What Are .357 SIG Cartridges Made For?

Developed in 1994 by the Swiss arms maker Sig Sauer and Federal Premium Ammunition, .357 SIG ammunition was designed to provide .357 magnum stopping power in a cartridge suitable for semi-automatic handguns. Prior to the .357 SIG, the .357 magnum was limited to revolvers. The .357 SIG is a .40 cartridge bottlenecked down to accommodate a .355 caliber (9 mm Luger) bullet. Several manufacturers now offer stock semi-automatic handguns chambered for the .357 SIG.

  1. Sig Sauer

    • The Sig Sauer P229 was the first handgun chambered for the .357 SIG. The P229 is a heavy-duty, compact police service pistol with a slide milled from a single piece of stainless steel and other beefed-up components suitable for the more intense recoil of the .357 SIG and .40 S&W. The .357 SIG P229 is the standard handgun of the U.S. Secret Service. Sig Sauer quickly followed up with .357 SIG variants of the P226, P239 and Sigprp SP2340.

    Glock

    • Glock produces a number of handguns chambered for .357 SIG. The Glock 31 and Glock 32 are both large-frame, police-style weapons with trigger mechanisms that are double action only. The Glock 33 is a lightweight subcompact for concealed carry and is the smallest .357 SIG handgun available.

    Beretta

    • Beretta's Italian-made Cougar service pistol is chambered for .357 SIG. Typical of most .357 SIG handguns, the 8357 Cougar is most widely used as a police duty pistol. Not so typical is the handgun's operating action. The 8357 incorporates a rare, recoil-operated revolving barrel that rotates on a cam track to unlock from the slide after each shot.

    Heckler & Koch

    • Another entry in the limited category of .357 SIG compacts is the Heckler & Koch USP Compact 357. This is a scaled-down version of the full-size HK USP. Instead of a mechanical recoil reducer, the Compact 357 employs a unique polymer bushing to absorb the extra slide kick of the .357 SIG, which is more pronounced in a smaller-frame handgun.

    Aftermarket Conversions

    • Aftermarket .357 SIG-compatible barrels are now available for many .40 S&W pistols to convert them to the SIG round. In most cases these are "drop in" barrels that may be installed easily as part of a basic field strip procedure.