10mm or .357 Sig

[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]

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.

 

[Mike_Fontenot]

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

By "downloaded", I mean "not as powerful as .357mag", or "not as powerful as its spec". I doubt that there is any reason that the .357sig cartridge couldn't be loaded as heavy as .357mag ... the max pressure for .357sig is specked at 40000psi, versus 35000psi for the .357mag, and the cross-sectional area of the bullet is the same. Case volume is less, because it's shorter, but most casings aren't anywhere close to being filled up with powder ... my .357mag Federal .357mag Hi-Shoks have a tiny amount of powder in them, and the same for my DoubleTap 10mm.

 

[greyeyezz]

Duty ammo needs to meet it's advertised specs. If its listed at 1350, it can only deviate from that spec so much or it's rejected.
I remember Speer selling 250 round boxes of 357sig Gold Dots that were slightly over or under the allowable velocity and rejected by an agency. I still have some.

 

[Ruger45LC]

Neither really but of those I'd probably opt for the 357 Sig. They're smaller guns, well generally speaking, than 10mm guns and you can quickly swap out to the .40 S&W or 9mm, both of which I feel are better options than the 10mm or the 357 Sig.

You can swap to the .40 and 357 Sig with the 10mm also but you're still stuck with the bigger/heavier gun.

 

[Mike_Fontenot]

Duty ammo needs to meet it's advertised specs. If its listed at 1350, it can only deviate from that spec so much or it's rejected.
I remember Speer selling 250 round boxes of 357sig Gold Dots that were slightly over or under the allowable velocity and rejected by an agency. I still have some.

But what the manufacturer advertizes is not necessarily anywhere near the max spec for that caliber ... it usually isn't, except with full-spec ammo like BuffaloBore, Underwood, and DoubleTap. And I don't think even those so-called "full-spec" rounds of .357sig are as hot as the same manufacturer's rounds of .357mag ... I don't know why not, but they're not.

 

[saleen322]

Either would work. The 357 Sig will fit into a smaller, more compact pistol and provide decent power. The 10mm will deliver more power and can use heavier bullets but requires a full-size pistol. If you handload, I would lean toward the 10mm as you have more flexibility with it.

 

[EverettCD]

Glock 20 or 29 10mm. It's a great round & is much easier to reload than the necked case .357 sig.

 

[Fox84]

I have a G20 with a extra 357 sig barrel,a RIA 1911 in 10mm and a full size M&P 40mm with a spare 357 sig barrel. I enjoy them all. I concur the 357 sig is hard to reload. I bulge many cases.

 

[DAVID NANCARROW]

I looked at it from the perspective of a "one gun" person and chose the 10MM for its versatility. If the user does not reload, the 10 has more loads available. A good friend of mine bought a 357 Sig and reloads. He is not a fan of bottlenecked cases in general, but then his patience level is sort of low lol.

 

[stagpanther]

I have spare guide rods, heavier springs, a lone wolf conventional barrel and a ported fire dragon 6" barrel on the way for my glock 20. Already have a good supply of xtp bullets, gonna explore some hard cast wfn's as well. Despite all the talk about hunting with them--I've found it extremely difficult to find someone with actual experience dropping a whitetail with a 10--and what did the job for them. That's why my 41 and 44 mags will always be on standby. : )

 

[Cemo]

Any gun fired in a house would be very loud, but the magnums much more so and the 10mm and 357 Sig are biting at the heels of the magnums. I would stick with 9, 40 or 45 for home defense. I really enjoy shooting my 10mm on the range and have carried it hunting too, but ammo is hard to find and expensive. I would think the Sig 357 would be too. Range ammo for the 9, 40 and 45 is fairly easy to find now and not too costly, considering todays ammo prices.

 

[dakota1911]

I picked 10mm. If you reload it is a great round. Right now I have a Colt Delta Gold Cup and a DW in 10mm. The DW is better for hot hand loads as it has a ramped barrel. I also keep my eyes open for a S&W 610 or 310 revolver not to mention the Ruger 38-40/10mm convertible SA they made years ago. Then I also have a couple 1911s that are chambered in 38 Super.

 

[stagpanther]

One of my LGS's just got in a 10mm para elite camoed LS hunter--the most magnificent hand-gun I've ever seen! I'm gonna be obsessing about it for a long time!

 

[979Texas]

For personal protection I would go with the. 357. But both are excellent calibers, in fact these are my top two favorite semi auto pistol calibers. I own a Glock 20 in 10mm and I love it, but all I really use it for is hunting. About 6 months ago I got my mother a Glock 33 in 357 sig for concealed carry and home defense. She loves the gun and shoots it very well and is very comfortable with it. So either caliber would be ideal but for the application of just self defense I would probably choose the 357 but the 10mm is a great cartridge to and if choose the 10mm I would reccomend a somewhat watered down load like a winchester silvertip or what I use for self defense in my 10mm is a PMC 170 grain hollow point. But I love and shoot both calibers so don't let anyone tell you they are not good choices.

 

[stagpanther]

For personal protection I would go with the. 357. But both are excellent calibers, in fact these are my top two favorite semi auto pistol calibers. I own a Glock 20 in 10mm and I love it, but all I really use it for is hunting. About 6 months ago I got my mother a Glock 33 in 357 sig for concealed carry and home defense. She loves the gun and shoots it very well and is very comfortable with it. So either caliber would be ideal but for the application of just self defense I would probably choose the 357 but the 10mm is a great cartridge to and if choose the 10mm I would reccomend a somewhat watered down load like a winchester silvertip or what I use for self defense in my 10mm is a PMC 170 grain hollow point. But I love and shoot both calibers so don't let anyone tell you they are not good choices.

+1 I'm reloading a batch for my glock 20 right now--it is really amazing what you can get out of such a small cartridge--a cartridge that nonetheless throws 200 gr bullets using large pistol primers hard fast and relatively flat. All with very little powder. The more I study and reload this cartridge the more impressed I am by it's efficiency. So far of the off-the-shelf ammo I've used I'm the least impressed by PMC's--both firing results (could be my fault) as well as after-shooting variations in their brass; compared to remmie, starline etc.

 

[Floridave]

Those are two of my favorite rounds and I almost always have either a glock 20 10mm or glock 27 with a 357 sig barrel with me or very close by. But I hand load for both. If I didn't reload and was buying a home defense and range gun(auto) I would probably go with 40 or 9mm just because of ammo cost. The glock 40's and 357's can all easily shoot 357/40 and 9mm with barrel change. I shoot all 3 in my 27 (also 22 rim fire with AA kit). Couldn't argue with getting a g20 though [emoji1]