Sunday, October 16, 2011

Not .40, but how bout...

The .357 Sig...

I HAVE a Sig P229.  I could really get into an ammo cost issue and just get the .357 Sig barrel for it.  I tried someone's .357 Sig and was expecting more recoil, reminiscent of the .357 magnum revolver.  To tell the truth,  couldn't perceive a difference between it at a .40.

The .40, ballistically, isn't THAT much better than a 9mm.  But a .357 Sig has quite a bit more to it. 

Speer Gold Dot, fer instance, the data looks like:

.357 Sig       125 GR    1350 fps      505 ft.lbs
.40 SW        180 GR     1025 fps     420 ft.lbs.
9mm           147 GR     985 fps        316 ft.lbs.
.38 +P         125 GR     945 fps       248 ft.lbs.

And I am most likely to be carrying the .38+P equivalent.  To switch to a .357 Sig, I'd have a bit more in holster.  With not much more felt recoil.  Can that be right?  Bah!  I grow weary of my own spouting at this point and must ground myself.

Power of the cartridge is not the be all end all, of course.  Of course.  If I may quote:

"Way more important than caliber, even more important than readiness condition of your sidearm (with the caveat that if you're carrying for self-defense, it should be ready), is if you are ready."


 Trudat.  What she said.


















3 comments:

Bubblehead Les. said...

Having spent over 10 Grand on "Home Improvement" this year, I'm down to the point of just buying Ammo for what I already have, going to the Range, and getting in some practice. Oh, well maybe Mrs. Claus will be nice this Christmas....

Angus McThag said...

The wife is a devotee of .357 SIG.

She's absolutely in love with it.

It shoots very flat, and is noticeably louder than 9mm.

We both thought that if modern bullets make 9mm acceptable, more velocity is a plus.

Besides, she bought it during the ban, so ten rounds of anything was all you got.

Pop N Fresh said...

as far as reloading goes, good jacketed bullets for 357sig are really cheap while 40's cost almost as much as 45's

I can reload 357 all day for a little over $100/k (local LEO's shoot it so brass is everywhere)