New carry weapon, should I consider .357 sig

[sperman]

I'm looking for something a little bigger than my Kel-Tec for a carry weapon. I'm pretty happy with the M&P platform, so thats probably the direction I'm going to go. The question is, should I consider .357 sig or stick with .40 S&W. I'll be using factory ammo, so reloading won't be an issue. I have no idea why anyone would use .357 sig as a competition round, but maybe I'm missing something for self defense.

[11.43mm]

Witnessed some gel tests as compared to straight white box 9mm - WICKED but ask for some first hand experience and I pray you never need it. Loud?

[Joe4d]

you' re not.

357 sig is a smoke an mirrors marketing round. Just look at actual ballistic data fired from actual guns and actual data from reloading manuals. Factory ammo is loaded with slow powder to give it a big boom and lots of flash to make the uninformed feel like they have more power. It works pretty well, A volume of powder will move a mass of lead the same velocity, Bottle neck rounds only have an advantage at distances way over handgun range. a 357 sig wont do anything a .40 cant do at a lot less cost.

[MarkCO]

From both personal and professional experience, I would say no. Less case neck tension means a higher liklihood of deep seating if the round gets chambered multiple times. The secondary recoil impulse, and muzzle flash are generally more than with other good defense calibers. Reloading (practice ammo) is more difficult. Factory ammo is more expensive. In all honesty, I'd take a 9mm over a .357 Sig. A .38 Super or .38 SC would be a pretty dandy carry round and there are some nice pistols in those calibers, if you must have 9mm. A .40 S&W, 10mm, .45 ACP, .41 Magnum and several other good calibers are available with much less fuss.

[Calmwater]

Crime scene guy I know seems to think the 40 is very good...... for what its worth.

[sperman]

.40 S&W wins

[VegasOPM]

I can't speak to the terminal effectiveness of either, but I can tell you my experience with both using similar GLOCKs. I did some low light, indoor (pretty much what most self defense encounters offer) training- switching from one to the other. My times and hits were much better with the .40 due to reduced concussion, recoil and muzzle flash. The .357 Sig was LOUD!!!! and one round was enough to throw my night vision into chaos. My splits were much worse too. The .357 tended to flip and twist noticeably. The flip I could deal with, but the twist was annoying (my grip is strong enough to flex the frame on a GLOCK, so I wasn't limpwristing it).

IMHO, the .357 doesn't have any noticeable benefits, but several downsides. Same mag capacity, more noise, more concussion, worse recoil, more expensive ammo, fewer ammo choices and much harder to reload for.

135gr .40 ammo has very similar velocity with a larger cross section- if you want velocity.

[CocoBolo]

Summer Sig239 9 mm Winter 1911 45 full size. But given your choices I would pick the 40 for all the reasons already stated above. Shoot 180gr JHP's the 135's are just violent to shoot.

Shot placement is what makes a good defense. They were arguing defense calibers back in the 60's, the 45 was king then, next came the 357 mag and then the 44 mag, is the 5.7 next.

[RangerTrace]

I've asked myself the same question recently. After my research, I'm having SV build me a 40 S&W that will serve as a Limited pistol and duty pistol. You have a lot more choices for defense rounds in 40 and the practice ammo is much cheaper and easier to find.

Based on everything I've read and experienced (both professionally and personally), I think the 40 is a better all-around choice.

[smokshwn]

Here's a gelatin pic to help with the caliber debate. Most often given a particular brands current state of the art loading you will see very similar bullet performance across the defensive calibers.

Edited November 26, 2009 by smokshwn

[Matt Cheely]

Big bullet > little bullet

[Graham Smith]

From everything I have read, the .357 Sig is better on paper than in real life. It just does not seem to be worth the PITA aspects.

I won't get into the whole "defensive caliber" debate, but most defensive shootings are at very close range. A .380 you can easily carry and shoot beats the .357Mag that's sitting in your car because you have on shorts and a t-shirt. Pick something you can carry and shoot easily every day and forget about the esoteric stuff.

[HRider]

Of the choices you listed, I would choose the .40 for many of the reasons stated above (ammo choice, availibility, cost, shooting characteristics, etc.).

Many years ago, I bought a 10mm because they were new and hot. The 10 is a good round, but it is hard to find ammo for (even worse now days)and expensive when you do find it. It didn't take me long to go back to a .45.

Hurley

[Nik Habicht]

Big bullet > little bullet

O.K., but a squadron of F-15s is a bitch to carry..... :D

[Nik Habicht]

Pick something you can carry and shoot easily every day and forget about the esoteric stuff.

I'd add "and shoot accurately and quickly" to that statement......

.....which becomes even more important if you're packing something small. Know your abilities and limitations with what you choose to carry....

[G-ManBart]

Here's a gelatin pic to help with the caliber debate. Most often given a particular brands current state of the art loading you will see very similar bullet performance across the defensive calibers.

This is the website/article that the above picture came from...puts things in even better perspective:

http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm

[Matt Cheely]

Some good reading right there.

Looks like my Gold Dot's aren't the best performer.

[zhunter]

When contemplating a gun purchase, ALWAYS ask yourself one question....

Which one has better resale value?

NUFF said

[Guy Neill]

Whatever the bullet, placement still counts for a lot.

Guy

[sperman]

Pick something you can carry and shoot easily every day and forget about the esoteric stuff.

I'd add "and shoot accurately and quickly" to that statement......

.....which becomes even more important if you're packing something small. Know your abilities and limitations with what you choose to carry....

My Kel-Tec will still probably be my warm weather gun, but if I'm honest with myself, it has the following problems:

A lot of sh** can go down while I'm trying to dig it out of my back pocket.

I don't maintain it the way I should.  The slide tends to dry out and it doesn't always go into battery.

I hate shooting the little thing, so I don't practice with it very much.

The long heavy trigger and lack of sights mean I'm not very accurate with it.

(Most of the shortcomings listed above are mine, not the guns ) 

[Matt Cheely]

I have a KelTec P3AT as well. It's good for a pocket gun, but it's really for only when I can't wear my 3.5" 45.

[Larry White]

I have 2 Keltecs, a 32 and a 9. Both run great and do the dinner and a movie thing well but niether one is a really serious defence pistol. The problem with the 9s is that as barrel length goes down preformace falls fast, most of the 9s and the .357 sigs are in guns that are too short to do the round justice. Our local county guys are carring short .357 sigs and in 3 shootings over the last couple of years the proformace has been dismal, I'm afraid it just a matter of time before we have a dead officer because of that crappy round. The hi velocity 9s may expand, or not, the .40 is better but those .45s never shrink. S&W 1911 PD in .45, its better than excedren, its the serious headache medcine.-----------Larry

[11.43mm]

Did I mention loud? Others think it is wicked too, but placement is paramount:

Air marshal weapon details made public

Last Update - 8:51am ET Dec 24 '09

Details of the gun type U.S. air marshals will soon be carrying have been made public, a move marshals say could put them and air passengers at risk.

With the approval of the Transportation Security Administration, manufacturer Sig Sauer released specifics of the weapons in a press release, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Sig Sauer has a contract to equip air marshals with its .357 SIG caliber P250 Compact pistol, ABC said.

[Joe4d]

When contemplating a gun purchase, ALWAYS ask yourself one question....

Which one has better resale value?

NUFF said

best piece of advice ever,, I have a safe full of high dollar stuff no one in there right mind except me would ever want.

[Flexmoney]

Big bullet > little bullet

Some of them might actually get bigger from opening up. Some won't.