Re: pistol in 357sig - recommendations?
I have carried a Sig P229 for over 4 years now. I'm not a pistol guy by any means...but since it's all I have most of the time I have no choice. That being said I would take that P229 anywhere. It hammers. It's probably been shot thousands of times and rebuilt but it still drills.
I bought my own P229 so I could take it to matches...figured practice for comps would be practice for work and vice versa. The one I bought was in .40 cal and at first I shot it as is...but damn...that 180gr load was snappy...much more so than my duty load of 125gr Speer GD. So I bought a factory 357 barrel for it. Yes it seems to be louder and brighter...but who cares...that 125gr pill is moving out at 1330 fps. The recoil in 357 Sig is "faster" it seems and my follow up shots were much quicker than with the .40cal.
So then my buddy wanted to get me into 3Gun...so he said get a Glock 35. They are cheap enough and can be easily configured for that game with mags and holsters. So I did. In .40 cal I struggled...so again I bought a 357 barrel for the Glock...oh that was much better...20 rounds of 357Sig ammo is a nice thing.
I still shoot my P229 better than anything else and I'm going to just sell that Glock 35 with the 357 barrel.
357Sig is what the 9mm should be...faster. Bullet design...especially the 125gr Speer Gold Dot is excellent. Do as everyone has said and get the 40 cal and a replacement 357 sig barrel...best of both worlds but once you shoot the 357 you might not want to shoot the 40...I sure don't.
As for carry...well I carry the P229 everywhere...literally. Day/Night, summer/winter. Never had any problems staying concealed. If you want smaller then you can opt for the P239 which is a great pistol as well...thinner and half the ammo as the P229.
I grew up on the 1911...and I would take 357 Sig over .45 all day...even if the mag capacity was the same...however, my other pistols are in .45...hahahaha.
Respectfully,
--KJ
L-R, Duty P229 in 357, P220 Elite Dark 45, bottom, my P229 for matches...in 357 of course.
Glock 35 with Lone Wolf 357 barrel...and lots of mags...lol