My experience with 9mm vs. 357SIG vs. 40 S&W

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P99AS9

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I just went to the range last week with a friend of mine who let me shoot his Sig P229 in 9mm, and a Sig P226 in 40 with a 357 drop-in barrel. I was curious about range experiences with these few calibers so I'm glad I got to compare them. This is for all of you new hangun people out there :cool:. First off, I shot the P229 in 9mm. I'm used to 9's so nothing I didn't expect there. Recoil was only a small flip upward and wasn't an issue. Then I tried the Sig P226 with the 357 barrel in. To my surprise, the 226 in 357 had the same, if not less recoil than the P229 in 9mm! :eek:
I was expecting it to be like the 357 magnum but it's actually very easy to control. And the part I liked the most about it was that every shot, after the gun recoiled, the gun would be at the same spot where I originally aimed it at. So the gun didn't even throw me off target at all, which made rapid-fire shooting a breeze. The 357's recoil by the way was similar to the 9, in the way that that it only had a small flip upward.

Next up was the P226 with the 40 barrel. Felt-recoil was considerably more than the 9mm's and the 357's. Also, the gun would throw itself off target every shot, which made faster shooting harder. Overall, the recoil was more like a quick snap than like a flip, but not too hard to handle. Most people won't agree, but in my experience, the 40 had less felt-recoil than most 45's, which I have plenty of experience with.

What I want people to get out of this is that before buying a 9mm, consider a 357SIG. Recoil is similar, but the bullet is higher pressure and higher velocity, making it a better choice for self-defense (if you can shoot it well.) And many of the top gun manufacterors like Sig, Glock, HK, Springfield (XD), ect. make guns in this caliber. And if you can shoot the 40 well, go for it! 40 would be an even better choice for SD due to bullet mass.

I'm glad I could share my range experience with you guys and happy shooting!
 
Interesting, thanks for the report. I have not yet tried a .357SIG, but have had similar experiences as you with 9mm and .40S&W.
 
What I want people to get out of this is that before buying a 9mm, consider a 357SIG.
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Thanks for the info. After reading similar reports in the past I DID settle on .357sig. Everybody whines about cost of ammo but I think it's mostly because it's the only negative they can come up with. The cost difference for good range ammo for 9mm vs .357 is like $60 per 1000. It seems like if thats enough to stop someone the $600+ cost of a gun ought to be a really doozy.

Now all I need is my friggin' rottin' stinkin' permit to show up.... AAARRGH!
 
Peetzakilla:

Congrats on the new 357SIG. I'm waiting for a nice used P226 in 357 to show up at my gunshop. The thing I like about 357SIG is that it uses the same mags and recoil spring and everything except the barrel the same as the 40. Because of this (and this is what I'm doing), you could pick up a 40 barrel for your 357, and just drop it in and you'll be ready to go.
 
Because of this (and this is what I'm doing), you could pick up a 40 barrel for your 357, and just drop it in and you'll be ready to go.
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My .357 is a Glock 33. Just showed up at my FFL today. I can go and fondle it and shoot all I want but my (see previous post for explitives) permit still has not showed its face in my mail box so I can't take it home.:(:mad: Eight weeks today....


Anyway, I don't really have any interest at this point in shooting .40. I've got 800 rounds of .357 (500 FMJ and 300 Gold Dot JHP) waiting to go BOOM! I also bought a Lone Wolf 5.32 inch barrel so it is legal to hunt with the G33. Now it's deer season and my spare time is taken up sitting in a tree freezing to death.

Maybe I'm "compensating" for something ;) but my next purchase is fixing to be a .41mag revolver and then a 10mm compact 1911.

Am I hijacking your thread with my ramblings? Sorry;)
 
When I was looking for a carry gun I came to similar conclusions, but without shooting the other calibers in virtually the same gun. I settled on a G32 because it was small enough to conceal with 14 rounds of .357.

Its a good gun that has never failed, and I'm confident that it could stop a threat if it had to, but I shoot faster and more accurately with 9mm. In my experience, 9mm is much softer shooting, and is far cheaper if you're not buying in bulk (I do).

In the end, more rounds on target in less time, with three more rounds in the mag (I went to an XD9), persuaded me to get and carry a 9. Now my .357 is up for sale.

Just my .02, but I'll have to try the Sigs in this caliber because I love the balitstics and the sigs I own or have shot.
 
.357 SIG and 9mm bullets are about the same diameter (.357 v. .355). Standard .357 SIG has about the same bullet weight as standard 9mm, with several hundred fps more velocity. Using NATO-spec (+P) 9mm narrows that difference by about 100 fps. With modern hollowpoint bullets, even standard 9mm ought to be sufficient for defense. Other factors to consider in favor of 9mm are that the ammo is cheaper (you have to practice), lower velocity and pressure (especially in the lighter loads, like Federal American Eagle, Win. USA, and Remington UMC ball) means less wear on the gun, more rounds in the magazine, and easier and cheaper to reload. The .357 SIG has the advantage of being a little more accurate and reliable, due to the bottleneck cartridge design. But reliable compared to what? A 9mm Glock is about as reliable as you are going to get. More important than any of this, however, is, if necessary, being able to draw a pistol and get off your shots quickly and accurately. Skill is more important than equipment, and there is a lot more difference between people's skill levels than there is between this or that caliber, with this or that bullet. Find the gun that fits your hand, that you can draw and aim consistently. Caliber is a secondary issue.
 
The .357sig is in fact the same caliber as 9mm: .355cal, just like roklok said.

Thread moved to General Handguns.
 
try the mp 40

i use the mp 40 for work (correction officer) and love it im not a big fan of most handguns but i wont have anything but the mp.
very low recoil and dead on first time i shot it i shot expert 99 out of 100 great gun.
 
Great thread guys.
I have yet to try the .40 or .357. I do however like shooting my 9mm 127gr.+P+ :D
I don't know too much about the Sig series, but were those Sigs you shot similar in size(barrel and weight)? What bullet weights and velocities were you shooting?
I just sold one of my pistols to fund another and i'm tempted to get a .40 and now even a .357, but stocking another caliber right now is not too high on my agenda.
Take care :)
 
I haven't had a chance to shoot a.357 SIG, but I have a lot of experience with 9mm and .40 S&W.

The 9mm is a piece of cake to shoot. The recoil (in a properly sized/designed) pistol is negligible. You can empty the magazine as fast as you can pull the trigger and easily stay on target. The .40 S&W has a little more recoil and muzzle flip, but is still very manageable. You can usually find 9mm in a smaller pistol, but some .40's are pretty small. Watch the small ones. If not properly designed, they can be a beast to shoot. I reference the Keltec P-40 I had. It was a real web-bruiser.
 
When you think about it the .357 Sig fires the same 125gr 9mm slug at 200 fps more or so. And that is why it does not kick much more than a 9mm! The .40, on the other hand, fires a heavier bullet and the barrle has less steel (i.e. it makes the gun a bit lighter.)

And yes, I have the .357 Sig, .40, and 9mm as well as .45s I think the .357 Sig is a fine round.
 
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