Sig P229 .40 to .357sig conversion - Any words of wisdom?

[IXLR8]

I purchased .357 Sig barrel for my Sig Sauer P229 .40

It should be a drop in replacement and not need any other modifications.... Correct?

The magazine is the same one for .357/.40

Does anyone have experience with the .357 Sig round? I read that it is as powerful as a .357 Magnum.

Comments... Anyone?

 

[Texas42]

My loading manual has the 357 sig at a bit slower than a 357 mag (EDIT: particularly with the heavier weight bullets) . And it uses the 9mm bullets (.355" as opposed to the .357").

Sounds like fun to me!

 

[navyguy]

.357 Sig is no were close to .357 mag (revolver round) it's about 10 -15% more power than a 9mm +P. But that is significant and it is a great round that is very flat shooting and considerably (I think) less recoil than the .40. Loud too because of the speed and and big muzzle flash in shorter barreled pistols like your P229.

Your P229 .40 with the .357 sig barrel will no doubt shoot to a different POI elevation. Usually low because the .40 sights are compensated for the higher recoil of the .40. At least that was my experience with putting a .357 barrel in a P239. It shot about an inch lower at 10 yards. I never shot it at longer distances so I don't know where that would be. You will enjoy shooting that in comparison to the .40, but dang, the ammo is expensive, and there are not a lot of choices like with 9mm and even .40.

 

[M. Sage]

Does anyone have experience with the .357 Sig round? I read that it is as powerful as a .357 Magnum.

.357 Sig runs about half the energy of a .357 magnum: AmmoGuide is now... "Interactive"!

One thing you should know if you want to use .357 magnum as a benchmark for a defensive caliber: the FBI evaluated different calibers for their effectiveness in that regard, and rated them. Regarding .357 magnum, the conclusion was that you got the same amount of damage and stopping potential from a .38 special +p without the added noise and recoil. Basically, think of the .357 magnum as a .38 special with improved penetration capability.

The .357 Sig is going to penetrate a lot deeper than .40 thanks to the smaller diameter and higher velocity and energy. IMO it would make a good caliber for a shorter-barreled CHL gun because of that fact, though the increase in recoil, the "snap" that recoil is going to carry and the increased muzzle blast might not be worth it.

 

[jtriron]

.357 Sig runs about half the energy of a .357 magnum: AmmoGuide is now... "Interactive"!

One thing you should know if you want to use .357 magnum as a benchmark for a defensive caliber: the FBI evaluated different calibers for their effectiveness in that regard, and rated them. Regarding .357 magnum, the conclusion was that you got the same amount of damage and stopping potential from a .38 special +p without the added noise and recoil. Basically, think of the .357 magnum as a .38 special with improved penetration capability.

The .357 Sig is going to penetrate a lot deeper than .40 thanks to the smaller diameter and higher velocity and energy. IMO it would make a good caliber for a shorter-barreled CHL gun because of that fact, though the increase in recoil, the "snap" that recoil is going to carry and the increased muzzle blast might not be worth it.

So given the chart in the link you provided the 45 ACP is even less effective?. Please to do a little more research on handgun ballistics, the 357 sig is a very good round.

 

[Texas42]

 

[Texas1911]

.357 SIG is a very snappy round, but is no .357 Magnum. When loaded up, it can approach moderate loadings in 10mm and your softer .357 Magnum loads.

Generally speaking, it's nothing really amazing, just pushing the 9mm bullet to higher velocities.

 

[Texas1911]

So given the chart in the link you provided the 45 ACP is even less effective?. Please to do a little more research on handgun ballistics, the 357 sig is a very good round.

Slow down a bit, if you look at the chart the .45 is loaded with a 187 grain bullet ... which is incredibly light, and the velocity is no where near where a 187 grain bullet would be driven to. It's kinda flawed in that chart.

For example, a 185 gr. Barnes DPX would be pushing about 1050 - 1075 FPS, which is considerably more powerful.

 

[IXLR8]

Great info!

Thanks for your help.

Original information on .357

The .357 SIG was jointly developed in 1994 by SIG Arms and Federal Cartridge with one purpose in mind to provide the ballistics of a 125-grain JHP out of a .357 Magnum revolver, but from an auto.

At first glance this would seem improbable, but consider that the .357 revolvers carried by most police officers and armed citizens have (at most) four-inch barrels. Viewed in this context, the .357 SIG achieves its goal quite admirably. Numerous .357 SIG factory and handloads regularly produce velocities in excess of 1,350 fps, and many law enforcement agencies around the nation issue pistols chambered for it. The .357 SIG is a versatile cartridge in every respect that can fill a duty or personal-defense role, as well as provide loads of practical plinking fun.

The design is essentially a necked-down .40 S&W, but reloaders should not try to make cases out of the larger round. Cases so made will wind up about .02 inch too short, and the .357 SIG headspaces on the case mouth, just like most other auto cartridges, not on the shoulder of the bottlenecked case, as one might expect. Besides, there are a multitude of new and fired cases available for reloading. I used once-fired Starline brass for my test loads. Another big advantage of the .357 SIG is that it slithers into the chamber so easily. In fact, my .357 SIG pistols will chamber a fired case from the magazine every time.

 

[jtriron]

From Texas1911:
"It's kinda flawed in that chart"


I guess that was my point.
And I own both calibers.

 

[SIG-SOG]

Not sure you question got answered or not, change out the 40 barrel with the 357 barrel and you are good to go. Do it all the time on my P229 depending on which ammo I have. Right now, can't find any 357 Sig in North DFW area.

 

[IXLR8]

Not sure you question got answered or not, change out the 40 barrel with the 357 barrel and you are good to go. Do it all the time on my P229 depending on which ammo I have. Right now, can't find any 357 Sig in North DFW area.

There is about 40 boxes in three brands (including speer gold dot) at the Gander Mountain 290 in Houston. They also had 75 boxes of .380!

 

[M. Sage]

So given the chart in the link you provided the 45 ACP is even less effective?. Please to do a little more research on handgun ballistics, the 357 sig is a very good round.

Power does not equal effectiveness. The FBI concluded (with good reason) that the .357 magnum is no more effective (and due to the increase in muzzle flash, recoil and noise may be less effective) as a .38 Special. That chart is averages, and there are some funky sub-100 grain recipes on that site dragging .45's numbers down a bit, but it's overall fairly representative.

The measures of what makes a handgun round effective are (more or less in order, though it's more of a web than a tree) the depth of the hole it creates, the size of the hole it creates, controllable recoil, portability of the system needed to deliver it and to a degree magazine capacity.

Out in the real world, everything from .380 to .45 you won't notice a difference...

Slow down a bit, if you look at the chart the .45 is loaded with a 187 grain bullet ... which is incredibly light, and the velocity is no where near where a 187 grain bullet would be driven to. It's kinda flawed in that chart.

For example, a 185 gr. Barnes DPX would be pushing about 1050 - 1075 FPS, which is considerably more powerful.

Yeah, it's not my favorite chart; that one is average velocities. That sight is a handloader's dream with all the recipes they have!

 

[Texsun]

Show us where you read this.

 

[M. Sage]

Which part? I've read so much...

Here, start with this: http://www.firearmstactical.com/pdf/fbi-hwfe.pdf