357 Sig

[Peter M. Eick]

To answer the two questions, let me address the second. Yes there is a difference between the rounds. I can toss a heavier bullet out of my 10mm then I can from a 357 magnum at the same speed in the same barrel length. I can toss a heavier bullet out of my 357 Magnum then my sig in the same barrel length but it is closer. At around the same bullet weight they get reasonably similar but the 10mm still wins.

The first question, why is it not used more is an interesting one.

My opinion is that the 10mm and 357 sig are more gun and power than "most" shooters can handle well at full power loads. While the 10mm has more recoil, the 357 sig has more blast noise and this causes grief to most shooters. So being reasonable folks and not wanting to damage their psyche, they downplay the rounds and go for the 40 short and weak or the classic 45acp/9mm. These same folks will complain about the price of ammo and then pay boutique prices for 9mm +p+ and say it is "as good as" 357 sig.

This is why the 40 short and weak is popular and the 10mm is not, along with the 9mm is popular and the 357 sig is not.

My opinion only though. Your thoughts may be different.

As a reloader the sig is easy to load and uses cheap 9mm bullets. I am loading it today which is why I like it. Also I like the launching platform of the 229 Sport. The 10mm is just an easier round to pick up and load in the press than the 40 short and weak. For me, those are compelling enough reasons to like them both, let alone the known accuracy advantages of both rounds over their competition.

 

[Elkins45]

There are a couple of advantages of the 357 over its parent 40 S&W that I haven't seen mentioned yet. Because it's a bottleneck case it's feeding a smaller diameter bullet into a larger diameter chamber. This allows for most excellent feeding, and also means the chamber support doesn't have to be cut back hardly at all.

Spend much time on the internet and you'll see legions of stories about bulging brass (especially from Glocks) in 40S&W and even lots of kB stories. The G23 is almost legendary for this problem, but the equivalent Glocks in 357 SIG have much more chamber support and therefore don't ruin brass after one firing. I can't tell whether my 357 brass came from my Glock or my Sig.

 

[beatledog7]

Chicken or egg?

It seems more and more handgun shooters are reloading. There is little interest in reloading 357 Sig and 10mm compared to 9mm and 40S&W because the brass is relatively hard to find for free. OTOH, 357 Sig and 10mm brass is relatively hard to find for free because there is little interest in shooting those rounds compared to 9mm and 40S&W.

Pistols chambered in 10mm are intriguing to me, as is the reloading potential of the round, but they simply don't fit comfortably in my hand. The elongated grip required to accommodate the extra cartridge length is probably a deal breaker for many shooters who would otherwise like it.

The cost of ammo is a deterrent as well, just as it is for the 357 Sig.

 

[Elkins45]

OTOH, 357 Sig and 10mm brass is relatively hard to find for free

This is true, but bulk once-fired 357 brass is about the same price as 40S&W because of the number of law enforcement agencies that are using it. I see it being sold by a number of online sellers. The older I get the more I would rather just spend the $50-60 than bend over 1000 times to scrounge leftover cases from the range

 

[Peter M. Eick]

That depends on where you live.



Down here in texas both are reasonably common. Yes there is more 9 and 45 but at my range there is always 10 and 357 sig laying around. What is more interesting is things like 44 Automag show up occasionally or more exotic rounds. This is the build up of less than 1 hour of shooting.

 

[Certaindeaf]

It's essentially a 9mm +P+ minus 100 fps perhaps without the cost or other headaches.. the 9 will hold more, too. I wouldn't bother.

 

[threefeathers]

I have 4 handguns in 357 Sig and have found that it is easy to reload. That siad I use dedicated 125 grain 357 Sig bullets from Montana Gold, the same powder all the time and bell the case VERY little, A taper crimp is a necissity.

 

[Dave P.]

I had Glock 33 for a while and found the noise with full power loads to be
a issue. It worked well in every respect but I mostly shoot indoors and
the blast out of the short barrel was a pain.
Used it a class at a local indoor range, other shooters and instructors
asked if I had something else to shoot, I switched to my G36.
I sold the 33 pretty quickly, really didn't want to own one, just
tried it for a bit. For me I didn't see any advantage over a 9mm.
Might have been a different story with a longer barrel and shooting
outdoors at 50 yards or more.
Dave

 

[silversport]

I've always found it interesting when someone mentions that +P and +P+ is an improvement over standard velocity 9mm with just 100 FPS improvement for each step but 100 (or so) FPS improvement over +P+ is not worth the time or effort...

Bill

 

[Rob G]

It's essentially a 9mm +P+ minus 100 fps perhaps without the cost or other headaches..

I know the comparisons to 9mm +P+ are popular when this subject comes up but it always overlooks one key factor. +P+ is not a saami specification. It's generally intrepreted as meaning a higher pressure/faster velocity than +P but it isn't necesarilty either of those, or when it is there's no real way of knowing by how much it exceeds the +P standard. So really it's kind of iffy ammo which lies somewhere between kind of high pressure and way too high pressure to be safe. The 357Sig on the other hand throws the same weight bullet at roughly 50 to 100 fps faster without pushing the pressure higher than was originally intended. That's enough of a reason for me to go with it.

I also really like the inherent reliability of a bottle necked case and I love the overall balistics of the round. I shoot my handguns as far as 150 yards just for the fun of it and the 357Sig is the easiest round to do that with. I don't know that I'd use it specifically for woodland creatures but like somebody else said I don't have different carry guns for different purposes so someday I may find out how effective it is for that.

 

[lpsharp88]

Thanks for all of the answers!

 

[Snowdog]

My philosophy thus far with my M&P40 with Storm Lake 357Sig barrel is that when I feel the need... the need for speed (sorry, I had to), I figure I'll get the hottest stuff commercially available.

Currently, I carry Underwood 125gr Gold Dot 357Sig that achieves up to and over 1500 FPS from a 4" barrel. That's fairly hot, in my opinion and separates it squarely from the 9mm and even from standard 357Sig loads.

It's loud, yes. However, I don't feel the recoil to be a problem in the least.

 

[Deputy25]

I just chrono'ed a few rounds of my issue ammo, Speer 357Sig 125 JHP bonded. It is doing a shade over 1400 out of my issue Glock 31. That Underwood stuff must be pretty hot at 1500 with the same bullet.

 

[Deaf Smith]

It's essentially a 9mm +P+ minus 100 fps perhaps without the cost or other headaches.. the 9 will hold more, too. I wouldn't bother.

Not exactly unless you think a 125gr JHP at 1550 can be duplicated, minus 100 fps, by ANY 9mm load.

That is what Underwood 357 Sig gets from a Glock 31. No 9mm load from a Glock 17 can get anywhere near 1450. Even Doubltap 125gr 357 Sigs hit almost 1500 fps from a Glock 31.

Now my normal carry gun is a much modified Glock 26 in 9mm using Winchester +p+ 127 gr loads at 1240 fps but I do have and use Glock 27 and 33s (that is .40 S&W and 357 Sig) and the 'house gun' is a Glock 31 in .357 Sig!

Yes I love revolvers but I pack Glocks.

Deaf

 

[Kachok]

I like the idea of a 357 Sig but I am NOT a Glock fan, something about an unsupported chamber scares the goomba out of me. The reason the 357 Sig does not get the attention the 357 Mag does for protection in the woods is the lighter bullets used in the Sig, and to be honest even the 357 Mag is not highly regarded as a bear/hog stopper. IMHO "stoppers" start at 44 mag, anything large and mean enough to hurt me I want at leased a potent 44 cal with hefty bullets.

 

[9mmepiphany]

something about an unsupported chamber scares the goomba out of me.

You have these in you

 

[Certaindeaf]

Heh, at least someone has a sense of humor!

 

[gandog56]

I have all four, .357 Mag., 357 SIG and 40 S&W (Same pistol, SIG P229, just a barrel swap needed) and two 10mm pistols. I reload for all of them, and they all are similar in costs per round. So price or scarcity of store bought ammo doesn't matter.

 

[Deaf Smith]

I have all four, .357 Mag., 357 SIG and 40 S&W (Same pistol, SIG P229, just a barrel swap needed) and two 10mm pistols. I reload for all of them, and they all are similar in costs per round. So price or scarcity of store bought ammo doesn't matter.

No 10mm right now but I have the other three and yep, I reload my own!

I go shoot .40 S&Ws at the indoor range and it maybe cost a bit more than 9mm reloads and way less then what the other people pay!

Deaf