After many years a rifleman, I have felt the need for a defensive handgun.
I have been looking at the S&W M&P full size model. I like the way it feels in the hand and how naturally it points.
I'm just trying to decide on the ctg. .40S&W of .357Sig. I'm also a handloader, so weirdness of ctg. isn´t a problem.
Any opinion? Thanks

40 is a great round for defense..... the M&P are fantastic guns......
The 357 sig is a sligthly better round IMHO, so if you handload I would go that way. I have a 45 compact M&P and have shot the 357 full size M&P. Both very accurante

i like the 40, but like the sig better. one of the things about the bottleneck sig round is that it just doesn't give any feeding problems

The 357 SIG is a semi auto pistol round meant to duplicate the 125gr 357 magnum revolver cartridge. I find that it does so very well in my Glock 33. It is one of the highest pressure pistol cartridges and actually surpasses the speed of a similar length revolver...probably because of no barrel/cylinder gap to bleed off pressure.

Although its designation is 357, it actually uses 9mm size, .355" bullets. BUT, because of its short neck, not every 9mm bullet is suitable. Especially those with a long ogive.

I don't own, nor have I ever shot the 40auto. I believe it is meant as a one-size-fits-all cop cartridge. Not a powerhouse like the SIG. But, and no one can poo-poo this fact--it shoots a bigger diameter bullet. And that's all that matters to some folks.

I believe the new generation bullets make up for the .046" size difference. And c'mon, who doesn't think a bottleneck pistol round isn't kinda cool?

The 40 or 357sig are both great defensive rounds. The 357 sig is a lot harder on pistols then the 40 is.

I seen and heard more cracked frames of 357 sig pistols then any thing else. My Nephew who was a air marshall said during training they were cracking the frames on their sig 357sigs at about 9000 rounds. Seen pictures of several glocks with crack frames also.

If I had one I would carry it a lot and not shoot it much. No enough differants in parctice with a 40 or hot 9mm too matter.

I have seen a couple of Glock 40's break the metal piece in the frame that takes the recoil forces.

There are problems with the Glock 40s and because of this some police departments have dumped them and gone back to the 9mm.
Originally some makers thought they could use a 9mm frame without much change - they immediately learned that the more potent 40 required other changes !!

Good engineering was used for my HK P7 M10 and mine has been going without malfunction of any kind since they first came out ! I find the 40 cartridge to be excellent and I doubt that anyone could find significant difference between it and the 45acp !

I have a Sig 226 with both barrels and it takes me about 40 seconds to switch the barrel out.

I'm liking the 40 side of it now much more. With handloading you can customize the performance that you are looking for each application. I'm loading the 155 and the 180 pills in mine and love the performance of the 155 loaded with Power Pistol but have recently looked at Longshot also as a possible powder.

I'm getting close to 10MM performance with my 180 grain set up and load that power.

A couple of years ago I shot a small mule deer buck at around 45 yards with the 155 grain while out hunting chuckars when their seasons overlapped. It took another shot to finish him off but I did bag him.

I haven't gone back to the 357 Sig round since.

Well I have shot the 357 SIg, the 40 S&W, and I was "forced" to carry the 9mm...
[I chose the 9mm Glock, and I can say the Glock performed/worked great for many, many thousand rounds...]

However color me "Old School" I still prefer the 1911 in 45 ACP. I have been using one since @1967, [I was in the 9th grade...].

I have not found ANY semiauto to be superior...

I have shot some other semiautos I liked... But NONE as well as the 45 ACP in a 1911...

I'd take the .357 Sig in a heartbeat.
Carry one for off duty us.
Texas DPS went w/the .357 Sig

quote:

Originally posted by hikerbum:
40 is a great round for defense..... the M&P are fantastic guns......
The 357 sig is a sligthly better round IMHO, so if you handload I would go that way. I have a 45 compact M&P and have shot the 357 full size M&P. Both very accurante

I was going to say go with the .40 S&W if you plan to reload due to carbide dies and no bottleneck on the case.

I've got 3 full-sized M&P's in both 9mm (2) and .45 ACP (1) and love 'em.

BTW, Apex Tactical makes aftermarket parts for the M&P.

quote:

Originally posted by Ske1eter:


I was going to say go with the .40 S&W if you plan to reload due to carbide dies and no bottleneck on the case.

My Dillon's 357SIG resizing die has 2 carbide rings...one for the body and one for the neck. There, I said it.

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:

quote:

Originally posted by Ske1eter:


I was going to say go with the .40 S&W if you plan to reload due to carbide dies and no bottleneck on the case.

My Dillon's 357SIG resizing die has 2 carbide rings...one for the body and one for the neck. There, I said it.

If that's the case, then sweet, take your pick.

.357 SIG carbide dies from Dillon @ $129.95 / set.

I like this pistol in 40 S&W. Check one out when you have an opportunity. It's the CZ 75 Compact.

I have a S&W Shorty Forty (PC) gun. It is small and very accurate. I used to be able to buy White Box 40S&W relatively cheaply and it was good practice ammo. One can also buy reloaded 40S&W quite readily. I don't know about the comparable costs of 357 Sig ammo. I do reload for my 40's, but sometimes it is easier to just grab a box of ammo and hit the range.
Peter.

In a full size gun, I would probably go 40. Easier to reload for & recoil is not an issue. In smaller/lighter guns, I would go 357sig. Big bark, but not much bite to the shooter.

quote:

The 40 or 357sig are both great defensive rounds. The 357 sig is a lot harder on pistols then the 40 is.

I seen and heard more cracked frames of 357 sig pistols then any thing else. My Nephew who was a air marshall said during training they were cracking the frames on their sig 357sigs at about 9000 rounds. Seen pictures of several glocks with crack frames also.

I just don't see how. They both work @ the same high pressure & the 40 will produce more slide force in recol, expecially w/ faster 155gr & 165gr loads that are in favor by some LEA.