STEYR M-357
January 6, 2001, 09:27 PM
Today I got my M-357 out of layaway and immediately drove to H&H gunrange in Oklahoma City to test fire it.
I didn't clean the packing grease/oil off the gun before shooting it. I shot 50 rounds of Remington 125g JHP and 50 rounds of PMC 125 g FMJ and 10 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 125g.
The gun reminded me of a 1911 with weird sites. The gun pointed perfectly. This is the only non-1911 that points this way for me. I prefer a flat mainspring housing on a 1911 and the M-357 has the same flat shape. The gun actually balances like a 1911 and has a natural feel to it.
The trigger feels like a single action, with a short reset, again just like a 1911. Imagine a 1911 with long trigger slack and a crisp 5lb letoff. No mushy sponge trigger like a Glock...
The magazine was rather difficult to load. The gun had no failures to feed, extract or eject. The brass flew over my right shoulder and the bullets hit point of impact. I will need to get used to the sites, I was able to get a 5" off hand group at 25yds. I want to add I was excited about getting a new gun and my hands were shaking.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1440485&a=10805081&p=37570888&Sequence=0&res=high
The finish on the slide looks like baked on enamel or shipping glaze that I have yet to remove. I saw an M-40 in another store and the slide was flat black like a chaulk board and was greyish in color. This guns slide looks shiny like a CZ-75 and is black.
My initial impressions with the gun are extremely favorable and are as high as I have ever had regarding a factory firearm.
The recoil reminded me of a Sig 220 loaded with 230g hardball, that's nice and snappy with about 3inches of muzzle rise. I want to add the fact that I limp wrist when I shoot because I shoot more accurately this way.
What more can I say? This gun kicks major butt and I couldn't be happier. This is the best factory non custom pistol I have ever shot. Here is a short list of some guns I either own or have owned:
-Glock 33
-Glock 19
-Glock 21
-Glock 17
-Glock 20
-Glock 23
-Glock 27
-Heckler & Koch USP .40
-Brno CZ-75
-Sig Saur P-220
-Star Model 28 (all steel 9mm)
-Tanfoglio TA-90
-Colt 1911
-Norinco 1911
-Springfield Army 1911
-Beretta 92F
-Ingram MAC 10 (Powder Springs GA)
-SWD M-11 9mm (Cobray)
-Heckler & Koch VP-70z 9mm
-Ruger 22 Mrk 2
-Browning High Power
-Walther P99 .40
-Walther PPK/S
-Grendal .380
From my initial impression, there is no doubt in my narrow far right wing mind the Steyr M-357 is the best of the .357 sig bunch. Then again, I have only shot 110 rounds through it. If I put 900 more rounds w/o a malfunction, then I will be in a position to further review this pistol from a more experienced viewpoint.
I have shot tens of thousands of rounds through various pistols and again, this Steyr left me feeling like I may have reached Handgun Nirvana...
[Edited by STEYR M-357 on 01-09-2001 at 05:10 PM]
I didn't clean the packing grease/oil off the gun before shooting it. I shot 50 rounds of Remington 125g JHP and 50 rounds of PMC 125 g FMJ and 10 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 125g.
The gun reminded me of a 1911 with weird sites. The gun pointed perfectly. This is the only non-1911 that points this way for me. I prefer a flat mainspring housing on a 1911 and the M-357 has the same flat shape. The gun actually balances like a 1911 and has a natural feel to it.
The trigger feels like a single action, with a short reset, again just like a 1911. Imagine a 1911 with long trigger slack and a crisp 5lb letoff. No mushy sponge trigger like a Glock...
The magazine was rather difficult to load. The gun had no failures to feed, extract or eject. The brass flew over my right shoulder and the bullets hit point of impact. I will need to get used to the sites, I was able to get a 5" off hand group at 25yds. I want to add I was excited about getting a new gun and my hands were shaking.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1440485&a=10805081&p=37570888&Sequence=0&res=high
The finish on the slide looks like baked on enamel or shipping glaze that I have yet to remove. I saw an M-40 in another store and the slide was flat black like a chaulk board and was greyish in color. This guns slide looks shiny like a CZ-75 and is black.
My initial impressions with the gun are extremely favorable and are as high as I have ever had regarding a factory firearm.
The recoil reminded me of a Sig 220 loaded with 230g hardball, that's nice and snappy with about 3inches of muzzle rise. I want to add the fact that I limp wrist when I shoot because I shoot more accurately this way.
What more can I say? This gun kicks major butt and I couldn't be happier. This is the best factory non custom pistol I have ever shot. Here is a short list of some guns I either own or have owned:
-Glock 33
-Glock 19
-Glock 21
-Glock 17
-Glock 20
-Glock 23
-Glock 27
-Heckler & Koch USP .40
-Brno CZ-75
-Sig Saur P-220
-Star Model 28 (all steel 9mm)
-Tanfoglio TA-90
-Colt 1911
-Norinco 1911
-Springfield Army 1911
-Beretta 92F
-Ingram MAC 10 (Powder Springs GA)
-SWD M-11 9mm (Cobray)
-Heckler & Koch VP-70z 9mm
-Ruger 22 Mrk 2
-Browning High Power
-Walther P99 .40
-Walther PPK/S
-Grendal .380
From my initial impression, there is no doubt in my narrow far right wing mind the Steyr M-357 is the best of the .357 sig bunch. Then again, I have only shot 110 rounds through it. If I put 900 more rounds w/o a malfunction, then I will be in a position to further review this pistol from a more experienced viewpoint.
I have shot tens of thousands of rounds through various pistols and again, this Steyr left me feeling like I may have reached Handgun Nirvana...
[Edited by STEYR M-357 on 01-09-2001 at 05:10 PM]