Pros and Cons to the .357 Sig

Shooting 500+ rounds a week, I will stay with the 9mm because of $$. I have a .357 SIG barrel for my SIG 229 but the round is too expensive, too loud and too much recoil.
 
Coup
It may indeed be too much for you as far as recoil and noise but then again we all have a different skill level and you may not be able to handle the cartridge thats nothing to be ashamed of. As far as cost goes if you reloads the cost are nearly identical for 9mm and 357 sig. Anyone who shoots 500 plus rounds a weak should consider getting into reloading. For me the 9mm is a fun plinker and its good for beginners but its not quite powerfull enough for me to trust my life too.
PAT
 
Just go out and buy one!

Then, let us know what you think!

(I don't shoot my .40s anymore since I got my .357 Sig drop-in barrels)
 
Not to downgrade any particular person's handloading skills here, but reloading .357 SIG involves very careful sizing, seating and crimping to prevent bullet setback, does it not?. At the pressures it runs, there wouldn't seem to be much room for error before things go BLAMMO.

I, for instance, just don't trust my handloading skills enough to take on .357 SIG. I load .45, which is nice and forgiving for beginners like myself.
 
I began reloading about 4 months ago and started with the 357 SIG. I've fired close to 3000 rounds of my reloads without incident. The most important thing to do is make up a number of dummy rounds using various amounts of crimp until you find a combination of bullet and crimp stength that works. In my case I've found that a very light crimp or no crimp at all works best for me. As always YMMV.
 
Some time back I had second thoughts and backed out of what was otherwise a pretty good deal on a Glock 31 with STANDARD:p capacity magazines. From everything I was able to find on the ctg. it is a very fine round ballistically, particularly for LE, and PARTICULARLY if someone was steadily providing factory ammo to me.

However: I have been loading for 40 plus years, and when I got into quantity loading for semiauto gas rifles (M1, M1A) I found that 'close' is not good enough. It has to be exactly right, and to do that you need good equipment, good data, and good gauges. This round seems to demand the same care in loading.

What deterred me on the .357 SIG was the lack of a good case length gauge on the market, lack of a good case trimmer (my notion being the Dillon unit) and short neck/crimp consensus--plus the need to lube cases. In other words, loading for this round would be just as labor intensive as loading match .30 caliber rifle rounds.

If the situation changes I would definitely look into the .357 SIG again. Till then what I will have to make do with what I have accumulated.
 
Don its not that hard to reload a 357 sig. The dillion press I use does all the work for me. The only secret is picking the right bullet shape and not belling the case mouth.
PAT
 
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