I have both .40 and .357Sig barrels for my P229 and P226. The .40's are put away in the safe for years. I enjoy shooting the .357Sig more and, based on experience, have more confidence in the feed. I occaisionally carry the P229.

Last night, I decided to take out my P239 DAK 357SIG and do a little dry fire practice. I also grabbed my P224 in .40 and my P225A1.

Caliber has nothing to do with dry fire, but I made a horrifying discovery when I cleared the round from the chamber of the P239. The SIG V-Crown bullet had been completely set back into the case. Im sure this had major potential for KB....

That particular round had not been chambered more than twice (I just got these rounds). My P226 in .40 is my EDC for work. I shoot it at least once a week and dry fire practice with it a lot. I try to rotate the rounds through the magazine so that the rounds arent getting chambered over and over again, but Im sure some of them have been chambered a lot. Never once have I had any bullet set back that was noticeable in my old round (180gr Ranger) or my new round (180gr HST).

I still really, really, like the 357SIG, but I cant help but think that the .40 is a better round overall. Especially because this kind of issue doesn't seem to be as prevalent.

20190423_212311 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/163387232@N05/][/url], on Flickr

Chamber a 357sig round once. If it's ejected for whatever reason, I put in my range only ammo box and chamber a fresh round. Problem solved.

quote:

Originally posted by dpadams6:
Chamber a 357sig round once. If it's ejected for whatever reason, I put in my range only ammo box and chamber a fresh round. Problem solved.

Not a good solution. Not everyone can afford to blow money away like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Cous2492:


Not a good solution. Not everyone can afford to blow money away like that.

It's better than blowing your hand off.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
Man, that must be a massive gas station for their pumps to be half a football field away.

50 yards isn't that far, and yes, it's at least that at many of the fueling stations I use.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
Also, I'm not sure I'm taking a shot with a pistol at 50 yards if my kids are a foot to the right of the bad guy...

Better yet, let them drive off with your kids, and just yell "halt." That should fix it. That pistol in your waistband is for show and tell, anyway.

We can come up with a thousand different scenarios for a shot outside the gun-rag distance of 7 yards, if gas pumps really bother you.

Regardless of the situation, the distance chooses you. After all, if you knew it was coming, you wouldn't have been there in the first place, would you?

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

quote:

Originally posted by Cous2492:


Not a good solution. Not everyone can afford to blow money away like that.

It's better than blowing your hand off.

It is better than blowing your hand off. But not better than shooting a different caliber and not having to be concerned with such drastic bullet set back from a single chambering.

Those rounds were brand new and I cannot recall unloading since I got them. I would say that that is the first time, but to be safe I will say that the round was chambered twice at most. I think it is a big flaw in bottle-necked pistol cartridges. They perform great, feed reliably, and shoot straight. However, I dont think that 357sig is THAT much better than 9, .40, or .45. So Ill stick with 9 and .40 for my carry guns and not worry about the bullet falling back into the case and blowing my hand off with the high speed high cost option.

9mm all the way.

I suspect .357SIG will slowly die out. Between the OP's two choices, I would pick .40.

Or do as some do; I use a lee factory crimp die on each round to ensure the neck is set a bit more firmly.

Necked pistol cartridges aren't new; they've been around since the 1800's.

When I chamber .357 Sig, I ride the slide forward, and I do inspect cartridges for setback.

I've seen a lot more reports of .40 failures in handguns than .357 Sig; statistically to be expected due to the disproportion of numbers of firearms and shooters using .40 over .357 Sig. Never the less, failures of .357 Sig are uncommmon.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

When I chamber .357 Sig, I ride the slide forward, and I do inspect cartridges for setback.

I generally inspect my carry ammo and look for bullets that may show signs of setback or unusual wear around the rim.

The round pictured above had not been chambered more than twice and I STRONGLY suspect that it was really only once. In that case, riding the slide forward would be pointless, because thats not how the gun operates when you are shooting it. Admittedly, I am more weary of sig V-Crown ammo than I am the whole 357 SIG cartridge.... but it is still a glaring issue with the caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by Cous2492:
In that case, riding the slide forward would be pointless, because thats not how the gun operates when you are shooting it.

HOw the "gun operates when you are shooting it" is irrelevant, because you're not shooting it. You're chambering a round, and riding the slide forward to chamber a round means it can be done more slowly, with less force on the round on the feed ramp, and consequently a lower potential for setback.

What I was getting at is that I believe this bullet was pushed back into the case on a single clambering. I would argue that had I decided to go out and test a box of Sig Vcrown, that round would have had significant potential KB.... and not from repeated chambering.... just from loading the gun. If it has potential to do that on a single chambering, it could do it on subsequent rounds during live fire.

Regarding .357 SIG set back, use AA9 or Blue Dot, then crimp with Lee Factory crimping die.

You'd have to put the cartridge in a vise to achieve any set back after that. There just isn't any room left over inside the case for the bullet to move, and that's if it was persuaded to after crimping with that tool.

Now I know some are going to say they are shooting factory ammo. Fine, but if you ever wanted to find a round that is cheaper to reload this is the one.

-PS, don't put a loaded cartridge in a vise. That would be silly and you'll feel dumb if you have to explain it to the emergency room staff.

No need to put the loaded cartridge in a vise, but it doesn't hurt to put it in a factory crimp die. That is to say, that box of Sig V Crown, gently given a check with the die, is far less likely to set back.

I have seen setback with Sig V-crown .357, but have had no problems with it.

Twice I've had 357 Sig setback issues. Both times were with Fiocchi. Both were probably due to multiple chambering. Nevertheless, I don't buy that brand anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by snoris:

3. Recoil with a .40 S&W is more up-and-down muzzle flip. Recoil with a .357 Sig round is more front-to-back, which would logically mean that it's easier to get back on target for follow-up shots.

As a result of all this, I generally shoot .40 Speer Lawman when I shoot for general practice/fun and carry .357 Sig when my life depends on the ammo I carry.

My assessment too. I've got a 229 .40/.357 that I've had since 2002 and a 1911 .357 that I recently got set up for .40 to save money.

Totally agree with Snoris' recoil analysis. The .357 seems like it recoils more stoutly, but it's mostly concussion; it actually tracks front to back nicely. .40, at least in the 155/165 gr loads I shoot, is more "flippy" and disruptive, but with less blast.

In both guns, the accuracy at 7ish yards is indistinguishable. I find that 180gr .40 is just less accurate all around, but all the .357 loadings I've shot (125-147) are all equally accurate.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
Regarding .357 SIG set back, use AA9 or Blue Dot, then crimp with Lee Factory crimping die.

FYI - I just found this on Midway's site:

quote:

Alliant Safety Notice
Alliant advises that Blue Dot NOT be used in a .357 Magnum with any 125-grain bullet. They also advise NOT to use Blue Dot in the .41 Magnum with any bullet weight; these loads can cause high pressure spikes and are dangerous. You can still use Blue Dot in the .357 Mag with heavier bullets, but use only Alliant's recipes. There are still many good uses for Blue Dot, just avoid the above and keep safe.

IDK whether this would apply to 357 Sig, but maybe check first.

Hornady's tenth edition (2016) is the latest one I have and it still lists Blue Dot for several bullet weights in .357 SIG.

Thanks for making me look though, glad to be double checked on things such as this.

Interesting. Just checked Alliant's website; they don't list Blue Dot for any 125 grain 357SIG loads at all. I always thought that AA #7 was the go-to?

I have used Blue Dot for at least two years with 125 gr. JHPs completely without issue. I started with Blue Dot because AA#7 wasn't available.