The .357 SIG was officially announced in the summer of '94. So it has only been out a little over a year now. Some agencies are testing this new cartridge and some have already adopted it:

LaPorte County, Indiana, Sheriff's Department Porter County, Indiana, Sheriffs Police (note: These two agencies used to carry .357 Magnums and wanted something with equivalent stopping power and 50 yard accuracy, just like their old .357 Magnums. They dropped the 9mm.)

Delaware State Police (note: This agency wanted a round that could defeat car bodies and glass. The .357 SIG has 80% more energy than the 147gr 9mm they previously had to use.)

Many other agencies that are using the SIG229 can switch to the .357 SIG by just swapping out the barrel. Should be interesting to see how the .357 SIG does in the next few years.

The Feb '96 issue of Handguns has a comparison article on the .357 SIG, .40 S&W, 10mm, and the 45acp. Conclusions: "There isn't a lot of difference between popular defensive calibers. Human variables are much more likely to matter than minor differences in recoil and theoretical controllability. Case in point: Jan did his fastest shooting with the 45 auto. Dave Arnold did his slowest. Both Jan and Dave were very impressed by the .357 SIG cartridge. Even though it generated the second highest muzzle energy, [.357 SIG: 536 ft/lbs; 10mm: 584 ft/lbs], of the four [guns] we tried, it seemed easily the most pleasant to shoot, and both of us shot it fast and well. We think this cartridge may well be a real 'comer'. Given the inherent feed reliability of its bottlenecked case shape, it may well prove to be the best cartridge of all for combat auto pistols."

Jan Libourel, reporting from Guns & Ammo, stated,"I don't think there's a sidearm/cartridge combination in the world that offers a better level of protection."

Wiley Clapp states:
"The .357 SIG cartridge is a police service or combat/defensive load intended to bring .357 Magnum performance to a high-capacity semiauto pistol.

"The .357 SIG round ...[is] bottlenecked. As opposed to other semiauto cartridges this means a greater case capacity for a given bore size.

"Feeding is an additional advantage of a bottlenecked pistol cartridge. You are literally starting a .35-caliber bullet into a .40-caliber hole. The .357 SIG is exactly that --- the .40 S&W case necked down to 9mm diameter.

"As long as you compare 125-grain .357 SIG loads with 125-grain .357 Magnums and keep the barrel lengths roughly comparable, the velocities will be the same, and in fact often favor the .357 SIG. Winchester's [Magnum] 125-grain JHP did not exceed the velocity of the .357 SIG until I went to a full six inches of barrel. Some of the time, 125-grain .357 Magnum JHP's will edge the new SIG round in four inch barrels, but not overwhelmingly so. I received the first test lot of Gold Dot 125-grain ammo from Speer. It clocked an average of 1340 fps and was every bit as accurate.

"I checked the accuracy of the new cartridge in the P229 by shooting 10-shot groups with the pistol mounted in the Ransom Rest and the targets placed at 25 yards. Four different lots of ammunition were used, including both old and new lots of the federal 125-grain JHP load, a single lot of the Federal 125-grain FMJ load, and one experimental lot of the Speer 125-grain Gold Dots. Accuracy is just plain outstanding. Twelve 10-shot groups, three with each lot of ammunition, averaged 1.99 inches. The best was 1.59 inches, but any gun and cartridge that will do two inches at 25 yards is just fine with me. And by the way, the hands-on shootability of the gun and ammo is excellent --- far better than that of a comparable revolver."

One other interesting thing about the Federal .357 SIG 125 grain JHP, is that it remains intact upon impact --- it doesn't fragment. Federal and SIGArms both insisted on this engineering. But for those fragment lovers, Cor-Bon has a 124 grain Gold dot round that does the trick. Cor-Bon favors bullets that violently expand and even fragment after expansion. A hollowpoint that fragments in gelatin, will at least expand in combinations of soft and hard living tissue, and will be effective in the widest variety of shooting scenarios. This bullet philosophy may be why Cor-Bon ammo leads the actual stopping power results in .38 special, 9mm, .40 S&W and 10mm.

The standard .357 SIG ammo is a 125 grain 9mm bullet traveling at 1350 fps and 510 ft/lbs of energy, just as the standard originally developed .40 S&W ammo is 180 grain bullet traveling at 950 fps with 370 ft/lbs of energy.

.357 SIG Data

The January '96 Handguns Magazine, has a good article on the .357 SIG. That's where I got some of the info I'm sharing with you. The article also has a couple excellent ballistics charts, some of which I included.

With the .357 SIG cartridge, SIG Arms and Federal have modified the .40 S&W to use 125gr 9mm bullets, taking us full circle back to the ballistics of the best stopper on the street, the .357 Magnum. With its excellent ballistics, similar to a 135gr .40 S&W round, but with superior accuracy, less recoil for follow-up shots, and extremely flat trajectory at 50 yards (0.7"), the new .357 SIG may prove to be quite popular for police, home defense use, and those interested in the combat limited class of competitive shooting.

But to be fair with the .40 S&W, I have seen recent comparisons with the 9mm. And the .40 S&W results are usually just 1" larger than the usual 2" groups of the 9mm. The .357 SIG is equal to the 9mm. That 1 extra inch probably doesn't mean didley in a close-up self-defense scenario. But it could make a big difference in competition when you need perfect accuracy and fast accurate follow-up shots. On the other hand, you can't argue with a 96% one-shot stop rate with the 135gr .40 S&W.

Today I shot my new SIG P229 for the first time, using both the .357 SIG and .40 S&W barrels for comparison. This is probably not a good comparison since I used 125gr 1350fps 510 ft/lbs .357 SIG rounds and for the .40 S&W I used 180gr 975fps 375 ft/lbs rounds. But what the heck, that's all I had. The recoil between both calibers seemed similar to me. The accuracy also seemed similar.

The .357 SIG has a maximum average pressure of 40,000 psi, compared to 35,000 psi of the .40 S&W.

The .357 SIG case is somewhat similar to the .40 S&W but is highly modified. Small pistol primers are used like the .40 S&W. The .357 SIG is bottlenecked and is slightly longer than the .40 S&W. The lower wall of the .357 SIG is also stronger to handle higher pressures.

The .40 S&W cartridge length is .850"; the .357 SIG is .860". While the case head diameter, extractor groove and primer pocket are identical between the .357 SIG and .40 S&W, the overall length, headspacing and interior wall profile are different.

The .357 SIG does headspace at the case mouth. SIGarms said that headspace is easier to control if it is based on overall length rather than midway up the shoulder. I'm glad they did it this way, since I'm used to reloading the 40 S&W.

I haven't reloaded for the .357 SIG yet. But I have talked to some that have. Since it is bottlenecked, you must lube the case lightly before resizing, etc. Afterwards, tumble/dry the completed brass for around 15 minutes to get the lube off. This may at first seem like a bummer, but a lot of competitors lube even straight walled cases, to make it easier for them. A reloading video I have states that ammo factories lube and tumble/dry their completed cartridges also. OK, it is an extra couple steps compared to straight walled pistol brass; BUT, the .357 SIG has superior feeding capability, which could be crucial in an emergency or during a competition!

I do have one reloading WARNING. After you initially set up your .357 SIG dies, be sure to use the thumb pressure test. Put the bullet end of the cartridge on a hard surface and press hard from the primer end. Make sure the bullet does NOT move. Since the .357 SIG only has 1/8" of neck to grab the bullet, make sure not to expand the neck more than necessary to seat a bullet. And make sure to apply a firm taper crimp. If the bullet moves into the case, severe pressures will result.

Both Speer and Sierra recommend Vit N350 powder for the 115 gr. and 124 gr. bullets. I just spoke with Alliant (formerly Hercules); the technical person I spoke with said he is just now setting up testing for the .357 SIG. He should have Power Pistol gun powder results in January or so. Alliant already has a supplemental sheet on several calibers, using Power Pistol, including the 135gr .40 S&W traveling at 1340 fps.

There are four different companies making die sets for the .357 SIG that I know of. Dillon will join the ranks in early '96. I decided to buy my dies from Redding because they also have a separate crimping die; I like to keep this sensitive function separate from seating the bullet. If you buy from Midway, etc, it's a lot cheaper than buying directly from Redding. Note: I'm sending the crimper die back so the lower part of the crimper die can be shortened; currently I can't get a full taper crimp, because the Dillon shell holder is a bit thicker than other models. Redding will also polish the powder funnel down slightly if necessary, to make sure the neck stays tight.

The new Sierra Reloading Handbook coming out in January '96, does not have .357 SIG info in it. BUT, Sierra will send you reloading info on this cartridge -- they have the info but did not have it compiled in time for their book. Sierra does have 135 gr. .40 S&W data in their new book though. I can hardly wait to get it. [Note: Apparently, this information is in the manual on page 182 - jmf)

Speer also has some .357 SIG reloading info that they can mail to you.

From listening to the rumor mill, more people will be coming onboard with the .357 SIG in '96.

Twelve Subjective Biases:

1. .357 SIG sounds better than .40 S&W. Get Loud Be Proud 9mm Magnum Rules!

2. Fired .357 SIG brass is easier to distinguish and pick up on the range, at least for now.

3. Lubing before reloading and drying afterwards is no big deal.

4. The .357 SIG cartridge feeds best; important for a combat cartridge.

5. The .357 SIG can match the accuracy and rapid fire of of 9mm.

6. Who needs +P+. The .357 SIG is on steroids with its 40,000 psi average maximum pressure and beefed up brass.

7. Ammo companies could easily make IPSC major loads for the .357 SIG.

8. The .357 SIG uses .355 bullets. But it has the ballistics of the 357Magnum (125gr), so why not call it a .357 SIG.

9. The 38 Special is really a 36; If they can do it, so can SIG.

10. The .357 SIG is much easier to shoot than a 357 Magnum of the same size -- mellow recoil, low muzzle flash, more cartridges.

11. The .357 SIG is cheap to reload since you can buy bulk 115gr, 124gr, and 147gr 9mm bullets --- 1000 jhp bulk size for $35-$43.

12. .40 S&W handguns can easily be converted to .357 SIG.