Under the Radar: .357 SIG

As some of you may have gathered from my previous articles or from talking to me in-store, I am a little bit of a Sig fanboy. As a result, I thought it was only appropriate to feature the .357 Sig cartridge as the first offering of a new series entitled "Under the Radar" where we talk about underappreciated, non-mainstream guns, cartridges, gear, and more.

In my experience behind the sales counter, many people have heard about the .357 Sig chambering before, but few know much about it. When the .357 Sig cartridge first debuted in 1994, it was the first cartridge to have the Sig nomenclature attached to it thus joining the ranks of .40 Smith & Wesson. However the Sig name isn't the only thing that the cartridge has going for it as it has some unique designs about it too. The most obvious being the bottleneck design. While the bottleneck design isn't uncommon for pistol cartridges, it is unusual to see in one of modern design. Contrary to popular belief, the bottle neck actually helps prevent jams and misfeeds that are more common with straight wall designs. Having the case capacity of .40S&W but shooting a smaller projectile, the .357 Sig generates some impressive velocities. At 1400 feet per second at the muzzle, the .357 Sig cartridge achieves close to .357 Magnum levels.

Recently, I had the opportunity to shoot a Sig 1911 Nightmare Fastback chambered in .357 Sig at our most recent Sig Range Day and was wholeheartedly surprised at how comfortable and controllable it was. Not only was it enjoyable to shoot, it was my favorite thing to shoot out of all the guns that I had the opportunity of firing. While a more expensive cartridge to shoot at the range, it is one that I will certainly be adding to the seemingly endless list of things I would like to own.

Co-author: Jason Ambrose