.357sig

[Fireman179]

Do you think they will stop producing 357sig? I don't want to buy a dying caliber.

[alex0535]

Why not just buy a .40 S&W with an interchangeable barrel you can swap for a .357 sig barrel?

That way you buy a .40, and you only have to worry about your .357 barrel going out of date.

[Mrgunsngear]

As long as it can produce 650+ FT/LBS of energy out of a G31 barrel I don't think it's going anywhere. Lots of folks love power

Underwood Ammo 357 SIG Gold Dot Gel Test HD Video Link

[lockedcj7]

Maybe in the long-term but not likely anytime soon. Lots of government agencies are using it and it seems to be popular enough.

[KenLondregan]

I know of a few agencies here in New Jersey that currently carry this round. I believe a few federal agencies including the United States Secret Service and Air Marshalls use this round. I have also read that multiple state police agencies and highway patrols use this round including Delaware, Rhode Island, Virginia, Montana, and North Caroline. As long as the federal government, state, and local law enforcement agencies continue to use it, it will still be around. Supply and demand, plain and simple.

If you are worried, do what alex suggested and buy a 40 that you can swap barrels with. I have a sig p226 and It is simple to switch the 40 barrel/slide out with a .357. It even takes the same mags (they are stamped as both)

[Brian Pfleuger]

The Sig isn't going away anytime soon.

[S&W-Keeper]

I hope not.I think it is a great round. I have a Sig, and a Glock.I also have the .40 barrels to go with them.

[Dan-O]

Once fired brass is cheap, 9mm/.38 super bullets are cheap, once the run on primers are over small pistol primers are cheap.

Reloading and shooting 357sig is cheap, but it is so much fun.

[Noreaster]

It's still an issued round for some local, state and federal LEOs. Good idea to buy 40S&W and then get a 357 sig barrel idea. I have the same setup for my glock.

[Deaf Smith]

Do you think they will stop producing 357sig? I don't want to buy a dying caliber.

Not with so many LEO organizations like the Texas DPS and Secret Service using them.

Deaf

[Mr.Scott]

Texas highway patrol and lots of texas PDs use it.
It's a stout round, but to snappy for my liking.

[Noreaster]

For what it's worth, I had a friend in the gun industry tell me that you should buy a 40S&W and then a 357 sig barrel, not the other way around. He claimed better accuracy if you start with a 40 and then go to 357 sig. I mentioned it on this forum before and several people said they started with a 357 sig and then went to 40S&W and they didn't have any accuracy problems.

[Single Six]

My agency is looking real hard at buying new service weapons; the .357 Sig is the round they want. Last I looked, the Highway Patrol here in N.C. uses that caliber as well. My only caveats: Ammo is pretty hard to find around here [at least, it is at Wal Mart], and last...it's not a .45. But hey, if they issue it, I'll tote it.

[Peter M. Eick]

The sig is very common in certain areas. Here in Texas I find a lot of it at the range. I would not say it is dying by any stretch.

[Dragline45]

I believe a few federal agencies including the United States Secret Service and Air Marshalls use this round.

Couldn't pick a worse round for an Air Marshall to carry. Overpenetration should be a concern when firing a gun on a crowded airplane, which makes the .357sig a bad choice. Also, airplanes are relatively confined spaces. Tapping off a high pressure .357sig in a confined space will almost certainly cause severe hearing loss/impairment compared to say a .45acp or a 9mm. Just a bad choice all around.

[AH.74]

Couldn't pick a worse round for an Air Marshall to carry. Overpenetration should be a concern when firing a gun on a crowded airplane, which makes the .357sig a bad choice. Also, airplanes are relatively confined spaces. Tapping off a high pressure .357sig in a confined space will almost certainly cause severe hearing loss/impairment compared to say a .45acp or a 9mm. Just a bad choice all around.

Right. They have no idea what they're doing.

I think they have a tiny little bit more expertise than the average joe.

New Mexico State Police also use the round in addition to the agencies already mentioned.

[Dragline45]

Right. They have no idea what they're doing.

I think they have a tiny little bit more expertise than the average joe.

HAH! That's a good one. I guess the FBI and all their expertise worked out great when they issued the 10mm

Don't assume just because a law enforcement agency carry a gun for a living means they are experts.

Every drawback I posted about the .357sig for Air Marshall's are completely legitimate and valid points.

[AH.74]

Every drawback I posted about the .357sig for Air Marshall's are completely legitimate and valid points.

Please point me to a verified account of an overpenetration involving the round.

Don't assume just because a law enforcement agency carry a gun for a living means they are experts.

Clarify- you mean the agents, right? I think the agency itself knows what it's doing.

[Dragline45]

Please point me to a verified account of an overpenetration involving the round.

If you want to scour the internet for cases go for it, because I certainly wont. I don't need to do so to know that the .357sig, which was made to mimic the .357 magnum, is prone to overpenetration compared to say a 9mm or .45acp. Higher pressure rounds, that reach higher velocities, penetrate deeper and further than a lower pressure round at lower velocities.

Clarify- you mean the agents, right? I think the agency itself knows what it's doing.

Nope I meant the agency. You would like to think they know what they are doing but it's not always the case. The example I used about the FBI choosing the 10mm for their issued round was a total flop. Because of it they developed the .40. The FBI are supposed to have the highest of expertise at their fingertips. What makes the United States Air Marshalls any better?

[AH.74]

If you want to scour the internet for cases go for it, because I certainly wont. I don't need to do so to know that the .357sig, which was made to mimic the .357 magnum, is prone to overpenetration compared to say a 9mm or .45acp. Higher pressure rounds, that reach higher velocities, penetrate deeper and further than a lower pressure round at lower velocities.

It doesn't work that way. You made a claim. I asked you to support it. Now you say you won't. It's because you can't- I have never seen a verified, actual account of an overpenetration with the .357 Sig round. I always ask that question when people bring it up, and no one can ever support the claim.

Nope I meant the agency. You would like to think they know what they are doing but it's not always the case. The example I used about the FBI choosing the 10mm for their issued round was a total flop. Because of it they developed the .40. The FBI are supposed to have the highest of expertise at their fingertips. What makes the United States Air Marshalls any better?

If you meant the agency your sentence wasn't written clearly.

From what I understand the FBI did not properly take into account the women agent factor. That does not mean the entire thing was a "flop."

There is no evidence to support your claim that the round is a bad choice. Do you have any idea of the criteria for the choice? There's probably more to it than we know, and I am sure they had more good reasons to choose it over anything else they could have.

[Dragline45]

It doesn't work that way. You made a claim. I asked you to support it. Now you say you won't. It's because you can't- I have never seen a verified, actual account of an overpenetration with the .357 Sig round. I always ask that question when people bring it up, and no one can ever support the claim.

I don't need articles on the internet to support physics. An object at a higher velocity will penetrate further than a similar object at a lower velocity.

From what I understand the FBI did not properly take into account the women agent factor. That does not mean the entire thing was a "flop."

Yes it does.. If they were such "experts", they would have taken that into account.

Some people hold far too much faith in our Government and Government Agencies. Just because the Federal Air Marshals picked the .357sig does not make it a good choice or even the best choice for it's intended use.

Think what you want, but I think the .357sig for use on an airplane by Air Marshals is a foolish choice.

[Deaf Smith]

If you want to scour the internet for cases go for it, because I certainly wont. I don't need to do so to know that the .357sig, which was made to mimic the .357 magnum, is prone to overpenetration compared to say a 9mm or .45acp. Higher pressure rounds, that reach higher velocities, penetrate deeper and further than a lower pressure round at lower velocities.

No, with the 125gr JHP load the .357 Magnum was NOT known for overpenitration. That load was known for staying inside the attacker AND dropping them with just one shot.

Heavier 158 gr loads and soft point 125s were known to overpenitrate.

Hence the .357 Sig uses 125gr JHP so it would do the same thing as the 125gr Magnum load.

And that ability to stop inside an opponent and still deliver very good stopping power was why the Air Marshals use the .357 Sig.

Massad Ayoob himself as wrote that the Texas DPS are quite happy with the performance of the .357 Sig cartridge in actual shootings.

http://books.google.com/books?id=AD5...action&f=false

Deaf

[AH.74]

I don't need articles on the internet to support physics. An object at a higher velocity will penetrate further than a similar object at a lower velocity.

I'm not talking about this point. I'm addressing your claim that the .357 Sig round is a liability due to likelihood of overpenetration.

If you are going to make a claim, you should be able or willing to back it up. If you can't or won't, your claim is worthless.

Just because the Federal Air Marshals picked the .357sig does not make it a good choice or even the best choice for it's intended use.

Think what you want, but I think the .357sig for use on an airplane by Air Marshals is a foolish choice.

You are entitled to your opinion. If you want it to actually have any merit, back it up with your qualifications to make such a determination.

[AH.74]

Heavier 158 gr loads and soft point 125s were known to overpenitrate.

I'd like to know your source of information, please.

[EliteGeek91]

I had a .357 conversion barrel for my Glock 23 (.40).

It shot great, very snappy (Might be abit too much for some), was VERY fast, shot at a bullet-proof vest, it was the only round that fully penetrated, the .40 and .45 only tore some of the Kevlar, but didn't fully penetrate. The vest was strapped onto a tree stump (To semi-simulate a real body), and used XTP reloads on all 3x pistols.

Anyways, I ended up selling mine, I just prefer my .40 Also to reload the .357 Sig, can be quite a pain. You gotta lube, since they don't have carbide dies for necked brass, and just a real pain to make them cycle near-perfect, whereas my .40 barrel, will eat up everything, hence it being a straight-neck round.

Plus IF you're not a reloader or get the ammo free, you'll pay out the butt. I highly suggest you reload if you get a .357 Sig, then it's the same cost as .40, 9mm, etc basically. Just abit harder to find brass, esp laying at the range.


Overall, I'd say get a 40, it does me great. Has the perfect power ratio, and easy to find.