Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I'm thinking about getting a handgun in .357 Sig... only thing is I'm a lefty. I've handled the Sig P226 before and really liked the platform but it's not the easiest weapon to handle for a lefty. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

What is your primary purpose going to be for the gun?

Carry. I normally carry a full sized 1911.

when you say the p226 wasn't the easiest to handle, are you speaking of the right-handed controls or is it more size/weight/recoil issues?

i love shooting both .40s&w and .357sig out of my p229r, with a definite edge to .357sig, but i find it a bit wide when i try to cc it. oc would not be an issue. in the end i went with a p239 for cc. in large part because i've become familiar and exceptionally comfortable with the sig da/sa platform and controls. my p239 was born with .40s&w, but i plan to pick up the .357sig barrel for it in the near future. besides liking the round, there are reports that the necked-down cartridge adds additional reliability in round chambering. that said, i've never had any ftf/fte in either sig using any .40 or .357 cartridge, whether fmj or jhp, that i've fed them. (touch wood)

btw... to the forum.

brian1911 wrote:Carry. I normally carry a full sized 1911.

Any of the major manufacturers should give you good results. I prefer the Glock myself. Just be careful with the overpenetration issues with the .357 Sig round.

Smith & Wesson M&P in the .357 sig would be good. it has a ambi slide release and a nice sized mag release for a reverse push. They feel really nice in the hand and point incredably. Very accurate and just as reliable as a glock. Worth lookin into

mk4 wrote:when you say the p226 wasn't the easiest to handle, are you speaking of the right-handed controls or is it more size/weight/recoil issues?

i love shooting both .40s&w and .357sig out of my p229r, with a definite edge to .357sig, but i find it a bit wide when i try to cc it. oc would not be an issue. in the end i went with a p239 for cc. in large part because i've become familiar and exceptionally comfortable with the sig da/sa platform and controls. my p239 was born with .40s&w, but i plan to pick up the .357sig barrel for it in the near future. besides liking the round, there are reports that the necked-down cartridge adds additional reliability in round chambering. that said, i've never had any ftf/fte in either sig using any .40 or .357 cartridge, whether fmj or jhp, that i've fed them. (touch wood)

btw... to the forum.

Great info, much appreciated!

Yeah, it's mostly the ergonomics of the Sigs that throws me a bit. I'm used to a 1911 which is fairly ambi-friendly.

I'll have to check out the S&W M&P as well. Is the M&P striker fire?

yep... striker-fired.

You might want to check out the Springfield XD. I have one in .40S&W in a 4" model and love it. My wife used to have a 4" in 9mm that I loved also, sure do miss that pistol. Polymer, grip safety, striker fired.

Cool, thanks for the info everyone

If you're looking for ambidextrous controls and comfort the S&W M&P357 is fully ambi and the Springfield XD-357 has a ambi magazine catch. I have an XD45 and LOVE it.

ProShooter wrote:

brian1911 wrote:Carry. I normally carry a full sized 1911.

Any of the major manufacturers should give you good results. I prefer the Glock myself.

+1

ProShooter wrote:Just be careful with the overpenetration issues with the .357 Sig round.

Do you have a source for this? I haven't seen any data to suggest there is an issue and the data from LEA's that I have seen indicated that expanded rounds were being found the back skin/clothing most of the time.

gunderwood wrote:Do you have a source for this?

http://www.brassfetcher.com/10mmAuto180grRemJHP.html

one of the few tests out there.

Remember the 12" standard in the FBI testing is the MINIMUM. FBI recommended 18" as the desired performance.

^^^
i believe Jim was commenting on overpenetration potential with the .357sig round. from the same site you posted 10mm results, there are interesting .357 results: http://www.brassfetcher.com/.357SIG.html
especially the barrier penetration tests with federal and corbon jhps. essentially penetrating 8" of gelatin, then a simulated wall, and then another 1-1.5" of gelatin. lots of variables, for sure, but much food for thought also.

Bah, yep. Teach me to read 2 threads at once....

no worries... lots of good info on the brassfetcher site. thanks for sharing it.

mk4 wrote:^^^
i believe Jim was commenting on overpenetration potential with the .357sig round. from the same site you posted 10mm results, there are interesting .357 results: http://www.brassfetcher.com/.357SIG.html
especially the barrier penetration tests with federal and corbon jhps. essentially penetrating 8" of gelatin, then a simulated wall, and then another 1-1.5" of gelatin. lots of variables, for sure, but much food for thought also.

As jdonovan noted, 12" is the minimum for the FBI spec. Skin is really interesting and generally is worth 3-4" of gel penetration. Dry wall doesn't stop anything. I've built test setups and even bird shot will go them them with ease and penetrate "meat" behind the wall.

I totally agree with the smith and wesson m&p great gun I got one when they first came out and I traded it for another gun I thought I had to have. I have regretted it ever since I will own another one in the near future. I was just holding my breath to see if they would make a long slide in .357 sig.

Honestly, with the >1200 fps 9 mm +P loads available, I have yet to hear a compelling argument for the .357 Sig (which as we all know is a bottlenecked 9 mm). Come zombie time, the 9 mm pistol will shoot the modern hot loads, and it will also shoot anything else you can get your hands on in 9. Someone please convince me there is a reason for .357 Sig to exist, other than the Secret Service having to be different than everyone else.

ProShooter wrote:

brian1911 wrote:Carry. I normally carry a full sized 1911.

Any of the major manufacturers should give you good results. I prefer the Glock myself. Just be careful with the overpenetration issues with the .357 Sig round.

The 357 SIG is almost a dead ringer for 357 Mag. (designed to penetrate car bodies in the 1930's .. and they were Tanks compared to todays cars)