For those who have experience with 357 Sig......

[vaalpens]

Yes, it makes sense that the bottle neck cartridge should be more reliable when feeding.

When I tried to figure out why the 45acp SWC bullets do not feed reliably in my P220, I could watch/feel the extracted case getting hung up on the shoulder of the feeding round. If the .45 was a bottle neck, then I assume the shoulder would not have been and issue, even if it was a SWC bullet.

 

[Bottom Gun]

Yes, it makes sense that the bottle neck cartridge should be more reliable when feeding.

When I tried to figure out why the 45acp SWC bullets do not feed reliably in my P220, I could watch/feel the extracted case getting hung up on the shoulder of the feeding round. If the .45 was a bottle neck, then I assume the shoulder would not have been and issue, even if it was a SWC bullet.

Have you tried different magazines in your P220? Mine feeds SWCs with no problems.

 

[Chuck R.]

I've got 2 .357S, both converted .40s a HKP2000 which is my carry gun and a SIG226.

I really like the cartridge and I'm surprised it isn't more popular. To me it has less felt recoil than .40 and depending on the size of the pistol, feels like a +p 9mm out of a sub-compact. I reload for it and it only costs a few cents more than 9mm to put together. I use Dillon carbide dies, so I don't bother to "pre-size" with a .40 die. My favorite powders so far are BD and LongShot. LongShot has produced some very fast MVs without any signs of pressure. I basically built a load that replicates my Speer GD carry load and left it at that. I can easily get 1400+ FPS out of my HKs 3.66" barrel with 125s though.

The only downside is it's bark....it's a loud round, especially if your shooting next to, or through cover. I was in a vehicular defensive class last year and used mine to shoot through a windshield from within the vehicle. Even with ear pro, it's not something you'd want to do a lot of.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have an S&W 357M&P and a Sig M1911 both chambered for 357 Sig. I like the way they shoot but I just don't get them out much.

I do not find loading 357Sig difficult, but carbide sizing dies are generally not available due to the bottleneck case. With a 357Sig sizing die you have to lubricate the case.

Some folks use a 40 S&W carbide sizing die to size the body then run the case into a 357Sig die without lubricant to size the neck. This eliminates the need to clean off lubricant later. Since I always tumble my cases after sizing, cleaning off the lubricant is not an issue for me.

For reloading, I use bullets designed for the 357Sig and made sure my case expander is not too large so that I get enough neck tension. I do not have an problems with bullet set back.

 

[WrongHanded]

I don't think anyone has posted this yet. Looks like Lucky Gunner has gotten around to doing some .357 Sig testing.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/357-sig-gel-test/

 

[TomJ]

Attached is a gel test for Underwood's 357 Sig Gold Dot ammo from tnoutdoors9. It's what I use. It averaged over 1500fps with 15" of penetration and is an excellent choice for SD. I currently have a P229 and P320 in this caliber. I like the 320, but the P229 tames the recoil better. The only reason I don't carry it every day is that back problems currently have me limited to pocket carry.

I reload, and have no issues with bullet setback if I use a bullet made for 357 sig. I've tried using 124 grain 9mm bullets and had major problems. RMR carries a couple of great bullets in this caliber.

https://www.rmrbullets.com/product-category/bullets/pistol/357-sig-355/

underwood 357 sig gel test

 

[Murphster]

Let me join with the others who are pro-357 Sig. I currently have 3 pistols in that caliber - a Sig P226, a Sig Nightmare 1911, and a Glock 35 that I converted to 357 with a KKM barrel. I shoot them for fun only. I think the recoil is similar to .40 S&W with more noise and muzzle blast - helps deter people from crowding you at the range. Mine have been accurate and reliable. I reload and have always used Montana Gold's 125 grain bullet. I reload a lot and use RCBS dies almost exclusively. But when I started reloading 357 Sig, I had troubles. For whatever reason, the 357 Sig experts in a forum (perhaps this one) that I queried back in the day said that for the 357 Sig, I needed to switch to Lee dies. Something to do with headspace maybe? I think there was a difference of opinion among die makers as to whether the round headspaced off the shoulder or the rim? Sorry - was a long time ago. Regardless, the Lee die set has worked perfectly in that caliber. Reloading is the same as any other round except I spray the brass with Hornady case lube before resizing and then I tumble a while before priming to remove the lube. No problem with setback or anything else. I use 357 brass and bullets made for 357 Sigs exclusively.

 

[Bottom Gun]

I've used a variety of bullets including those made for 9MM and have had no problems with them aside from some of the 9MM fragmenting so I make sure to use bonded or solid bullets in my carry ammo.
I use a Hornady die set with Imperial Die Wax.

 

[Snowdog]

I have Storm Lake 357 Sig barrels for both my S&W M&P40c and XDm 4.5 and use primarily Underwood 125gr Gold Dots. These have been tested by others to exceed 1500 FPS from a 4" barrel (a little more than 600 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle).



tnoutdoors9 featured this round in one of his videos and also found it to easily exceed 1450 FPS from a 4" barrel.
These velocities allow this particular load to be extremely "street tolerant" even with winter clothing thrown into the mix.

 

[d'zaster]

I've got 2 .357S, both converted .40s a HKP2000 which is my carry gun and a SIG226.

I really like the cartridge and I'm surprised it isn't more popular. To me it has less felt recoil than .40 and depending on the size of the pistol, feels like a +p 9mm out of a sub-compact. I reload for it and it only costs a few cents more than 9mm to put together. I use Dillon carbide dies, so I don't bother to "pre-size" with a .40 die. My favorite powders so far are BD and LongShot. LongShot has produced some very fast MVs without any signs of pressure. I basically built a load that replicates my Speer GD carry load and left it at that. I can easily get 1400+ FPS out of my HKs 3.66" barrel with 125s though.

The only downside is it's bark....it's a loud round, especially if your shooting next to, or through cover. I was in a vehicular defensive class last year and used mine to shoot through a windshield from within the vehicle. Even with ear pro, it's not something you'd want to do a lot of.

Excellent! I have a 357 conversion bbl on order for my HK P2000 40.