.357 Sig

[Glockdude]

I have been tossing around the idea of ordering a Glock 31. It of course is chambered in .357 Sig. I know little of this cartridge though. Im definately interested in hearing from others who are familiar with this caliber. Thanks in advance, Greg.

[gschoelles]

Get a Glock 22 in .40 S&W, then a .357 SIG Barrel and you have the best of both worlds.

FYI a Glock 22 can be barreled for 9mm also... 3 guns for the price of 1. The .9mm conversion needs a .9mm magazine whereas the .357 SIG will work out of the .40 SW magazine.

[jtg452]

The .357Sig is a .40S&W necked down to shoot 9mm (.355") bullets. You can expect about a 200fps increase in velocity when comparing .357sig loads to loads using the same bullet weight in 9mm.

Reloading the .357Sig is a bit of a pain. The bottleneck means that, unlike most other pistol cartridges which are straight walled, you have to use the same techniques you'd use to load high power rifle rounds. The neck is also quite short and that causes issues with case splitting if you have loose a chamber or a novice reloader's propensity to overwork the case mouth by over flaring it.

Factory ammo is priced a bit high, can be hard to find and is usually rather limited in selection. The good news is that reloading components (other than brass on occasion but it's availability isn't that bad) are readily available since it will use any .355 (jacketed) or .356 (lead) bullet that were intended for any of the 9mm diameter rounds on the market and EVERYBODY that makes pistol bullets will carry a line of projectiles of the proper diameter and bullet weights for it.

[Glockdude]

Very interesting. What do you think about longevity for this round?

[jtg452]

If you mean how long it's been around, I think it came about back in the mid to late '90's. The .40S&W has only been around since about '90 or '91, and since it's based on the .40, it has to have been developed after that.

If you mean case life for reloading, it comes down to what your chamber tolerances are and how hard you work the brass. I don't have a great deal of first hand experience with it but I've shot with some folks over the years that have experimented with it extensively and their biggest gripe has always been about the short neck. Considering the short neck and high operating pressure (for a pistol round), I really wouldn't expect brass to last 20+ loadings like a .45ACP or a .38 Special can but I figure 8-12 loadings shouldn't be outside the realm of possibility if you do your part.

[G50AE]

Very interesting. What do you think about longevity for this round?

It's going to have good longevity, IMHO. Both Glock and the LE community have accepted this caliber. Also other gun manufactures who make pistols in 40S&W will continue to make a 357SIG option, because it's really only two extra steps or so to do so.

[jtg452]

From a manufacturing stand point, it's easier than most folks realize. You just use a set of .357Sig chamber reamers instead of the 9x19 reamers when you chamber the barrel blanks. The bore is gonna be the same size for both since they use the same projectiles and I'm willing to bet they use the same twist. A 200fps increase isn't really big enough to necessitate a change in twist rate to stabilize the bullet for a .355 projectile with the bullet weights in question and the velocities being produced. (Besides, most 9mm manufacturers use a 1:14 twist and that over stabilizes the bullet anyhow.)

You could might even be able to get away with using the .40 reamers for the first rough cuts until it came to the final stage and then use the .357 Sig finishing reamers for the final chamber cuts- but that's just a guess.

[father-of-three]

There was an interesting thread recently (sorry, no link, just my memory!) about the .357 sig having better recoil control than the .40, at least with glocks. I don't own a .40 or a .357 sig, but is was an interesting discussion. Like mentioned above, it also discussed switching barrels to accomidate the calibers.

[NRA UR2]

Its a great cartridge with a real punch and moderate recoil.It started out as a necked down 40S&W shooting any 9mm fodder.But in particular the factory load uses a 125gr slug which duplicates the power and velocity of a 357 magnum with slightly less recoil. My prime carry pistol is a SIG P239 SC in 357 SIG.Its heavier than your(my) Airlite 38 Smiths, but if you remember your 357 statistics, its the best manstopper there is over all other calibers. PS., all my carry guns have CT laser sights to insure that one shot stop that SIG advertises.

[Glockdude]

I definately appreciate all the input, I think i may go tomorrow and place my order and possibly if funds allow a .40 barrel or a g22 with a .357 barrel depends im not patient and ill want it asap lol