357 sig over penatration

[Guest horjdyk]

I right now have a glock 27 in the 40 cal. I am thinking of switching it to a 357 sig. This gun is strictly carry and I don't want to get something that will over penetrate if I ever had a situation in a crowded place. I am also thinking of switching my back up revolver to a 357 mag which now i carry a 44 spl. Thanks for your thoughts

[Guest eyescream]

I don't think I'd worry about overpenetration anymore with a .357 Sig than I would a .40 S&W.

According to BrassFetcher, .40 S&W (180gr) penetrates to around 12". .357 Sig (125gr) penetrates to just shy of that. .357 Magnum (125gr) penetrated to 16". The .40 S&W was fired from a Glock 27, and the two .357's were fired from guns with 4" barrels.

So it's pretty comparable.

Full Disclosure: I'm also interested in picking up a carry gun in .357 Sig.

Edited June 23, 2010 by eyescream
clarification

[Magiccarpetrides]

Overpenetration is such a non-issue....there is much more risk in missing your target altogether. Im not worried about if my bullet might go through the guy shooting me...im more concerned with hitting the target. If your worried about over-penetration maybe you should consider a taser or pepperspray(although you still have a chance of missing and hitting a bystander with those also). There are more injuries of "innocents" due to missing and richocheting then there are from the bad guy getting shot "through and through". Matter of fact we should strive for "over-penetration" as in my mind 2 holes are better then one and while my round might just be lucky enough to penetrate both sides of my assailant if I dont stop him right there you can GUARANTEE he is gonna kill you or the ones you love. My arguement does (maybe wrongly) take into account that we all have enough of a brain to not carry around a .50cal

[Guest eyescream]

Good point.

[First Strike]

Forget all the ballistics calculations and just get a G21 in .45 ACP.

[creeky]

Overpenetration is such a non-issue....there is much more risk in missing your target altogether.

That is the main thing you should take away from this. IMHO...

A benefit of the .357sig is also that it has performed well in barrier penetrations (one reason some HWY patrols have went to it) and it does well going through glass. Or so I have read. When it comes to tissue I often read the same 12" mentioned often.

*Disclaimer: I also carry a HK compact in .357sig. Excellent round in my opinion.

[Guest ONTHJUG]

I have carried the 33 for years and have put so many rounds through it I have lost count. Love that gun.

[Sandman]

Forget all the ballistics calculations and just get a G21 in .45 ACP.

And it begins! ha ha ha. Agreed though.

[Guest Caveman]

I carry a G32 and I have a Sig P229 in 357. Although I have never tested the round on a person, I have done a lot of research and gone through a lot of rounds at the range and I'm a fan.

[leroy]

I have carried the 33 for years and have put so many rounds through it I have lost count. Love that gun.

I second this opinion. I carry and shoot a Glock 33. It is a very reliable, accurate and powerful handgun in a small package.

Kind regards,

Leroy

[Guest rabidrhino]

Don't switch unless you just like spending money. As others have mentioned over-penetration is much less an issue than poor shot placement and completely missing the target. 357 Sig is a fine round but offers nothing better than 9mm where 40sw excels in almost every area. Browse Dr. Gary K. Roberts' discussions on the net and in other forums if you want the details.

[mikegideon]

Haven't picked a gun yet, but the caliber is on my list. The .40 S&W isn't.

[creeky]

Some good general info on the .357 sig HERE.

Some crap I completely made up about the .357sig HERE.

Get what you want, you know your needs better than anyone else on this board and what you expect the round to do. Take all with a grain of salt and if possible... find someone with one and compare for yourself.

I always turned my nose up at the G33 because of what I had read in gun mags. Then I shot one, very manageable and very fun to shoot. All that "Ohhh recoil is hard to manage" stuff didn't seem to be a problem for me. But then again, I have tiny soft girly hands.

Edited June 23, 2010 by creeky
I type like a monkey on crack.

[packingvol]

I have a 357 SIG barrel in my G27... it's what I carry every day. The way I understand it, even if your round over penetrates through an attacker, the amount of energy it will be carrying at that time is unlikely to cause deadly wound to another bystander. One thing to consider, full power 357 SIG rounds out of a short barrel are LOUD.

[Patton]

Interesting that no one has ever thought or brought up that a smaller much faster bullet could richoche more/less? I love my 357 SIG BTW!

[Guest eyescream]

Some good general info on the .357 sig HERE.

Some crap I completely made up about the .357sig HERE.

Get what you want, you know your needs better than anyone else on this board and what you expect the round to do. Take all with a grain of salt and if possible... find someone with one and compare for yourself.

I always turned my nose up at the G33 because of what I had read in gun mags. Then I shot one, very manageable and very fun to shoot. All that "Ohhh recoil is hard to manage" stuff didn't seem to be a problem for me. But then again, I have tiny soft girly hands.

That first link is an awesome page. Thanks for posting it.

Edited June 24, 2010 by eyescream
Cause I'm a tard.

[Guest mn32768]

One thing to consider, full power 357 SIG rounds out of a short barrel are LOUD.

+1 Also, the recoil of a 357SIG is very different from 9mm or .40SW. Not necessarily harder recoil, but it's very snappy (like a whiplash) that needs some getting used to.

[nightrunner]

.357sig only has about 200fps over a HOT factory loaded 9mm +P+ approx. same bullet size also, some thing to think about.

I personally like a larger hole myself likea .45acp. I would rather have a .44spl than a .357mag for a BUG anyways, .44spl would penetrate less than a .357mag also.

[packingvol]

.357sig only has about 200fps over a HOT factory loaded 9mm +P+ approx. same bullet size also, some thing to think about.

I personally like a larger hole myself likea .45acp. I would rather have a .44spl than a .357mag for a BUG anyways, .44spl would penetrate less than a .357mag also.

"Only 200fps over HOT 9mm"... that's a bit misleading. Consider that 200fps is about a 16% gain in velocity when comparing the hottest available 9mm loads (say 127gr SXT +p+) to the hot 357 SIG loads (125 grain double tap). Energy levels are usually about 100-140 ft/lbs more, or 20-25% gain, with the hot 357 SIG loads. To me, this is considerable.

[Guest cjr]

.357 sig and .357 mag are my EDC's P2000sk HK .357 SIG and the 340 PD .357 MAG. I like them both and for a snubby the S&W is very accurate.

[Guest horjdyk]

Thanks for the info looks like i am going to buy a barrel.

[Guest eyescream]

"Only 200fps over HOT 9mm"... that's a bit misleading. Consider that 200fps is about a 16% gain in velocity when comparing the hottest available 9mm loads (say 127gr SXT +p+) to the hot 357 SIG loads (125 grain double tap). Energy levels are usually about 100-140 ft/lbs more, or 20-25% gain, with the hot 357 SIG loads. To me, this is considerable.

And then consider the fact that the 9mm +P+ loadings aren't even recognized by SAAMI, though they're just about the same pressure as .357 Sig's nominal SAAMI spec (42,000 psi for the+P+ and 40,000 for the SIG). Which means you beat the gun up a lot less to get a better effect.

Buffalo Bore's 9mm +P+ runs only to 1296fps (124gr bullet out of a Glock 19). Their 125gr .357 Sig "low flash" loading makes 1430fps out of a Sig 229. This accounts for over 100 ft-lbs of energy carried into the target over what the 9mm can do (462ft-lbs versus 563ft-lbs).

Edited June 27, 2010 by eyescream
added energy ratings