.45 vs. .357

[Abrams.357]

What is the difference between the .45 ACP and .357 sig? ( in Glock 21/31)

[junyo]

About 0.096".

[jdlv4_0]

a .357 sig is basically a higher velocity 9mm. It's a 9mm slug on a necked down .40s&w case. Pending on the load the slug is usually heavier than a standard 9mm.

[G21.45]

Not to mention the fact that the 357 SIG is highly impractical to practice with, shoots through just about anything you point it at: engine blocks, car doors, the sidewall of your neighbor's house, 3 people in a row, etc.

Two of my acquaintances rushed out and bought 357 SIG's back when they were all the rage 2 or 3 years ago. Their new pistols turned out to be tough to get cartridges for, tough to reload for, and expensive to shoot. They were, also, troubled by lots of recoil, and lots of chamber pressure, too.

Both of these guys have ended up trading their new 357 SIG's for 45 acp pistols; and I got to say, 'I told ya so!'

[DPB]

I was going to say that ammo was more expensive, but I checked and it's not. Ammo price is comparable.

Assuming that .357 SIG ballistics are indeed comparable to .357 Mag (as advertised), then they are also comparable to .45 ACP. So the terminal ballistics would seem to be pretty close.

It is difficult to compare recoil, since there are few platforms that are available in both calibers. The .357 SIGs I've seen seemed to recoil "sharper" than .45s, but not necessarily harder, if that makes any sense at all.

If you reload, the .45 is a straight wall case, and the .357 is a bottleneck. Straight walled is simpler to reload, and the lower operating pressures will allow you to use the brass longer.

If you are planning to shoot a lot, here is another point to consider: .45 guns were pretty much all built to be .45 guns. Most of the .357 SIGs are built on 9mm platforms. Given that the .357 SIG operates at significantly higher pressures than 9mm, I would expect the service life of the guns to be a lot shorter, with more parts breakage along the way. Of course, this will mostly only be true with a hard use gun, and a quality .357 SIG will probably outlast the shooting 99% of owners will do with it.

[G21.45]

I was going to say that ammo was more expensive, but I checked and it's not. Ammo price is comparable. ...

This is the only part of your post that I disagree with. The rest of your comments are, mostly, spot on! Where, the heck, do you buy ammo? I certainly can't find 50 rounds of 357 SIG for 10 & change anywhere.

(A huge, $9.00 per box if I buy a case!)





PS: I don't want to get into terminal ballastics, tonight, other than to say that there ain't a 45 acp made that'll penetrate like a 357 SIG.

[GRIZZLYBEAR]

When SIG developed the .357 SIG round SIG also developed a new Platform to handle the higher pressures, The P229 which had an alloy frame and a stainless steel slide for added weight and strength.

Another thing that no one has mentioned is that and SIG and few other companys are offering extra barrels chambered in .40 S&W for their .357 SIG firearms. You change the barrel (I would also change recoil spring) load the .357 magazine with .40 S&W and go out and fire it. The .357 SIG and .40 S&W will operate with the same magazine. The POI will be different for both loadings.

The Texas Rangers and several PD's have adopted the .357 SIG as their service pistols.

grizz

[knight0334]

About 0.096".

Ya know, I typed that out in a reply lastnite - but I decided it would be better to not hit submit. lol

[rad]

From what I've read, .357 SIG is equivelent to .357 Mag 125gr loads. .357 Mag has the capacity to get a lot hotter than that, whereas SIG really cannot.

The last time I looked at the .45 vs .357 for personal defense debate I concluded it to be a draw. .357 is a lighter bullet traveling faster. .45 is a heavier bullet traveling slower. For personal defense loads, the muzzle energies between the two end up being pretty close to each other. The only part I see in favor of .45 is that in the case of HP's the bullet will expand to a much bigger size than .357 will.

Outside of that, .357 SIG just leaves me scratching my head. It always seemed to me to be a round that answers a question no one was asking. But then I always thought the same about .40 S&W too.

[DPB]

This is the only part of your post that I disagree with. The rest of your comments are, mostly, spot on! Where, the heck, do you buy ammo? I certainly can't find 50 rounds of 357 SIG for 10 & change anywhere.

(A huge, $9.00 per box if I buy a case!)

PS: I don't want to get into terminal ballastics, tonight, other than to say that there ain't a 45 acp made that'll penetrate like a 357 SIG.

G21.45,

I was surprised by this myself, and I admit my research sample was small, or more correctly, singular. Ammoman's current low price on 500 rounds of brass cased .45 ball and .357 SIG ball is $139. In both cases, it's Speer Lawman ammo, he has Wolf .45 for slightly less. I highly suspect that as a general rule, .357 SIG is more expensive and less readily available.

I don't shoot .357 SIG, and I don't consider $139 a case a good price on .45, but that's where I made the comparison. Where are you getting .45 for $90 a case, because I haven't seen that for several years.

Regarding penetration, you are correct, .357 SIG penetrates like no .45 ACP can. However, is this really desireable? In the 1920s, they developed the .38 Super so G Men had a handgun to penetrate auto bodies. It was popular briefly, but mostly went away in the 30s, and only came back in the 80s as a dedicated competition round. So we've had a high speed/high penetration 9mm/.35 auto round before, and it did not achieve large scale popularity. Yes, it has higher penetration than .45 ACP, but this is only a factor if .45 penetration is insufficient. I have never seen any claim that it is.