Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 357 Sig vs .45ACP

Ive found myself at a crossroads again. Ivbe owned both a Sig 239 and 245 before and for one reason or another sold them both. I now have botha gain and im debating which one I want to use for my primary carry piece.
Bothe conceal equally well and close enough in size, especially the grip, that it isnt really a factor. What it comes down to is would you rather have 8+1 of 357 Sig or 6+1 of 45ACP?
Ultimately its just a conversation question as both will work fine. Just curious as to your thoughts.

Tough call, FWIW NHK9 put three of my carry loads in 45 ACP with 185 TAC-XP's @1150 fps through a 300+ lb Hog.
I'm sure the 357 Sig would do the same, may just come down to what ya like to shoot the most.

Gunner

.45ACP all the way.

I see the .357SIG performing at its best in a longer barrel, full sized combat pistol role intended primarily for outdoors use. For CCW, a short barrel .357SIG is entirely too loud for me. I'll take the .45ACP whenever indoor/outdoor self defense distance shooting is most likely.

It will depend on your specific carry needs.

Don't know much about Sigs but if I were contemplating Glocks for carry that would make me lean towards the 357 so I could use the smaller framed gun.

IMHO....45 ACP

Logic:

What are your split times with each?

Which do you shoot better controlled pairs with?

Which are you more accurate with?

I would run each through some identical IDPA/IPSC type drills, with a large enough sampling to get a fair assessment.

Then run the one you perform with the best.

I have an idea which I would choose for logistical reasons, but those are my choices.

The only other .45 I have is a Sig 1911 which is just a range gun.

My thoughts were kinda revered. I figured I would rather have a 357 Sig in a shorter barrel. I think the shorter barrel would affect the performance of a 45 more so than the 357 but thats just my opinion. I agree with the sound, its pretty loud.

Both guns are pretty much equal in size. The 245 is a hairl onger but the added sight radius is nice and doesnt really affect conealability.

Damn you and your logic

To be honest I havent been out with the 245 since I got it, just going off what I remember from the first one I owned. I agree that this makes the most sense.

The 357 SIG is a higher intensity cartridge loaded to much higher pressures. Proportionately, it will be affected more than the lower pressure 45ACP.

Right, but my line of thinking is that a 357 Sig round traveling at 60% of its ability due to the shorter barrel is better than a .45 traveling at 60% of its ability? Flawed thinking?

The Texas Dept of Public Safety, which includes the Texas Rangers, has been using the 357 SIG in their pistols for about twenty years. They would have switched to a different caliber if they were not happy with what they carry.

I am unaware of any dept using the 357 SIG which has changed to another caliber.

The .45 ACP is a fine cartridge but the reason for it's existence is that our military is limited to FMJ ammo. If you live in New Jersey where Jacketed Hollow Point ammo is illegal then I would go with a .45 ACP. Other than that it's just your personal preference between the two cartridges.

This quote should be a mantra for all CCW purchases...... truer words are rare on this forum. Accuracy and speed are paramount.... caliber should be of little concern provided it's 9mm+...

All I can add to the above is, if you wish to handload, the .45 ACP is going to be a more forgiving round. The .357 Sig, like any bottleneck pistol case, has some trouble getting the bullet secured in the case mouth, and you cannot have the bullet setting back in feeding, or else pressures can rise dramatically. You need either channelured bullets, a tight neck, taper crimp, or all of the above to avoid bullet setback.

That's a tough call. I consider 6 rounds of ammunition sufficent for daily self defense and concealed carry; everything after that is a convenience for the most part. I assume both guns fit your hand well, and you're ONLY down to caliber choice.

From a practial standpoint, there isn't much difference between the two cartridge where terminal performance is concerned. I consider the .45 ACP to be a slightly "better" choice because it will have less noise, lower flash, and generally be much more plesant to shoot without ear protection in a defensive situation.

But where 6 rounds is adequate, 8 is much more reassuring. The .357 is a much better choice with the long range shot in mind, but that's not a very likely scenario anyhow.

Tough call. If it were up to me, I'd lean to the .45 ACP mostly because it doesn't have the flash and muzzle blas, plus it can be found anywhere you can find ammunition and you can't say that for the .357 Sig

45 ACP is a few dB lower volume, I would get a 9mm over the SIG, ammo cost, availability always bites these "good ideas" in the butt. Don't over think it, get the one you shoot best. I would not get a gun I could not readily find cartridges for in most common stores that sell such things.

I'd go with the gun that I shot the best. I tend to go for the .45 ACP because I like the heavy 230 gr. stuff's performance against windshield glass and car doors.
On the other hand, I've seen the .357 SIG feed empty cases from the magazine. And the loading data for it indicates it's identical to the .38 Super. In my book, those are strong points in it's favor. E

One could launch into extended debate about various esoterica only marginally relevant to your stated conditions here, but given good hits one will do what the other will.

So going solely off of your criteria for a primary carry piece (which if you don't mind I highlighted what I consider the operative questions) - I'd go with the .357 Sig hands down. As you state, everything else is equal but two more rounds is two more rounds.



Now if you throw in all of that marginally relevant esoterica then the .45 pulls ahead...

+, and I'm willing to bet the 45 comes out on top....