357 SIG

[battleship]

How popular is this caliber, it seems its hard to come by and its not cheap. Has it been fully adopted by law enforcement or any dept.

Or is it going to go the way of the dinosaurs.

Ive seen a Sig P229 Elite carry in consignment, a gun i would love to own thinking it was a 9mm i was disapointed to find it is this sig 357 caliber.

I know it has better balistics than the 9mm and is as good as if not better than the 40sw, but is it really worth the price of the ammo and the fact that you can not get it everywhere.

[locosway]

For personal defense there's no difference in which caliber you choose. The sig357 isn't very popular anymore, and it's hard to get ammo for it. If you're looking for something cheap to shoot, this isn't it.

On that note, if you really like the gun, and you just can't pass up the price, then maybe you should get it. Have you ever shot a sig357?

I just purchased a 10mm handgun because I love the round. Ammo is hard to find right now, but that wasn't a good enough reason for me to not get the gun I wanted.

If I didn't have a love for the 10mm and I would just get a .40, unless I was getting a 1911 then it would be a .45. My next handgun will be a .40.

[battleship]

I just like the Sig P229 Elite carry, it just happened to be in that caliber, i have never shot a sig 357 and so cannot compare the feel and accuracy to a 9mm or a 40sw. Plus i was checking out the prices starting at around $23.00 a box similar to what i see for .45 caliber these days.

So im some what torn on committing to this one.

[locosway]

I always say it's better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all.

If you don't end up liking it you could just sell it and get your money back.

[Dr Rockso]

How popular is this caliber, it seems its hard to come by and its not cheap. Has it been fully adopted by law enforcement or any dept.

Texas Highway Patrol has been using .357 Sig for quite a while now. Also I'm pretty sure that the Air Marshals and Secret Service carry it, as well.

[JDoe]

How popular is this caliber, it seems its hard to come by and its not cheap. Has it been fully adopted by law enforcement or any dept.

Or is it going to go the way of the dinosaurs.

Ive seen a Sig P229 Elite carry in consignment, a gun i would love to own thinking it was a 9mm i was disapointed to find it is this sig 357 caliber.

I know it has better balistics than the 9mm and is as good as if not better than the 40sw, but is it really worth the price of the ammo and the fact that you can not get it everywhere.

Agencies Using the 357 SIG Cartridge

* Alameda County
* Delaware State Police (First to adopt the 357 SIG)
* Dallas, Texas Police
* Federal Air Marshals
* Federal Protective Services (FPS) Special Agents for General Services Administration (GSA) - P229
* Keizer Police Department, Oregon
* La Porte County Indiana Sheriff's Department
* Laurence County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee
* Las Vegas Metro Police (allowed use of)
* Liberty Twp Police Dept, Ohio
* Maine Aroostook County Sheriff's Office
* Maine Game Wardens (P226)
* Maricopa County [Phoenix] Arizona Sheriff's Office/MCSO
* Montcalm County (Michigan) Sheriff's Office
* New Jersey Division of Fish & Game
* New Mexico State Police
* Niles Police Dept, Ohio
* Northwood Police Dept, ND
* NC Highway Patrol
* NC Wake County Sheriff's Department
* NC Wildlife Enforcement Officers
* Nueces County Sheriff Department, Texas (Sigpro)
* Oakland County Sheriff's Dept, Michigan
* Orange Police Dept, CT (sig pro, SP2340 .357)
* Orlando PD (plainclothes officers)
* Oxford, Mississippi
* Richmond, Virginia
* Rocky Mount Police Dept, Rocky Mount, NC
* Springfield, IL
* Tennessee Highway Patrol
* Union County Sheriff's Office, Marysville, Ohio (Glock 31)
* Texas, DPS
* United States (GSA) - Office of Inspector General (OIG) Special Agents - P229
* United States Secret Service
* Virginia State Police
* Etc

It has superior barrier penetration capabilities compared to other common defensive pistol rounds. Steel sheets of Truth.

Availability of ammo was good until the shortages and hoarding started. Still you can find it online easy enough at places like ammoman.com or amunitiontogo.com.

This isn't a round I'd use for plinking but for a defensive semi-automatic pistol round I think it is one of the best. The 10mm quite possibly blows it away but I haven't seen any comparisons of the 10mm vs. 357 sig for barrier penetration. Also, I'm not sure about the controlability of a 357 sig handgun vs. 10mm for things like double, triple, etc. taps. With the 357 sig I can definitely multi-tap in full control at about the same speed as using a 9mm Luger handgun.

Here's a cool page on the 357 sig... 357SIG: Pete's 357 SIG Caliber Page

[ck867]

.357 sig to me is just a hassle. It is harder to get and the price of them are really expensive. 9mm +P+ is pretty equavalent and I feel even 10mm would be a better option.

[bruceflinch]

The necked cartridge also makes it a bit harder to reload...

[Sunwolf]

.357 Sig will probably go the way of the .41 mag.

[kemasa]

If you like the firearm buy it and get a replacement barrel for .40S&W. It is not a big deal and then you can shoot either.

[liketoshoot]

^^ What he said^^^
I bought a 357sig barrel for my sig 229 that is a 40 and find it fun to shoot, now I have another double duty/caliber gun.

[AJD]

I know it has better balistics than the 9mm and is as good as if not better than the 40sw, but is it really worth the price of the ammo and the fact that you can not get it everywhere.

Actually in terms of wound ballistics (expansion and penetration) the .40 might be a little better, and the 9mm is about the same. The extra velocity generated by the .357sig does not give it any advantage in expansion over the calibers mentioned above. And the extra energy generated (which still is not very much-we're talking about handgun rounds) does not cause additional wounding or any mythical "shock."

[tankerman]

.357 Sig will probably go the way of the .41 mag.

Where did the 41 mag go?

41 mag wasn't really ever adopted by LE, .357 Sig has/was adopted by some LE.
41 mag has remained popular with hunters, .357 Sig will never be popular with hunters.

[BossHog]

If you like the firearm buy it and get a replacement barrel for .40S&W. It is not a big deal and then you can shoot either.

+1. I have three pistols chambered in 357 SIG and have 40 S&W replacement barrels for each of them. If I ever run out of my stash of 357 SIG ammo, and ammo availability or cost is an issue at that time, I'll simply swap barrels and convert them to 40 S&W.

[bsim]

357 Sig is the only ammo I see everyday on the Walmart shelf when I go. Never 9mm nor 45.