
 
i have another question what does everyone think of the 357 sig
for side arm in the woods the 5 inch barrel Springfield xdm version?
You are talking about a 125gr bullet at about 1500 fps.

That ought to do it for anything short of bear or deer.

I don't see why it would not work fine.

Deaf
 
My buddy has one of those Smith Alaskan backpackers, now that is a GREAT hiking gun. It doesnt weigh anything and packs the .44 mag punch...... Big Medicine
 
Sig is on the left, Mag is on the right. NOT THE SAME AT ALL. I don't like .357 Sig for lots of reasons, but mainly for two. One because its expensive (relatively) and two because its a PITA to reload.
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Ordman72 said:
i have another question what does everyone think of the 357 sig
for side arm in the woods the 5 inch barrel Springfield xdm version?

Seriously, did he ask if the .357 Sig was a .357 Magnum?

Did anyone in their response say the .357 Sig was a .357 Magnum?

The .357 Sig is not a .357 Mag and doesn't have the same potential by a wide margin. Yeah, I do believe we all get that well established fact.

Enough with the chest pounding already. The questions was if the .357Sig makes for an acceptable trail pistol, not a hunting pistol. I don't know what kind of dangerous game a man might encounter along the trails of NM, but I think in most realistic situations, the .357 Sig will hold it's own.
 
The 357sig is a physically small round that packs a hell of a wollop. It is a bit more expensive in ammo to practice, and as stated before, a beast to reload. Now, In my area, trade in value of them is poor to say the least. I had one and found the recoil a tad too snappy for me ( I have real small Circus midget hands). It will do the job, but, put some more research into it before you buy, and then make your purchase. I know alot of law enforcement that will swear by them.
 
There was a article in one of the "Guns and Ammo" mags, I think it was last year, wherein the author tested the 140 gr Truncated cone FMJ S&B .357 SIG ammo. He found that those rounds penetrated 54" of ballistic gellatin (4 18" blocks laid end to end) and broke a 2x4 at the end of the stack that was nailed to the bench to retain the gelatin and had enough energy to spin off to parts unknown. He also found that round would penetrate both doors of an automobile and penetrated standard windshields from a variety of angles.
If I remember correctly, that type of penetration is very similar to what you'd expect from FMJ .357 Mag ammo. The author's conclusion was that it would not be suitable for self defense because of over penetration, but would certainly be suitable for Highway Patrolman use.
Anyway, my point is that if that round will penetrate that much gelatin - it certainly should go pretty deep into a large, thick skinned animal with a good amount of energy.
I have a SIG 2340 with both .40 S&W and .357 SIG barrels - from my experience the .40 barrel is a bit more accurate with 155 gr ammo, but the .357 SIG is much more fun to shoot at the range and you get 12 rounds per magazine load of potentially very hot ammo.
 
Yes OP it's a fine pick for the woods. I'm partial to the 357 Mag out of a smaller package but you won't be under gunned.
 
In my opinion the .357 sig should make an excellent trail gun, especially if you want to do some small game hunting or are concerned about dogs or coyotes.

The .38 super in the 1911 platform is an old time favorite for woods carry were it's flatter trajectory and increased capacity over the .45acp was preferred. In most loadings the .357 sig beats the .38 super by a couple hundred feet per second in the same bullet weights.
 
currently I have been working with several diffferent sidearms for woods carry and I am swinging in the direction of something that shoots .357 sig; my observations are as follows:

1) my Ruger Redhawk w/ 7.5" barrel in .44 mag is too heavy for scouting & too much of a 'hunting' caliber for use as a protection sidearm during archery season; PA allows carry for protection, but it is advised to use a 'nonsporting' type firearm (something NOT for hunting)

2) my S&W 686 w/ 6" barrel in .357 mag is almost as heavy for scouting & on the border line as a 'hunting' caliber for use as a protection sidearm during arc hery season (same concern as above)

3) my Beretta 92FS in 9mm fits the 'nonsporting' category, but lacks 'punch' as a caliber

4) my Ruger P345 in .45 acp was the leading contender for a 'nonsporting' woods carry handgun, but I acquired something new

5) my Sig Sauer P229 in .40 s&w is the new leading contender until I got a conversion barrel & some .357 sig ammo that groups well from the gun; I know the .40 is not as 'good' as a .45 acp, but the increased amount of ammo on hand and better 'punch' than the 9mm puts the P229 as my current main choice
 
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