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Old May 27, 2012, 08:39 PM   #39
Sturmgewehre
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Join Date: December 12, 2006
Location: Indiana
Posts: 4,212
It's a fine cartridge, however its not exceptional. While it offers a slight advantage in velocity with one particular load, outside of that it's somewhat pedestrian. It also has some features that aren't so desirable thus negating the performace of its lighter load.

The .357 Sig has roughly the same performance as a good 9mm load yet due to its case diameter has a diminished capacity. Many shooters would rather have an extra round or two vs. one hotrod load that's not really all that spectacular in the grand scheme of things.

The cost of ammo is high making the cost of ownership unattractive, especially when compared to a cartridge like 9mm.

Reloading the .357 Sig is more complicated since its a bottlenecked cartridge. For many, myself included, it's not worth the extra effort. Not only that, finding brass for it is difficult unless you buy your own. I can, and often do, pick up tons of brass from public ranges for reloading. Rarely do I find .357 Sig brass in the mix.

The muzzle flash for the cartridge is less than ideal. Not a major issue for many people, but this is something I do consider in a defensive pistol and I personally make an effort to carry ammo that has a reduced flash signature.

In the end the round really does nothing better than other more popular cartridges and the few benefits it might have are negated by the negative properties of the cartridge.
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Last edited by Sturmgewehre; May 27, 2012 at 10:37 PM.
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