.357 Sig ?

[Smith]

I didnt know that, I thought you could reform & trim a .40 case to work. The neck isnt THAT extreme, what is the issue with doing this?

Even though the .357 sig is based on the .40 case, the .357 sig case is slightly longer. If you re-size a .40 case it will be too short to be safe in the .357 Sig

[323ssplt]

The main thing to remember when you are comparing pistol cartridges, is that every single one of them is relatively "weak" in the stopping power area. I hate it when I see people splitting hairs over whether round x has 50 fps more than round y.

Now, with that said, I have been a huge fan of the .357 sig round for years, because it does offer a slight advantage over other rounds in terms of velocity and penatration, but it is WAY more controllable than the 40. The reason you are seeing so many highway patrols going to the sig round, is that it is a much better penetrator on car bodies than the 40.

Additionally, the Secret Service and the Air Marshals have both gone to the sig round.

No badguy is going to notice the difference between a 9mm, a 357 sig, or a 45, but you as the shooter while notice the difference on your end.

just my two cents.

Edited August 19, 2011 by 323ssplt

[323ssplt]

Oh, and as to cheap practice ammo, tennessee cartridge company has been relaoding this round for years. I and my wife have fired literally tens of thousands of these rounds over the years and have been very happy with its performance on the range.

[PC7]

The 357 Sig really offers little to nothing over the 40; the 357 Sig even performs inferiorly to the 40 through many test media. See for yourself, click below to compare the 357 Sig to the 180gr 40 in Winchester’s Ranger line.

http://www.winchester.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/flash-SWFs/law_bullit.swf

Or look at Federal's HST and Speer's Gold Dot performance.

http://le.atk.com/pdf/HSTInsertPoster.pdf

http://le.atk.com/pdf/HSTInsertPoster.pdf

[A.J. Holst]

A little off topic, but a few reasons I stopped carrying .357 Mag in my SP101: As Jonnin states, in a a shorter barrelled pistol you don't get the best performance from the round; in a SD scenario I am not worried about penetrating glass or door panels; more money than .38; popping off a few rounds in a dark room at 2am will be as disorienting to me as to the BG; less wear and tear on my revolver.

I do however, enjoy the attention of shooting .357 at an indoor range...

[nightrunner]

i would think that LE would be using service sized pistols, and in that length of barrel, .357sig typically has about a 200fps advantage over 9x19mm. which is enough to give them an advantage in penetrating car doors, which is most likely why they chose the round

[Smith]

i would think that LE would be using service sized pistols, and in that length of barrel, .357sig typically has about a 200fps advantage over 9x19mm. which is enough to give them an advantage in penetrating car doors, which is most likely why they chose the round

My understanding is exactly this. The THP uses .357 SIG for the extra range and door/glass penetration that the .40 and .45 lack. I also understand the same reason being why MNPD and many other PDs use the .40 S&W. Less chance of over penetration.