The .357 Sig was developed as a collaboration between Sig Sauer and Federal Ammo. The effort was to produce a cartridge that could be fired from firearms chambered for .40 S&W and utilizing a different barrel duplicate the performance of the .357 Magnum 125 grain cartridge – let’s take a look at it and see how they did with it.

Let’s take a look at the cartridge . . .

Sig wanted to equal or exceed the performance level of a 357 magnum in a 125 grain bullet loading for a very good reason – 357 magnum /  125 grain bullet has the best one shot stop percentages of any handgun cartridge – 96 % – and that is from 1935 to the present ! I really don’t want to get into a long drawn out discussion on handgun stopping power – let’s just all realize handguns are not the best choice but it is difficult to tote a 12 gauge shotgun or an AR-10 or a Ma Deuce  Or here if you have about 30 minutes (really nice with a good sound bar and high volume level ) with you all the time in a discrete manner – thus handguns.

Sig and Federal Cartridge did very well with their project – average velocity of 357 magnum / about 1270 fps – average velocity of 357 Sig / 1350 – and yes, 80 fps is a significant difference. If you want to go exploring for yourself – let me point you in this direction – However – if in your digging through all the stuff – if you read ” well the 357 Sig is just a necked down 40 ” realize the writer is in error – being lazy – parroting what others are saying – take your pick. The case dimensions for the 40 S&W are SHORTER than the case dimensions for the 357 Sig. And if you start with a shorter case and then neck it down – that really doesn’t work – it comes out even shorter. And if your willing to spend a little bit more for food for your 357 Sig – try Underwood Ammo for this load – Oh My!

Let’s see – 125 grain projectile @ 1270 fps or 125 grain projectile at 1475 fps . 205 fps is an incredible difference in performance – about 16% more performance over a 357 magnum

I tend to go with bonded  jacketed hollow points when you start edging towards maximum loads in any bullet – handgun or rifle – normal jackets – cup and core construction – have a tendency to start to peel and sheer off – you start shedding projectile weight and then you’re shedding kinetic energy and penetration .

A great many of the comparisons between these two head straight to ” but the 357 magnum with 158 grain – or 180 grain – or . . . let’s compare apples to kiwi fruit – the endeavor undertaken was to equal or exceed 357 magnum in one bullet weight – 125 grain – and Sig and Federal Cartridge succeeded – and in my humble opinion did quite well.  And yes there are commercial offerings available in 135 grain and 147 grain but your trading bullet weight for velocity and edging away from that 125 Grain “sweet spot”.

If you want to go to a lighter bullet – there is this offering from Underwood Ammo – damn that’s into rifle velocities – might have to grab a couple of boxes just to play with!!

Utilization of existing platforms (where it starts making sense)  . . .

The base of the case is identical to the “40” – which means that any platform that runs “40” could run .357 Sig as well. Just a barrel swap and everything works – the breech face / the same – the extractor / the same – the ejector / the same – the magazine / the same – the recoil spring / the same – all you need to do is swap out the barrel and you have .357 Magnum performance out of a semi automatic pistol. From a manufacturing perspective just change the roll marks on the slide and drop in a different barrel and away you go.

Why should I care? – Or – I like my wheel gun!

Not to step too deep into the bucket of semi auto vs revolver, let’s look at the obvious – and try to avoid sentimentality – Let’s take this straight on – revolvers are cool no doubt about that – there is a romanticism about them that most auto loaders just don’t match – however full size revolvers are more difficult to conceal ( we are going to try to compare apples to apples as much as we can ) when comparing full size duty weapons – the width of the cylinders are quite bulky when compared to semi auto’s – the capacity is not even close to each other – 6 rounds for the revolver vs 15 plus 1 for a Glock 31 – and if you go to compare a J frame sized revolver vs a S&W Shield 40 with a 357 Sig conversion barrel – (Y’all think there might be review coming up on that conversion??) ( Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ) – your down to a 5 shot capacity and a 2 inch or less barrel – which loses you sight radius and velocity – and to be honest about it I know of no one who fires hundreds of round of full power 357 magnum in a snub nose revolver to become and remain proficient with it. Nobody. And I hang around with a whole bunch of folks who shoot on a regular basis. Anybody that enjoys that level of abuse are usually too tied up to make it to the range. Heh-Heh.

So did they succeed?. . .

Quite well in my biased opinion – you have the equivalent of one of the best personal weapons cartridges in the business with the capability of an auto loading platform. Glock currently produces pistols in 357Sig – Sig produces a number of platforms as well – P226 and P229 as well as these 1911 platforms – though not being produced anymore there is a lot of Sig P239’s in 40 on the used market.

Sig 1911 Nightmare

Sig 1911 Tacops (which I am lusting after)

A whole bunch of more “stuff” coming up – maybe even a review or two on long guns – recipes – and even some truly impressive rifles. . .

Remember – Have Fun – Run the Gun – and Fish Heads are Cheap!!

The Smith & Wesson Shield

Introduced at Shot Show 2012 the 9mm Shield created quite a stir – and became quite the success for Smith & Wesson. Originally offered in two versions – thumb safety or not – the little pistol has really come a long way in just seven years. Smith & Wesson now produces them in four calibers – the original 9mm – a .40 caliber, .380 acp – and a .45 acp .

And so many different factory “options” it tends to be difficult to choose, yet you can find one that fills your specific needs if you are willing to wade through the myriad of offerings.

Night sights – ported barrels – integral laser – “Performance Center” models with upgraded triggers – ( all y’all know how I feel about aftermarket triggers for carry or duty handguns – work and practice – that ugly P word again – and upgrade your skill set !! ) just about any flavor you desire can be bought from the factory.

Let’s take a look at all four . . .

9 mm Shield – The one that started it all . . .

At the time of release it really raised the bar for small 9mm pistols. 7 plus 1 capacity – thin – very concealable inside the waistband and depending on the cut and fit of your pants even pocket carry. Touted as a single stack it’s actually a slight stagger stack. The .40 and .45 are true single stack magazines. Polymer framed for weight savings it comes in at just 18.6 ounces with no magazine. Steel insert for the rails – locking block – fire control group etc.

Then came the Shield in 40 S&W – Weighing slightly less – the barrel is thinner by just a bit – larger hole ( .40 caliber or 10 mm vs 9mm ) – and since the 40 S&W is a little larger diameter cartridge – the breech face , extractor , and ejector are different. Externally ( except for the bore ) the pistols are identical. Holster , Talon grips , lights ,  sights , lasers etc. are interchangeable.

And then came the Shield in .45 caliber. It is slightly longer in slide and barrel. A tiny bit wider in the slide – and just a little bit longer grip and ever so slightly taller.

Most leather holsters ( and some kydex ) will interchange – I have holsters for the 9mm and the ones I use work with all 3 versions. I utilize the 9mm and .40 as pocket pistols utilizing this minimal kydex cover –

It is as simple as can be – loop it around a belt loop – “click” it over the trigger guard and slip the pistol in your pocket. It even works on the .45 Shield –

The only issue is the .45 Shield just won’t fit in a pocket – the 9mm and .40 are right on the edge of what I can utilize and the tiny difference in the size of the .45 Shield “sizes” it out of the pocket – but it works great inside the waist band or in a belt holster.

And last of the Shield series –

The Shield 380 EZ – S&W wanted to include a 380 in the Shield series – and they are calling this a Shield – so I guess it is a Shield – there are some significant differences between this and the other three, which we will look at when we get to the “380 EZ” post. Here is a side by side with a 9mm Shield and you can see S&W went down a little different path with the 380.

Plan to do each “flavor” as a stand alone post – Then I’ll pick a favorite – that won’t be hard to do for me (Hint – You will be surprised ) – can’t speak for y’all and which one you will pick.

Remember – Have Fun – Run the Gun – and Fish Heads are Cheap !!