.45 acp vs .357sig in say, a full-size M&P.
This is fine, as a comparison between the .45acp and .357 Sig. It is NOT a comparison between the .45acp and the .357 Magnum.
Fast forward to getting my first .357M. Rumor about "worse, snappier recoil than a.44" etc. had me closin my eyes and turning my head when I touched off my first round. What a joke, it's a ***** cat. Not really comparable to the .45 due to different platforms but not what I'd call worse by any means.
The .357 Magnum isn't a *****cat, its more like a wildcat, that has been fixed. With the exception of a couple of loads from the specialty makers, the .357 Magnum isn't what it once was. Neutered. Toned down. Lightened. Made manageable, etc. Pick what terms you want, but acknowledge that the mighty .357 of yesteryear only exists today in the hottest handloads, and a the previously mentioned boutique loadings.
Original .357 mag ballistics are 158gr @1550fps from and 8 3/8" revolver barrel. And as far as I can determine, the original ammo from the S&W Registered Magnum delivered pretty close to the claims. You won't, however, find ammo loaded like that on the shelf at Walmart, or for that matter, most sporting good stores. With a couple of possible exceptions (which I can't personally vouch for) ammo of that power level comes only from your handloading bench these days. And not very much of that. Simply because of the fact that the majority of guns chambered in .357 Magnum these days simply will not take it.
Because the majority of .357s today are NOT large frame revolvers. Numerically there are lots more medium frame, and small frame .357s than the big ones. The hot stuff you can shoot out of a S&W N frame (or for that matter a Ruger new model Blackhawk) that is a sharp bark and a swift kick, and functions normally is much worse feeling out of a K frame gun, and you will need a small hammer to get the fired cases out of the cylinder. And I would not ever consider shooting them in one of the J frame snubnose size guns, no matter who makes or how they rate it.
But current factory ammo will shoot in all, and cases will eject normally. Don't get me wrong, I'm not inferring in the least that current factory .357 is a slouch or a wimp, far from it. But its not the round that started and built the .357's reputation, for decades.
What you shoot it out of matters a lot. Handguns optimized for carry and defensive use are not optimized for full magnum power. Period. There's no free lunch. And current standard magnum power loads are nothing to be sneered at or disrespected, especially in certain platform.
A few years back, an avid shooter friend of mine nearly ended his ability to enjoy handgunning. He spent a summer firing a couple thousand (mostly factory) .357 loads through several small frame guns. He developed nerve damage in his arms from it. He's still avid, but can't be the shooter he once was, maybe never again. Today, he can manage about a box of 9mm, and then he's done for the day. There is hope for eventual improvement. His case was a case of too much too close together, like an athlete injuring themselves from over training, not because the gun and ammo are injurious when used in the expected fashion.
And the expected, and intended manner to shoot .357 in medium and small size guns is in small amounts, for practice, and to carry for use when
needed. All other shooting should be done with lighter loads (.38Spl level).
Doing that, the guns will last, and so will you.
If you want to be able to shoot .357 Magnum whenever you
desire, for that, you use a large frame gun. And I am referring to current factory ammo here, too.
You can do otherwise, a some people do. I just want to make the point that if you do, your results might not be what your goal was when you started.
We focus ALOT on defensive shooting, and the best tools for it, but the world of handguns does not begin, or end there for the real enthusiast.
Comparing the .357 and the .45auto in defensive class "platforms" is the only place where the two rounds really overlap in use.
The .45 is pretty much at its peak for this, while the .357 (and the guns) best suited for defense/duty use are far below full peak .357 performance.
Its not an apples to apples comparison, even when you put them in exactly the same box. I've got a Contender with .357 barrel, and a barrel that will shoot .45acp. There is, however a 4 inch difference in the length, but that's as close to the same box as I can get, in my personal collection. Also have a Coonan, which is close to, but still bigger and heaver than a 1911A1.
I've also had a Desert Eagle in .357, and that's a "platform", one that does turn the .357 into a mild puttytat for recoil. The roar, on the other hand is something else.
(early DE, nominal 6" barrel, polygonal rifling, heavy load 125gr JHP, 1720fps, clocked actual. No issues with function, or accuracy.
)
Of course, the DE weighs about what TWO 1911s do....does hold 9+1 though,
Same ammo, 6" S&W model 28, 1670fps, cases eject normally. Same ammo in 6" S&W Model 19, only two shots (shooter somehow got the gun to double
) 1620fps. Fired cases could not be ejected by hand, had to be tapped loose. Use of that ammo in that gun suspended, permanently. (and no, I'm not going to tell what the load was, for obvious reasons.