I have been looking for M&P in .357 without much luck. I have been told by a couple of people not to purchase one, but other than "they don't shoot well" or "the cartridge is too powerful for the gun so Smith quit making them" they can't tell me anything else. I am not inclined to buy either argument without some additional information, and I have had little success in finding such information. Can anyone out there tell me anything or direct me to a source that can provide additional information?

I have a Sig 229 in .357 and love the caliber, i just don't like carrying a DA/SA for EDC.

Thanks for your help.

Brownk80

I have a 40 that I drop a 357 barrel in. You can just find a barrel.

S&W has discontinued the M&P-based guns in .357SIG. We don't know exactly why, but the explanations (all from non-S&W sources) vary from "too little demand" to "problems with the guns."

Here in NC, the NC Highway Patrol used M&Ps in .357SIG and had problems that S&W could not resolve -- and S&W took the guns back. The NCHP now uses SIG P226s (which they had used in the past.)

I've heard nothing definitive about the nature of the problem the NCHP experienced with their M&Ps, but I've heard mentions of at least one other LE Agency having problems with the S&W in .357SIG, and of other agencies having problems with "compact" Glocks using that round. I've heard of no problems anywhere with the SIG P226 or the P229 (a beefed up version of the P228 that SIG designed to handle the .357SIG round.)

Many private citizens shoot their .357 SIGs and love'm.

That said, if I wanted to use that round, I think I'd go the SIG route, even though I'm not a big SIG fan. (i've had a bunch of SIGs over the years and finally came to the conclusion that they just don't fit me. ) I love my M&P Pro [1.0] in 9mm.

Mine runs fine.
It's very accurate with my handloads using Power Pistol.
Its the only original 357 M&P I've ever seen:

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Go out an buy it. They are GREAT guns and VERY strong

My Family, Associates and Students have put tens of thousands of rounds down range with ours so far.
I even have a compact for pocket carry.

AS you have already noted with the folks that you have talked to there is no definitive information on why they do not like it, just lots or Rumor, innuendo and Hearsay

After you have put a few hundred rounds through yours, you can make the decision yourself.

I am a HUGE fan of the 357SIG cartridge. I was first introduced to it by Texas DPS when I was working in Dallas County back around 1993. Lots of caps have been busted since that day

I have many S&Ws, SIGs, HKs and other pistols chambered for this fine round but the Smith and weson M&P is the only plastic framed, striker fired firearms chambered for the 357SIG that I own.

Thanks everyone for the information and input. I think I will continue to look for one in .357 but the idea of changing barrels, which hadn't occurred to me, is an interesting one. I will have to check it out further. Great forum and great members, thanks again everyone for the help.

Brownk80

Natural born .357 seem hard to come by. If you find one, get one. If not, as others have said, get a .40 and a .357 barrel. Mags are the same.

.357 barrels may soon also fade away so grab one if you can.

I didn't know that it was ever made in the compact......That is cool!

I used to have a factory full sized M&P in 357 sig before selling it off to a friend. I still keep a 357 sig barrel for my M&P 40 pro. Both have always run fine but admittedly have seen mostly mid power handloads.

p.s. Another friend has had a M&PC in 357 some years. He seemed to like it well enough too.

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Dave

Here is my M&P 357c. It is wearing the factory supplied Crimson Trace laser unit and is shown with a full size 15 round magazine with the X-grip spacer.
The full size magazines made for a great reload and give you a bit more grip
Here you can better see the laser module positioned just behind the slide catch

I suspect the reason Smith stopped .357SIG was the same reason any manufacturer stops production of anything, lack of demand. I realize there are many fans of the cartridge (and I think it's interesting kinda like the .30 Luger, another bottleneck pistol cartridge) but in the end, accountants and shareholders make the decisions. They look at the numbers and if it's not selling as well as other models, and they need the production line to make something that sells better, it gets the axe. I suspect the .357 SIG line was converted to Shield production. Just my take on it. Remember the .41 Magnum? Can't remember the last time I saw ammo for that on a shelf.

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Minimize the variables

Love the concept of the .357sig round. A pistol cartridge designed to emulate the ballistics of the well proven rimmed .357S&W Magnum cartridge. Unfortunately it never seemed to have gained much traction in the market place.

IMO the .357sig is a superior round. The pros and cons: The .357sig is flatter shooting and a little harder hitting than the .40s&w giving it a little more practical range than the .40 but produces more muzzle flash. Some claim that the sig kicks more than the .40 (debatable) and is more prone to over penetration in self defense scenarios. Factory .357sig is about twice as expensive as factory .40s&w (supply and demand?) and I've heard it's a little trickier to reload. I don't reload so I couldn't say.

The choices in factory .357sig loads are pretty limited from what I can tell and you are not likely to find it at Wally-World or most mom & pop shops So you'll likely have to mail order it or roll your own.

It is my belief that the only reason the .40s&w gained more public acceptance than the .357sig is that it was developed by S&W to FBI specifications as the "perfect defensive round". As with most things, the public tends to base it's purchasing decisions based on what the "Pros" use. Had the FBI gone with the .357sig we would probably be wondering what ever happened to the .40s&w right now.

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Life Member B.A.S.S., NAFC

I picked up a used full size .40 a while back and put a Storm Lake .357 barrel in it. Was pretty simple and works well.

The bean counters make a lot of decisions, to be sure, but they also help to keep the company solvent.

I've seen it said on this forum --but I haven't seen it confirmed -- that the only real differences between the .40 M&P and the .357 SIG M&P are the rollmark on the slides and the barrels and that all other part numbers are otherwise the same. If so, the money saved by discontinuing .357SIG production was not likely substantial.

If, on the other hand, S&W was having problems with guns sold to police agencies -- as was the case with 2,000+ guns sold to the NC Highway Patrol (which were later returned) -- and the problems could not be easily resolved, THAT could prove to be a sizeable and ongoing expense -- and THAT is the kind of expense that any company wants to avoid.

My Shield .40 with drop in .357 sig barrel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I picked up a 357sig barrel years ago for my M&P40 ... 1st time shooting I was all over the place. I was a fairly new shooter back then. After a year of shooting my M&P40, along with several other larger caliber guns, I decided it was time to sell the 357sig barrel, since I couldn't shoot it well. I decided to shoot up the rest of the ammo I had before putting it up for sale. I'll just say, I shot the bullseye out with that last box of ammo, needless to say ...... that 357sig barrel sits in one of my M&P40 frames, ready to go!!! And I've purchased several cases of ammo for it since...

As for any negative responses I've read here..... I've read nothing of substance .... no factual info .... just second hand conjecture, I deal in facts, not "fake news"

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Jack C

About a year ago I bought a 357 Sig barrel from Midway on closeout. Dropped it into my full size M&P 40. Magazines are the same. Has been great. Academy Sports carries the ammo.

Makes sense since the .357sig is a .40s&w case necked down to accept a 9mm bullet.

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Life Member B.A.S.S., NAFC

Makes sense since the .357sig is a .40s&w case necked down to accept a 9mm bullet.

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Life Member B.A.S.S., NAFC

They should still make 'em...

Attached Images

357c.jpg (77.7 KB, 42 views)

Actually, this is a common misconception. The 40S&W is not the parent case of the 357SIG cartridge.

357SIG is a unique design.

Resizing a 40S&W to 357SIG will yield a case that is approximately .10" too short. It will function but you lose quite a bit of neck tension on the projectiles.



357SIG and 40S&W do share case head dimensions and overall length

Sounds as though you'd have to start with a 10mm casing and do the scrunching and trimming from there.

I stand corrected.

Now that I think about it I believe it was based off of the 10mm Auto which the FBI initially tried but decided was too hot for their female and smaller framed male agents to handle effectively so they and S&W shortened the .10mm Auto case, reducing the powder capacity. If my recollection is correct that is how the .40s&w (Short & Week) was born.

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Life Member B.A.S.S., NAFC

The FBI watered down the load for the 10mm. S&W found that they could get the FBI velocity out of a 9mm length case making it easier to adapt to 9mm sized weapons. S&W developed the round but Ruger got the first weapon to market. The FBI didn't adopt the 357sig but several other government agencies did Secret Service,. Air Marshalls and some lesser known.

I have no complaints about mine. Accurately is great, recoil isn't bad at all