Reloading 9mm vs .40 S&W vs .357 Sig

[fredj338]

I personally love shooting 357sig, but I dislike it for a carry gun. Too fast moving, I would really worry about over-penetration with that round.

My preference is to stick to 40S&W as my primary caliber. Except for one 9mm (Kahr CM9) all my pistols are 40. I can buy 9mm conversions (have them for all three of them) for cheaper practice, and I can get a factory 357sig barrel for them (have one for my G27) for fun at the range.

Being a bottleneck cartridge the 357 sig is a big PITA to reload in large numbers, can't really use a progressive press, since you need to lube the cases to resize them, then remove the lube for the rest of the process. I don't shoot enough of the round to justify the time. I just look for deals on ammo online. Last time I bought 357sig I paid $145 shipped for 500 rounds of 135gr FMJ. Considering how little I shoot that I dislike the idea of an additional step.

Of course this is coming from a guy that reloads 40S&W and therefore has to "de-glock" a lot of brass through a full length sizing die before reloading.

Almost everyone of your perceptions is just incorrect. The 357sig is no diff than any service rd once you get the dies set up properly & use the correct shape bullets. You do NOT need case lube using the Dillon carbide sizer. I've load 1000s on my 550 using Dillon dies.
Fwiw, if you want to limit penetration, you WANT higher vel & a lighter jhp. It is less likely to leave the target, regardless of caliber. Probably one reason the Air Marshals use it? A 180gr 40 is more likely to over penetrate a minimal target than a 125gr 357sig, both using jhp.

 

[Ceapea]

The 357sig is no diff than any service rd once you get the dies set up properly & use the correct shape bullets.

Not to hi-jack this thread, but...
Hey Fred, I just received my Dillon 357 Sig die set. I see that they "warn" you on the box, to set up the sizing die correctly. But in the instructions, they just say to run the die down to the shell plate and nothing else.
Doing this, I can see nothing out of the ordinary. After sizing, the COAL is up .002"-.003", and the neck is reduced almost .007". Also, I worked the die all the way down to the shell plate (shell holder as I am experimenting on a SS press until I "get it") in small increments, checking the marks/sizing on the neck. Full down works perfectly, as far as I can tell.
So I call Dillon to see if I am missing something. They tell me to set the die so that I don't crush the shoulder, as "the 357 Sig headspaces on the shoulder."
"I have always thought that it headspaces on the case mouth, heck, there is a ridge in the barrel just for that purpose", I tell them. The Dillon tech said, "all barrels have that ring."
Now I'm confused. All of the manuals that even mention headspacing (surprisingly few, too) say it is on the mouth.

You also mention to "set up the die correctly" What am I missing? Which is correct? What else do I need to consider?

Thanks.

 

[rwsmith]

Weaker and not your defensive cartidge.

For convenience, price, availability and other reasons the 9mm just can't beat. You like a bigger round for SD and I'm surely not knocking that, the bigger the better. But with newer bullets and loadings, the 9mm make a good SD round still.