After years of hearing people rave and reading after action reports from the law enforcement community I finally purchased a barrel for my P229 stainless steel elite chambered in .40 so I can carry and shoot 357 sig. out of it

Ammunition around my parts is scarce to say the least. I was able to find some 134 grain Hornady critical duty  125 grain JHP Sig performance ammunition and for target ammo I have found Fiocchi 124 grain and Lawmen 125 grain.

I got a great deal on the Hornady Critical Duty at $15 for a box of 20. A bonded 134 grain JHP with nickel brass.

What is everybody using for their carry load? I'm thinking of hitting up some of my favorite online retailers and seeing if I can find some Speer Gold Dot since that is what I carry in all of my other carry guns.

If I end up liking the round I will probably get .357 Sig barrels for all my other .40s.

I just got OUT of 357 Sig cause its just too much of an explosion going off in my hands.  I shot my G33 horribly.  but there is nothing wrong with the caliber.  Its a man of a defensive round.  I would feel just as good with it as I would 45.  You get wicked penetration with it.  It actually pinged my steel targets just a little.  And of course you will never have feeding issues with the necked case unless its related to followers that allow nose diving.  

I carried Speer gold dots as well.  Bought them years ago before ammo was scarce.  Too bad you don't live close.  I'm still sitting on ammo with no gun.

I love my 357 SIG SIGs.    Its snappy in a glock, but i have no issues in the SIGs.     I carry 125gr Ranger SXTs  in mine  but I got  case of gold dots with the purchase of my 239.    Check out Underwood ammo for fast loads.    I got a bunch of target ammo  at a fun show 2 years ago   for about 22 a box of 50.   Its all around 35 now.   I reload for it now,  sizing with a carbide 40sw sizing die.   It makes the process easier and also is easier on the wallet.

I carry Federal 125gr HSTs. HSTs are the top performer(or one of them) in pretty much every caliber they're made for. Prior to the HSTs being made in 357SIG I kept my 229 loaded with Gold Dots.

Federal 125gr HSTs, $32/50
Speer 125gr Gold Dots, $37/50

I carry  it every day, love it, flatter shooter, never had a recoil issue with it, I just buy ammo on line, no one has it around me

I have a .357 Sig barrel for my Glock 23. Beast of a round. I usually just shoot a few rounds off and watch my friends try it

I have a Glock 23 with a .357 Sig barrel and love shooting strings with it, what is this thing you call recoil?

I own a G31C and it is a great gun to shoot. Very manageable with impressive bullet energy.

Last time I went shooting with my brother we shot about 3 boxes of hollowpoints through my M&P FS with the .357 SIG  barrel on it.  Snappy?  Yeah, I guess.

The next thing we shot was the new CZ P09 in 9MM.  We both thought it felt sort of like a pop gun when it went off vs. the .357 SIG recoil/noise.

I like the cartridge.  I've just had too many issues with my M&P and the Glock in the safe is my last choice for shooting as I like to shoot good groups, not just cover the big black spot on the target.

My next project/money spend will be another CZ (still debating whether a P07 or P09 in .40 S&W and then sending the slide to CZ Custom (they've done the conversion before) to fit a .357 SIG barrel in the slide/slide stop.  Then I'll be done.  I'll have a 9MM (P09) a .357 SIG (still debating on model) and a .40 S&W (P07).

That reloading trick mentioned above - using a carbide .40 S&W sizing die to get the body resized (no lube required) and then using a standard .357 SIG die for the neck/shoulder (no lube required) works just fine.  I've been using it for the last 2 or 3 years since I started reloading for the Glock M31 not long after I got it.

I really want to pickup an ekf 357 barrel for my FNX, any comparison in terms of recoil between that and 40sw?

Bought my P229 in 1998 and still haven't bought a 357sig barrel.

I just don't care for the caliber since a 9mm  Ranger T 127gr  +P+ or the even  the better load the 124gr+P Ranger T can do very close to the same thing and with less recoil.

It is different than the .40. It is a little sharper, but not rough at all

I don't see myself really getting into the caliber, but if I could get a conversion barrel cheap I could be bothered to buy a couple of boxes of ammo to shoot off.  Interested for the fun of it, but not as an everyday carry.

Sounds like me.  Tbh there are too many other items I'm interested in at this point to put the time/effort/money into this.  

Now, after I've knocked off a few more items from my must have list.....we might be talking

I'd be interested in the idea of "one more caliber to lean on" if 9/.40/.45 got scarce again
10mm, .357sig, 9x18, etc
I don't see it as an excuse to not "buy it cheap and stack it deep" for primary handgun calibers though

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it feels less snappy than .40 in a glock gen4 to me.

no use for a bottle nose pistol round.

clown

Yep. Round flies flat and I'm a better shot with it than my .40

I love them! I have .30 Luger guns, 7.63 Mauser Broomhandles, and .357Sig Sigs.

It is like turning up a 9mm to 11.

I decided to give .357 Sig a try a few years ago and I'm impressed. I've been a fan of the 125gr .357 Magnum round and now we can get close to those ballistics in a compact sized autoloader.

I had a Glock 31c and 32c but I've sold or traded them. I had a lot of money tied up in them. Living in MA, any Glocks made after 10/21/98 aren't legal for transfer by a licensed dealer but there are no laws against possessing them. And 3rd Gen Glocks are worth a premium if they are in state and ready for a personal transfer.

I ended up trading my 31c with two 10-round mags for a 4" SS Ruger GP-100 with fiber optic sights, 3" Ruger SP-101 .357 mag (the one I really wanted), 8 speedloaders, 3 holsters and 650 rounds of factory .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo, including 200 rounds of 125gr Hornady Critical Defense .357. I sold the GP100 and the Fobus holster it came with and kept the SP-101.

I sold the 32c for $775, also with two 10-round mags.

I still like the .357 Sig round, so I spent $99 on a .357 Sig Lone Wolf barrel to use in my Gen 2 Glock 23. It does everything my 32c did except for spitting lead in my face when fired from retention. I hate ported barrels.

My longest coyote handgun kill was with that G23 with the Lone Wolf barrel, loaded with 125gr Speer Gold Dots. I would have rather used a rifle but I didn't have time. The coyote was squaring off with my neighbor's dog so I ran out and brought his dog inside my house. When I went back out the coyote was about 175 yards out. I gave it a little extra front sight but it wasn't quite enough. The round hit the ground between its front and back legs. It walked diagonally away from me and stopped again, standing broadside. I was a little heavier on the front sight and squeezed another round off. I guess all that playing around at the club shooting handguns on the rifle range paid off because this one connected and knocked it on its side. I estimated the distance at 200 yards. I was close. My laser rangefinder said it was 203 yards.

.357 Sig didn't completely disappear during the Sandy Hook panic.

That alone is a good reason to have one.

The ammo shortage never effected me. Stock up before something happens. Even with absolutely no .22lr available anywhere around I have enough of that to last for years.

I like 357 Sig for SD
5 shot chrono averages from my Glock 32:
125 gr. Gold Dot @ 1,344 fps / 501# KE
125 gr. HST @ 1,358 fps / 512# KE

IMO, the Glock 32 (357 Sig) doesn't recoil any more than the Colt Series 70 1911. However the recoil i much faster which makes the follow up faster. The only failures I've ever had were due to faulty ammo. Never a problem with major brands. The G32 is my prefered EDC.

I have about 10-15k rounds through my Sig P226R .357 and had another 500-1000 through a Glock 35 w/ LWD .357 barrel. Both work very well and were very accurate. Recoil is, in my estimation, between a 9mm +P and a .40. I also had a P226 in 9mm and .40 and the .40 barrel for the 35 so I had a good comparison. In general I am perfectly happy with 9mm but there isn't anything wrong with the .357 Sig. I have the Ranger SXT because that was my duty load but the .357 can benefit significantly from bonded bullets. Sometimes the extra speed can cause normal bullets to separate and limit penetration from what I've seen.

I am trying to get out of .357 Sig myself.  No real value to have it over a 9mm Para +P other than more recoil and loud as hell.

LOL.

Exact reason I sold mine.

I shot some stock critters, varmints and dogs with it and tho I found the round to be very accurate in the SIG P226, it did nothing my 9's wouldn't do and the ammo was expensive and I really didn't want to set up my press for it as my Dillon is set up for 9x19 so I sold it.  Don't miss it, either, tho it is a good round.  I really had trouble telling the difference in reoil between it and 9.  I had one 226 in .357 and one in 9.

Will say that if I didn't have a sentimental attachment to my P226R (my ex-duty gun) and a stockpile of ammo I probably wouldn't buy one. Maybe a barrel to try it in a gun I already had.

I just have the round as novelty. I have a Lone Wolf barrel for my Glock 23 and my father-in-law reloads .357 Sig for me

Just my opinion, but the 357 Sig is to the 9mm, what the 9mm is to a 380.

Velocity and energy do matter. I'm of the camp that believes for civie CHL purposes,  the first shot is the most important shot. Since I can't buy a baby Glock in 45 Super or 10mm, I've settled for the 357 Sig!

But I will not take it away from you 9mm fans that you are firing a cartridge with less recoil and faster follow up shots. If that's what you think is best, then that's what you need to go for.

it is not "more snappy" than .40. I like it, I just don't like the cost of the ammo.