The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the
SAAMI
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Americ ...
and 357 SIG by the
C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a
bottlenecked rimless
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing ...
centerfire
Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center
A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rim ...
handgun cartridge developed by the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
-
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
firearms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
manufacturer
SIG Sauer
Several brother companies that design and manufacture firearms use the brand name SIG Sauer . The original company, ''Schweizerische Waggon-Fabrik'' (SWF), later ''Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft'' (SIG), went through several selloffs, ...
, in cooperation with
ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
manufacturer
Federal Premium. The cartridge is used by a number of
law enforcement agencies
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEA ...
.
[''The Gun Digest Book of Sig-Sauer: a complete look at Sig-Sauer pistols.'' Massad Ayoob. 2004. pp. 51–53.]
History
The .357 SIG is based on a necked-down 10mm Auto case. Other than specialized competition cartridges like the
9×25mm Dillon
The 9×25mm Dillon is a pistol wildcat cartridge developed for use in USPSA/ IPSC Open guns. The cartridge is made by necking down a 10mm Auto case to 9 mm.
History
Around 1987, Randy Shelley, an employee of Dillon Precision, necked down 10mm ...
(1988), which necked a
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
case down to a 9 mm bullet, the .357 SIG (1994) was the first modern bottleneck commercial handgun cartridge since the early 1960s, when Winchester introduced a .257 caliber round based on the .357 Magnum, the now obsolete
.256 Winchester Magnum
The .256 Winchester Magnum is a firearms cartridge developed by Winchester, and was produced by necking-down a .357 Magnum cartridge to .257 diameter. It was designed for shooting small game and varmints.
History
Introduced in 1960, Winchest ...
(1960). Then Remington introduced the unsuccessful
.22 Remington Jet
The .22 Remington Jet (also known as .22 Jet, .22 Center Fire Magnum, or .22 CFM)Barnes, p.148, ".22 Remington Jet". is a .22 in (5.6mm) American centerfire revolver and rifle cartridge.
Developed jointly by Remington and Smith & Wesson, it w ...
(1961), which necked a
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
case down to a .22 caliber bullet, and the
.221 Remington Fireball
The .221 Remington Fireball, often simply referred to as .221 Fireball, is a centerfire cartridge created by Remington Arms Company in 1963 as a special round for use in their experimental single-shot bolt-action pistol, the XP-100. A shortened v ...
(1963), a shortened version of their
.222 Remington
The .222 Remington or 5.7×43mm (C.I.P), also known as the triple deuce, triple two, and treble two, is a centerfire rifle cartridge. Introduced in 1950, it was the first commercial rimless .22 (5.56 mm) cartridge made in the United Stat ...
.
Due to its expense, as .357 SIG practice ammo is about twice the cost of 9mm and around 50% more than .40 S&W, .357 SIG never achieved widespread adoption like .40 S&W.
Cartridge dimensions
The .357 SIG has 1.27 ml (19.5
grains
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legume ...
H
2O) cartridge case capacity.
.357 SIG maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions.
All sizes in millimeters.
Several sources have published contradicting information regarding .357 SIG headspacing. This is due to the cartridge having been originally designed as a .357 (9.02mm) round, but then rapidly adapted to the .355 (9mm) bullet. According to the official
C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portatives) 2008 revised documents, the .357 SIG headspaces on the case mouth (H2). Some US sources are in conflict with this standard. However, the cartridge and chamber drawing in the
ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...
/
SAAMI
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Americ ...
American National Standards also clearly shows the cartridge headspacing on the case mouth. Likewise, US reloading supplier Lyman has published that the .357 SIG
headspaces on the case mouth.
According to the
C.I.P. rulings the .357 SIG case can handle up to 305 MPa (44,236 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every pistol cartridge combo has to be
proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.
The
SAAMI
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Americ ...
pressure limit for the .357 SIG is set at 275.80 MPa (40,000
psi
Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to:
Alphabetic letters
* Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet
* Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek
Arts and entertainment
* "Psi" as an abbreviatio ...
), piezo pressure.
Conversions
![357SIG ammo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/357SIG_ammo.jpg)
While it is based on a
10 mm case necked down to accept bullets, the .357 SIG cartridge case is slightly longer than
.40 S&W by to total. Most .40 S&W pistols can be converted to .357 SIG by replacing the barrel, but sometimes the recoil spring must also be changed. Pistols with especially strong recoil springs can accept either cartridge with a barrel change. Magazines will freely interchange between the two cartridges in most pistols. .357 SIG barrel kits have allowed this cartridge to gain in popularity among handgun owners.
Performance
The table below shows common performance parameters for several .357 SIG loads. Bullet weights ranging from have been offered. Loads are available with energies from to , and penetration depths from to over are available for various applications and risk assessments. Note: Underwood now also offers a standard pressure 65 gr .357 SIG Xtreme Defender (XD) round with a muzzle velocity of 2100 fps, muzzle energy of 636 ft. lbs. and a penetration depth of 17.5 inches.
''Key:''
Expansion – expanded bullet diameter (ballistic gelatin).
Penetration – penetration depth (ballistic gelatin).
PC – permanent cavity volume (ballistic gelatin, FBI method).
TSC – temporary stretch cavity volume (ballistic gelatin).
Because of its relatively high velocity for a handgun round, the .357 SIG has an unusually flat trajectory, extending the effective range. However, it does not quite reach the performance of the
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
with bullets heavier than . Offsetting this general slight disadvantage in performance is that semi-automatic pistols tend to carry considerably more ammunition than revolvers.
The Virginia State Police has reported that attacking dogs have been stopped dead in their tracks by a single shot, whereas the former 147 grain 9 mm duty rounds would require multiple shots to incapacitate the animals. Proponents of the
hydrostatic shock
Hydrostatic shock is the controversial concept that a penetrating projectile (such as a bullet) can produce a pressure wave that causes "remote neural damage", "subtle damage in neural tissues" and/or "rapid incapacitating effects" in living ta ...
theory contend that the energy available in the .357 SIG is sufficient for imparting hydrostatic shock with well-designed bullets.
[Sturtevant B, Shock Wave Effects in Biomechanics, Sadhana, 23: 579–596, 1998.] Users have commented, "We're really impressed with the stopping power of the .357 SIG round."
The bottleneck shape of the .357 SIG cartridge makes feeding problems almost non-existent.
The "Accurate Powder" reloading manual claims that it is "without a doubt the most ballistically consistent handgun cartridge we have ever worked with."
Characteristics
![9mm 7,62mm 357sig 10mm 45SW 45GAP 50AE 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/9mm_7%2C62mm_357sig_10mm_45SW_45GAP_50AE_002.jpg)
The goal of the .357 SIG project was to offer a level of performance equal to the highly effective
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
load. Measurements of standard factory .357 SIG cartridges loaded with bullets showed approximate muzzle velocities of out of a barrel, which is essentially identical to the .357 Magnum with the same bullet weight and barrel length. These measurements were performed with a
Thompson Center Encore 1842 break-action, single-shot pistol/rifle, preventing differing barrel length definitions between semi-automatic pistols and revolvers giving revolvers a potential muzzle velocity advantage.
With a simplistic approach to physics, recoil being directly proportional to "muzzle velocity × bullet mass" (due to conservation of momentum), the recoil of the .357 SIG is equal to or slightly less than that of the .40 S&W, and less than that of the full-power
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
loads or the original .357 Magnum, This simple approach to recoil is incomplete since the properties of the bullet alone do not determine the felt recoil, but also the rocket-like blast of propellant gases coming out of the barrel after the bullet leaves the muzzle. A more accurate view on recoil is that it is proportional to the mass of all ejecta × velocity of ejecta.
In comparing the energy levels of premium self-defense ammunition, the muzzle energy of of the .357 SIG load is greater than either the generated by a Speer GoldDot
.40 S&W load or the generated by a Speer GoldDot .40 S&W load.
Implementation
![357 SIG - FMJ - SB - 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/357_SIG_-_FMJ_-_SB_-_3.jpg)
In 1994, Sig released the P229 pistol, the first production handgun introduced that was chambered in .357 SIG and specifically designed to handle the higher pressures of that round.
However, in 2013 the Texas DPS decided to replace their .357 SIG handguns with 9mm handguns. The ability to carry more rounds per magazine (9mm vs. .357 SIG) in a lighter gun were among the stated reasons for the change. That transition was suspended after recruits in the A-2014 class, the first to train with the new S&W M&P 9mm polymer handguns, experienced numerous malfunctions with those weapons.
The newer SIG Sauer
P229 in .357 SIG has been adopted for use by agents and officers of the following national and state
law enforcement organization
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
s (LEO):
*
Federal Air Marshals
The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Because of the natu ...
*
Delaware State Police
The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local p ...
*
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers and also known as ''Los Diablos Tejanos'' (), is an State bureau of investigation, investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the US state of Texas. It is ba ...
*
Virginia State Police
The Virginia State Police, officially the Virginia Department of State Police, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, is the state police force for the U.S. state of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehi ...
*
Richmond Police Department
See also
*
List of firearms
This is an extensive list of small arms—including pistols, revolvers, submachine guns, shotguns, battle rifles, assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, personal defense weapons, carbines, designated marksman rifles, flamethrowers, multipl ...
*
List of handgun cartridges
List of handgun cartridges, approximately in order of increasing caliber.
Table of handgun cartridges
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
, -
! Cartridge name , , Bulletdiameter , , Caselength , , Cartridgelength , , Type , ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
*
9 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Case length'' refers to the round case length.
*''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the loaded round.
All measurements are given in millimeters, followed ...
*
.357 SuperMag
*
.357 Remington Maximum
The .357 Maximum, formally known as the .357 Remington Maximum or the .357 Max, is a super magnum handgun cartridge originally developed by Elgin Gates as the wildcat .357 SuperMag. The .357 Maximum was introduced into commercial production as ...
*
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
*
9×25mm Dillon
The 9×25mm Dillon is a pistol wildcat cartridge developed for use in USPSA/ IPSC Open guns. The cartridge is made by necking down a 10mm Auto case to 9 mm.
History
Around 1987, Randy Shelley, an employee of Dillon Precision, necked down 10mm ...
*
.22 TCM
The .22 TCM or 22TCM (.22 Tuason Craig Micromagnum) is a proprietary bottle-necked cartridge created from a 5.56 NATO cartridge developed by custom gunsmith Fred Craig and Rock Island Armory (RIA) for semi-automatic pistols and the Rock Island ...
(a similar concept: necking a 9mm diameter case down to .22 caliber)
*
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
References
External links
Ballistics by the Inch .357 SIG results
{{DEFAULTSORT:357 SIG
Paramilitary cartridges
357
1994 establishments in Switzerland
1994 establishments in the United States
SIG Sauer cartridges
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1994