Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns First impressions of the Sig P226 in 357 Sig..........

Two days ago I took delivery of my new Sig P226 in 357 Sig, and yesterday I took it to the range for the first time.

I put 240 rounds through it, and it does indeed deliver an honest 1350 + fps. with 124/125 gr. bullets, putting it well in league with the 357 S&W Magnum in terms of power, but with much less noise and recoil and far greater firepower (12 + 1 rounds) plus greater controlability, faster recovery and a faster rate of accurate fire, not to mention faster reloads, etc.

Does it make the original 357 magnum obsolete? Not for the dedicated revolver fan or for guys like me who still carry a J-frame Smith for certain purposes, but in many other ways, yes it does........

I fired Winchester USA-brand 125 gr. FMJ, Winchester USA 125 gr. JHP, Federal Personal Defense 125 gr. JHP, Hornady Custom 124 gr. JHP/XTP, and Speer Gold Dot 125 gr. GDHP ammo through it.

All functioned perfectly, and there was not one single jam or feeding failure at all, from round 1 thru round 240. In fact, this pistol feeds better, more effortlessly, more flawlessly than any other auto pitol I've ever had, including high-end custom 1911s. Part of it's certainly the design of the 357 Sig cartridge, but the other part is the pistol, which is a high-quality, well-designed, well-made piece of equipment any way you care to examine it, including the magazine.

The most accurate low-cost load was the Winchester USA 125 gr. JHP, and the least accurate was the Winchester USA 125 gr. FMJ.

The most accurate and best-performing serious defense load proved to be the Speer Gold Dot 'Personal Protection' 125 gr. GDHP, and with this ammo it was easy to keep a magazine full of shots, off-hand at 25 yds., all in the X-ring of the police target I was shooting at.

I've owned various Sig & Glock pistols in 40 S&W as well, which is the parent case that the 357 Sig is based on, but the 40 S&W isn't as inherently accurate as the 357 Sig is, nor does it feed as well.

I can see why law enforement agencies like the Texas Rangers have gone with the 357 Sig. It's truly a great cartidge, and the Sig P226 is truly a great defensive pistol, and represents one of the best quality handgun buys on the market.

Recommended.............

AD

Nice review. I like about everything about it, except the price of ammo.

Midway has Winchester USA 125 gr. JHP 357 Sig ammo for $29.92/50 round box.

Winchester USA 180 gr. JHP in 40 S&W is $24.99/50 round box

Speer Gold Dot 357 Sig 125 gr. GDHP is $20.99/20 round-box

Speer Gold Dot 40 S&W 165 gr. JHP is $22.99/20-round box


The cost difference is, in general I think, less than it used to be.

My plan is this: I have an identical Sig 226 in 9mm, and I plan to shoot that gun for most of my practice work at the range, especially since some of the local retailers like B-Mart have tremendous sales on Remington UMC ammo at loss-leader prices, and that ammo shoots perfectly and very accurately, to POI, out of my pistol.

Once I have it broken-in with at at least 1,000 rounds thru the P226 357 Sig (cleaning it after every 250 rounds or so), I plan to keep it scrupulously clean and loaded with those 125 gr. Gold Dots as my main carry-gun for the next year, shooting it occasionally for practice. If I'm still happy after than time, I'll know I'm a real fan of the 357 Sig.

This is my plan to keep ammo costs down, yet get in plenty of practice and still enjoy the benefits of the 357 Sig.

My rough game plan, anyway........

AD

A,

Well-reviewed, and exactly what one would expect.

RS

These are very good weapons. I think that if I could once again carry any duty pistol from 9mm to .45 ACP, I would go with a P226 in .357 SIG. As it is, I must a carry privately purchased .40, and chose the P229. After I retire, my .40s may well get .357 SIG barrels. Texas DPS seems to really love their .357 SIG P226 duty pistols.

Top drawer review for a top drawer pistol.

I've always liked the 357 Sig.

Thanks Allen,

I'll update this thread a bit. The weather has been generally too miserable for shooting here of late, but yesterday there was a break, so I took this Sig P226 357 Sig out for its second range session.

At gunshow I had found several boxes of Winchster 'Ranger' 125 gr. JHP law enforcment, so I took this batch of ammo out, plus some of the previously tested Speer Gold Dot and Winchester USA JHP. This time, I also took my Sig sight-pusher to fine-tune the POI.

Not surprisingly, the Winchester 'Ranger' law enforcement load was the most potent ammunition tested, and it shot very well. After some minor sight adjustment, this pistol delivers that load, plus the Gold Dot and Winchester USA loads all to the exact-same POI, and all with really fine accuracy. The Winchester USA load has the accuracy edge, but it's a slight edge, and all loads stayed in the X-ring with careful shooting.

So far, I've now had 500 rounds through this 357 Sig without so much as one single malfunction of any kind, plus really superb accuracy. First-shot DA is exactly where all subsequent shots go, and I've tried various grips (Weaver, etc.) and POI remains the same every time. I've even tried "limp-wrist" shots without one jam or hang-up.

And all out of an $800 gun that shoots and functions as well as the very best custom 1911 that I've ever owned, and it feels just as good in the hand at least for me.

I cleaned it thoroughly last night, loaded two magazines full of Winchester Ranger ammo, and then this 357 Sig went into the holster.......

AD

Good to go.

I want one.


If I may ask, where did you end up going to buy the Sig?

The best price on Sig pistols down here is at Keith's Guns in Gresham. They have a very large series of tables at the big Portland gunshows at the Expo Center, with many NIB handguns to choose from, including Sigs. They charge cost plus 10%, and of course there's no sales tax here in the State of Confusion.

AD

Thanks,

I know Keith personally. He's a good guy.

To bad I live in Washington State!

Allen: I also own one and I'm very happy with it. I'm a die hard 1911 fan, but the P226 is one heck of a pistol. A lot handier than my 1911s and my weapon of choice for CCW during the cold months when I can conceal it better. I've had the same results with the Winchester ammo as well as the Federal "personal Protection" stuff. jorge

Nice to hear, I tried speaking to a head honcho from Sig at Orlando '07 show about a 10mm option but he had no interest in hearing me or what I had to say.....about turned me off to Sig because of his attitude. Amazing some people will not even take time to 'listen' to consumers on product ideas.....

A 10mm would be my choice for a round that would nearly simulate the 41M revolver round on deer, etc. The 357 likely will get it done but it seems the auto likes lighter bullets than revolver round.

Sounds like a great gun.

BMT

Allen and JorgeI, I have been casting about for a "house gun" and/or a CCW for some time now, going back and forth from wheelguns to the pistols; having happily had a Sig 220 45 ACP before, and now your account of your 226 in the 357 Sig, I purchased a pre-owned, Sig-certified 226 in 357 Sig. I'm awaiting it now and am looking forward to it.

Gdv

Hi Allen,

I value your opinion on Rifles, so I'm also highly considering your choice of sidearms.

I have limited experience shooting handguns, coming from Canada. As you know, I'll be moving to the U.S....so:

The Sig226 trigger looks reminiscent of the Beretta 92. I have shot the Beretta and I think that the trigger really sucked compared to the Kimber and Para 1911-type handguns. I've also shot the Glocks and the 1911 type trigger and balance far outweighs any Glock in my limited experience.

I was going to get a 1911-type handgun for defense/target practice/fun, but if the trigger and balance etc. are the same or possibly better on the SIg 226, I may need to try one out.

Is there any creep to the trigger or can it be adjusted?

Another plus that I saw on the 1911-types that I shot were the ambidextrous safety and magazine release additions. I'm LEFT Handed, as you know and I can't find info on whether the Sig 226s have the ability to be shot left-handed (safety lever/mag. release for lefties?), would you know?

Thanks again for some guidance,
Cheers,
CL

P.S. Allen, Jorge or anyone...I was originally set on the 45ACP, +P; Any opinion on stopping power of the 45 vs. the 357 Sig?

Obviously not Allen or Jorge here but I think they are ambidextrous having had a 220 in 45 ACP before and not remembering that they were not.

And welcome to the States; we need more leftys . By the way I bought one of the pre-owned, Sig-certified 226s in 357 Sig. My FFL has already received it and says he cannot tell it from new but the price at about $600 is significantly lower than the almost 1k for the new ones. You might want to look into that if you're interested.

I've not used the 357 Sig but the 125-gr at ~1400 fps is said to roughly equal the 125 in the 357 mag and of course you have a 10 + 1 capacity.

Gdv

By the way I used to hunt and kill striped ground squirrels here with my 220 in 45 ACP in the spring. The trigger wasn't too bad for minute-of-squirrel at 20- 35 yds.

Gdv

CL, I grew up shooting a 1911, and I've not been without at least one good 1911 pistol of my own in 45 ACP since I was 21 years of age.

With that said, I think that a pistol like the Sig is easier to defend in court than a (cocked & locked) 1911 is case you have to use it to defend your life, and I think that the Sig is a much safer pistol to carry day-in and day-out as well. In today's legal climate, such considerations should be your number-one priority, always, in terms of selecting a carry-gun.

Before you invest in one though, Gun Diest books offers an entire volumn written by Massaad Ayoob on Sig Sauer pistols that is an absolute must-own, must-read-cover-to-cover book that'll answer just about all of your questions. It's extremely well-written, thorough, and covers all aspects of these pistols, every model offered, as well as ammunition, manipulation, use and so forth.

I think it's a good idea to devote 100% of your time to a given pistol model in order to really learn it competely, so that every operation becomes second-nature, and the Sig is no exception, and that's where I'm at right now with this P226 357 Sig.

You can also go to Sig's website, and they offer Custom Shop services (which won't violate the warranty, by the way) that includes the installation of Sig's superb "short trigger", action work, special sights and finishes, barrel work, etc. Sig's Custom Shop is fast, thorough, and they do perfect work that's well worth the money spent.

AD

Thanks for the welcome and knowledge sharing.

Great advice Allen. I ordered the book online.

I also found several training academies that offer rental of various semis that I can try out.

Thanks.

P.S. I found this photo on temporal cavities:
The link has added info:http://www.tacticalforums.com/cgi-bin/tacticalubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=print_topic;f=78;t=000964

GN: You will be very happy with your purchase. I bought one like you mentioned for my father in law and the gun appears to be brand new and shoots very well. 1911s forever but the SIG in 357 is about as good as it gets. jorge