.40 S&W .357 Sig Longevity?

[JimJD]

Hi there,

I'm planning on purchasing my first autoloader in three to four months.
It'll probably be a .45 ACP or a 9MM as I have experience with those two and like them both.
While sitting here, reading posts, I started to wonder about the .40 S&W and the .357 Sig .
I know the .40's been around a while, etc.
But do any of you think these calibers will be around as long as the .45 ACP and 9MM, or will they be looked at as a curiosity in the future?
I believe the .40 S&W will be around. Just not sure about the .357 Sig.
Just wondering.
I must admit, the .45 Gap is what has gotten me to thinking about this. I think THAT ONE is dead in the water. But... you never know, crazier things have happened.

 

[mr. e]

I think both are here to stay. I don't like either for gun games such as target or action pistol shooting. I use the 9mm for slow fire target and a 45 ACP Kimber for action pistol.

For CCW, however, the .45 Kimber is too big and the 9mm is too small (for mags that only carry 10 rounds). Both the 40 and the 357 SIG "feel" more powerful than the 9mm, and if I'm stuck with 10 rounds, I like that feeling.

 

[HSMITH]

Buy a 9mm, something that you can afford to shoot the crap out of. 40 and 357 are also much more "snappy" and have much more muzzle blast making extended practice sessions harder.

40 and 357sig are essentially the same power level and significantly more powerful than 9mm and 45 both, but ammo cost and availability is terrible compared to the 45 and 9mm. The 357 sig is a flash in the pan IMO, it will not make the cut. 40 is here to stay and in a big way. When 50% + of American police departments use the 40 it is not going to go away.

 

[Telperion]

I also think both 40 and 357 SIG are here to stay. They both seem to fill the niche for a compact cartridge hotter than 9mm, but the 40 got there first. There's a list of state and federal LE agencies using 357 SIG somewhere on the web, and those that have switched to it generally have not switched back.

Agree with most opinions on 45 GAP; I don't see room in the market for a third alternative caliber.

 

[coylh]

I like the .357 sig. All my other handguns were 9mm so I didn't have to buy new cleaning brushes. ;-)

Seriously though, I think the bottle neck design aids feeding reliability, you don't have to use +p or +p+ loads to get a decent amount of enery downrange, and if you get tired of it you can buy a .40 barrel later.

The only downside I see is that if you want to shoot thousands of rounds, .357 sig is much more expensive than 9x19.

 

[Climb14er]

I like the 357 Sig much better than either .40 or 9mm as a CCW.

Personally, it's definitely here to stay.

 

[mrapathy2000]

.357sig will most likely replace 9mm in the future. .40S&W needs to be revamped imo. better barrels and for some higher pressures maybe thicker casing.

pete-357 . has a website with lots of info on .357sig. though not all his info is correct in matching performance to .40S&W.

.40S&W is nice round leaves bigger hole than 9mm. .357sig is .40case necked down to 9mm.

135gr .40S&W can do some fast speed and feal like a 9mm recoil wise though leave a slightly larger hole.

I own both 9mm and .40S&W and plan on getting conversion barrel to .357sig for 1 gun.

.40S&W is nice when it comes to capacity and power. 9mm used to be nice with 12-15-17 round magazines.

 

[AUTIGER04]

IMHO. The 40S&W & 357Sig are here to stay. I have been finding great buys on 40S&W ammo $9+ a box of 50. (9mm about the same price). The 357Sig ammo are nearly $20+ a box of 50.

 

[Black Snowman]

40 is definately a premanent member. The .357 Sig would have died already if it were going to.

I have a .40 and I don't seen any pressure issues with it, but I like the lighter bullets anyway. Some people will try loading even the 200 gr bullets in the .40 but I really don't think heavy and slow is the way to go in a .40 S&W. You lose case capacity raising pressures forcing you to back off on powder leaving you with an ultimately weaker cartridge. You want big. Go big. That's what the 10mm is for!

The 135-165 gr bullets in the .40 get good muzzle energy in a very small package at reasonable pressures and that's what most of the "combat" ammo has gone to.

The .357 Sig has it's advantages and disadvantages but it's a big hit with the high velocity crowd and will always have it's followers. I'd like to get a .357 Sig barrel for my Glock 24 some day but it will have to be custom made making it quite pricey, so that's held me back.

 

[Mike Irwin]

They'll both be here as long as we're around.

 

[MrAcheson]

.40 is here to stay. Improvements and changes may be made, but it has way too high a user base to go away. Its too good of a compromise between 9mm and .45acp to go away.

357sig isn't over that hump yet imo. I suspect it may be the next super .38 or 10mm. It won't disappear, but it's unlikely to ever have the success of .40 S&W. This is especially true since 9mm +P+ can do everything 357sig can with a higher magazine capacity to boot. 357sig may gain in popularity if the mag ban doesn't sunset and capacity becomes a non-issue.

 

[Mike Irwin]

So far we've had what, at least 4 major police forces adopt the .357 Sig...

VA State Police, Texas Dept. of Public Safety, at two others that I now for the life of me can't remember...

Lots of smaller forces, too...

Every large manufacturer I can think of offers the .357 Sig in one form or another...

The .357 already has more widespread acceptance than the .38 Super or 10mm ever did.

I think it's with us for the long haul, but I agree that it will probably never be as popular as the .40.

 

[Al Thompson]

Agree with Mike. Locally, we have lots of .40, one dept with .45 and one with .357 SIG. I don't see either going away. If I can only have 10 rounds, I'd rather have 10 .40s or .357s than 9mm.

 

[LawDog]

Mike, there's a list of agencies using the .357SIG in this thread:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34554

LawDog

 

[jnb01]

I like both the .40 & 357 Sig, and don't see either fading into obscurity. Remember, the 357 Sig was designed to be compatible with the .40SW from the get go, by being able to swap barrels while most of the time using the same mags for both calibers.

The .40SW fires 135, 155, 165, & 180gr bullet's, the 357 Sig 90, 115, 125, & 147/150gr. While I personally prefer 165/180gr .40 and 125gr 357 Sig, this is fairly impressive flexibility for one pistol.

Pete or Petej88, is/was the 357 Sig's biggest cheerleader. However, he now carries and compete's with the 9mm, a G34 and G26 respectively.

With today's ammunition advances, I believe the 9mm to be a very viable choice for defense, moreso than ever. Loads like Ranger, Gold Dot, Federal Tactical, Federal HST, and Rem. Golden Sabre, allow the 9mm to perform much more efficiently. It also offer's low recoil (a tactical advantage when shooting 1-handed or w/ weak hand only... and over the course of prolonged training or range sessions), good weapons durability in modern platforms, cheap practice ammo, many reliable pistols chambered for it, ect. ect... The 9mm isn't going anywhere, as it's been around 90+ years, and is the most widely used service caliber worldwide. It's also still in use by a large number of U.S. LE agencies as well, like NYPD, LAPD, LASO, NJSP, Atlanta PD, U.S. Customs ect. ect...

Best, jnb01

 

[KeysBear]

I've been shooting .40 S&W for a few months now and really enjoy the way it feels. I've shot about 400 rounds of 165 grain Winchester Value box, have bought some 155 grain Gold Dots from Ammoman that seriously kick, and have tried 135 grain Federal HydraShoks that feel just like shooting 9mm. For me, it's a winner for carry use, but when it comes to target practice I'll mostly stick with the cheaper 9mm.

Keys

 

[RWK]

mr. e . . .

You said: "For CCW, however, the .45 Kimber is too big". Is that right? Then I guess the thousands of us who carry full-size 1911A1s -- and have been doing so for generations -- must be badly confused.

 

[KeysBear]

You said: "For CCW, however, the .45 Kimber is too big". Is that right? Then I guess the thousands of us who carry full-size 1911A1s -- and have been doing so for generations -- must be badly confused.

No, you're not confused. I have to agree there's nothing sweeter than shooting .45 ACP. I guess it depends upon the daily attire, the climate, and the build of the person. We're sweating most of the year here in S. Florida, and nobody wears jackets all day long. Quick access in business attire was important to me so I chose a light compact 10 +1 round carry piece that conceals nicely in a pocket holster. On the weekends I have more choices.

Regards, Keys

 

[bountyhunter]

No question .40 is here to stay because LE's are transitioning over to it due to the increased mag capacity compared to .45 and nearly equal stopping power. It's pretty much perfectly optimized for desirable characteristics tradeoff on recoil, mag acapcity, stopping power. I am not sure about the .357 Sig. People tell me it's basically a souped up 9mm. I don't see any of them at the ranges I go to.