the 357 sig was designed to basicly duplicate the performance of a 357mag using 125gr bullets in a 4" barrel, in a semi auto format, and basicly it does that. but with increased pistol wear noise and muzzle flash.the 357sig is a 40 s&w brass necked down to take.355" ( 9mm ) bullets and can be loaded with 115-150gr bullets. the best performance coming from 125gr. storebought ammo will probly not be cheap or easy to find. alot of people swear by them. imo these type of guns are for close range self defense 10 yds or less and bullet placement and premium bullet selection are alot more important than plus or minus 100-200 fps. plus if THE SHTF I want to have popular calibers, preferably nato rounds, that will be more likely to be available. in the woods I'm always packing a 45 acp, or 357 snubbie ( I don't plan on any shots over 20 yds) or for concealed carry a pocket 9mm or 40 s&w compact. this is assuming I actualy owned any guns, which of course I do not.
If it's a good price, I'd go for it. Some of the Glocks you can swap barrels and go from .357 Sig to .40 S&W or even .45ACP, but even if the one you're looking at ain't one of those, having the power of a .357 with a full clip (from 10-15 rounds) instead of just 6 rounds can't be all bad!
Good reading on the 357Sig: http://www.glockmeister.com/357sig.shtml
Some quotes from it:
2. For those interested in a semiauto that has external ballistics comparable to a 357 Magnum revolver, but is more compact, kicks & flashes less, reloads faster, packs more rounds, and has faster follow up shot capability, the 357 SIG fits the bill. Although the SAAMI specs from a 357 Magnum test barrel is 1450 fps, a typical 4" 357 Magnum often generates about 1350 fps or so, which happens to be the same velocity as the 357 SIG caliber from a 3.86" barrel. A 4.5" - 5" barreled 357 SIG can push bullets over 1500 fps.
6. You get more feeding reliability *insurance* using a bottlenecked cartridge. As long as the magazine is feeding the 357 SIG cartridge correctly, then ramming a 9mm bullet into a 10mm chamber opening is a definite advantage.
Glock engineers actually took advantage of this bottlenecked cartridge when they engineered their .357 Glocks (M31, M32, & M33). As a result, the Glock .357 barrels have a fairly tight chamber and a well supported chamber in the 6 o'clock position.7. You get another advantage with the bottlenecked 357 SIG cartridge. The velocity spreads can often be less than 20 fps, which is quite excellent.
Accurate Arms Company had this to say about the 357 SIG caliber: "This is without a doubt the most ballistically consistent handgun cartridge we have ever worked with. The standard deviation for every single load developed was less than 10 fps. The average SD was 5 fps. This is impressive for any cartridge but especially so for a handgun. The small bottleneck and high working pressure of the round must both contribute to this amazing consistency..."
10. The 357 SIG has less torque than the .40 because of using a smaller 9mm bullet. This means less twisting in the hands and a more straight up and down muzzle action, which can help provide better gun handling control. The faster slide action of the 357 SIG can also provide faster follow-up shooting.
11. Another advantage if you carry all day, is that five loaded 357 SIG magazines weigh less than five loaded magazines in .40 S&W and especially .45 ACP.
19. A major advantage of the 357 SIG over the .40 S&W is that a lot of people have proven that the 357 SIG is inherently accurate, while the .40 S&W is good, but not excellent in this arena. --- See Attachment 6.
20. Another 357 SIG advantage is that it's like having a little rifle instead of a pistol. The 357 SIG is accurate out to 100 yards. At 100 yards, using a 3.86" barrel, a 125 grain bullet is still traveling at a nominal velocity of 1080 fps, with an energy of 325 ft/lbs. And it has a trajectory of 0.2" at 25 yards, 0.7" at 50 yards, 1.6" at 75 yards, and 3.1" at 100 yards. Typical defense & sport scenarios don't usually occur at long distance. But it's still nice to know that the 357 SIG has this capability.
I'd go with whatever feels best in your hand and you are able to shoot the best quickly and accurately, another consideration is are you gonna carry it concealed 24/7 or just a few hours at a time exposed. what I like about glocks is they are #1 dependable,#2 no external hammer or safety to mess with in a crisis time, more accurate than you would think for a fairly heavy trigger, dissasemble w/o tools, magazines are interchangeable within the same caliber so if you like to carry a smaller back up in the same caliber you don't have to carry diff mags, and are reasonably priced for what you get. even though they are plastic ( combat tupperware ) they are light and easy to carry and practicaley indestructable, personaly I prefer sig sauer, but these are the only 2 brands I would consider buying used.
a well placed shot at close range with a premium bullet, be it from 9mm,357,40, 357sig,45acp should all have pretty much the same effect DOA. my preference for 45 acp is that with a 230 gr bullet at close range should knock a person to the ground even if wearing a vest and at the very least knock the wind out of them if not break ribs and cause internal injury allowing more follow up shots if needed. also a 357sig is not equal to the 357 revolver when it comes to using heavier bullets ex a hot 180 gr load. the ruger sp101 hammerless snub nose ( 5 shot ) is a bit heavy for it's size but feels great in the hand and points well carry's great concealed in pocket or inside waistband, if hunting can be loaded with 1-2 snake shot and 3-4 180gr hot loads, and in a pinch would work real well to bludgeon someone with. pick whats best for your skill and needs and let us know what you choose, there are alot of good guns out there and everyone you ask will probly try to tell you to get something different.
