What to do. New gun or new barrel?

[SigSauer226]

I have a Sig 226 in .40. I want to get a .357 sig, but I can't decide if I should just get the drop in .357 sig barrel or just buy another pistol. Help me decide fellas.

[harold63]

I am always on the new gun side. In another thread, someone asks how many magazines are enough. My thing is how many guns are enough. I know it is not related much to your question and you may not even be this type of person, but someone who thinks ahead enough to get a ton of mags for one gun, in my opinion, could invest in less mags for that gun; get another gun, and invest in some mags for it. You never know if or when when your SHTF gun will dump on you, but that is just my train of thought. On the other hand, if you use your Sig at the range and it is not a SD/HD weapon, then save your money and just get the barrel.

I am curious as to what the .357 Sig will do that .40 S&W won't? .357 Sig tends to be a tick more accurate if you count every quarter inch, but what else? This is a reasonable question because I am an interested, old school 9mm, .40S&W, and .45 ACP person, and honestly have not done much with .357 Sig, except shoot other people's. The P226 in .40 S&W is one of the best combinations going at the moment, and is likely to be that way for a while, in my opinion, anyway. If you are like some of who simply like a variety, then punch it, variety is the spice of life. Your wife or girlfriend may have a different opinion on this matter.

[mp517prct]

I kinda have to agree with 300WM, why. 357SiG? It's a great cartridge, don't get me wrong, the biggest problem is ammo cost and availability. For SD, there's not much advantage in .357SiG over .40S&W, and the higher velocity could be detrimental in a over-penetration situation (same reason why, 7.62 Tokarev is not a great SD round and no one has ever made a commercial carry gun in that caliber) The risk of liability out weighs any advantage. Personally, I'd buy a 226 in 9mm to take advantage of cheaper ammo, and its greater availability especially in a SHTF situation.

If you're sticking to .357SiG, I'd call SiG and get a price for a barrel, and then decide. If a new barrel was more than 25% of the cost of a new gun, I would opt to just buy a new gun. Accessories rarely add much to the value of used firearms so from an investment standpoint, it may be cheaper in the long run to just buy a new P226 in .357SiG

[SigSauer226]

The main reason I wanted to get the .357 sig barrel was mostly to just have a variety. And a .40 to .357 barrel is about $180 and that's for a SigSauer conversion barrel. The bar-sto barrels were about $210 and they require fitting whereas the sig is a drop in. Granted the bar-sto barrel I'm assuming would be more accurate but I don't want spend a boat load on having it fitted to my pistol and I'm not all that concerned with being able to drive tacks, all I worry about is hitting the target and holding an acceptable group.

[filgun11]

I agree with them. If for SD/HD, new gun. When in need, you're not gonna strip your gun and replace the barrel. You gonna go for the next gun.

Also in future, if you need to sell your gun, then your barrel will be of less value.. you may have to package it with your gun when you sell it.
However if new gun, you can sell just one, if needed.

[harold63]

Granted the bar-sto barrel I'm assuming would be more accurate

I agree that it may be more accurate, but it will be insignificant except for the most stringent distance shooter. From what I have read, the Sig drop in barrels are very accurate, so holding a small group should be of no concern.

[mp517prct]

provided you have no plans to sell your P226 anytime soon, at that price just buy a SiG barrel.

[ScreaminSS01]

If buying a new barrel interests you, why don't you get a 9mm and shoot more often? If it were me I would buy a new gun. Some people are brand loyal but I am not. I'm trying to limit my guns to .380,9mm and .45 ACP. I like to stock pile ammo though.

[Brick]

Very intersting thread! I too wonder about why .357 Sig? That caliber is a .40 S&W necked down anyhow and it tops out with a 147 gr bullet whereas .40 S&W goes up to what 180 gr? And for both they can be pushed along at 1100 fps or better. So outside of a calculated difference in kinetic energy, where is the improvement?

[CHEMICAL]

I would go with the barrel...but maybe because I already have:

http://forum.pafoa.org/gun-pictures-...es-my-sig.html