I've never developed a fondness for 40 of any flavor/make/recipe.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

I've no experience with the 357 Sig, but yours mirrors everything I've read about it. Only finickiness I've read about it is it's a bit trickier to reload because of the bottleneck case and the bottleneck being relatively short.

Everyone I've talked to that reloads it says just a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, that's about it.
I ran it shortly after it was introduced until 3-4 years ago. In 20 years I cannot ever recall a single issue with factory ammunition. I still miss the caliber but I don't miss paying for it. And I still think it's the best semi-auto caliber out there. If it were as cheap as 9mm you'd have a lot of converts.

If you think 9mm is a "fad" then you deserve all the .40 you can get.

out of all the handguns I own none but one is a .40, and that's only because I couldn't find one in 9mm (P229ST) and I had to have it. Needless to say I purchased a spare 9mm for it.

If 9x19 was ever considered a 'fad' at any point in its long life, it would've been within and amongst the .45 caliber faithful, not .40S&W users. It would've been rooted on this side of the Atlantic. If there were a "traditional" AMERICAN bullet size, it's a big ol' 45, whether in revolver or semi-auto form. I can see how for them, especially in early years, those puny 9mm boolits could be called a passing fancy.

On the .357 Sig...

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Everyone I've talked to that reloads it says just a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, that's about it.

I figured that was pretty much the case.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
I still miss the caliber but I don't miss paying for it. And I still think it's the best semi-auto caliber out there.

To me it's a toss-up between .40 S&W and .357 Sig. One has a bit bigger bullet diameter, so can be loaded with things like 165 gr. The other shoots flatter, further, with more muzzle energy. Which is "better?" *shrug* "Caliber wars"

I still tend to lean in the direction of the .40 S&W, but I have to admit a growing fondness for the .357 Sig. Enough so that, as I mentioned in my own thread, I'm cleaning-up a couple of "redundant" handguns and selling them to finance a P229 or P226 in the caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
If it were as cheap as 9mm you'd have a lot of converts.

That was never going to happen for the same reason it was never going to happen with .40 S&W : It would never have become as popular. Face it: People like to shoot 9mm because it's pleasant to shoot. Heck: Shooting my G34 is as comfortable as shooting my Ruger Mk I. Shooting my favourite CC pistol, my Walther PPQ, is hardly less pleasant. And 9mm an effective round. As effective as your and my favourites? Well, again: "Caliber wars" .

For many reasons/applications I'll shoot/carry 9mm. Just as for others I'll do with .380 ACP, and prefer .45 ACP for home defence because I don't want barrier penetration in the house. But I remain convinced .40 S&W and .357 Sig are generally superior for SD, just as I'd rather scoped .308 Win or 6.5 CM for "reach out and touch someone" than .223 Rem/5.56 NATO. Conversely: If I wanted a general purpose rifle I was going to have to lug around across, up, down and over various terrain, I'd take an M4 with an RDS any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
On the .357 Sig...

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Everyone I've talked to that reloads it says just a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, that's about it.

I figured that was pretty much the case.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
I still miss the caliber but I don't miss paying for it. And I still think it's the best semi-auto caliber out there.

To me it's a toss-up between .40 S&W and .357 Sig. One has a bit bigger bullet diameter, so can be loaded with things like 165 gr. The other shoots flatter, further, with more muzzle energy. Which is "better?" *shrug* "Caliber wars"

I still tend to lean in the direction of the .40 S&W, but I have to admit a growing fondness for the .357 Sig. Enough so that, as I mentioned in my own thread, I'm cleaning-up a couple of "redundant" handguns and selling them to finance a P229 or P226 in the caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
If it were as cheap as 9mm you'd have a lot of converts.

That was never going to happen for the same reason it was never going to happen with .40 S&W : It would never have become as popular. Face it: People like to shoot 9mm because it's pleasant to shoot. Heck: Shooting my G34 is as comfortable as shooting my Ruger Mk I. Shooting my favourite CC pistol, my Walther PPQ, is hardly less pleasant. And 9mm an effective round. As effective as your and my favourites? Well, again: "Caliber wars" .

For many reasons/applications I'll shoot/carry 9mm. Just as for others I'll do with .380 ACP, and prefer .45 ACP for home defence because I don't want barrier penetration in the house. But I remain convinced .40 S&W and .357 Sig are generally superior for SD, just as I'd rather scoped .308 Win or 6.5 CM for "reach out and touch someone" than .223 Rem/5.56 NATO. Conversely: If I wanted a general purpose rifle I was going to have to lug around across, up, down and over various terrain, I'd take an M4 with an RDS any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I always used 40sw as a training load for 357sig. Especially the lighter weights. I'd buy 125gr 40sw when I could find it, as well as 135gr and 155gr iirc, don't have my spreadsheet data any longer (I had an inventory of all my loads).
357sig just feeds incredibly/reliably. When you could find a lighter load 40sw, well it got pretty close to 357sig. I ran conversion 9mm. barrels in my 229/239 pair also, as I would find +p 9mm fmj's that were also a great training load. Out of a metal P Series Sig, either caliber was very pleasant to shoot for me. I never had an issue in 40sw/357sig in those pistols because both were designed for the round. I'd shoot them out of a Glock 23/27 once in a while and after a mag in the 27 I wanted nothing to do with it. The P2000/P2000sk were the only polymer pistols I ever shot in the caliber that tamed them quite well, and I still preferred the metal guns.

I kept shooting 9mm with my conversion barrels on the reg and when I first shot the HST in 124gr +p, well that was the round that got me to convert to all 9mm. I didn't need a chrono, a review, or online anything to tell me anything. I could tell by my first mag of it that there was finally a 9mm jhp good enough to get me off the sig caliber. That load cracks out of the barrel and reminds me of 357sig, just the lower end. That's my load for sd in all my pistols. I've shot and still have some 147gr, but I guess I'm a fps guy as I'll take the fps every time.
There has been a steady amount of r&d in 9mm that the other calibers have not received. If they put in half the tech in 357sig as they did 9mm, you'd see some serious advancements. But as LE converts back to 9mm, such as our DPS who were behind the caliber in the first place, well department 357sig will just decrease. I don't miss the costs and that was the only factor in the switch for me. During the panic days and increased ammo costs, a case of 357sig got stupid expensive, so expensive I had enough of it. The best thing about that caliber is the training. A FMJ or JHP shoots much the same. I'm still mulling over a 31/32/33 combo, but I've stocked up so much on the 9mm magazines that I don't really want to invest in a whole new set. Even now per case or cost, on a great price for 357, $300 plus shipping. Compare that cost to 9mm, and I get 500 more rounds.

right after the .22 LR fad dies

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
You know I guarantee to there is at least a few dudes running .455 Webley in there nightstand.

I know someone with a .455 Webley in the night stand...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BehindBlueI's:

Any pistol round will skip off a skull at the right angle, but usually rings their bell enough they are out of the fight for a bit. .45 will do the same, will ride ribs, etc.
QUOTE]

Hey sorry just to make it clear the round did not skip off the skull. It penetrated into the skull from 10 yrds and did minimal damage. The guy is still walking around. Yes I know it could be this guys lucky day but We have had problems even killing animals with the 180 grain .40S&W..In my opinion it is named the .40 short & weak for a good reason.