Posted: 7/2/2004 4:02:20 AM EDT
|
What are your thoughts on this round? What is this round comparable too, power/speed/accuracy?I have not fired nor seen this round fired and I would like to know its goods/bads as I may want to get a pistol chambered for this caliber. |
|
I love it. I have two glocks in .357 w/ KKM bbls and reload with Unique. It is great at the range, because it rattles folks that only wear ear plugs. It hits hard and is accurate. However, I do not carry it and it is not in the bedside drawer. I would expect if I had to pop one off indoors at night, I would be flash blinded and would be minus a couple ear drums. I also put a bit of Black hills and CCI blazer through it before I got my dies and it worked nicely with all. Roundcount is approx 1500 and no malfunctions whatsoever. |
| The 357 Sig round is a high velocity round, and will penetrate where standard rounds such as 40S&W etc, just bounce off. The report is quite loud, much like that of a 357Rem Mag. Ammo is a bit on the expensive side and is not a plentiful as 40S&W, 9mm Para, or 45ACP. If you reload, since it is a bottle neck case you need to lube the cases, otherwise the case will get stuck in the sizing die. |
|
I have the Sig 239 in .357 Sig. I love it. It is definitely fun to shoot. The two downsides have already been mentioned: ammo availability and cost. I visited the NRA range last week, and they only had one box of .357 Sig. I took my .45 with me this week, and fortunately so, as they did not have any .357 Sig in stock. Finding carry ammo at Galyan's is also a PITA. VA Arms stocks it, though. I'll second Warlord's note that it is loud. I guess it is more surprise than loud, as unsuspecting lane neighbors are probably expecting a 9mm or .40. I remember a few weeks ago I started shooting about 2 lanes away from a husband/wife combo. The wife asked if my pistol's "noise was normal". I think it's great. |
| the .357 is anything but rare. They are all over the place but will likely never be as common as the 9mm, .40, .45 ACP, .38 special, or the .357 magnum. Anybody who says they are rare has not been to the local gun shops lately. I happen to like the concept of this round but I understand there are some reloading issues at this time. |
|
You guys fussing about the cost of ammo should try GA Arms, a sponsor here. MUCH cheaper than "big name" ammo & shoots just as good. They hit my local gun shows & I stock up there. As for "power", it's a 125gr bullet @ 1300-1350/fps, so explain to me how a .357mag is superior when specs are identical? This should be a GOOD one!!!!! 
|
|
From my perspective, there are only two downsides to the 357 Sig.... ammo cost is comparatively high, and wow is that thing loud. I have no qualms about the guy who keeps one as his bedside gun, but if he ever wakes up and uses it in the house, his ears are gonna bleed. Not nearly as much as the chest of an intruder, but still... it is possible that muzzle blast might factor in on your decision. As for power... someone stated that "it isn't there". Hmmm. Well, I didn't think we were discussing bear hunting with auto handguns. For a defensive round, it most certainly IS THERE. Many police depts have swapped from 40 to 357 Sig due to the increased power/penetration. I second the vote to buy a Glock and get two barrels... one in 40 and one in 357 Sig. |
|
I got an XD-40 and got a 357 sig barrel for it. I have only fired 50 rounds of 357 and I have to say that I like it. Does not really feel much different than 40 in terms of recoil....but is IS louder. Only slightly more accurate, but not really enough to care about, and I really have not shot both the round, or the gun enough to really say for sure that it is more accurate. I feel comfortable carrying either the 40 or 357 
|
Thats wierd on accuracy. I have a Glock 32 in .357 and a SIGPRO .357. Both of these guns are more accurate than all of my .45s, and all of my 9mms. If you buy ammo in bulk its about $10 for 50 rounds from Ammoman. I like the cartrige much more than .40, I've never found a use for a .40, I can carry a really hot 9mm +P+ and if I need more stopping power I carry a .45. |
|
Here is some data from the Hodgdon web site in the various calibers being discussed. I tried to use the same bullet weight for all the calibers. 9mm - 147gr @ 885 fps (this weight is heavy for a nine) 357 sig - 147 gr @ 1173 fps 40 S&W - 135 gr @ 1321 fps 357 mag - 146 gr @ 1691 fps. |
Um....I have yet to see a 147 grain 357 sig. I am not saying they do not exist, I am sure they probably do. But every load I have seen is a 125 grain bullet for 357 sig. That would change the bullet speed qite a bit. |
|
Because of its case size the .357 SIG best performs closely to a .357 Magnum with bullets up to 125gr. From Cor-Bons website: 357SIG -- 115gr JHP -- 1500fps/575ftlbs 357SIG -- 125gr JHP -- 1425fps/564ftlbs 357SIG -- 100gr Pow'Rball -- 1600fps/568ftlbs 357MAG -- 110gr JHP -- 1500fps/555ftlbs 357MAG -- 125gr JHP -- 1450fps/584ftlbs 357 Mag--100gr Pow'Rball-- 1600fps/568ft/lbs |
|
Excellent caliber and one that is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. I have a G32 that I intend ti use for a carry gun as soon as I have another couple hundred rounds through it to verify its' reliability for my peace of mind's sake...it will relace my Kimber Pro Carry .45. The caliber is certainly much more capable than any 9mm +P+ and a side by side comparison using any common media will quickly prove this to any except the most biased person...glass, wood, gelatin, mild steel, etc. Texas DPS replaced their Sig 220's in .45 with the 226 in .357Sig several years back and is still extremely satisfied with the real world performance of the 125gr. jhp's they use. According to several sources there, and in other agencies using this caliber, it works better than the .45 acp, holds more ammo and is considerably easier to shoot. What's not to like? Ammo could be more readily available, and, as with the .40, reloaders should be very careful since these are unforgiving calibers when it comes to chamber pressures, etc. in standard barrels / chambers. Muzzle blast is, as noted, pretty loud. My G32 will put CCI Gold Dot 125 jhp's across the screens at almost exactly 1430 fps (1427 fps average for 10 shots) and while my old G31 would easily break 1460 with the same ammo,I like the smaller size of the G32 better. I'm convinced...it is a winner! 
|
Since the .357Sig is designed for the 125gr bullet, WHY would anyone go with a 147gr, as you've listed? And I've NEVER seen a 146gr .357mag bullet as you've listed. |