SW40VE or SIG 226 357. for concealed carry?

Question

I purchased my first gun a couple months ago. It's an SW40 sigma VE. Soon after that I started taking it to the range and noticed that it's taking me a while to get the accuracy I want out of it. I'm thinking about concealed carry now and I'm curious should I stick with the 40 I have or get a higher cal. like the sig .357. with the 40 I like how concealable it is. It fits right into my pocket without a problem and its snug in my hand. I'm worried about the accuracy though. I got 14 rds which might make up for it. does the 40SW have good stopping power? Im interested in the sig 226 in 357 or a USP 357. Im feeling that i might need to up the cal. and get more stopping power if i get a CCW. I want somthing that can be more accurate and has the ability to penetrate thru a vehicle if need be. what are your thoughts. somthing is telling me to stick with the 40 i dont know. I tried to rent the 226 but they dont have it at my range. I tried the USP though and the accuracy was on point.

Answer 1

It was once said that you can not miss fast enough to stop someone from killing you.  Also, every miss is a potential unintended victim which you WILL be held personally responsible for.  High capacity should not be tops on your list for CCW.  If you need that many rounds, maybe you should not have stuck around long enough to shoot them in the first place.  Shooting through a car is also not a top CCW concern.  

The .357 Sig is a smaller diameter lighter faster round than the .40.  Good .40 S&W loads are not only heavier but they are nearly as fast as the fast .357 Sig loads.  I see no reason to go with a .357 Sig over a .40 S&W.    

I would choose a Sig 229 in .40 than a Sig 226 in .357.   I have personally owned Several Sig 225, 226 and 229 pistols.  The 229 was my favorite.  

Answer 2

Sorry about your experience with the Sigma. The .40 caliber SW40ve was my first firearm too and I had jamming issues with it. I traded it for a Beretta Px4 storm in 9mm.

.40 caliber will do just fine for conceal carry. It is more readily available compared to the 357 sig caliber. I would definitely not use the Smith though. I would get the 226.

As for the .40 I personally do not like the snap recoil it has. I prefer the .45 acp and 9mm rounds better. They are much more smooth shooting.

USPs from what I hear are great but I have no experience with them. My favorite handgun is the Springfield Armory XD. I think they have a better feel and fit in my hand. They are very reliable and accurate.

Hope that helps

Answer 3

The Sigma 9VE is a much better gun than the 40VE (the .40 model has been known to break extractors).  It's far more controllable and very accurate for a newbie.  I wish that I had not sold mine back in '04.  Stay away from a .357auto.  The shells are expensive and the round is not really going anywhere.  The only downside to a Sigma 9VE model is the rather cheap nylon guiderod material.  These tend to not hold up as well as the Glock guiderod.  If the gun is so bad then how come it has been made continuously since around '98 (roughly the year that the VE and discont. E models showed up on the shelves).

For basic self-defense the 9VE is all you need.

Answer 4

I would stick with the the .40, the .357 is great for for penetrating car doors ect. but unless your a police officer you will likely never have a need for that kind of penatration as the .40 is very capable if your using a good high veliocty defense round and carring it will just be a liablility as it will most likely just pass through an attacker and not dump all its energy into them (i.e. stop them) and could possibly creat collateral damage. not to mention that if your shooting into a car then your not likely in a defensive position and will be going to jail.

The p226 is great, extreamly reliable and accurate,  it is however a full sized handgun and not ideal for concealed carry, I have a p226 SAS (a sig custom shop version specifily for concealed carry)  and I have to say for me personaly that the width and length of the grip makes concealment difficult unless wearing a jacket.  I carry a H&K p2000sk and its perfect, even though its a sub-compact its just as accurate as my p226, even though the H&Ks LEM trigger is very much like Sigs DAK the H&Ks recoil reduction makes for faster and tighter double taps.  for concealed carry I would be looking at the USP compact, p2000 or p2000sk, or the new p30 with the LEM or old DAO trigger.  from Sig Sauer I'd be looking at the p228/229 or for deep concealment the p239 with DAK trigger.  unlike your smith these are real DAOs with double strike capability, even though the pulls are much longer your better off with a dao as they are much easier and more accurate under stress as there is no change in trigger pull from the first shot to the last.

Answer 5

NOTE ONE, the Sig 226 in 357 is using 357 SIG, which is NOT THE SAME as 357 magnum.  357 sig is a 40SW round re-necked to take a 9mm bullet.  In fact, for many guns you can simply swap barrels and shoot 357 sig out of a gun that minutes before was shooting 40SW.  The 357 sig and 40SW rounds are roughly equivalent in effectivness.  Both are quite good, but not up to the 45acp +P loads or true full power 357 magnum loads.

NOTE TWO, shot placement is much more important than caliber being used.

NOTE THREE, CCW encounters where shots are fired normally occur at spitting distances, so remembering your fundimentals such as FRONT SIGHT ON TARGET, SQUEEZE TRIGGER! is going to be much more important, so spending money on ammo or training is preferable to a new gun.

That being said, the Sigma series have great ergonomics, but are very crappy shooters, this is why Smith and Wesson dropped the gun (that and they were sued by Glock, but then, if the gun was great they would have offered glock $10 for each gun sold, and that would have been that)

This is why the sigma you bought was so cheap, which is what attracted you to it in the first place.

You get what you pay for.