SD ammo options in .357 Sig

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Rob G

Rob G

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I bought a really nice M&P 40c at the gunshow yesterday and have an S&W factory barrel in .357 Sig for the gun as well. I haven't shot it with the 357 barrel yet but I liked how it shot in .40 so I think this one is a definite keeper. My intention is to add it to my carry rotation after I've shot it enough to be sure it's reliable.

Question is can anyone point me towards a good ammo choice in 357 Sig? This is my first foray in to this caliber and I'm not sure what the good and bad choices are. Also can anyone comment as to over penetration? Reading on-line before I bought the barrel I didn't see anything about it (so long as HP or JHP ammo was used) but talking to a few people locally nearly everyone has cited it as a reason they don't own one. Is this a serious a issue with this caliber? Or is it only a real problem when FMJs are used?
 
Speer Gold Dot.....end of story. Over penetration is a myth. Ive shot all kinds of animals and stuff with mine and never wished for less power. 357 Sig is a phenomenal round but ammo is expensive.
 
Check here for Winchester Ranger

http://www.mahsupplies.net/

Don't worry about over penetration with a .357 sig firing hollow points any more than you would any other typical handgun caliber. Worry about misses.
 
The 357 Sig was developed with the idea of duplicating 125 grain 357 Magnum performance. Choose that weight (124 grain is close enough) from any of the top ammunition makers and you can't go wrong.
 
I prefer the Speer Gold Dots, but Winchester Ranger "T" is good load. Winchester also makes a perfectly serviceable SD round in their economical USA brand available at my local Walmart.

M
 

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In no particular order:
  • Speer 125gr Gold Dot
  • Remington 125gr Golden Saber Bonded
  • Hornady 124gr XTP
  • Winchester 125gr Ranger Bonded
  • Winchester 125gr JHP USA
  • Federal 125gr HST
  • Federal 125gr JHP Premium
  • Corbon 125gr JHP
  • Corbon 125gr DPX
 
I loaded nothing less than the 125gr bullet but also loaded the 147gr Hornaday XTP for hunting defense against black bears.

A lighter weight bullet like the 95gr HP from doulbetap ammo are gonna hit hard and penetrate less..that might be the best route for home defense against a person. with 550-600fp of energy...that 95 bullet will drop him! And it might not penetrate intirely though a wall and hurt a loved one.

If you don't reload ammo,go get a few boxes of the doubletap or buffalobore brand ammo. Shoot some first,get the feel for the hottest loads out there and see what you think.
 
I would rather go with a major, big manufacturer's defensive load than buffalo bore for a semi auto. Their stuff is rather expensive and function testing a semi auto will get prohibitively expensive (for most people) in a hurry.
 
Many people are obsessed with using the highest-velocity ammunition possible. This is a bad choice as penetration is usually DECREASED with the increased velocity of lightweight jacketed hollowpoint bullets. A 95gr JHP bullet driven to .357 Sig velocities will almost certainly underpenetrate. You're better off with a bullet that penetrates deep enough to reach vitals rather than one that won't.


I agree with Warp; I would avoid Double Tap and Buffalo Bore and stick with the major ammo manufacturers like W-W, Rem, Fed, Speer and Hornady.


If you knew that there is a person in a room behind the bad guy and you're only separated by drywall, would you really risk taking a shot and rely solely on the advertised bullet construction to not hurt or kill someone in case of a miss? The overpenetration issue is way overblown
 
Go here and scroll about halfway down. You will see a list of just about every load in 357 sig including SD loads. There are several good options!!
 
When in doubt, standard .357 SIG Gold Dot.

Double Tap's 125 gr.Bonded Defense using the Gold Dot if you want more velocity.
dt125-6.jpg
DT 115 gr. TAC-XP if you want the best bullet design that exists.

You can't really go wrong with Gold Dots in any suitable defensive caliber.

dt125-8.jpg

Enjoy your M&P357C, mine was a real shooter with softer recoil than my .357 Glocks.
 
CZF said:
When in doubt, standard .357 SIG Gold Dot.

Double Tap's 125 gr.Bonded Defense using the Gold Dot if you want more velocity.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb26/czrami/DOUBLE%20TAP%20357%20SIG/dt125-6.png[IMG]
DT 115 gr. TAC-XP if you want the best bullet design that exists.

You can't really go wrong with Gold Dots in any suitable defensive caliber.

[IMG]http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb26/czrami/DOUBLE%20TAP%20357%20SIG/dt125-8.jpg[IMG]

Enjoy your M&P357C, mine was a real shooter with softer recoil than my .357 Glocks.[/QUOTE]

Those aren't Gold Dots.

Those are probably Montana Gold.

That false advertising (don't know if they still do it, or if they got caught and fixed it) is one of the big turn-offs to double tap. Lots of people bought "Gold Dot" ammunition from them after they stopped using Gold Dots (I think they did before) and went to Montana Gold.
Click to expand...
 
If you want it to behave like any other service cartridge, HST's, Gold Dots, or 124gr Hornady XTP's. If you want it to taste the potential of .357 Sig, the 147gr XTP is the way to go, IMO.
 
It's interesting how highly touted the .357 Sig with the 124/5 is touted (and I think deservedly so) and when it comes to 9mm many, many people preach standard pressure 147's for the 9. odd
 
Certaindeaf said:
It's interesting how highly touted the .357 Sig with the 124/5 is touted (and I think deservedly so) and when it comes to 9mm many, many people preach standard pressure 147's for the 9. odd
Click to expand...

I don't highly tout the .357 sig, and don't see a whole lot of people who do, either. Nothing wrong with it, but I don't see how it's anything special either.

I have 127 and 124 gr in my 9's right now, and am happy with that. I have 147...just not in the guns at the moment.
 
.357 Sig in not more popular right now, only because high speed, light weight bullets are not in style right now.

I've seen them all come and go, like the width of men's ties.

Wait long enough and they will be back in style. For the record, I like the snappy cartridge.
 
I decided to go with Underwood's 125gr non-neutered Gold Dot.
From a "compact", expect the full 1450 FPS.

Several independent tests confirm these velocities from real-world handguns. In this video from Tnoutdoors9, a Glock 32 yielded velocities in excess of 1500 FPS for all (5) test shots fired over a chronograph, with an average of 1511 FPS (634 ft/lbs).

I'm not convinced nor will I argue that this kind of performance is needed for defense.
However, I figure if for whatever reason I decide to go with the .357sig, a cartridge designed to replicate the 125gr .357magnum, then I don't want a watered-down .357sig that's nothing more than a glorified 9mm+P.

I received my two 50-round boxes this afternoon and plan on firing a few through my M&P40c (with Storm Lake barrel) tomorrow. I plan on firing a couple over my Chrony F1 later this week. I plan to continue using XM40HC (white box 180gr HST) for carry, but I might use these Underwood rounds for trail use.

I hope they someday offer this load with a bonded Ranger T or bonded Golden Saber, which will prompt another order from me as well as others, I'm sure.
 
Last edited:
It's interesting how highly touted the .357 Sig with the 124/5 is touted (and I think deservedly so) and when it comes to 9mm many, many people preach standard pressure 147's for the 9. odd
Click to expand...

It's a matter of bullet construction. 124/125gr bullets specifically designed for .357 SIG produce a wound profile similar to 147gr 9mm. More energy is expended to make a dedicated .357 SIG bullet expand. This explains why 124/125gr .357 SIG produces a wound profile that's more like 147gr 9mm than 125gr .357 Magnum.
 
Snowdog said:
I decided to go with Underwood's 125gr non-neutered Gold Dot.
From a "compact", expect the full 1450 FPS.

Several independent tests confirm these velocities from real-world handguns. In this video from Tnoutdoors9, a Glock 32 yielded velocities in excess of 1500 FPS for all (5) test shots fired over a chronograph, with an average of 1511 FPS (634 ft/lbs).

I'm not convinced nor will I argue that this kind of performance is needed for defense.
However, I figure if for whatever reason I decide to go with the .357sig, a cartridge designed to replicate the 125gr .357magnum, then I don't want a watered-down .357sig that's nothing more than a glorified 9mm+P.

I received my two 50-round boxes this afternoon and plan on firing a few through my M&P40c (with Storm Lake barrel) tomorrow. I plan on firing a couple over my Chrony F1 later this week. I plan to continue using XM40HC (white box 180gr HST) for carry, but I might use these Underwood rounds for trail use.

I hope they someday offer this load with a bonded Ranger T or bonded Golden Saber, which will prompt another order from me as well as others, I'm sure.
Click to expand...
The "non-neutered" Underwood 124 grain 9mm will get right close to 1450fps out of a full-size gun.
 
8164826316_9e416de802.jpg

Here's the ammo I received.

I did shoot 50 rounds today and it was definitely hotter than the Winchester 125gr Ranger (RA357SIGT) that I also brought. The increased blast/recoil was so much so that I'm concerned that prolonged use of this stuff will really put some serious wear on my M&P40c. Phenomenal is the only way I can describe the muzzle blast.

I will chrono this stuff ASAP, but I honestly believe 1425-1450 is completely realistic from my 3.5" barrel.

After all, the link I posted of Tnoutdoors9's experience with the stuff yielded the following results:

From a Glock 32 with 4" barrel:
1513 fps
1508
1505
1519
1511

This was from a "compact". Had he been using a full size Glock 31, he might have discovered greater velocities still, who knows.

In about a week, I will have real, non-hearsay velocity figures from my M&P40c. I will post the numbers then. However, the evidence so far indicates this stuff is substantially hotter than the typical .357sig offered by most others.

CertainDeaf said:
The "non-neutered" Underwood 124 grain 9mm will get right close to 1450fps out of a full-size gun.
Click to expand...

That's pretty darn impressive!
 
M1key said:
I prefer the Speer Gold Dots, but Winchester Ranger "T" is good load. Winchester also makes a perfectly serviceable SD round in their economical USA brand available at my local Walmart.

M
Click to expand...
Can you give me the Walmart stock number on this?
I thought that only the full metal jacket Winchester 357 sig is all they offer.
I even tried walmaets web site and all they show is full metal jacket.
 
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