Does anyone shoot 357 Sig here?

HKUSP40 · Feb 21, 2014

I'm getting ready to purchase my first pistol in 357 Sig. I have plenty of "plinkers" and it's time for a true and dedicated defense pistol in my collection. I love the 357 Sig ballistics, and the two guns being considered are the Glock 32, and the HK USP compact. The Glock is available....can get one a number of places, and I'm talking brand new gen 3. I don't want a gen 4.
The HK is a little different story; there is no USPC in 357 Sig in this world at the moment apparently, but it can be special ordered, and today I will call HK directly and see what the timeline will be if I have a dealer place an order.....I'm thinking prolly months, but I'll find out.
Anyway, my question is about ammo. For those of you who shoot this caliber, what's good ammo for just target/practice shooting? This isn't going to be a range gun very often, but I want at least 200 rounds of SOMETHING to go feel the thing out with....something reliable and cost effective for ammo to just go waste. And then I will investigate personal defense ammo after that for it.
Any suggestions?
Also, if any of you know of a USP compact in 357 PLEASE let me know :s0155:

AnthonyNorfleet · Feb 21, 2014

The usp compact in 357 is a very rare bird. I looked for about a year before buying a usp 40 compact and just got a 357sig barrel for it. I prefer the corbon 124gr or the Double tap's 115gr barnes tac-xp for good hp carry ammo and I usually shoot winchester white box for practice ammo.

1 other thing I would mention is the 357sig like longer barrels. You get allot of muzzle flash from the sub 4in guns and loose velocity. For example my uspc with its 3.58in barrel I chronographed the 115gr double tap ammo at 1350fps and a 5.5 in barrel in my glock 35 at 1605fps.

HKUSP40 · Feb 21, 2014

I've definitely been considering the 40 cal, and getting the 357 barrel like you say. Depending, it may be way more time efficient to do that. I'll see what HK says about ordering...
I've looked for a 357 barrel for my full sized USP, but saw nothing from HK on that....

AnthonyNorfleet · Feb 21, 2014

I ordered mine from HKpro but if you don't mind getting an aftermarket barrel here's one I found with a quick google search for your usp fullsize.
EFK Fire Dragon H&K USP 357 Sig Full size Standard HK357FSB

Certaindeaf · Feb 21, 2014

I'd just use a good +P+ in a suitable 9mm.
115gr @1400+ out of a 4".

HKUSP40 · Feb 21, 2014

That's a good post Certaindeaf, believe me I have considered that option. +P+ is pretty damn potent stuff, I have shot and carried it in my G10.

156256Hunter · Feb 21, 2014

Last I saw, a .357 USPc factory barrel was selling for $199.99 plus shipping.

As for .357 sig practice ammo, "whatever you can find," is the best.

cookie · Feb 21, 2014

357 Sig is an excuse to make people pay more money for their 9mm ammo. There is minimal if any benefit to the user over the 9mm bonded ammos. + there is no low end practice ammo as compered to 9mm.

156256Hunter · Feb 21, 2014

cookie said:
357 Sig is an excuse to make people pay more money for their 9mm ammo. There is minimal if any benefit to the user over the 9mm bonded ammos. + there is no low end practice ammo as compered to 9mm.

Yes, .357 sig can be a lot harder to find out West, and more expensive. But there have been occasions when our local stores have had absolutely no 9mm of any kind, but did have 20 rd. boxes of 147 gr. Hornady XTP in 357 sig for less than $1 per round.

Also, not to hijack the thread or start a caliber war (I like 9mms, too), but notwithstanding ammo avialability, I'd take the 125 gr. Speer Gold dot in .357 sig shot out of a gun specifically chambered for that caliber, before taking a 124 gr. +p+ 9mm round to shoot out of a pistol that might be unable to take a lot of that. You can also get Doubletap 180 gr. .357 sig rounds, while the heaviest 9mm load seems to be a 165 gr.

NavyBob · Feb 23, 2014

156256Hunter said:
Yes, .357 sig can be a lot harder to find out West, and more expensive. But there have been occasions when our local stores have had absolutely no 9mm of any kind, but did have 20 rd. boxes of 147 gr. Hornady XTP in 357 sig for less than $1 per round.

Also, not to hijack the thread or start a caliber war (I like 9mms, too), but notwithstanding ammo avialability, I'd take the 125 gr. Speer Gold dot in .357 sig shot out of a gun specifically chambered for that caliber, before taking a 124 gr. +p+ 9mm round to shoot out of a pistol that might be unable to take a lot of that. You can also get Doubletap 180 gr. .357 sig rounds, while the heaviest 9mm load seems to be a 165 gr.

Absolutely & Unquestionably

HKUSP40 · Feb 23, 2014

As AnthonyNorfleet said, the USP in 357 Sig is very rare, and as it turns out, no longer available AT ALL in this country. I called HK directly on Friday, and they no longer import that gun at all. So, unless you can find one new, there is no getting one from HK.
So I did the next best thing; I purchased the 40 cal, and a 357 barrel will be ordered here soon....
I put up a thread about the new gun.
Thank you all for your input and ammo recommendations.

deen_ad · Feb 24, 2014

I have a KelTec P-40 with the .357 Sig barrel. Neither of which is made any longer. Too many people reporting trouble with the gun when it was operator error. It used to be my EDC but I went to a Kimber in .45 now.

Deen
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"A gun is like a parachute. If you need one and don't have it, you'll probably never need one again!"

federalist46 · Apr 3, 2014

I like the 357 Sig
I have both a P229 and a P239 in 357 Sig the best part is with a simple barrel change they are a 40 S&W

when ammo was in short supply the only round consistently on the shelf was the 357.
the 40 cal is roughly $10-$15 a box cheaper for practice

also in both guns a 9mm conversion barrel is also available from third party like Barstow for even more savings.

Note probably better to go 40 S&W and barrel change to 357, then you can use the same magazines for both. (you cant use the 357 magazine for a 40, but you can use the 40 for 357)

Norwestr55 · Apr 4, 2014

You've got excellent taste in firearms mainly because I also have a 229 and 239 in 357 Sig.

I've got all 3 bbls for the 229 and a 9mm conversion for the 239. Speer Lawman is pretty decent plinking ammo for the .357 though I've started reloading my own. I carry Federal 125 gr HSTs.

federalist46 · Apr 4, 2014

Awesome!
I actually bought the factory slide for the 9mm conversion on the 229, and the 22lr conversion as well as the 40 and 357 barrels. the 22lr was to save on ammo $ but since it is hard to come by I seldom use it.

I reload the 9mm and the 40 but have not tried the 357 reloading . what bullet do you use to reload the 357 sig cartridge?

45 for me · Apr 13, 2014

If you want to overpay for ammo to feed your gun with a less mainstream caliber, why not get a 10mm? I don't mean that to be as disparaging as it sounds, because I definitely get being an enthusiast, and liking less mainstream stuff. I have a few myself. I do think get the 40 with a conversion barrel, because 40 will be much cheaper to shoot, and you can enjoy the gun more.

federalist46 · Apr 14, 2014

45 for me said:
If you want to overpay for ammo to feed your gun with a less mainstream caliber, why not get a 10mm? I don't mean that to be as disparaging as it sounds, because I definitely get being an enthusiast, and liking less mainstream stuff. I have a few myself. I do think get the 40 with a conversion barrel, because 40 will be much cheaper to shoot, and you can enjoy the gun more.

This is obviously a edited image for the 10mm adding a mushroom cloud. I am not an expert by any means of wound ballistics. however even from this chart that I have seen many times without the 10mm image. it is obvious that the 375 sig creates a wound channel larger than a 9mm, and slightly larger than the 40, and close to the 45. The more significant issue is expansion, I have studied enough to understand that gelatin is an indicator but not a measure of stopping power. The 357 sig has a greater expansion of the projectile which slows the significantly faster round within the same distance. This creates a significant stopping power not demonstrated in a gelatin. There is a reason the Secret service chose this round to protect the president.

All that said yes it is an extremely expensive round and probably not worth the cost, with the possible exception of a pure defensive load. Thus the 40 barrel option for training, or carry for that matter. There is an advantage in stopping power, but the cost is probably not worth the difference. However as I said earlier. when all the ammo was running off the shelves the only ammunition regularly available on the shelves was the "less mainstream" 357 sig. which made it a decent investment.

All of my guns with 357 sig also are convertible to 40 S&W with a simple barrel change and I own the barrels and magazines to make the change, and in some cases (P229) I have a conversion slide to 9mm. If cost and availability was the only issue I would recommend 9mm.

We all used to think 22lr was the most available. Now look at the current scarcity. Having the ability to shoot different calibers only makes sense whether you simply own guns in different calibers, or conversion.

.45 is probably the best overall caliber but I find the cost also a deterrent, and those guns are not typically as easy to make a conversion, and there is also in many cases a round count sacrifice.

All in all every caliber is a compromise of sorts, it is in understanding the pros and cons of each that we make the best choice for our own uses.