Is the 357sig fading into obscurity?

My FiL and I have been shooting at the same range for a couple of years now. If people don't want their brass we scrounge it. The other day we even found some 50AE. But we have yet to see a single piece of 357 sig.
 
Still find .38 S&W in stores 120 years later so I suspect .357 Sig will be here a mite longer, especially since some Fed and state police still use it.

Deaf
 
Still find .38 S&W in stores 120 years later so I suspect .357 Sig will be here a mite longer, especially since some Fed and state police still use it.
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There were a lot more .38 S&Ws made than .357 SIGs.:D
 
I carry an issued Glock 22 at work. Off duty, I bought a Sig P239 (.40) DAK. (No safety, decocker etc) I carry appendix and won't carry a cocked pistol pointed at my femoral artery. That's just me. Lots of folks do and never have a problem.

Bought a Barsto barrel and mags in 357 SIG.

I can practice with cheap and abundant .40. Carry and qualify with the 357 SIG. Perfect combo for me.

I know there are 9mm +P and +P+ rounds that get fairly close to the Sig round. But, I think you are really stressing the 9mm at those pressures so I would rather fire a hot round in a gun that's designed for it.

Maybe because I started with revolvers and always had a soft spot for the 357 Magnum. We had quite a few shooting with the Magnum back in the old days and, it's very effective. Shoot steel with a 357 SIG and, there's alot of energy there.

I think of the P239 as a very flat, easy to carry, reliable .357 Magnum revolver...that holds 8 rounds.

And, if the Sig round finally disappears (not likely) ill just drop the .40 barrel back in.
 
I am a huge 357 magnum fan so 357 sig is very intriguing to me. I think the biggest reason I haven't got into it is I have heard it's not a great round for reloading. The things I have heard are that with the bottleneck there case be neck tension issues and that brass doesn't last long. I like how my 9, 45, 38, 357 brass lasts seemingly forever. Not sure if these concerns are valid though.
 
gyvel, the .45acp is rated to 21,000 psi max, the .357SIG is rated to 40,000 psi.

.357SIG is no harder to reload than any other round. There is an abundance of once fired rounds because of all the specialized LEO running it. You have to use the right powders for it. My load is a Montana Gold 125JHP on top of 7.8 grains of BE-86 at 1.140" OAL. Goes about 1,420 fps out of my G31. These just happened to be nickle cases, bling loads.

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I have done some reloading for the 357 SIG and shot a bit of it too. Always in someone else's guns as I don't own one myself.

I have chronographed about 50 different combinations of bullets and powder charges as well as 5 different factory loads.

I have never come close to 1600 FPS with a 125 In fact very few hit 1400 FPS.

Now 1350-1400 FPS with a 35 cal 125 is very good. In fact it is in the same ballpark as the 125 grain factory 357 magnums fired from most 4" revolvers, so I am not saying a work bad about the 357 SIG. I believe it will be as effect as the standard police loads from 4" revolvers most of us carried in the 70s.

With 147 grain bullets I can hit 1200 FPS, but that's hot. Most 147 loads I tried were in the 1150 range. Anything over 125 grains seems to be counter productive in the 357 SIG.
Now that's still a useful load, but when we look at a 40 S&W with a 145-155 grain bullet at the same speed we see a bit more weight and larger diameter, so the 357 SIG seems to fill it's place best with 125s. In the 140+ range the 40 S&W beats it a bit, and does so with ammo that is easier to get and easier to reload for.

Because it's not as easy to load for as the 40 or the 9, and because it's not as common, it's probably going to stay in the "2nd level" from a standpoint of sales.

An easier shell to load is the full power 10MM, and the brass is about as common and about the same price as the 357 SIG. Guns for both cartridges are not as common as guns in 9mm, 40 S&W or 45 ACP.

Both the 10mm and the 357 SIG are good, but neither is likely to gain a lot of ground in sales.

To me, the popularity of a shell means nothing--- until I can't get brass.

But to many who don't load their own, availability of affordable ammo is critical.
 
The .357SIG is gaining ground in USPSA Major 9 Limited and it has been around in Australia IPSC for decades as they can't run a 40 caliber diameter down under. So I am working up a new load to match the Double Tap speeds. It's a 357 revolver bullet, and I'm going to run it to 8.6 grains of BE-86, almost compressed. Wyosmith, what was your fastest load? And out of what gun?

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Do you need to lube the cases for reloading? I have some .357Sig brass (bought a conversion kit for one of my P250s in the caliber) but haven't fiddled with it yet.

I like the round- it feeds smooth and seemed to not kick quite as hard as a .40 (which wasn't that bad, anyway). It's just not economical to shoot so I haven't really bothered.

IMO, its real benefit was for those who have a need for barrier penetration. You don't get any more capacity than a .40 and the .40 drills a bigger hole, so I can see why it didn't really take off except with some LE agencies.
 
The .357 Sig seemed to come out smoking as the best new thing and faded just as quickly but it's still more popular than the .45Gap.
 
Technosavant, yes the necks should be lubed. I use a dry film fold release, no mess to remove. Many LEO adopted the .357SIG for the vehicle penetration ability, but probably more agencies fear over penetration when not shooting thru vehicles.

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The 9 X 23 Winchester was a much better idea. sadly, it doesn't have the following (police adoption) of the .357 Sig. The 9 X 23 Winchester was an exact mirror image of the .357 Magnum. The only problem with the round is that it requires a .45 ACP sized frame.

IMHO it is everything the .357 Sig should have been.
 
...its peak in popularity has probably passed / and so has the 10mm in my opinion.
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Totally disagree on the 10mm. It's been having a resurgence recently with several companies making guns in that chamber. It may never be as popular as the mainstream calibers, but it's popularity is going up, not down.

I owned a Glock 33 about 8 years ago and sold it a few years later. Nice round but it never flipped my switch. I don't usually shoot thru auto glass and the ammo was expensive compared to the mainstream stuff so I sold it.
 
I saw a Beretta Cougar in 357 Sig 2 days ago. I love that rotating barrel. Made me consider the 357 Sig, though I carry 9 mm now. I think our Highway Patrol used to carry that very gun (North Carolina). Any NCHP folks here that could verify?
 
Totally disagree on the 10mm. It's been having a resurgence recently with several companies making guns in that chamber. It may never be as popular as the mainstream calibers, but it's popularity is going up, not down.
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I agree, however the ammo prices will probably hurt the chambering's longevity if they don't start coming down. I saw 10mm range ammo at my LGS for something like $32 per box of 50. The .44 mag rounds were less expensive.
 
Data collected from my pistols, 5 shot averages:
Glock 19:
Remington HTP 115 gr. +P @ 1,177 fps / 354# KE
Remington 124 gr. +P Golden Saber @ 1,136 fps / 355# KE
Federal HST 124 gr. +P @ 1,210 fps / 403# KE
Glock 32:
Winchester Ranger T 125 gr. @ 1,340 fps / 499# KE
Speer Gold Dot 125 gr. @ 1,344 fps / 501# KE
Federal HST 125 gr. @ 1,358 fps / 512# KE (PF 170)
Glock 23:
Remington Golden Saber 165 gr. @ 1,048 fps / 402# KE
Federal Hydra-Shok 180 gr. @ 969 fps / 375# KE
Federal HST 180 gr. @ 1,003 fps / 402# KE (PF 181)

If one doesn't appreciate increased KE, the 357 Sig is not for them.
If one wants to buy cheap practice ammo, or ammo at the local Mart, 357 Sig not for them either.

Appreciate an extra 20% KE over 9mm+P or 180 gr. 40? The 357 Sig may be for you.
Appreciate the convenience and selection of ordering ammo online? The 357 Sig may be for you.
Want the ballistics of 125 JHP 357 Mag but in a semi-auto? Get a 357 Sig.

Note the power factor (PF) calculation for 357 Sig vs 40, the 357 Sig has more blast, but does not have more recoil.
 
I believe that the 10mm ammo is for reloaders (which I do). I also see specials online for about $19.99/50 which I picked up a few hundred last month. I think that as it becomes more popular, the price will drop but until then reloading is the way to go.
 
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