10mm or .357 Sig

[ATN082268]

I have a friend who is thinking about getting a handgun in a .357 Sig caliber. That got me thinking about the 10mm. In general, what would be a better caliber to get, a 10mm or a .357 Sig? In my friend's case, he will use it primarily for home defense and range use. Any suggestions for a particular handgun and ammunition will also be appreciated

[Dan-O]

Honestly....from the criteria listed....neither. Not bashing either cartidge, as i have multiple guns in multiple platforms for both, and I'm a big fan of both.

[kcub]

If they prefer a 1911 the question should be 10mm or 38 Super (whose ballistics are nearly identical to 357 Sig).

[Isaiah]

I'd say the sig for home defense over penetration might be a problem with 10mm that being said id make sure I had good hollow points for the sig

[jmhyer]

I would also say neither. For the stated purposes, I would select a more widely available and less expensive alternative caliber....that is unless he plans to reload. Also, if hunting or defense in the wilderness were other potential uses, then I would say 10mm.

[Lprmcnit]

Nice thing for me about the G20(10mm)is that with a 40s&w conversion barrell you can shoot that caliber as well, using the same magazines. Gives flexibility in ammo choices.

[Skans]

10mm. I think there are more options available in 10mm and I notice a trend in increasing popularity of the 10mm vs. Sig 357. If the trend continues, ammo, supplies, pistol choices and accessories would continue to be more available for this platform.

[jtmckinney]

I voted 10mm because that is what I am wanting for my next semi pistol, probably not going to be a Glock. Geater ammo choices is another reason but I am thinking 357 Sig is less expensive or at least it was the last time I checked.

I had a Glock 24 that I bought a 357 Sig barrel for and played with it for a while. Never could fall in love with it for some reason, traded it with no regrets.

[precision_shooter]

Nice thing for me about the G20(10mm)is that with a 40s&w conversion barrell you can shoot that caliber as well, using the same magazines. Gives flexibility in ammo choices.

You can do the same thing with the .357sig models. But you can also step down to 9mm with a barrel and mag change...

[Dan-O]

The G20 can also be converted to shoot 357sig for that matter.

If he reloads, the 357sig is pretty cheap to roll your own. Lots of once fired brass out there for cheap. 10mm brass...not so much.

Realistically you could get the G20 and with new barrels shoot at least 3 different calibers through it. Heard there might be a .22tcm conversion in the works too.

[RickB]

I don't like either cartridge as a "house gun" round, but if pressed, I'd go 10mm due to its versatility.
You can load light and fast, heavy and fast, and everything in between.
357 SIG is limited to specific bullets in a small window of weights and dimensions, and I wouldn't mess with it in any case.
The only argument for the SIG is that smaller guns can chamber it, while you must use a large frame for 10mm.
If I were going to a small frame gun, I'd go 9mm, +P+ if necessary, for the larger capacity.

[Skans]

For those of you who don't like the 10mm for home or range, but have one, what do you do with yours? I never thought of it as a particularly good hunting round or do you effectively hunt with it?

[agtman]

Nice thing for me about the G20(10mm) is that with a 40s&w conversion barrel you can shoot that caliber as well, using the same magazines. Gives flexibility in ammo choices.

Assuming the OP chooses one of the Glocks (G20 or G29), he can, in theory, shoot 4 other cartridges by just swapping out barrels: 10mm, .40S&W, .357Sig & 9x25 Dillon.

Swapping out the G20's upper for that of a G21 would allow him to shoot .45acp off the G20's frame.

Then there are the large-frame .22-kits for the G21 & G20.

The Glock 10mms are as versatile as the 10mm cartridge itself.

Word ...

[RickB]

I use mine mostly as a "fun gun".
I shoot some IDPA competition, entertain myself with load development for its own sake (how much faster does it go when I add .2 grain?), and I'm a 1911 junkie that didn't need any convincing that the Delta Elite is a GOOD THING.
If I were going for a hike in the woods, I'd probably carry the Delta in preference to any other handgun I own, due to its size/power ratio and ease of handling.
The 10mm round will do just about anything that any other round, between 9mm and .357 Mag will do, so for someone who needs a good excuse to buy another gun, a 10mm will serve a whole lot of handgun niches.
If I really took that to heart, I could easily get rid of six or eight of my handguns, and use the Delta to replace them all.

[Banger357]

I agree with just about everyone else- for home defense these are terrible calibers. But just in terms of general awesomeness I'd advocate for the Sig. I have guns chambered in both and I'm consistently thrilled with the results from my .357 Sigs- both of which are pretty short barreled. And the ballistics are far superior... Here's some screen shots showing comparisons from Federal's ballistics program. Which, on an unrelated note, I'm effing addicted to.

[stagpanther]

Banger I'm no expert in either of the calibers--but looking at your ballistics chart it doesn't look to me that it's a realistic comparison--the 180 gr 10 mm looks like an anemic load--you push that up to the warmer side of 1200+ fps and your kinetic energy should significantly increase from what is here I believe.

[jaytothekizzay]

To me ... not much use for either. To expensive to use as a range gun. Also not needed for defense. You can get higher capacity, and way cheaper and more readily available ammo in 9mm. As well as more than get the job done in a defense situation.
With that being said... I would consider a 1911 chambered in 10mm for hunting deer sized game at closer ranges

[Banger357]

That's definitely a possibility Stag- this is Federal's program and I like it because it is really easy to get quick, easy to read comparisons. But of course it is limited to Federal's product line, and they don't have many offerings in the 10mm. Most of my 10mm has been hand loads or DoubleTap defensive rounds, which are probably higher pressure than these.

[AustinTX]

Definitely neither round for home defense. Both rounds are very loud, and both produce a lot of night vision-killing muzzle flash. Two distinctly suboptimal choices for home defense, in my opinion.

[JD0x0]

split the difference. 9x25 Dillon. 10mm Auto Necked down to 9mm.


.357sig would be a better choice for SD, over the 10mm auto IMO.

[jmr40]

For outdoor use, loaded with the better heavy 180-200 gr bullets at 1200-1300 fps the 10mm will equal or beat 357 magnum's fired from 4" barrels with the same bullet weights. It is a legitimate large predator defense gun so loaded.

I like the 10mm in this limited role. For general use most people are better off with a 9mm or 40 S&W chambered gun. The biggest advantage is being able to fire 40 and 10mm from the same gun. I do so with my G-20 using the factory 10mm barrel and magazines with good accuracy and no issues.

The better 9mm +p loads are right with the 357 Sig and hold more rounds of less expensive ammo.

I don't see the reasoning behind 357 Sig.

I never thought of it as a particularly good hunting round or do you effectively hunt with it?

I wouldn't specifically buy a 10mm semi as a hunting handgun. The hotttest loads I've found are 200gr DoubleTap ammo loaded to 1300 fps from a 4.5" barreled Glock. From a 6" barrel a 357 will just barely match that with 200 gr bullets and the hottest loads, a 4" 357 mag won't match it. In fact when fired from 4"or shorter barrels 44 mag isn't nearly as far ahead of 10mm as most think. You have to fire 357 or 44 mag loads from 7"-8" barrels to come close to advertised speeds.

The 10mm has plenty of power to hunt most anything you'd hunt with a 357, 41, or 44 mag revolver. It could be used, and I think it is an excellent choice for larger predator protection. But bought specifically to hunt with I'd still choose a 6" or longer barreled magnum revolver. The longer barrel does increase bullet speed plus you'll get a better trigger, better sights and almost guaranteed better accuracy.

[testuser79]

I voted 10mm. I don't see much advantage to the .357 Sig, capacity is identical to the .40 S&W without much improvement in ballistics.

It's a niche, but the .38 Super is also worth considering.

Comparable power to the .357 Sig with greater capacity and less recoil than the 10mm. Witness handguns hold 17+1 rounds of .38 Super using flush fit Mec-gar mags. Bonus, you'll also be able to convert the Witness to .22, 9mm, 10mm, .40 or .45 by buying a separate upper.

I'd check out the Witness Stock, lots of custom touches from the factory and built a bit better than the base pistol. That said, I have a Witness steel in 10mm with .38 super and .40 S&W conversions that works great, just wish I had spent a little extra money for the upgraded pistol.

[Mike_Fontenot]

Originally Posted by jmr40

You have to fire 357 or 44 mag loads from 7"-8" barrels to come close to advertised speeds.

You are right about the importance of taking into account barrel lengths when comparing the specs of different kinds of ammo. The 1200 ft-lb specs for .44mag do refer to longer barrels than typical 10mm semi-auto barrels, so the 1200 ft-lb number shouldn't be compared with the 700 ft-lbs or so of 5" 10mm guns. But my S&W69 (which weighs about the same as my 10mm 1911, and has about the same bullet-travel-length) kicks a lot harder than my 10mm Kimber ... I suspect the actual comparison is more like 900 ft-lb vs 700 ft-lb (and the momentum difference (which most closely tracks recoil) is even greater than the energy difference, because the .44mag bullet is so much heavier (240gr vs 180gr or 200gr, in my case)).

Theoretically, a full-spec .357mag shouldn't be as hot as a full-spec 10mm: the 10mm has a slightly higher max pressure spec, and (more important) the cross-sectional area of the bullet is greater. Pressure times cross-sectional area equals force, and force times bullet-travel-length equals muzzle energy.

And regarding .357sig, the .357sig was supposed to be equivalent to .357mag, but it's not ... it's significantly less powerful than .357mag. It doesn't have to be that way, but it is ... I think they may just be "downloaded", just like 10mm was downloaded for a while (and still is, by many manufacturers). Nevertheless, I still do prefer .357sig over .40, and certainly over 9mm. But 10mm is MUCH better than .357sig.

[stagpanther]

I bought the glock 20 especially for hunting! The ballistics match up perfectly for a whitetail-dropper out to 50 yds with the right handload, assuming I do my part behind the trigger. It doesn't hurt that it is totally silent from the draw to firing the bullet; no audible clicks. In case that large pack of hog-zombies decides to turn and come at ya--short of an AR it's nice to be able to take 16 shots in quick succession.

One of the HUGE advantages of going glock is the enormous after-market availabilty of parts to customize your gun with--almost as big as those for AR's. There is definitely a 6" ported barrel in the future for my Glock 20 giving it even better velocity and impact force.

[greyeyezz]

I think they may just be "downloaded", just like 10mm was downloaded for a while (and still is, by many manufacturers).

I doubt 357sig duty ammo is downloaded, it's used by law enforcement, Secret Service and FAM's.