357 sig ammo question

[biggs357]

Ok i'm alittle confused,i was in a shop today looking to buy some cheap range ammo and this guy behind the counter said they didn't carry that type of ammo,it was a passing fad and i should get rid of my 357 barrel and pick up a .40 cal barrel which i planned on doing in the new year while keeping my 357 barrel.


Is my 357 sig barrel going to be a paper weight or is there going to be a market for me to keep shooting.
__________________
it's better to have a gun on your hip than one to your head

 

[Texas Star]

Believe less than half of what you hear in gun stores and on ranges. Particuarly if you ask for a product that they don't have in stock.

From what I can tell, .357 SIG is becoming pretty well established, and is used by several major police forces.
It is an option where i live (city) and the Texas DPS issue SIG .357's. They seem very pleased with them. I think New Mexico and some SE state also use them.

T-Star

 

[mstuhr]

Howdy

Howdy,
It sounds like it will be if you keep shopping there.
Maybe they dont sell enough for them to want to mess with it.
I don't see where you are from, but if all else fails and you can do it, I'd try mail order from Graf and Sons, Natchez, Midway, etc.
The day may come again when some of the shops enjoying all the panic buying may need to become more accomodating.
I would not worry about the .357 sig becoming obsolete quite yet.
Good luck
Mike

 

[biggs357]

I have found shopping on line much cheaper and effective in finding what i need.


Have you ever been around someone who just seemed a bit to earger in their cause.He sounded kinda like a dooms-day/shtf person talking about not being able to find or reload anything but 9,.40,.45 and even our .22's would be usless.Now i know i need to prepare,not for the end of world but keep a personal stock,but i am not going out and spending 700.00 and giving away perfectly gun because some one tells me to.Yep i'm keeping my 357 sig barrel and adding to it with a .40 but not from him.

 

[BarbC]

Well I heard the Dept. of Homeland Security is ordering 200 million round of .40 and so it won't be available to citizens anymore.

 

[sigp220.45]

I don't think the .357 Sig is going away anytime soon. The staties here in New Mexico carry it now. I worked one of their shootings on the reservation a while back, and it worked pretty durn well. It seems to be more popular with cops than with people who buy their own ammo.

 

[7tenz]

Believe less than half of what you hear in gun stores and on ranges. Particuarly if you ask for a product that they don't have in stock.

From what I can tell, .357 SIG is becoming pretty well established, and is used by several major police forces.
It is an option where i live (city) and the Texas DPS issue SIG .357's. They seem very pleased with them. I think New Mexico and some SE state also use them.

T-Star

Yea buddy. I've met gunstore clerks whom I think actually believe the nonsense they are saying. If the 357 Sig, and 10mm, ever go belly up like they were supposed to, I'll learn reloading, but I dont see that happening any time soon.

 

[Indycar]

The Secret Service is also using Sig P229's chambered in .357 Sig. I like it because it shoots flat out to 100 yards. I have a .40 barrel also and shoot .40 for practice.

 

[Amy May]

My guess is he just doesn't like .357 sig and doesn't think anyone else should.

 

[Doughboy Racing]

I get WW at Walmart for 23.97 per 50, I cant find a deal online that beats it once you add in shipping costs.

 

[Andy Griffith]

We still have the .30 Luger and and the .30 Mauser and they have been "obsolete" for many, many years.

I will state that the popularity of the .357 Sig is regional.
It shoots great, but I personally wouldn't buy one because it can't be reloaded as conveniently as a straight walled case.

Now, for the gun shop to say that...I wouldn't take my business back to those opinionated, full-of-themselves tenderfoot clerks.

I do own a set of dies for it though, and have loaded it.
It isn't bad, just not as convenient as other straight walled cases with carbide dies.

 

[Big Cholla]

I think that there are too many LEO agencies using the .357 Sig for it to be going away soon. I have no personal experience with that cartridge, but I did see a video on LETN (Law Enforcement Television Network) of a SS Agent shooting a guy with it. One shot to center of mass from about 25 yds. and the man shot collapsed immediately. ....... Big Cholla

 

[scooter123]

I get WW at Walmart for 23.97 per 50, I cant find a deal online that beats it once you add in shipping costs.

That pretty much sums up my problem with the 357 Sig, it's darn near double the cost of the 40 S&W. Other that that it's an excellent caliber. I also think that it will be around for a very long time and some day may even see wider use than the 40 S&W, which means that some day it may be cheaper than the 40 S&W. However, until that happens I'll keep shooting my 40's because I'm a cheap SOB.

 

[at-home-daddy]

I had a P229 in .357SIG and got so tired of overpriced ammo that I finally sold it. Had a drop-in .40 barrel, too, but never did warm up to .40. So, no, it's not a "passing fad" as per the gunstore, but it has always been and continued to be a bit of a niche caliber. I now stick to the common calibers: .22LR, 9mm and .45ACP...easier and cheaper.

That .357SIG was a blast to shoot, though...figuratively and literally.

 

[roarindan]

I'm pating my sig p229 in 357 sig as I read this.I reload for plinkin and keep a box of factory for self defense.got both barrels,40 & 357. Matter of fact I like it so much I put the sig 220 in 45 acp up and had this 229 custom coated, gold and black.

 

[Indycar]

I really like shooting the Win white box 125 gr fmj in my P229. I found some Speer Lawman and it is not nearly as powerful or as loud as the WWB. The Lawman is like shooting 9mm.

 

[Denver Dick]

The first pistol in .357 Sig I purchased was in 2000 and I still have the Glock 31 today. I like it alot. Then, in late 2007, I obtained a 2005 NIB pre-rail Sig 229 in .357 Sig (at a very nice price).

I began stocking up on ammo about 8 years ago, long before I got the 229 in 2007. By the time I purchased the Sig 229, I had about 1,500 rounds of a mix of WWB, S&B and Lawman ammo. I then found Speer Lawman ammo for $289 per case ($14.45 per box) at Ammoman.com. I bought 4 cases of the stuff during 2008, before the ammo craziness of 2009. Ammoman.com rarely had it in stock this past year, but when he did it was priced like it is now, $499 per case ($24.95 per box).

If I was looking to get into the caliber now, I might hesitate because of ammo prices. However, it's a great caliber and has become one of my favorites.

Indycar wrote:

I really like shooting the Win white box 125 gr fmj in my P229. I found some Speer Lawman and it is not nearly as powerful or as loud as the WWB. The Lawman is like shooting 9mm.

I don't get this (especially the part about shooting like 9mm) because I've shot WWB (125 gr FMJ), S&B (140 gr FMJ) and Speer Lawman (125 gr. FMJ). Lawman ammo shoots with the same punch and recoil in my Glock 31 and Sig 229 as the other two brands mentioned above. But that's JMHO base on firing several hundred rounds of each brand.

 

[Eagle 477]

The Wally World near me had 3 boxes of 357 sig and 1 box of 45acp... I got them both.... They always have the sig but hardly get in 45...wonder why.. (the guy that runs the sporting good section carry's a sig P239 in 357 sig)

 

[7tenz]

Came across some Winchester Ranger T in 357 sig last weekend for $32 and change/50. I was unfamiliar with this kind of ammo and the Winchester site wasn't too specific. I had to do a search here in the ammo section to get and put together bits and pieces. My understanding is that it's premium and like the black talon, without the black?