bushmaster1313
Member
My Sig P226 would accept .357 Sig by changing the barrel. To me, .40 S&W seems perfect. Would the felt recoil be more with .357 Sig?
When we selected duty weapons eight years ago, we tested everything we could get our hands on in both 357 Sig and 40 S&W, I brought in 23 instructors who spent 3 days on the range doing the evaluation. The results were rather astounding. The weapon of choice was the Sig 229 and not one instructor wanted the 40 S&W. Now, there is nothing wrong with the 40, so I dont want long rants here about what we found. It is just that side by side shooting a lot of ammo and being able to use a bunch of different systems, the 357 Sig was universally liked. Yep, it is louder (sharper on the ears), has more muzzle flash and blast than the 40, but it does recoil less. As was stated earlier, once you separate the noise from the recoil, the recoil feels more like a 9mm. What the instructors liked was amazing penetration and much faster velocities. When you pulled the trigger, the round was there much quicker than the 40. It was very pronounced at ranges exceeding 50 yards.
I guess this is a bit long-winded, but I'd suggest you try, I think you'll like it.
Great posts.
Given that I have a supply .40 I am not going to spring for the .357 Sig barrel, but it is nice to know that it is an option.
If the 357 SIG is so good, why hasn't anyone made a "magnum" version of it from the 10mm? OAL shouldn't be a factor........or should it? Any gun that can handle the length of the 10mm/45ACP would work with a longer 357 SIG. (357 SOG?)
Sorry slightly off-topic there. I guess a lot of the popularity of the 40S&W is because of its bigger, heavier bullet. Those that like the smaller bullet at higher velocity appreciate the 357 SIG, those that wanted a 45ACP will often settle for the 40S&W and a few more bullets in the mag.
Personally, I think a hot-loaded 40S&W with a Nosler 135-JHP screaming out at about 1300 fps would be a pretty good fightstopper, with heavier bullets available when penetration counts for more.
It's good to have choices.