A search on ammoseek.com
980 hits for available .40 starting @ $0.25 a round.
120 hits for 357 sig starting at $0.43 a round.
Mirroring what others have said, I’d go with the 40. More availability and less costly to shoot.
I owned a .357Sig but traded it for a gun that then was lost in one of those 10,000 lakes in Minnie-Soda while a friend and I were canoeing under the influence of Patron tequila. That said, I liked the way the weapon handled and shot. Just didn’t like the idea of buying what was to me another exotic caliber of ammo. So I standardized.
If you decide to buy the .357Sig I do believe I still have some ammo that’s useless to me that I could be convinced to part with.
Pray that santa has better judgement, and brings you almost any other gun than a Sig 226.
They are useless crap, and I am not against Sig in general, just the ill conceived 226.
10 mm gives an excellent choice of ammunition options. With merely a spring change one can shoot light target loads all the way to 700+ft/# handloads.
Velocity of 135 grain Urban Feral defense loads is high enough to raise the eyebrows of even experienced handloaders.
210 grain ammo for four legged game is equivalent to .357 magnum bear loads.
If you want to use some of the future surplus supply of .40 cal. Short & Weak - just get a second barrel and springs.
Install a good Red Dot such as the Burris Fastfire II or FastFire III and you have a handgun able to serve well as a defense weapon out to 100 yards, should you find yourself in a situation where you forgot your rifle.
;-)
Taking into account the availability and price of ammo (and the Betamax analogy of the .357 Sig round), I think I'll go with the .40 S&W and possibly buy the .357 Sig barrel.
My main choice of handguns will continue to be .45ACP.
recoil is not much different.
The .357 Sig ammo is more expensive and harder to find.
Decisions, decisions.
Neither is a great cartridge.
First the 40 S&W. Powerful round, but a structurally weak case. There are portions of the case that are much weaker than most other handgun cartridge cases out there (i.e. less brass in key areas). Combine that with some semi-automatic firearms which don't have a lot of case support where the magazine feeds the barrel and you have brass cases that fire-form and expand a lot. A hot round or a case that has been reloaded a lot (cold working of the thinned case metal) is a disaster waiting to happen. If all you shoot is factory loaded ammo, probably not bad (depending on the firearm's design), just expensive.
Second the Sig 357. OK, so what is to love about a bottle nosed hot 9mm round designed to be short and thick? If I want a really hot 9mm in semi-automatic, then the .38Super has been around for decades and is (in my opinion) so much better.
You said you were a .45 ACP fan. If so, get the .38 Super. You or whoever ultimately ownes it and reloads for it will be much happier.
I shoot and reload 357SIG extensively. The good news is you dont have to choose between 357 and 40. In all HGs Im familiar with the conversion between the two is as simple as dropping in the appropriate bbl. Springs, mags and extractors are ‘ambidextrous’. Its a big win/win in my view.
If you reload youre in a better place to shoot 357. In my area 357 is almost impossible to buy loaded and when available its $$$$$$$$. That said, ignore ALL of the ‘its hard to reload’ schtick. Its not more difficult than any other round. You do need to pay closer attention but you should be doing that anyway. First, case prep is going to be identical to any other bottleneck case. Youll need to lube and prep the mouth. Second, neck tension is your friend. Thats whats going to hold the projectile in place primarily (NOT the crimp). On my Dillion press I found that I didnt want ANY neck flare. That station simply drops powder and nothing more. This assures neck tension will be at max. If it isnt retire the brass or anneal it. Also when resizing I set that die up to headspace on the shoulder NOT the mouth. I found this gave far superior results (precision) that using the mouth as the datum point. Lastly not all 9mm projectiles are appropriate. I found generally truncated cone shapes are best. Oh, powder....I started out using Hodgdon Benchmark. It worked pretty well but muzzle flash was prodigious!! Due to the powder shortages I tried Alliant Power Pistol and found it FAR superior as to precise and much less flashy.
As to performance look at LE data. Many agencies are converting to 357 for its superior ability to defeat barriers. It can be a HOT round...if you want it to be. There are several well done gel tests on youtube that would be interesting to view.
HTH
I have shot thousands of rounds of both. 40 is my choice.
Ammo is easier to obtain
Brass last longer for reloading
Less recoil and more range of reloading
Will find more 40 on the battle field
40 not as destructive on the frame of the weapon
My 2 cents....Good luck with your choice
The 40 is more than capable and much more common. Ammo availability would be my concern in this day, and for that issue, I’d choose the 40.
I’m a Glock guy and most of my experience is with their product line. I have the .357Sig model with a .40S&W barrel and can definitely recommend having the option for shooting either caliber. When we had the massive ammo/gun shortage I was able to find .357Sig long after .40S&W was gone from the shelves. Buy a .357Sig and then convert, you can usually get the more obscure gun for less than the popular one as a lot of sellers don’t realize they are convertible and just want to get them out of their inventory.
I prefer the .50BMG. But I’ve not yet been able to find a comfortable IWB holster for my M2HB...
A humorous comparison between 9mm .45 ACP and.40
The Pistol caliber wars are over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2_kHtCKEwQ
(I carry all three calibers depending on weapon and weather)
I know I can buy an extra P226 barrel for about $200 and enjoy both .357 Sig and 40 S&W calibers.
Good idea.
5.56mm
Texas DPS uses the 357 Sig albeit they are going to 9mm soon according to rumor due the “cost” of the 357 Sig ammo. 125gr GDHP from Speer is the load they use...could be wrong.
I use 357 Sig as my carry caliber in many different launchers...Sig 226, 229 and a 239 and my Glock 31 and a Glock 35 I converted to 357 Sig with an aftermarket KKM barrel.
357 Sig is a great caliber with punch , power and packing for a high capacity magazine shy of my small Sig 239 pistol which is single stack.
Go with the 357 Sig caliber is my suggestion.
Wish you well in your journey to select the best for your needs....stay safe !!!
(BTW, you do have a .38 special and a .22, right?)
:)
The Forty tends to engender chronic "flinch," and when running high numbers of rounds in one trip to the range, you will experience muscle fatigue (leading to shakes and flinch) much quicker. Also this is the most common round, (also .357 Sig) for the Feds to purchase. That huge one BILLION plus round acquisition comes to mind. That's liable to make it less available, especially in the rural areas.
Finally, there is one aspect that can't be ignored for tactical SHTF scenarios: Those suckers, both of 'em are L-O-U-D! So much so that On a range line of 9's and 45's I can point out the 357 Sig almost every time. The 40, too. Having to shoot those in close confines already makes me a little deaf. I say, stick with either the 45acp or the 9mm and be able to get ammo anywhere in the world. Both of those kick less and offer less report and are easier to suppress than either of the new kids on the block.