Ok, bear with me...

I carry a .40. I know, I'm a fud, a fool, a goob, and someone who isn't up on the latest thing. Here's my excuse; I made my buying decision in 2008 when .40 was the thing, and all of my holsters fit my .40 (or, God save me, .45) guns.

I have 9mm, of course. Some of the finest. 228, SP2022, 938...

My question really revolves around, and if we are to have a good caliber fight about, the .357 SIG.

I was gifted an assload of .357 SIG, and used that as an excuse to buy a .357 SIG barrel for my (multiple) 229s.

I did this just as commentary about the .357 SIG disappeared into the ether of "ALL HAIL THE NEW 9MM" and so, while I have shot the barrel and like it, I have not put it in a carry gun.

Thus, my question: Stay with .40; convert to .357 SIG; chuck all that shit and carry 9mm you damned fool!

So, have at it. Let's engage in a proper internet-fueled caliber debate. Feel free to add your own: .45, .44 Mag, .44 Spc, .327 Mag, 9mm Mak, .38 super, .38 Special, .357 mag, .45 Colt, .44 Russian, .475 Linebaugh, .455 Webley, Enormous S&W X Frames, etc....

My vote is that since you're currently stacked deep in ammo for the .40 and .357, use what you've got until you run out, then transition to 9mm.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
My vote is that since you're currently stacked deep in ammo for the .40 and .357, use what you've got until you run out, then transition to 9mm.

this makes sense to me, particularly if you don't reload.

The likelihood that the extra power of the 357 SIG cartridge would make any difference in a defensive shooting against a human being is extremely small. But it’s not zero.

I can shoot my 357 SIG P320s virtually as well as their 9mm cousins and therefore there is no reason not to rely on the more powerful round.

It also depends how much you shoot. I went through about 10,000 rounds of 9mm last year between me and my kid. Even reloading, it's just significantly cheaper to do that in 9mm, and free brass is way more abundant. I'd be shooting a lot less if I was trying to do that in .40 or .357 Sig. But if you're only shooting a couple hundred rounds per year it's less of an issue, and you'll probably be better served to just stick with what you've got.

You're your own bean counter.
But in this case, if you got it donated, I would definitely carry it.

Just because alphabet and cop departments are switching to cheaper ammo, it doesn't mean you have to.

Nobody would blink here if you carried a sixer of .357 mag. Or even .38.

I stopped carrying my P239 .40/.357 because the Biden administration was allowing rioting and I wanted Glock double stack in my gun and pocekets.

In better days I was happy w/ single stack.

Would it be wrong to say 155mm? Or, if you want some good Teutonic craftsmanship, and are OK with a vintage piece, maybe the 88mm Pak 43…

Otherwise, since we can’t really think in terms of erasing grid squares, I think anything you can get rounds on target with (with which you can get rounds to be pedantic) will “Work”.

I have close to a metric shit ton of .40 stashed up and wouldn’t feel at all bad if suddenly 9mm was completely unavailable to me. Likewise for .45, although I don’t have as much stacked up, if I really really needed, I would still feel fine. (plus excuse to buy another 1911!)

Unless you drop below somewhere around 115 grains moving around 1000 FPS or so, and capacity of say eight or nine, I would probably not be to wrapped around the axle. Better than stern words and a shaken finger!

Bill R

Buy a barrel. Don’t buy a barrel. You can sell the ammo if you don’t want to shoot it.

Caliber wars are pretty dumb. Having a 9mm you don't train with is no more powerful than a 10mm you never train with. The ammo is a justification for another barrel. Buy it if you want it. Personally, I would much rather have 1 gun in one caliber and a bunch of ammo to train with.

Since you have other pistols in 9mm, I wouldn't go lookimg for a 9mm barrel for your .40 pistol.

However, if you have .357SIG ammo, I'd definitely get a barrel for it to go in your .40 pistol, since you can use the same mags.

I carry a P250 in .357SIG as my daily carry.

The best caliber is one you can put on target.

357 Sig ammo is valuable to many of us here on the forum.

I choose to practice in a caliber that is sufficiently affordable, and can shoot a P229 in 9mm, 40 S&W, and 357 Sig. The terminal performance of all three calibers is known to be and proven to be sufficient.

From a purely personal point of view, I shoot a 9mm because the more powerful calibers are getting very uncomfortable to shoot. I'm on old man and have all the old man hand and wrist problems. Yes I can still shoot a 45ACP for instance but it is no longer fun, and I am likely very close to flinching because of the pain. Not good. So it is 9mm for me, end of caliber war.
Rod

I think they are all about the same. I’d carry whatever one I shot the best r carried the best.

I made my decision in the same time frame as you, but I went with .357SIG, I liked the bottleneck and USSS carried it for literally close quarters personal protection. USSS has not changed their mission, they have however changed to the 9mm.

I now have a p365 with 37 rounds of 9mm I can't see a situation where I'd need more in my day to day life.

In years past, I carried a HK P2000 and P2000SK both in 357 Sig and I did so for nearly a decade. I bought 9mm versions of both guns in order to use for training and sent them off to Bruce Gray’s shop for action jobs. What I found was that I shot the 9mm versions better, faster, and more accurately. It’s not that I didn’t shoot the 357 well, it was just I shot the 9mm way better. The 9mm versions became my carry guns for the next 4 years until it was replaced with a p365. I still have one P229 in 357 Sig and a bunch of training and SD ammo for it. All the other 357 Sig chambered guns have been sold off. The 357 Sig round is a fun round and I would still feel comfortable if that’s what I had to carry.

Carry whatever you can hit with. My preferred is usually 9mm. Sometimes .45 acp (1911 or Sig 220). I've also got some guns in .40 when I want to step-up in size. I shoot 9mm the best with faster recovery.

According to the guys at Federal ammunition who test ammo all day, due to the elasticity of flesh, all that extra energy from faster or bigger rounds doesn't make a difference. You need to get over 2100 fps. to do permanent damage.


Why Ballistics Gel Works and Caliber Arguments are Dumb

Thanks for all the replies. I was interested in seeing if anyone was still carrying .357 SIG. I have the barrel, and one of my 229s is converted. I shoot it well and hit what I aim at. Same as .40, same as .9mm.

For what it's worth, I will probably never buy another defensive carry pistol in any caliber other than 9mm. It has clearly "won" the caliber war with the development of exceptional bullets that work just fine. Bigger, heavier, and fewer rounds no longer seems to have an advantage on human sized opponents.

Heavy for caliber wheel gun rounds are still preferable for nasty animals, and I have that base covered as well. Although, if I ever stumble over an affordable .475 Linebaugh single action, I will have to own it.

155 & 88 mm? What’s wrong with you people? You have something against 20mm chain guns?

Seriously though, jljones brought it up and it’s been repeated from just about every poster after; in the end all the calibers mentioned are up to the task of stopping people from trying to do you harm. Shoot what you’re comfortable with. If that means getting a .357 Sig barrel to use that ammo do it. If not, you can always find someone interested in buying it from you. Practice, stay proficient, and you’re covered. Merry Christmas!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 400m,

I live a calm life not purposely going shady places. But today in Florida 2nd day of winter, it’s also almost 70 today where I live and and I’m out wearing flip flops and a t shirt so a big azz duty sized gun is not convenient for me. I ccw a 442 or 365x appendix inside carry. With premium hollow points in each. My home defense is a 229r with a light in 40. Next year when the suppressor tax goes away I will get a pistol Cal suppressor mainly because I’m not in love with ever having to fire off a round indoors, god forbid. But still want a platform that allows for a light. Go whoever has cheapest threaded barrels 229 or Glock 19 will be it

Don't ask me, I want all of them.

When I see people saying "I don't want any new calibers", I look at them like they have three heads.