Opinion on .357 Sig ammo?????

Coffee Dog · 02-18-2012, 11:18

>357 Sig ammo is being shot out of a Sig 229(3.9 inch
barrel).
I am trying to get the most velocity I can out of this caliber!
My choices seem to have come down to two choices-

(1) Corbon 125 gr. HP -1425 ft. per sec.
(2) Buffalo Bore 125gr.HP-1430 ft. per sec.

I do not trust Double Tap Ammo!

This ammo is for home defense(besides my shot-gun)!

What ammo do you like in .357 Sig?

cowboy1964 · 02-18-2012, 12:05

I like Gold Dot but that "only" achieves about 1350 fps. Gold Dot works as well as anything out there and probably better than most. That is the round that is earning the 357 Sig a stellar street rep amongst cops.

Corbon and BB will cost about $1 more per round than Gold Dots. Considering I want to run several hundred of them through my gun to assure functioning, that's a lot of money!

pisc1024 · 02-18-2012, 12:46

I would not get too wrapped around the axle with velocity, look for a good round that is designed for the velocity it is being pushed to. A good choice would be Speer GD.

G26S239 · 02-18-2012, 12:50

I agree, if I was going to bother with 357 in my 229 I would just use the Gold Dots. As it is I use the 40 barrel instead.

barth · 02-18-2012, 13:01

I agree with most other posters.
Any quality SD 357 Sig round is going to have some pretty outstanding ballistics.
Most LE rounds are standardized at about 125 gr @ 1350 fps / 500 E from a 4" barrel.
I'm having a hard time trying to understand why that's not enough?

If your looking for a SD round to double as hunting round?
Upgrade to 10mm.

dkf · 02-18-2012, 13:50

Between the two I would use the Corbon because the bullet used is fairly consistant and there is some ballistic info out there of it. You don't what what bullet you get year to year with the BB and they usually use the 9mm Gold Dot bullet instead of the one designed for the .357sig.

Right now I have been using the 1375fps Gold Dot load and the Federal HST in .357sig.

Coffee Dog · 02-18-2012, 17:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by pisc1024

I would not get too wrapped around the axle with velocity, look for a good round that is designed for the velocity it is being pushed to. A good choice would be Speer GD.

Thanks for your insight on velocity!

Coffee Dog · 02-18-2012, 17:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by barth

I agree with most other posters.
Any quality SD 357 Sig round is going to have some pretty outstanding ballistics.
Most LE rounds are standardized at about 125 gr @ 1350 fps / 500 E from a 4" barrel.
I'm having a hard time trying to understand why that's not enough?

If your looking for a SD round to double as hunting round?
Upgrade to 10mm.

I was told by someone in the know this evening -that 1350ft. per sec. is more then enough to do its job! Thank-you for your opinion!

breacher1 · 02-18-2012, 18:34

picked up a few boxes of Rem Golden Saber bonded 125 gr 357 Sig at a gunshow for a fair price ($25 box/50). does anybody have any experience with these? are they as good as the Gold Dots? TIA

dkf · 02-18-2012, 20:19

I havn't tried any of the Golden Sabre .357sig loads myself but from what I hear they work very well. There are a couple online ammo companies that are currently selling it. Remington rates them at 1350fps. I'd shoot some into some denim covered wetpack jugs and see how they expand.

Rev.357 · 02-18-2012, 21:40

I shoot 90% reloads but, I carry factory Gold Dot in both of my .357sig & my 9mm. With factory GD you get a little over 500ft-lbs that will nock plenty of critters both 2 & 4 legged in the dirt

fredj338 · 02-18-2012, 22:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by pisc1024

I would not get too wrapped around the axle with velocity, look for a good round that is designed for the velocity it is being pushed to. A good choice would be Speer GD.

^^THIS^^ From a 4" bbl, you are getting 1350fps+ w/ most 125gr JHP loads. Consider adding more blast & flash, indoors, to gain another 50fps or so, nope. PDX, Ranger, HST, SGDHP or RGS, all will do fine.

breacher1 · 02-19-2012, 08:50

speaking of noise, I tried a few full powered 357 trng rds (cci lawman) at an indoor shoot house with my 32c wearing cheapo foam earplugs just to see how bad the noise might be. I now have an aftermarket non-comped barrel in the 32. I don't really notice much diff in muzzle flip between the 2 barrels but the noise concussion is less annoying with the non-c barrel.

But then my hearing is not exactly great after 21 yrs USAF helicopter crew member and 6 yrs of flashbangs going off at my feet with the local SWAT team

unit1069 · 02-19-2012, 08:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by breacher1

picked up a few boxes of Rem Golden Saber bonded 125 gr 357 Sig at a gunshow for a fair price ($25 box/50). does anybody have any experience with these? are they as good as the Gold Dots? TIA

I'd like to try some Golden Saber Bonded in .357sig. tnoutdoors has a good backyard test video that indicates this is a good round. Don't know if "better" than Gold Dot but apparently an effective round for this caliber.

Beretta92guy · 02-19-2012, 10:20

I agree with OP on one thing...."I do not trust double tap ammo"....

that is some of the most over-rated and over-priced stuff around AND their advertised velocities are well below what is on the box.......

i tested some of their 9mm and 40 cal loads and was very disappointed in them...

1canvas · 02-19-2012, 12:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredj338

^^THIS^^ From a 4" bbl, you are getting 1350fps+ w/ most 125gr JHP loads. Consider adding more blast & flash, indoors, to gain another 50fps or so, nope. PDX, Ranger, HST, SGDHP or RGS, all will do fine.

**FiremanJim** · 02-20-2012, 07:24

personally run Gold dots in most my weapons including my .357sig

1stMAW · 02-20-2012, 07:43

Buffalo bore is top quality ammo and their advertised velocities are correct....1430 out of a Sig 229 +or- 20fps....they work well on hogs....

abq87120 · 02-20-2012, 07:45

I shot and then found an HST .45 +P bullet after it completely demolished three of those square one-gallon milk jugs filled with water. They were lined up behind each other. The spent bullet had a beautiful petal shape with many fingers. It expanded large enough to touch the circumference ring of a .25 cent piece. It looked as if it had not shed very much weight and still had its full jacketing. Shooting a hot load into water is much tougher on the jacket than hitting semi-solids. I load HSTs now exclusively in all of my carrys.

I am sure that any quality brand JHP bullet will get the job done. I have picked up GDs shot at the range and noticed a very even expansion and the little dot in the center. A very nice bullet and I do own a bunch of them in many calibers. If I run out of HSTs, the GD will be next in line.

Just a personal preference.

NG VI · 02-20-2012, 14:19

Quote:

It looked as if it had not shed very much weight and still had its full jacketing. Shooting a hot load into water is much tougher on the jacket than hitting semi-solids. I load HSTs now exclusively in all of my carrys.

I'm with you on that, the HSTs are one of the best non-bonded bullets for weight retention available. It's very rare for them to shed their jackets, they even do about as well as the Gold Dot through auto glass, which is the single toughest barrier for any bullet, and is especially hard on non-bonded bullets.

I've never seen one lose it's jacket on a non-glass test, and I think they usually keep most of their jacket even through glass. It's an impressively well designed bullet, not just for it's consistency but also because it is clearly designed to be pretty easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

Otherwise, I'm with Pisc1024, velocity isn't something you should worry about. Why try to wring every last foot per second out of a caliber that already gives you great velocity and decent sectional density? Save some money and buy a better designed, less expensive bullet from a company that creates bullet designs, don't pay a huge mark-up for a lower volume manufacturer who at best will be loading one of the big four's bullets and charging significantly more for it.

cowboy1964 · 02-20-2012, 14:53

Golden Saber Bonded seems to be good stuff, in any caliber. Hard to find though.

dkf · 02-20-2012, 16:42

The HST bullet has a nice deep cannelure towards the base of the bullet to help prevent jacket separation and slippage. If that wasn't there I think it would shed the jacket.

unit1069 · 02-20-2012, 20:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboy1964

Golden Saber Bonded seems to be good stuff, in any caliber. Hard to find though.

I agree, and I wonder why it is so hard to find the GS Bonded in 9mm when the standard and +P non-bonded is so readily available. From what I can tell the .357sig GS is always the Bonded variety, but that's always difficult to find also.

cowboy1964 · 02-20-2012, 21:51

sgammo has some Golden Saber Bonded in various calibers. Hadn't noticed that before, but I wasn't really looking for it I guess.

PghJim · 02-21-2012, 06:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by 229 Eagle

I was told by someone in the know this evening -that 1350ft. per sec. is more then enough to do its job! Thank-you for your opinion!

Who is in the know:

I get 1,500fps from 125gr DT out of a 4.5" barrel and that is what I carry.

Next I would go with Corbon (of the ones you have listed), but they have a hard time going over 1,400 in most 3.9" barrels.

I get 1,500 fps from BB out of a 4.5" barrel, but do not like the bullet he has been using.

Contrary to some remarks the DT is a nice round to shoot. Not much flash.

If you want to move to pedestrian loads, I use 125gr HST's.