SIG P226ST in .357SIG

SIG-Sauer is well known for their line of reliable and robust combat pistols. A list of their satisfied customers include the Secret Service, Air Marshals, Navy SEALs, Department of Homeland Security, British SAS, Army CID, and the Texas Rangers.

One of their most popular models is the P226. It was originally offered as a 9mm with an aluminum frame and stamped steel slide. It set amazing standards in both accuracy and reliability. They are not cheap, but they offer target gun precision with combat reliability. Later, the .40S&W and .357SIG were added to the line up.

As the name implies, the .357SIG was designed by SIG in an attempt to duplicate .357 magnum revolver performance in an pistol. The attempt was marginally successful, but more recent loadings have come very close to achieving the initial goal. Even if it isn't a perfect match to the magnum on paper, it is a very hot round that has wracked up an excellent record on the street and an amazing list of successes in the hunting field, a very unconventional place to find a semi-automatic pistol.
The version of the P226 you see here is one of the more unusual, though not terribly rare, is the ST in .357SIG. The “ST” designates a milled stainless steel slide, common to all current P226's, as well as a stainless frame instead of the more common aluminum one. This makes for a heavy pistol to carry, but one that is a joy to shoot. The extra weight takes the punch out of the typically snappy .357 round.

.357SIG ammo is expensive, over twice the cost of 9mm and about double that of .40S&W. Why use it, then? If you don't like the “small, light, hyper velocity” philosophy, then there probably isn't going to be much there to sway you. But, current self-defense ammo provides better hard cover penetration than the 9mm, .40S&W, and .45ACP due to it's velocity and sectional density. At the same time, it doesn't over penetrate in soft tissue, i.e. a person. If you want to use a heavy 147grn. bullet, you can push it along much faster than in a 9mm. And, if you want to go down to 115grns., 1500fps is achievable, typically faster than most manufacturers will push a 110grn. bullet out of a .357 magnum revolver. Most people and government agencies stick with a 125grn. load and find it to be a great all round choice.

Of the 125grn. offerings, the Speer Gold Dot is the most common. It uses a nickeled case to help extraction in abusive environments and the proven Gold Dot bonded bullet. Cor-Bon was the first to break the 1500fps barrier with their 115grn. Load and currently offer a 125grn. Barnes DPX bullet as their premium line. Double Tap Ammunition has a solid reputation with the 10mm crowd because DT loads to the maximum and seems to find an extra 100fps missing from other companies. And, they are some of the most reliable defensive ammo around,with fifty rounds selling for the same price as twenty from the other guy.

The P226 is one of my all time favorite designs. I have average-large hands and this SIG is a perfect fit. A person can gripe about the high bore axis, but that is typical of DA/SA autos. However, the muzzle flip that plagues guns with a high bore axis is virtually absent from all of the SIG line. Part of that is the excellent design of the grip frame, part seems to be magic, but no one complains about the result. Trigger reach is always an issue with DA/SA weapons, and here the SIG is running with the pack. The smooth trigger of the SIG (and the Beretta 92FS for that matter) are usually very smooth and light enough to be worked with precision, and not the “crunch/tick” of other designs. Think of it as more of a “slide/tick.”

You pay a premium for the stainless frame of the ST, but if you want an easy shooting gun for practice or competition, the benefits are worth it. Besides minimizing recoil, which minimizes dwell time between shots, the heavy frame should take a lot more abuse and last longer than the aluminum frames. And, if you want to explore the outer limits of handloading, the ST's are built like bank vaults.

An advantage of all .40S&W & .357SIG SIG's is that the arc of engagement for the extractor allows them to shoot 9mm, .40, and .357 simply by swapping out the barrels. In theory, this should be true for all .40 or .357 pistols with external extractors, but you will have to check out your particular model to see if it's feasible and if conversion barrels are available. For the record, you can't do this with 9mm guns because the breach face is too small.
The steel framed SIG's aren't for everyone, but if you want one, there's no reason to talk yourself out of it. They are just too nice not to like. It probably won't be your next carry gun, but then again, it might. The weight on your belt will also be the same weight that soaks up recoil and reduces that ever important dwell time.