.357 sig is still not appreciated enough, if they would have just named it 9mm Magnum which it basically is, it would have been widely accepted and embraced.
I have two of these. Both LEO trade-ins, both .40 cal. One was reconditioned by SIG the other wasn't. I prefer to carry the one with scratches and all. I like the history of these. I also have a .357 SIG barrel and love the swapability of them for SHTF. The .357 SIG is what I carry most. With a lighter bullet and (essentially) the power of a .40 it's a better penetrator and a flatter trajectory. I also discovered by searching diligently you can even get a 9mm barrel, and a "special" Mecgar mag (that's where the search gets interesting). and have that option in your kit. Some folks also had to swap their recoil spring to go to 9mm. But my un-reconditioned LEO (I actually call him Leo) is worn in well enough the spring isn't a problem. A 9mm in a gun with the weight and balance designed for .40 is an absolute dream to shoot!!!
Thanks for this! That’s all great info and I have thought about getting a 9mm barrel and now I need to go down that mag rabbit hole!!thanks for sharing your experience!!
P229 & P226 are fine handguns. One day perhaps I will pick one up. If I do it will most likely be a 40 or 357Sig. And I will have both barrels. The P229 was built to handle the higher pressure of the 40 & 357Sig. It is a beefed up M11a1(P228) 9mm. The have excellent ergonomics. The Legion is simply great in the hand. Enjoy & thank you for good content.
It's funny because every time I hear people talking about the 357 Sig, they're always referencing the Glock or the Sig. My EDC is a factory 4.25" M&P 357 Sig and I can't even find anyone else who has one. Absolutely flawless gun. Ever since that purchase, my 40 S&W has been a dust collector.
That’s awesome! I was actually torn between the sig 229 and the M&P. I saw great police trade ins on both of those. Did they sell the M&P in 357 or was that a drop in barrel?
@@triggerbarPhD Well, the first generation M&P's had absolutely horrible triggers that felt like a 12lb pull with gritty/crunchy-ass take-up and 5 miles of pre-travel lol. The M2.0 trigger was a vast and notable improvement, but I still opted for an Overwatch Falx trigger and couldn't be happier. I've got over 4K rounds through mine so far, and haven't had a single malfunction to date. Also, the stock grips on the M2.0's are notably better. As for factory M&P's in 357 Sig .... they did make a sub-compact version for a while and I luckily found a 4.25 inch M&P 357 Sig barrel on Ebay, but those are virtually impossible to find at this point, but they must have made it at some point, if I've got one. Not sure whether they released that version to the public or not. Either way, last I checked there were a few good aftermarket drop-in's available, but all in all .... the M2.0's are excellent weapons in my experience.
@@TERMINAL-BALLISTICS thanks for this! Yes I agree, really awesome pistols. Yes when I was looking at it I found very good aftermarket support for 357. The pistols are just really built so well.
Love 357 Sig. Just a shame that the ammo companies seem to skim on powder load. I have my 121 grain trainers at about 1500 ft/s and that is comfortably below max pressure
Yah you can really get it going. Probably the same thing happening here as with 10mm. They water it down to sell more because the less recoil the more most people like it and most people don’t check what’s on the box. “Look mom I’m shooting 357 sig!” 🤣🤣
I just purchased a P229 40 s&w da/sa LE turn in, reconditioned by Sig, last month. I really like this pistol, original manufacturing date of 2014, it looks brand new, I do want to replace the contrast 3 dot sights with some night or fiber optic, and get some G-10 grips, but first I plan on a 357sig barrel!
Found this used one at my local sportsman’s warehouse.Also I’ve see palmetto offering used ones for S&W M&P’s that are in 40 that you can get a drop in barrel for 357 sig. it seems like it’s pretty much only glock that is selling new guns in 357 sig. so weird. Such a great cartridge!
I recently found one in .357 with a bit of holster wear. I love these "projects" so I've begun rebuilding it. Nice G10 grips and replacement springs so far. Need night sights and maybe a new barrel yet.
That’s awesome! Yes it’s fun to get them up to speed and running. Just fantastic guns. Heavy and I’m sure that’s the main reason for replacer but by no means is it less serviceable or no longer applicable!!
@@triggerbarPhD ditto...but for me it's fiddling with testing rather than practicing. I actually shot some 9mm this week. Haven't done that in a coon's age!
I really need to order a 357 Sig barrel for my Glock 22. I already have the 9mm conversion barrel it would be cool to be able to shoot 3 calibers from the same gun
Is 9mm equal to or superior to 357 Sig? Let’s think about that for ourselves for just a moment, shall we? I get it that some people pick a side and feel the need to defend their choice, but not to the extent of regurgitating pure nonsense that they themselves were misinformed on. Some ammo manufacturers actually have loads that even surpasses the ballistics of traditional 357 magnum performance. Underwood's 357 SIG Gold Dot for example. Also because it’s a bottleneck cartridge it has the added benefit of feeding more reliably than other pistol rounds. It’s flat shooting and will punch through auto glass like it was butter. It’s literally a 9mm projectile “except” because it’s 225-300 fps faster it penetrates most barriers as well as 10mm yet doesn’t over penetrate flesh, which is welcomed to aid in avoiding collateral damage. It has a flatter trajectory that in turn makes it more accurate and potent at distance. Though the penetration is no greater than 9mm in flesh, the cavity damage is much more devastating making it more likely to stop a threat with less shots. 357 Sig Compact and Subcompact firearms actually have more energy than an equivalent sized barrel length 10mm. Even out of as much as a 4” barrel, Underwood 125gr 357 Sig has the energy that’s equal to or greater than most 10mm loads with the exception of a few specialty loads. Basically 10mm energy only surpasses 357 Sig out of longer full size barrel lengths. Underwood has a 357 Sig 65g Xtreme Penetrator round that exceeds 2250+ fps out of just a 6” barrel. I don’t know of any other semiautomatic pistol caliber that has rounds capable of such velocities from a handgun. It goes straight through a 3A panel even. At those velocities normally temporary cavities tear. One of the most attractive benefits of owning a 357 Sig is the ability to convert the firearm to 40 S&W & 9mm with nothing more than a simple barrel swap. You also normally can do a 357 Sig or 9mm conversion if you own a 40 S&W firearm as well. That means you can train on whatever platform you’re most comfortable with and whatever ammo is the most affordable, and no it isn’t always 9mm. That means that you are less hindered by ammo shortages… and when you’re done training simply swap out the barrel and ammo back to 357SIG and you’re all set. Sadly on a native 9mm firearm you don’t have any option to do a conversion. I never understood what’s not to like about 357 SIG… well other than ammunition availability and cost being the only negatives I guess, but it is the better round. Keep in mind that when you compare 9mm +P or +P+ to try to achieve 357 Sig performance, 357 Sig is actually cheaper than 9mm. When I searched +P+ to get as close to 357 Sig performance as possible, it was more expensive than a standard 357 Sig JHP round. 9mm +P+ is still only 1300 fps in 124 grain. That’s 50 fps slower than the lowest end 125 grain Sig round at 1350 fps and we’re comparing +P+ 9mm ammo here. Yet the bare minimum 357 Sig performance isn’t even achievable and this is usually attempted in a platform that isn’t even recommended for +P+ or even +P at times. I say it’s best to swap to a 9mm conversion barrel when training and back to 357 Sig right before you’re all done to finish up with 357 to cut that expense down. In most cases the recoil of any superior round can be overcome with training. I actually have little to no recoil on one of my setups. It’s compensated. You’ll find that comps actually provide greater compensation with 357 Sig compared to 9mm because of the higher pressures. I do understand that some people are recoil sensitive and are more comfortable with 9mm or other lower recoiling rounds. I understand some just prefer the thought of higher capacity. I totally understand your decisions. But let’s not bash any superior round because you prematurely decided on a specific one. Naturally shot placement, especially with pistol calibers is key… but under pressure understandably, your shot placement could be lacking. With that in mind the welcomed advantages of 357 Sig could easily make the difference between life and death, shot placement aside. There’s nothing wrong with 9mm it’s awesome, but let’s be clear… it isn’t equal to 357 Sig and the few extra rounds it’s capable of holding in a magazine over 357 Sig definitely doesn’t make it the superior choice. In time I expect 357 Sig to make the comeback that 10mm has made in recent years… For myself these 357 Sig advantages make 9mm less desirable. How about for you?
Love this!! All excellent points! The 357 sig is a superior round and I agree that it will come back. It’s frustrating that to my knowledge only glock sells a brand new gun in this caliber of the major gun manufacturers. I agree, it will change and come back.
Is interesting to say the least, I kinda want to go and get a 357 sig, but I made my mind on that I have to be a responsible married guy, so guns have to wait a couple of years now 😭😭😭😭💥🔥🇺🇸
If I said that I didn’t mean to. Yes the parent case of 357 sig is 10mm. But I switched out a 40 S&W barrel for this 357 sig barrel. Perhaps I misspoke when I was describing it.
.357 sig is still not appreciated enough, if they would have just named it 9mm Magnum which it basically is, it would have been widely accepted and embraced.
Hahaha yup! Or +++p 9mm 😂🤣. It’s a great round.
The biggest hindrance to wider acceptance is the 357 ammo prices.
@craigbenz4835 man, preach!!
I have two of these. Both LEO trade-ins, both .40 cal. One was reconditioned by SIG the other wasn't. I prefer to carry the one with scratches and all. I like the history of these. I also have a .357 SIG barrel and love the swapability of them for SHTF. The .357 SIG is what I carry most. With a lighter bullet and (essentially) the power of a .40 it's a better penetrator and a flatter trajectory.
I also discovered by searching diligently you can even get a 9mm barrel, and a "special" Mecgar mag (that's where the search gets interesting). and have that option in your kit. Some folks also had to swap their recoil spring to go to 9mm. But my un-reconditioned LEO (I actually call him Leo) is worn in well enough the spring isn't a problem.
A 9mm in a gun with the weight and balance designed for .40 is an absolute dream to shoot!!!
Thanks for this! That’s all great info and I have thought about getting a 9mm barrel and now I need to go down that mag rabbit hole!!thanks for sharing your experience!!
P229 & P226 are fine handguns. One day perhaps I will pick one up. If I do it will most likely be a 40 or 357Sig.
And I will have both barrels. The P229 was built to handle the higher pressure of the 40 & 357Sig. It is a beefed up M11a1(P228) 9mm.
The have excellent ergonomics. The Legion is simply great in the hand. Enjoy & thank you for good content.
Thanks for this info and really appreciate the kind words!
It's funny because every time I hear people talking about the 357 Sig, they're always referencing the Glock or the Sig. My EDC is a factory 4.25" M&P 357 Sig and I can't even find anyone else who has one. Absolutely flawless gun. Ever since that purchase, my 40 S&W has been a dust collector.
That’s awesome! I was actually torn between the sig 229 and the M&P. I saw great police trade ins on both of those. Did they sell the M&P in 357 or was that a drop in barrel?
@@triggerbarPhD Well, the first generation M&P's had absolutely horrible triggers that felt like a 12lb pull with gritty/crunchy-ass take-up and 5 miles of pre-travel lol. The M2.0 trigger was a vast and notable improvement, but I still opted for an Overwatch Falx trigger and couldn't be happier. I've got over 4K rounds through mine so far, and haven't had a single malfunction to date. Also, the stock grips on the M2.0's are notably better.
As for factory M&P's in 357 Sig .... they did make a sub-compact version for a while and I luckily found a 4.25 inch M&P 357 Sig barrel on Ebay, but those are virtually impossible to find at this point, but they must have made it at some point, if I've got one. Not sure whether they released that version to the public or not.
Either way, last I checked there were a few good aftermarket drop-in's available, but all in all .... the M2.0's are excellent weapons in my experience.
@@TERMINAL-BALLISTICS thanks for this! Yes I agree, really awesome pistols. Yes when I was looking at it I found very good aftermarket support for 357. The pistols are just really built so well.
@@triggerbarPhD .
My pleasure and thanks for the great video!
Love 357 Sig. Just a shame that the ammo companies seem to skim on powder load. I have my 121 grain trainers at about 1500 ft/s and that is comfortably below max pressure
Yah you can really get it going. Probably the same thing happening here as with 10mm. They water it down to sell more because the less recoil the more most people like it and most people don’t check what’s on the box. “Look mom I’m shooting 357 sig!” 🤣🤣
I just purchased a P229 40 s&w da/sa LE turn in, reconditioned by Sig, last month. I really like this pistol, original manufacturing date of 2014, it looks brand new, I do want to replace the contrast 3 dot sights with some night or fiber optic, and get some G-10 grips, but first I plan on a 357sig barrel!
Awesome!! Such a quality gun. I bet your frame was made in Germany is that right? Very cool!
@@triggerbarPhD I don't think so, it does say Exeter NH. It also has a "Sig rail", it does have a "Legacy style" slide.
@@steven3379 interesting.
357 sig is my favorite round im currently looking for a 229 in 357 sig
Found this used one at my local sportsman’s warehouse.Also I’ve see palmetto offering used ones for S&W M&P’s that are in 40 that you can get a drop in barrel for 357 sig. it seems like it’s pretty much only glock that is selling new guns in 357 sig. so weird. Such a great cartridge!
I’ve been thinking about a police trade in. I was looking at 40sw. The Sig would be a nice one.
Yah, was happy to find this one and super impressed it just runs!
I recently found one in .357 with a bit of holster wear. I love these "projects" so I've begun rebuilding it. Nice G10 grips and replacement springs so far. Need night sights and maybe a new barrel yet.
That’s awesome! Yes it’s fun to get them up to speed and running. Just fantastic guns. Heavy and I’m sure that’s the main reason for replacer but by no means is it less serviceable or no longer applicable!!
You are turning into the content-king!! Keep it up!
Thanks my friend. I got a bit carried away with buying toys, need to do more on training with the ones I have!
@@triggerbarPhD ditto...but for me it's fiddling with testing rather than practicing.
I actually shot some 9mm this week. Haven't done that in a coon's age!
I LOVE MY (229). I hope I never have to carry anything else. I know that there are other quality Firearms other than sig. I love what I train with!
These are just marvels of craftsmanship. They just really got it right.
Love this gun!!! So cool.
It really is fantastic!
I really need to order a 357 Sig barrel for my Glock 22. I already have the 9mm conversion barrel it would be cool to be able to shoot 3 calibers from the same gun
I like having options too!! 😂🤣. 357 sig is such a great round. Maybe not for high volume due to cost but pretty amazing capabilities!!
Is 9mm equal to or superior to 357 Sig? Let’s think about that for ourselves for just a moment, shall we? I get it that some people pick a side and feel the need to defend their choice, but not to the extent of regurgitating pure nonsense that they themselves were misinformed on.
Some ammo manufacturers actually have loads that even surpasses the ballistics of traditional 357 magnum performance. Underwood's 357 SIG Gold Dot for example. Also because it’s a bottleneck cartridge it has the added benefit of feeding more reliably than other pistol rounds. It’s flat shooting and will punch through auto glass like it was butter.
It’s literally a 9mm projectile “except” because it’s 225-300 fps faster it penetrates most barriers as well as 10mm yet doesn’t over penetrate flesh, which is welcomed to aid in avoiding collateral damage.
It has a flatter trajectory that in turn makes it more accurate and potent at distance. Though the penetration is no greater than 9mm in flesh, the cavity damage is much more devastating making it more likely to stop a threat with less shots.
357 Sig Compact and Subcompact firearms actually have more energy than an equivalent sized barrel length 10mm. Even out of as much as a 4” barrel, Underwood 125gr 357 Sig has the energy that’s equal to or greater than most 10mm loads with the exception of a few specialty loads. Basically 10mm energy only surpasses 357 Sig out of longer full size barrel lengths.
Underwood has a 357 Sig 65g Xtreme Penetrator round that exceeds 2250+ fps out of just a 6” barrel. I don’t know of any other semiautomatic pistol caliber that has rounds capable of such velocities from a handgun. It goes straight through a 3A panel even. At those velocities normally temporary cavities tear.
One of the most attractive benefits of owning a 357 Sig is the ability to convert the firearm to 40 S&W & 9mm with nothing more than a simple barrel swap. You also normally can do a 357 Sig or 9mm conversion if you own a 40 S&W firearm as well. That means you can train on whatever platform you’re most comfortable with and whatever ammo is the most affordable, and no it isn’t always 9mm. That means that you are less hindered by ammo shortages… and when you’re done training simply swap out the barrel and ammo back to 357SIG and you’re all set. Sadly on a native 9mm firearm you don’t have any option to do a conversion.
I never understood what’s not to like about 357 SIG… well other than ammunition availability and cost being the only negatives I guess, but it is the better round.
Keep in mind that when you compare 9mm +P or +P+ to try to achieve 357 Sig performance, 357 Sig is actually cheaper than 9mm. When I searched +P+ to get as close to 357 Sig performance as possible, it was more expensive than a standard 357 Sig JHP round.
9mm +P+ is still only 1300 fps in 124 grain. That’s 50 fps slower than the lowest end 125 grain Sig round at 1350 fps and we’re comparing +P+ 9mm ammo here. Yet the bare minimum 357 Sig performance isn’t even achievable and this is usually attempted in a platform that isn’t even recommended for +P+ or even +P at times.
I say it’s best to swap to a 9mm conversion barrel when training and back to 357 Sig right before you’re all done to finish up with 357 to cut that expense down.
In most cases the recoil of any superior round can be overcome with training. I actually have little to no recoil on one of my setups. It’s compensated. You’ll find that comps actually provide greater compensation with 357 Sig compared to 9mm because of the higher pressures. I do understand that some people are recoil sensitive and are more comfortable with 9mm or other lower recoiling rounds. I understand some just prefer the thought of higher capacity. I totally understand your decisions. But let’s not bash any superior round because you prematurely decided on a specific one.
Naturally shot placement, especially with pistol calibers is key… but under pressure understandably, your shot placement could be lacking. With that in mind the welcomed advantages of 357 Sig could easily make the difference between life and death, shot placement aside.
There’s nothing wrong with 9mm it’s awesome, but let’s be clear… it isn’t equal to 357 Sig and the few extra rounds it’s capable of holding in a magazine over 357 Sig definitely doesn’t make it the superior choice. In time I expect 357 Sig to make the comeback that 10mm has made in recent years… For myself these 357 Sig advantages make 9mm less desirable. How about for you?
Love this!! All excellent points! The 357 sig is a superior round and I agree that it will come back. It’s frustrating that to my knowledge only glock sells a brand new gun in this caliber of the major gun manufacturers. I agree, it will change and come back.
Is interesting to say the least, I kinda want to go and get a 357 sig, but I made my mind on that I have to be a responsible married guy, so guns have to wait a couple of years now 😭😭😭😭💥🔥🇺🇸
Well that in and of itself is very admirable! I salute you my friend!!! 👍💪🤘👊🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
357sig came from 10mm and 9mm. not from .40 Smith &Wesson.
If I said that I didn’t mean to. Yes the parent case of 357 sig is 10mm. But I switched out a 40 S&W barrel for this 357 sig barrel. Perhaps I misspoke when I was describing it.