FINALLY SHOT A 357 SIG - HELPED A FRIEND POP THE CHERRY ON HIS SIG P229 COMMEMORATIVE

Last Friday one of my shootin' Bud's decided he'd finally break down and shoot the commemorative Sig P229 he had purchased new back in 2015. The pistol is chambered in 357 Sig and is a beautifully finished pistol with gorgeous high gloss Walnut grips. Again, it's a commemorative model.

While shooting it, I found it was dead on accurate, had a very descent SA/DA trigger, and was a little snappy to shoot. Nothing terrible but between the wide stance and the thicker custom grips it was a lot of gun to hold onto.

After shooting it, my friend said he was going to convert it into a 9mm by changing the barrel and magazine, then he could shoot it all day long at reasonable ammo prices. The Sig 357 ammo is not only expensive, it is hard to find in any descent selection.

After shooting his pistol I absolutely understand why many of the LE Agency's switched back to much smaller 9's! It's a bit too snappy for many and most Women and even men with smaller mitts will have trouble holding it. It is also somewhat of a big, heavy and bulky pistol to tote all day long. I was glad to experience the P229 and the Sig 357.

My police veteran 229 is a marvel to shoot! 9mm is the choice of defeated empires since 1908!

357 Sig, a cartridge and gun to bet your life on! If cost is a problem, learn to reload!

I have a drop in 40 S&W barrel for mine. A friend gave it to me, but I never bothered with any ammo! A 9mm barrel would get the same treatment! (I have a 9mm M&P that works fine in that role!)

Online brass has always been easy to find, and Berry's makes several bullets that work great. When sizing there is a final umph required on sizing (Carbide dies don't change anything! Not worth the expense!) Longshot is the powder I liked best. But a lot of people like the Accurate offerings.

Years ago, I bought the gun and 1000 once fired brass and two spare mags. Then a friend gave me his supplies: 3500 brass and TEN 10 round mags. I keep a few thousand bullets on hand for reloading.

Winchester 125 grain XST in the Ranger line of LEO ammo is the most powerful and accurate factory ammo I've found. Speer Lawman was the worst, but was mild recoil when you missed! The Win White Box was pretty lame too! Good/SD ammo costs real money, but it performs! Cheap ammo gives cheap results!

Ivan

I don't think that there is enough difference in 40S&W and 357 Sig recoil to talk about. I also don't notice a big difference in noise, I do wear ear protection though. For civilian use, I'm not sure there is a big difference in performance either. The 357 has a lot more penetration of course, that's why it was adopted, but that isn't always a good thing. Don't get the wrong impression, I love my 357Sig but I look at things from a reloaders perspective. It's pretty easy to get some serious performance from a 40S&W!!!

The ballistics of the 357 Sig and 40 S&W are both impressive however one could make an argument that the 357 Sig risks over penetration for use in a somewhat populated area. The 40 is a great SD round as well.

The louder than average report of the Sig is also a bit concerning if one were to be used without ear protection in a SD situation - especially indoors. The real issue with the P229 is the fact that it is a big fat large and heavy pistol and in not even close to being a carry friendly gun for many who are not wearing jackets or winter clothing. No pocket carry options either.

We were in the gun store /range last Friday and the cost of a box of 20 rounds was $35.00 + tax. That was for hollow point ammo however that is the only configuration they had, and they only had three 20 round boxes there. My friend has never reloaded and is not about to start in his mid 70's. This is not his SD gun nor does he want it to be, it's just a gun he wants to relegate for Range use. He has plenty of 9mm and can get all he wants at under $12 bucks a box in any configuration, any grain weight and anywhere guns and ammo are sold. He also is not liking the snappy recoil of the 357 Sig, especially for shooting paper targets. Again this is not meant to be a SD gun for him, it's just a nostalgic part of his past and a gun he wants to shoot often. I agree with him that the 9mm conversion would be the way to go under his set of requirements. Should he ever need to rely on the Sig 357 in a SD situation, the conversion takes less than a minute to do.

I bought a used Sig P229 in 40S$W some odd years ago. It was ok, it worked and knocked down bowling pins and steel targets . I got to have
the chance to shoot .357 Sig and stumbled across a .357 Sig barrel and live turned around. The .357 put a ton of energy into the target.

So, for years, I've shot .357 Sig. Now a buddy got into cash flow problems and I ended up with a Sig P226 with a 15/16 rd mag in 9mm.

I'm looking forward to trying out the new P226 in 9mm as it's brother was the tightest shooting 9mm, I've ever shot.

I bought a barely used P229 for $350 back in 2011. It was a great pistol, amazingly accurate. During the panic in 2013 I was offered $950 for it and sold it. Always regretted parting with it. Then in 2019 my local cop shop had cases of Lawman .357 Sig for $200 a case. They didn’t have any P229’s, so I bought a new Glock 32 for $399, and every case of ammo they had. The Glock isn’t as nice as the Sig, but it works just fine.

The .357 Sig is an accurate, flat shooting, powerful cartridge. I really like it. It’s what I carry when I have to go to Philly. What I’d really like to get is a .357 Sig carbine. A .357 MP-5 would be a lot of fun.

To the OP I would have him tell the friend that if he wants to shoot the P229 .357 comfortably get Hogue grips for it.
My retirement gun after leaving a department where we carried P226 9mm was a P239 in .357 Sig. I was impressed by the ballistics. It was a new cartridge at the time. First thing to go were the grips - Hogue grips change the comfort and grip completely. I carried that on to my next career where we could carry what we qualified with or a company .357 revolver. I stocked up on ammo thru the company. I liked the P239 enough that when the opportunity came to buy a P239 DAK in 9mm from a coworker I grabbed it. The only drawback to the gun was magazine capacity. In hindsight I should have got the P229 but I was going for concealed benefit.

And I’ll ask the OP …. Where is he getting as much 9mm as he wants for $12 a box these days …?????

Interesting perceptions on the Sig P229 357 Sig. My conclusions differ from the OP’s. Our agency issued the newly introduced Sig P229 40 S&W in 1992. The 229 is a semi compact handgun. It is not large or overly heavy. I found it to be a somewhat compact and handy duty gun that concealed well when carried off duty and was ideal for the smaller female and male deputies on our department. Comparably sized polymer framed pistols these days are lighter but I wouldn’t say the P229 is a large and heavy gun.

I did not care for the small grip and small size of the P229 as a duty weapon and was pleased when our agency replaced the P229 with the full size P226 in either 40 cal or 9mm, deputies choice. I was more accurate with the P226 40 cal than the P229.

While our agency did not issue or authorize the 357 Sig as a duty round, we were authorized to carry one off duty so I purchased a Sig P229 357 Sig when they were first introduced. I found it to have more muzzle flip but less pushback than the P229 40 cal. It was an easy gun to shoot and much more controllable than a K frame 357 magnum. The 357 Sig was designed to approximate a 357 magnum 125 grain hollow point from a 4 inch barrel revolver which would reach 1400-1450 FPS, considered the king of stopping power. The 357 Sig didn’t quite reach that, it maxed out at 1350 fps with a 125 grain hollow point.

Regarding 357 Sig over penetrating? Well that is not entirely dependent on velocity. Why would a 5.56mm/223 with a frangible bullet be out penetrated by a 45 ACP hardball? Whether it over penetrates or not depends on the medium and is primarily due to bullet design and construction. Yes the 357 will over penetrate with FMJ but not with modern JHP ammo designed for self defense nor will most any modern self defense round loaded with appropriate expanding JHP ammunition over penetrate. This is well documented and researched.

The Secret Service issued the Sig P229 357 Sig for many years and it was successfully used by all agents including women and those with smaller hands. They recently transitioned to the Glock 19 9mm. I suspect there isn’t perhaps a significant difference between a 9mm +P+ and 357 Sig and also due to the advancements in 9mm bullet design. Perhaps why my own agency transitioned to the Glock 9mm a few years before I retired.

I have a SIG 1911, Commander sized with an Ed Brown style round butt chambered in .357 Sig. After a LONG time with a 1911 on my hip and a 12 year stint with a custom Glock 19 with a Trijicon RMR I find myself carrying the SIG more and more frequently. It just feels right, and the .357 Sig sure shoots flat. I love it.

My brother carries a Glock chambered in .357 SIG and the more I've looked into the cartridge the more amazed at how powerful it is along with the fact that it isn't more mainstream popular.

.357 SIG factory loads easily surpass the vast majority of 10mm Auto factory loads out there and come extremely close to the boutique loads in terms of Kinect energy, plus they tend to penetrate deeper, so it's a wonder to me why .357 SIG isn't more popular as a Wilderness Defense gun.

Also, practically any gun chambered in .40 S&W can easily be converted to .357 SIG with nothing more than a drop in barrel, so you can pick up a cheap .40cal police trade-in then buy a .357 SIG barrel, drop it in, and you're good to go. It doesn't even have to be a "conversion barrel" as long as your .40 was also offered in .357 SIG, you can just drop in a factory .357 SIG barrel.

I picked up an early model 229 many many years ago and it came with a 357 Sig and 40 S&W bbl. It was a police trade in at the time. Since that time I added a Barsto 9mm Drop In bbl, which shoots fine. Thing is there is no need to get different mags. The 40/357 mag will hold 13 rounds of 9mm and cycle them properly without issue. Have well over 1000 rounds of 9mm shot this way and the gun has been rock solid.

As to 357 Sig, it is a snappy round. I found it much more snappy then the 40 S&W. The 40 has some punch but not as much as the 357 sig. The 9mm is very soft shooting in the 229 and it's a joy to shoot. While I shoot all three calibers now through the gun, I definitely prefer the 9mm the best.

I like the .357 SIG round. So much so, that I have three pistols chambered in it. I'll comment on each below:

1. SIG P229. I bought a new .40 S&W version at the end of 2019 when SIG indicated they were only going to make the P229 in 9mm in the future. I also bought a factory .357 SIG barrel at the same time. It currently has 1,900 rounds of mostly .357 SIG through it. While everyone else raves about the P229, I have found it to be the most perplexing and frustrating pistol I have ever owned. It is very accurate, has a good trigger, and it can handle even very high velocity (1476 fps) Sellier & Bellot ammo. But it has rare but persistent failures to feed, the worst I've ever experienced. When these happen, it locks up so badly it's like the slide, magazine, and grip are welded together -- nothing moves. Twice I've had the humiliating experience of having to turn it over to the range officer to get it cleared. I've had it happen with both calibers, with different brands of ammo, and with all magazines. It's happened early on, and at my most recent range session, so it's not a break-in issue, unless it takes more than 2,000 rounds for break-in. I don't see how I could be limp-wristing it, because I grip it very firmly, plus I've never had failure to feed problems with any of my seven other semi-autos (with over 50,000 rounds between them). I want to like my P229, but it's not making it easy.

2. SIG P320 Compact. I bought it in 2014 as a 9mm and put about 5,000 rounds through it, then converted it to .357 SIG with a SIG Caliber X-Change Kit. I've since put another 6,000 .357 SIG rounds though it. It has been a very reliable gun, with no problems whatsoever. It has handled every kind of ammo I have fed it, including S&B's 1476 fps stuff. After getting SIG's free upgrade, the trigger is superb, very smooth with a very short takeup and reset. It has a couple of shortcomings, though. First, it is simply too easy to fire. With no safety and a very short trigger pull, I don't regard it as safe enough to be carry-worthy. (It's also too bulky IMHO.) Second, despite it's slightly longer barrel, it's not as accurate as my M&P 40c (below). Nevertheless, I enjoy shooting it. and it remains in the mix as one of my home defense weapons.

3. M&P 40 Compact (1.0). Also purchased in 2014 when I got my license to carry, and decided I wanted a thumb safety on my carry weapon. I chose wisely, because after 16,000 rounds, my 40c has met or exceeded my expectations in every way. I still carry it today. It is both accurate and reliable, is small enough to pocket carry, yet it holds 11 rounds of .357 SIG goodness. The trigger is mediocre, but I've adapted to it. The first 13,000 rounds were .40 S&W. I then purchased a Storm Lake (R.I.P. ) conversion barrel, and the last 3,000 have been .357 SIG. Every .357 SIG round has been fired flawlessly, with the exception of the S&B super high velocity (1476 fps) rounds. These simply overwhelmed my 40c's recoil spring. Even a new one could not handle them because the slide moved so fast, the trigger failed to reset about 20% of the time. Returning to regular velocities (below 1400 fps), my 40c has continued to work perfectly.

I haven't mentioned recoil because I've shot so many .357 SIG rounds that I don't even notice it any more. The heavier P229 handles recoil the best, but I've never found it objectionable in either the P320 or the M&P 40c. I think it also helps that I'm, er, "heavy-set".

So there you have it. I love the round and I think it allows one to have a good balance of capacity and disruptive power in one's carry weapon. But you have to practice with it to get used to its power. Oh, and one final point, it is LOUD!

I have a P239 and P226 in 357, guns of the NCSHP. They have since gone to 9mm, ammo cost a likely reason.

swsig said:

I like the .357 SIG round. So much so, that I have three pistols chambered in it. I'll comment on each below:

1. SIG P229. I bought a new .40 S&W version at the end of 2019 when SIG indicated they were only going to make the P229 in 9mm in the future. I also bought a factory .357 SIG barrel at the same time. It currently has 1,900 rounds of mostly .357 SIG through it. While everyone else raves about the P229, I have found it to be the most perplexing and frustrating pistol I have ever owned. It is very accurate, has a good trigger, and it can handle even very high velocity (1476 fps) Sellier & Bellot ammo. But it has rare but persistent failures to feed, the worst I've ever experienced. When these happen, it locks up so badly it's like the slide, magazine, and grip are welded together -- nothing moves. Twice I've had the humiliating experience of having to turn it over to the range officer to get it cleared. I've had it happen with both calibers, with different brands of ammo, and with all magazines. It's happened early on, and at my most recent range session, so it's not a break-in issue, unless it takes more than 2,000 rounds for break-in. I don't see how I could be limp-wristing it, because I grip it very firmly, plus I've never had failure to feed problems with any of my seven other semi-autos (with over 50,000 rounds between them). I want to like my P229, but it's not making it easy.

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That is darned odd. I think I would be calling SIG for a service appointment. I am not a SIG fanboy or anything like it, but I cannot recall ever hearing of such a problem with the 229.

I have G33 that rides in my pocket in a Kramer pocket holster. I do not shoot it a lot; run a magazine through it and you have used about all the fun I can stand. However, it is powerful and reliable. It was a good BUG when I was in LE, and I had a spare magazine my pocket.

My kids gave me a Sig P320 in .357 Sig one year. I sent it to Sig for the trigger upgrade and they sent it back with a .40 barrel in it. One phone call and a shiny new .357 barrel was on the way and they said to keep to .40 barrel. Not bad service.

I love shooting the .357 round. It sure turns heads on an indoor range.

Doug M. said:

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That is darned odd. I think I would be calling SIG for a service appointment. I am not a SIG fanboy or anything like it, but I cannot recall ever hearing of such a problem with the 229.

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The agency I retired from had a long and distinguished history with Sig Sauer handguns, approximately 22 years until we transitioned to Glock 17 and 19 gen 4 9mm’s. I was quite satisfied with my issue P226 40 cal and never had any issues with it, however, the department range master was not pleased with the downturn in quality of Sig handguns nor the customer service of our Sig rep.

The last straw was after ordering and receiving several hundred replacement barrels for P226 40 cal and discovering out of tolerance issues, rendering the barrels non useable and lack of response from the Sig rep, and with support from command staff and the sheriff, just like that, we ended our 22 year relationship and contract with Sigarms and transitioned to Glock 9mm’s and entered into a service contract with Glock. Sometimes Glock will sell at cost just to get the service contract and establish a good relationship. Our department sold off about 2000 Sig P226 40 cal and 9mm to a distributor. Deputies could buy their issued gun via the distributor (LC Action) if they so desired. They were not department marked btw.

I believe this was around 2014, a few years before I retired. There were enough quality control concerns during this time causing our agency to discontinue our long relationship with Sig. Whether Sig cared an agency of 1700 dropped them I don’t know. I got the impression they could care less. Glock was happy to step in! Funny our agency had a long history of hating Glocks previously. During my career I carried the following Sigs on duty: P220 45 ACP, P229 40 cal and P226 40 cal. All were reliable and excellent duty guns. Was there a drop off in Sig quality control? Our department rangemaster thought so.

One of the problems in any shooting incident is looky-loos - people who stay and watch. I'm told that one of the things that Texas DPS really liked about the .357 Sig when they adopted it was the fact that it was SO loud that no one stayed around when the shooting started - good guys, bad guys, looky-loos, everyone ran 'cause they knew what was happenin'! Don't know if this was actually true but it kinda makes sense and it's a good story.

Doug M. said:

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That is darned odd. I think I would be calling SIG for a service appointment. I am not a SIG fanboy or anything like it, but I cannot recall ever hearing of such a problem with the 229.

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That was more or less my plan, but first I wanted to have a few intense range sessions where I ran about 1000 rounds of both calibers through my P229 to give it a good chance to redeem itself. The failures to feed were so random and on such a variable schedule, (averaging about one per 150-200 rounds), that I was afraid the SIG people would experience the dreaded "Cannot Duplicate the Problem" scenario. So I wanted to give them some accurate recorded data from those sessions if I had to send it in. Unfortunately, Mrs. swsig has developed some significant health issues, and I have been unable to get much range time of late, so that plan is on hold for now.