School Me: .357 Sig

I bought a P239 in 357 Sig at a decent price. It’s okay I suppose, but I don’t really care for the P239. I just can’t make myself carry it when I compare it to my Glock 19. Too many trade offs. I’ll probably sell it and take a loss or trade it on something I will use more and take a loss simply because it is a 357 Sig and not a 9mm.

Al-Jim, I had a P226, and later a P229 Sport, in 357 SIG. I never got around to loading for 357 SIG, but as might be expected, any factory ammo I used was flawlessly reliable in both guns. The 357 SIG's claim to fame is of course 357 Magnum level velocity with 125 grain bullets. The SIG delivers. I chronographed several factory loads, and I don't have my notes in front of me, but do recall the 125 Gold Dot averaged 1485 FPS in the P229 Sport with a barrel just over 5" long. That exceeds any factory 9mm +P+ or 38 Super with similar weight bullets I've tested in 5" barrels. I did have a concern about bullet set back, due to the short case neck, in case I decided to start loading the cartridge. But in the end, I didn't hang on to either gun, preferring 9mm, 38 Super,etc. in ~.355" bore.......ymmv

OARNGESI said:

45gap is a great round just not commonly available but it if you look at what it brings to the table vs what it loses in performance it can’t be beat

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^Exactly, the 45GAP gives 45ACP performance out of 9mm sized frame just like the 357Sig gives 357 mag(124/5 gr. out of a 4" bbl.) performance out of a 9mm frame.

Problems I had with it Glock I shot had case ruptured blew mag out the bottom of pistol blackened my fingers scary. Next I had a XD 40 with 357 barrel and it cracked frame from pressure. All these events factory ammunition. I figure twice is enough three times might not be a charm. No more for me I stick to 38 Super nearly same performance and is accurate easy to reload win win. Need more power I use my 10mm plenty
Good luck
Roc1

I've only ever owned one .357 Sig (a Glock 32). It was good in some ways, bad in others.

As far as functioning goes I never had a single malfunction out of it. It was very reliable. While its parent case may be a .40 S&W, to me the .357 Sig had a slightly snappier recoil. Maybe it was the hot ammo I often shot out of it.

The bad is ammo availability and cost.

While I liked it okay it eventually went down the road because of ammo availability and cost. That's what the final nail in the coffin was for me.

While it has a higher velocity than 9mm, it wasn't **THAT** much more. I kind of feel if you want that you should go to a 10mm or if a reloader something like the .45 Super.

The .357sig turns into a 9mm downrange. So if you like a 9mm, I don’t really see how you can complain about .357sig, except for increased ammo cost.

I like the idea of a 5-6 inch conversion barrel in a Glock 35, to get screaming velocities, Especially with copper solids. It would be an interesting project, but zero need. In a standard length barrel, why bother. It won’t do anything 9mm or .40 will do at far less cost.

However, if you can trade a magazine for a gun ( did I read your post correctly)?? Why not.

CoalTrain49 said:

There was a reason that LE left it but I'm not sure what it was, ammo expense maybe. I also heard the cartridge was beating the crap out of parts and armorers thought it was a high maintenance cartridge.

Whatever it was it sure didn't last very long. I always thought it was a neat little cartridge but never got close to it.

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The Air Marshals all use the Sig Sauer P226 in .357sig. That is their standard issue gun.

Lycidas Janwor said:

The Air Marshals all use the Sig Sauer P226 in .357sig. That is their standard issue gun.

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So does the US Secret Service, the RI and North Carolina State Police as well as a few others.

I have a Glock 32c and an HK P2000 in 357sig.

Both are fantastic.

The 357sig round is a great round. Shoots flat with a nice bark.