.357 Sig

[ss30378]

This is right up my alley, I've had all these...  I just recently got my 7.25" 9x25 Barrel from kkm as well.

So in total I now have a 357 sig in both the 6" g24 glock and 5" 1911 platforms, a kkm 7.25" 9x25 Dillon barreled g40, and a 38/45 improved similar to the 38 casull in a 6" custom g40 I opened the breechface on to run the 45 diameter case.  I used to have 6" g20/40 LW 357 sig and 9x25 barrels I still have data from as well.

Besides the 90xtp and 65g lehigh 9mm bullets, I run .357/.358 diameter bullets up to 180g in them.

Performance wise they are in that order 357<9x25<38 casull.

Top numbers

90g xtp
sig: 2150fps in 6"
dillon: 2303fps in 7.25"
38 casull: 2418fps in 6"

125xtp (.357 dia)
Sig:1750fps in 5"
Dillon: 1912fps in 7.25"
38 Casull: 2014fps in 6"

158xtp (.357 dia)
Sig: 1600fps in 5"
Dillon: 1642fps in 6"
38 casull: 1745fps in 6"

180 cast wfn (.358 dia)
Sig: 1460fps in 5"
Dillon: not tested yet
38 casull: 1616fps


The sig in a 10mm sized gun loading to 10mm length gives up little to the Dillon with bullets over 125g.  As you see above I've stoked my 5" 1911 with 158s to 1600fps while in my old 6" 9x25 barrel I ran a 1642fps max load for the same bullet in a 1" longer barrel.  The 7.25" barrel will probably run a bit faster but its a much bigger gun. 

With light bullets the long barrels make a notable difference.  125s in the 5" 1911 top out at around 1750fps, in the 7.25" 9x25 Im over 1900fps.  The 38 casull has broke 2000fps with a 125xtp in its 6" barrel.

Most of my top numbers have come from slow powders like aa9, 2400, and 300mp.

[4given]

I have a Glock 31 (.357 Sig) and love it! An accurate pistol and cartridge IMHO.

I find it easy to reload and find bullets for.  I use  Hornady .355 / 9mm 124 Grain XTP over Power Pistol for serious loads and X-treme plated .355 / 9mm 124 Grain over AA#5 for range fodder.

I have had no problem with head spacing.  While they are supposed to head space on the case mouth, I suspect they usually head space on the shoulder. I lightly lube them with spray lube then just run them through a Lee steel sizing die and that's it.   I then tumble them with SS pins, soap hot water and lemishine. Once dry I load them up and crimp them with a Lee factory crimp die to prevent bullet set back.  Easy peasy.

[Overkill338]

Interesting that SIG calls it a 357 when everything I read states it uses a .355"  (9mm) bullet.

How accurate is the round ?

Anyone convert there 40 to the Sig .357 ?

Your favorite powders, etc ?

Likes, dislikes and other thoughts ?

The .300 Magnums all use .308" bullets. The .240 Weatherby uses .243" bullets. The .378 Weatherby uses .375" bullets. The .404 Jeffery uses .423" bullets. The .460 Weatherby uses .458 bullets. The .380 auto uses .355" bullets. .38 Special uses .357 bullets.

My point? Its stupid to try to make something out of the .357 SIG using .355" bullets.

[JJJackson]

...How accurate is the round ?

Anyone convert there 40 to the Sig .357 ?

Your favorite powders, etc ?

Likes, dislikes and other thoughts ?

The .357 Sig is a very accurate, hard hitting & flat-shooting round ... along with the 10mm & 7.62x25, it's right at the top of my favorite caliber heap.

All my 357s are actual .357s, save for an HK VP40 & Steyer L40-A1 which were purchased for the sole purpose of converting them to .357 Sig ... which I did, thanks to Rim Country Manufacturing & their excellent barrels. All it takes to turn a .40 S&W into a .357 Sig is a barrel & possibly, depending on how you & your pistol perform, a different front sight.

My favorite powders are AA#9 & 800X, the latter which, though it meters like a bag of Doritos, is one of the best kept .357 Sig secrets ... it affords amazing results @ diminished pressure levels. I go the two-step, lube-free route when it comes to sizing - i.e., I first run cases through a Redding 10mm carbide sizing die & then through a conventional Redding .357 Sig sizing die. Having experimented with a number of different bullets, I now load exclusively with Montana Gold FMJ & JHP 125gr .357 &/or RMR (9mm/.357 Sig) JHP 124gr Multi Purpose bullets ... both are excellent performers & have the perfect ogive for .357 brass. Yea, I quit pulling my hair out @ the bench once I started using those bullets!

[cwlongshot]

Late to this party. I was also late to the lil 357 SIG. but I tried to make up for it with a barrel for every 40 I had and two new pistols in 357 Sig!!

I bought a G24 so I could buy a 6" KKM 357 Sig barrel!!

Crazy velocities have been achieved and almost across the board accuracy increases over same gun in 40.

CW

[Rooster41]

I was a big fan of the 357 Sig back in the day, hence the screen name. I got away from it a long time ago. Ammo was too expensive for me (at the time) and I wasn't into reloading yet. I have not reloaded any 357 Sig. A few years ago a buddy of my dads moved out of state and had a bunch of ammo he couldn't take with. I ended up with 400 rounds of 357 Sig. I recently found a Glock 32 factory barrel for $50. Good thing I have a Glock 23 to put it in. I forgot how much I liked the 357 Sig. Nice and accurate. I haven't decided if I will load for it yet or if I will buy a box or two of ammo every now and then. Hell, I may even sell the barrel when I shoot up these 400 rounds. I don't know yet.

[cphills]

I have a LWD 357 sig bbl for my G20. So far, limited experience hand loading this caliber but had no trouble with XTPs. I'll be rotating this project into focus on dialing in the recipe over the next couple of months.

[The_Shadow]

cphills, what length 357SIG LWD barrels did you get???  I have wanted to add a 6.02" for my G-20 and have begged LWD to make them again...I did manage to obtain a factory length recently.

[cphills]

Hi Shadow, Sorry for my very slow reply. My LW G20 357 bbl is factory length.

[gnappi]

I have .357 sigs in a number of platforms since the cartridge first came out... 1911, Sig, and Beretta. Reloading is easier than some make it out to be, and I've shot 158 JHP's (resized in my Star sizer) also. Feed has been exceptional with the exception of 125 grain LRN's they jam in my Sigs, not my 1911 or Beretta.

The reason I never got a 9x25 Dillon is I can get more .40 brass than 10mm to re-form. Even with the short neck I've had no issues with setback if crimped.