[brownie]

Lately I've been carrying a G22 glock 40S+W with an aftermarket 357Sig barrel stoked with Win Ranger T 125 grainers moving out at 1350 fps producing 506 fpe.

I've shot this load and some practice ball ammo through the G22/357Sig barrel and though stout, it's not as bad as I would have thought regarding recoil. It's a potent load and this caliber has been chosen by the SS to protect the Prez over other calibers due to several reason. One of the reasons is it's performance through hard targets like glass and car bodies, but it's also a superb performer on the streets on dirt-bags of all flavors from actual reported shootings by LEO who use it.

The Texas DPS is among the growing group of LE agencies who are happy with it's performance on the street over the 9mm and 40S+W as well.

Anyone using this caliber in their SD handguns?

Anyone have an opinion on the caliber or a particular load for this caliber? I haven't seen any mention on this forum about this caliber being carried or anyone's opinion one way or the other on it's performance on the streets? Am I the only person here carrying this caliber?

 

[Takasnooze]

This may be a dumb question but I'm full of them . What does the sig in .357sig signify. How many .357's are there? Differences? Thanks...:drinks

 

[brownie]

357Sig got it's name from Sigarms, who developed the cartridge in conjunction with an ammo maker. It was specifically designed to duplicate the ballistics of the 357 Magnum revolver cartridge [ a 125 grain bullet traveling in excess of 1300 fps ] and able to be fired in a semi-auto firearm.

It's a 40S+W cartridge that's necked down to take a .356/.357 bullet [ 9mm sized bullets ].

 

[fatbastard]

I've got a conversion barrel for my g23 from lonewolf and I really like shooting it. But I'm concerned about the reliability of a conversion barrel for SD.

 

[deadeyedick]

Am I the only person here carrying this caliber?

Yep. :laughing

This may be a dumb question but I'm full of them . What does the sig in .357sig signify. How many .357's are there? Differences? Thanks...:drinks

The Sig in .357 Sig refers to Sig Sauer, the original developer of the cartridge. And to my knowledge, there are three .357 handgun cartridges...

.357 Sig - A bottleneck autopistol cartridge based on a necked-down .40S&W
.357 Magnum - A straight-walled revolver cartridge, essentially an elongated .38 Special
.357 Maximum - Another straight-walled cartridge, essentially an elongated .357 Magnum; it was very popular in silhouette shooting at one time, but it's something of an oddball these days.

 

[Uechi]

I have a conversion barrel for my Glock 23 that I will shoot for the first time tomorrow. Great for the range, but no way I'm using it for SD. If I really like the 357 Sig better than the 40 S&W I'll buy a Glock factory 357 Sig barrel to use for SD. I didn't buy one right off the bat because they are a lot more expensive than after market barrels. My only concern with an after market is multiple jams when it really counts.

 

[brownie]

Though it might depend on the quality of the barrel to some degree, if you have a good after market barrel conversion the gun is as reliable as it is with it's original barrel.

I know a fed in Ohio who has shot a 9 conversion barrel out of his 357Sig for years without a hiccup. He loaned it to me when we did the Pa. class a few years ago and I put 7 rds through the conversion 9mm barrel in an afternoon without a hiccup as well. Years ago I swapped out a glock 30 barrel for an aftermarket to shoot lead through it and it never had an issue with the aftermarket barrel either.

I'm not sure where all the worry is coming from with the conversion barrels, from just not knowing they run as reliably or not trusting them to run as reliably, but there's nothing out there I've seen in any report that these conversions are having reliability issues, and on top of not seeing any problems myself shooting them, it's a non issue.

Guess it comes down to -- don't buy junk conversion barrels and you don't have anything to worry about.

 

[Takasnooze]

Thanks for the responses. I have a 38 special and the .357 issue has confused me a little because I believe I've read that some .357 mag will shoot the 38spec also. So I am assuming the .357 will pack alot more punch with alot more velocity.

 

[brownie]

357 magnums CANfire 38 special,

38 special CAN'T fire 357 magnums

The 357 Magnum is a longer cartridge so it will not fit in the chamber of a 38 special.

 

[YARDDOG]

I've heard the bottle neck holp keep it from jamming thats Hearsay Ive never shot that cal. Y/D

 

[brownie]

Yes, the bottleneck cartridge is more reliable in feeding into the chamber, that's correct sir.

 

[Uechi]

It is my understanding that Glock factoy barrel tolerances are deliberately a little open compared to after market barrels so they can handle a large mix of ammo types without jamming. It may not be true with the 357 Sig, I don't know I just assume the Lone Wolf barrel would be a little tighter which could mean better accuracy, but could also be finicky on certain ammo.

 

[brownie]

It is my understanding that Glock factoy barrel tolerances are deliberately a little open compared to after market barrels so they can handle a large mix of ammo types without jamming. It may not be true with the 357 Sig, I don't know I just assume the Lone Wolf barrel would be a little tighter which could mean better accuracy, but could also be finicky on certain ammo.

That's true, the glock barrel chambers are more tolerant of ammo that's not quite spec'd properly relative overall dimensions [ it's that way because it was designed as a military gun ].

I've not seen any reliability issues with a well made aftermarket barrel reported anywhere on the net. If aftermarket barrels were a problem, it wouldn't be just with glocks though. I know Sig barrels are known for tight chamber tolerances [ hence their reputation for accuracy ] and their guns are also known for reliability and don't have any problems with swapping barrels from 357Sig/40S+W/9mm between the same weapon platform or gobbling up all types of ammo as well as any glock.

 

[Uechi]

Good to know. I'll let you know what kind of results I get tomorrow. I'm going to shoot two handed, single hand strong side and single hand weak side. I'm also going to do some point shooting and hip shooting. I don't plan on shooting at distances greater than 20 feet.

 

[Rvrctyrngr]

I've shot it a couple of times. One was my friend's duty-issue SIGP229 (he's a US SkyMarshal), the other was a friend's P239. The P229 was bearable. The P239 was brutal.

Not for me. Too snappy (even compared to .40S&W) and ammo is too expensive/scarce. I can get .40S&W at WallyWorld all day long.

 

[Uechi]

I can't find ammo in any Walmart around here. In the local gun stores I can get all the 357 Sig I want and it is the same price as the 40 S&W. All expensive.

 

[Hodawg]

Yesterday morning, my local Wally had both .40 S&W and .357 Sig. If anyone's hurting for it, I'll run down there and grab it. Mail it to you for cost only.

Beers y'all,
Ken

 

[brownie]

I'm forcing myself to get used to this load on the range, it's going to be my "Into the Superstition Mountains" trail gun in the future replacing my normally carried glock 17. I had been carrying either the 17 or a 45LC/454casull Ruger Alaskan revo in the past. The revo doesn't have enough ammo up front and is very stout, the 17 isn't enough instant kill power on what I could run into.

Besides the 10mm, which I used to own, the 357Sig will be a better stopper in the semi-auto handgun platform on big cats, javelina, and the occasional bear one might run into. I don't have a problem securing ammo for it, the shop keeps practice and SD Ranger T in stock most of the time.

I'll be back to the g17 here shortly for street I sure.

 

[Mac45]

Have fun with the 357sig, Brownie. I am reluctant to get too involved with that particular cartridge, at the moment, because it is basically a niche cartridge. And niche cartridges very often either languish or die off. I don't have the money to indulge very many of my whims.

The 357sig is a superior design to the old 38 super and even a bit more powerful. It is virtually the same, ballistically, as the 357 magnum. But, it lacks the history and mystique of the magnum. It should do the job as a trail gun for you, though. Cats and javalina should respond well to the round. I wouldn't feel very secure against a bear at close quarters with only a handgun. A rifle or shotgun w/ slugs would make me feel a whole lot happier.

 

[brownie]

Thanks Mac, I'd like to take a rifle into the mountains but it's just not going to happen with the heat, the 45 pound pack.

When I say Superstition Mountains, many may get the impression it's like the mountains back east or the Rockies. It's far from that type of environ though. You have to deal with the heat even at higher elevations here, and just 3 miles off a main road up a trail head is stepping back into a time warp. Nothings changed since the 18th century. The desert will and does kill people within hours and only a few miles from civilization out here. It's harsh to say the least.

It's been hard to decide what to take for SD into these areas. I like the Ruger Alaskan using 45LC in lieu of the 454 casull, but it's just so damned heavy on the train after a few miles up and over a couple of mountain ranges. I knew the 9mm wasn't going to be the best option, and one of my g30sf's or g21sf's wouldn't likely have enough punch to get as deep as the 357Sig.

If I had my druthers, I'd carry my 357 mag lever model 92 in stainless with 180 grain Buffalo Bore loaded [ lighter than a 94 ]. It's just impossible to sling a long gun with the pack and have it at the ready like a sidearm is on the waist belt. It's more in the way than it's worth carrying.

It's an ongoing process of elimination as to what the best options are. Half the people on SAR don't even carry a firearm into the mountains, it's that much of a PITA to lug around with all the other equipment one must have in the Supes to have a chance at coming out. These people don't believe it's as much an issue as I do [ some do carry pocket pistol 38's for convenience ] and I'll be damned if I'm not going to be as well armed as I can realistically be out in the wilds. At times we can be as far as 10 miles from any civilization in the Supes and no cell service. You're not self sufficient and have everything you need, you die rather quickly. Being on SAR and on rescues has shown just how close you can be to help and die out there.

If anyone has a suggestion other than my own thoughts on this, I'd readily welcome input.

Hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend.