question about .357sig

1484 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Xd357, Jun 7, 2010

bigsig

Discussion Starter · Jun 5, 2010

Does this round make major power factor? May be getting one in the future, and was.curious. I know this round us not the cheapest to shoot, let alone shooting in comp.
Do any of my fellow USPSA Members reload this round? If I'm not mistaken it does head space off of the shoulder doesn't it? May be able to get a deal on a G31 & G32 and was curious about a few aspects of this round. Maybe XD357 will chime in and give a few bits of knowledge.

Save

1 - 3 of 11 Posts

DBChaffin

· #3 · Jun 5, 2010

Don't blame the messenger on this one because I don't necessarily agree with it, but it would only make major in Open or Revolver divisions which do not have a minimum bullet caliber for major.

Limited, Limited 10, and Singlestack divisions do have a minimum bullet caliber for major and it is .400.

Production guns are all scored minor.

It's in Appendix D here:
http://uspsa.org/rules/2008HandgunRulesindexed.pdf

I don't know of any revolvers chambered in it, and in Open it would be down on capacity to a smaller size round like a 9mm or .38 Super. I do believe it headspaces off of the shoulder for what it is worth.

Save

DBChaffin

· #5 · Jun 5, 2010

I'll one up your nitpickiness, Mr. Nitpicky. You are correct that both Open and Revolver have minimum bullet caliber/cartridge case lengths, but like all of the divisions, they are ".38 cal. / 9 X 19mm (.354" X .748")." .355 isn't in the rulebook anywhere.

Also, in my prior post, I said they are the only "divisions which do not have a minimum bullet caliber for major". That, like the quote above, is straight out of Appendix D from the link I included.

Having to trim the brass would suck. I have actually loaded some .40 rounds in .357 Sig brass. I don't recommend it of course, but they worked fine.

Save

DBChaffin

· #7 · Jun 5, 2010

Xd357 said:
Hey Bryant is there a cap on how hot your ammo can be? I do know that the 357sig will be real hard on the steel.

No, there is no official upper limit in USPSA. Some clubs may put a limit to protect their steel, but I haven't seen it done at a USPSA match although the Renegade Steel program has a limit. (I haven't seen anyone show up to shoot revolver with a .500 S&W at a USPSA match either, LOL, but I imagine that might not be allowed by most clubs). The 357Sig won't be any harder on the steel than most Open guns I believe, although they are typically the toughest on the steel of anything at the match.

Most Open shooters load to a comfortable level over the major power floor, which is 165 power factor. At a minimum, a 115 gr bullet needs 1434 fps and a 125 gr. needs 1320 fps to make major (bullet weight X velocity / 1000). Most shooters load to 1475+ and 1360+, respectively, for some cushion at the chrono and we had some at the Classic go over 1500 fps with 115's and around 1400 with 124's and 125's. I didn't look at any ballistics, but I think these numbers are right in the ballpark of the 357Sig if not exceeding it.

For what its worth, we had someone shooting over 200 power factor at the classic. It was a .45 with factory ammo though (230 grain at 880 or so fps).

See less See more

Save

1 - 3 of 11 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month