.357 vs. .40

[Packy14]

You know... i was thinking...everyone always debates 9mm vs. .40... but... for a strictly HD situation... I would think it makes the most sense to use .357 Sig for higher lb force delivery and penetration. What do you guys think? I have a sig p226 in .40 that's my HD weapon of choice.. but I was thinking..why not get a .357 barrel for HD for it..

and..as I added below..

would you trust your .357 Sig conversion barrel for HD? I know the 9mm is not reliable converted in a .40 frame due to the extractor...but a .357 Sig cartridge has same size brass as a .40..just necked down. I would think if the barrel is well fitted, it should be as reliable as the stock .40.

[yellowfin]

Might as well so you could stock up on ammo for both. Some days you can't find .40 but can find 9mm bullets, so if you have brass you can keep yourself going that way.

[Sig357]

I have a Sig 229 in .40 S&W. I also purchased the .357Sig barrel, I really enjoy shoot this round. (hence my calguns name)

[Packy14]

would you trust your 357 conversion barrel for HD? I know the 9mm is not reliable converted in a .40 frame due to the extractor...but a 357 cartridge has same size brass as a .40..just necked down. I would think if the barrel is well fitted, it should be as reliable as the stock .40.

[bobfried]

You need to preface that with a disclaimer about how your comparing the .357 SIG against the .40 S&W or people like me would think your talking about throwing a .40 S&W against a .357 Magnum.

In any case, the .357 Sig barely offers anything over a .40 S&W cartridge in term of terminal ballistics whilst being more expensive and much harder to find. You can certainly load up .357 Sig to be hot, but realistically it's not much better than .40 S&W in the majority of it's loading.

Now an interesting discussion would be between the .40 vs. .45.

[Sig357]

would you trust your 357 conversion barrel for HD? I know the 9mm is not reliable converted in a .40 frame due to the extractor...but a 357 cartridge has same size brass as a .40..just necked down. I would think if the barrel is well fitted, it should be as reliable as the stock .40.

I trust my .357Sig conversion barrel for HD. I have not had any malfunctions.

[sideshowhr]

http://www.speer-ammo.com/ballistics/ammo.aspx

i'd say there's a considerable difference in ballistics between the two , and i wouldn't mind having that extra bit of ummph in a heated situation

[AJD]

Well, does that extra bit of "oomph" translate into better terminal ballistics for the .357 sig? No, it doesn't. As pointed out in this thread it doesn't offer anything over the .40 and really not much more over a 9mm. In terms of expansion and penetration there really isn't that much of a difference. People can be very mislead by looking at energy figures alone.

[AngelDecoys]

People can be very mislead by looking at energy figures alone.

As well as simply looking at caliber.........

Here's a website I've been reading of late. Might be some good information there for you.

Stopping Power

http://www.stoppingpower.net

The Missing Piece in the Stopping Power Debate?

http://www.stoppingpower.net/commentary/comm_missing_piece.asp

[Bryan16]

I really wouldn't recommend using a conversion barrel for home defense. If you ever actually have to use your weapon against another person, you might not be seen as a good guy with your "modified" firearm. Same idea as using reloads for self defense.

Just my advice

[bobfried]

http://www.speer-ammo.com/ballistics/ammo.aspx

i'd say there's a considerable difference in ballistics between the two , and i wouldn't mind having that extra bit of ummph in a heated situation

WHAT DIFFERENCE?

The whopping 12 ft lb at the muzzle? The same at 50 yards or the gain by the .40 S&W at 100 yards? Not that it matters since a lighter loaded .40S&W will be similar to a .357 SIG as your post clearly demonstrated. If you than point to the heavy load .40 S&W than you might as well compare it to a .45 since they're apple and oranges.

[BigDogatPlay]

While the .357 SiG is a good round, I have this personal thing about bottlenecked cartridges in autoloaders. I'll take straight case walls every time.

[AJD]

As well as simply looking at caliber.........

Here's a website I've been reading of late. Might be some good information there for you.

Stopping Power

http://www.stoppingpower.net

The Missing Piece in the Stopping Power Debate?
http://www.stoppingpower.net/comment...sing_piece.asp

The vast majority of the information in those links are based on bogus research. Most of the information is based off the complete lame attempt at a research study by Evan Marshall. It shouldn't even be used in the same sentence as research as Evan's one-shot stops are a horrible mockery of anything accepted in the scientific world. In fact many believe that his numbers are so good to be true that they are in fact made up. If I remember correctly Evan also bans anyone from his site who disagrees with him and calls his garbage data into question.

[AngelDecoys]

In fact many believe that his numbers are so good to be true that they are in fact made up.

I didn't say I swallowed everything on the site. Only that it was one I recently had read. There are many sites (and CG comments) with a lot of differing information. The OP is free to search for sites on the information and make up his own mind.

From what I've gleamed on the subject, HD has more to do with placement than comparing penetration, ft/second, and calibers (so long as the calibers are 9mm and larger). So really deciding between .357 and .40 (at least too me) is largely irrelevant so long as one is proficient with the firearm.

[AJD]

I didn't say I swallowed everything on the site. Only that it was one I recently had read. There are many sites (and CG comments) with a lot of differing information. The OP is free to search for sites on the information and make up his own mind.

From what I've gleamed on the subject, HD has more to do with placement than comparing penetration, ft/second, and calibers (so long as the calibers are 9mm and larger). So really deciding between .357 and .40 (at least too me) is largely irrelevant so long as one is proficient with the firearm.

Easy... I didn't say you swallowed everything from those links. I was merely stating my opinion so that others reading who are not aware that those links may represent something that very well may be misleading.