The Best .357 Sig Pistols [Hands-On Tested]

Today I’m going to show you the best .357 Sig Pistol.

In fact:

I’ve hand-tested over 10 handguns alone for this review.

The best part?

I’ve sorted each pistol by use. So whether you’re on a budget or need the best 357 SIG sauer, you’ll find it here.

Let’s dive in!

The 3 Best .357 Sig Pistols

If you’re pressed on time, here’s a quick list of the best .357 pistols:

1. SIG Sauer P226 Legion: Best Overall .357 SIG Pistol
2. Glock 31: Best Budget .357 SIG Pistol
3. Sig Sauer P320: Best .357 Sig Carry Pistol

1. SIG Sauer P226 Legion: Best Overall .357 SIG Pistol

Sig Sauer has long been known for their high-end workmanship and quality firearms. And their line of P-series pistols is no exception to this rule.

The Sig P226 Legion is a beautifully crafted semi-automatic handgun that promises extraordinary accuracy, long-lasting durability, and membership into an exclusive club of quality marksmen.

But is it worth the extra money?

Let’s find out…

Accuracy

One of the most accurate handguns on the market, the Legion sports Sig Sauer’s specialty Electro-Optics X-RAY sights for high visibility day and night.

When asked what features they would hand-pick for their ideal pistol, experienced servicemen and women almost universally wished for a sighting system that was easy to use both during daylight hours and in darkness.

Sig’s answer to this request?

The easily spotted bright green of the front sights in contrast with the sleek blackout sight at the rear.

Averaging nearly 1,000 foot pounds of velocity and 2.6-inch groupings at 25 yards, this is one deadly machine.

The six-groove, 1:10 inch rifling and custom trigger help stabilize the shot to make the Legion almost as accurate as they come.

Reliability

The ion-bombarded, metal vapor PVD finish is not just beautiful, it’s also made to last under any weather conditions.

My only complaint with the good-looking green/gray finish is that it can scratch easily when being holstered. Other than that, this gun is going to last as long as you need it to.

Why?

The solid steel guide rod that adds stabilizing weight and durability. The aluminum alloy frame and unbreakable fiberglass stock. The fact that nearly any brand of ammo will give you an equally perfect shot with no misfires or glitches in the all-metal components.

Convinced yet?

Handling

Not only is the Legion beautiful and deadly, it also just feels great to shoot.

The custom G10 grips seem like they are made just for your hand and provide enough purchase to help with stability.

The safety is well-placed and easy to click on and off with your firing hand.

The slide release does tend to feel a little tight, but other than that the checkering on the front strap and under the trigger guard as well as the contour of the beavertail make this gun a joy to shoot.

Trigger

As mentioned above, this pistol has an incredible custom Grayguns, Inc. trigger that makes for fast and accurate shooting.

Enhanced with P-SAIT, this trigger has a short reset of one sixteenth of an inch. Out of the box, it comes with a pull weight between 3.5 and 4 pounds.

The pull breaks cleanly and an X-Five undercut on the trigger guard makes for greater control.

For many marksmen, this trigger alone makes any increase in cost well worth their consideration.

Magazine & Reloading

The Sig P226 Legion comes with 3, 15-round magazines that are ejected by a spring-loaded system that makes reloading a breeze.

Though it is a full-size pistol, so many components have been streamlined that this gun could reasonably be conceal carried.

For example:

The decocking and slide catch levers that normally could snag on clothing or holsters have been reduced to create a low profile.

Most brands of ammo load and fire beautifully, making the Legion versatile as well.

Length & Weight

Somehow the longer 4.4-inch barrel doesn’t add much to the overall weight, which comes in around 2 pounds 2 ounces.

The overall length of the Legion comes out to be 8 inches with a height of 5.5 inches and width between 1.5 and 1.7 inches depending on your caliber choice.

The Sig P226 Legion comes in three caliber options:

1. 9mm Luger
2. .357 Sig
3. .40 S&W

Recoil Management

No matter your caliber, the Legion has minimal recoil because of the stabilizing front-end weight and excellent design of the grips.

To help manage recoil even further, this weapon features an extension on the beavertail that nicely covers your thumb web.

You would never guess it has such a high barrel velocity based on the small amount of recoil.

Price

The Sig Sauer P226 Legion retails for about $1,400.

That’s pretty expensive. So the real question is…

Sig Sauer P226 Legion Review: Is It Worth It?

If you’re looking for the best overall sig 357 pistol that won’t fail on you, then the Sig Sauer P226 Legion is for you.

Here’s why. It’s..

• Reliable
• Comfortable
• Insanely accurate

…and just plain fun to shoot.

In fact:

It comes with lifetime warranty. So if your P226 Legion ever breaks, they’ll fix it free-of-charge.

As a bonus:

When you purchase this pistol, you’re granted exclusive Legion membership.

You know what that means, right?

Free Thermo-mold case. Free zippered pistol case. Free challenge coin matched to your gun. Plus many other exclusive offers.

Sig Sauer has proven once again that they will deliver a product that gets you more bang for your buck.

2. Glock 31: Best Budget .357 SIG Pistol

As one of the leading powers in quality sidearms, Glock had a reputation to uphold when they entered the niche market targeting .357 Sig shooters.

A take on the extremely popular Glock 19, the semi-automatic, full-sized Glock 31 in .357 Sig aims to be one of the best high-velocity handguns in the game.

Does it hit the mark?

Let’s find out…

Accuracy

You can’t get a more accurate pistol than a Glock.

These weapons are well-known powerhouses for home defense and law enforcement officers alike.

With a .357 Sig chambered in the barrel, you need a gun that can handle the crazy amounts of energy generated. The Glock 31 accomplishes this by designing a longer 4.49-inch barrel rifled with a right-hand twist of 9.84 inches.

Averaging groups around 1.25 inches at 50 feet, this handgun is insanely accurate thanks to the high muzzle velocity. We’re talking 1,400 feet per second measured 15 feet from the barrel.

To aid in the precision of this firearm, Glock added a polymer single-dot front sight and a notched rear sight with a blazing white “U” outline.

If you think you’ll be shooting more in dark situations, however, you’ll probably want to upgrade these stock sights to a better night version.

The power of the cartridge combined with a smooth-pulling trigger make it easy to hit what you’re aiming at, and causes a flatter-than-usual bullet trajectory.

Reliability

After hundreds of rounds through the chamber, the Glock 31 had no misfires or problems of any kind related to the action.

Used by law enforcement, this weapon was made to be reliable under any circumstance. The last thing you want when encountering danger is a handgun that you can’t depend on.

Glock made sure that was never something to worry about with this gun. Along with the smooth action, the designers of the 31 had safety at the top of their list. With Glock’s specialty Safe Action System, they cover 3 main areas of concern for most carriers:

1. Trigger safety
2. Firing pin safety
3. Drop safety

This weapon is not going to fire unless you want it to fire.

Handling

One of the nice things about the Glock 31 is that it has customizable, interchangeable grip backstraps where you can choose between a small, medium, or larger fit.

This customization plus the positive grip texture make the 31 comfortable and enjoyable to hold in any size hand.

Upon firing, the first thing you’ll notice is how easy this gun is to control. It has a large slide with ergonomic ribbing in just the right spot to make a great hold.

Whether you have small or large hands and hold the sidearm with a firm grip or have hands like a limp noodle, this weapon was easy to manage and hit its mark.

It also comes with a well-placed Picatinny rail to mount accessories like a light or scope.

Trigger

Like most Glocks, the trigger on this thing has almost instantaneous reset which makes for quick firing.

The 31 is designed without a hammer, so the trigger has a smoother, more controllable pull. This is crucial when you’re firing powerful rounds like the .357 Sig.

The distance between the trigger is 2.83 inches and length of pull is about half an inch. You can expect this firearm to come out of the box with a reasonable pull weight close to 5.5 pounds.

Magazine & Reloading

Coming with three 15 round magazines, the Glock 31 can also hold an extra cartridge in the chamber.

That’s a comfortable amount of shots.

Dropping the magazine is a breeze for this weapon because of the enlarged and reversible magazine release button.

Even better is the Glock 31 will still fire a chambered round even when the magazine is released.

Length & Weight

With a barrel length of 4.49 inches and an overall length of 8.03 inches, the 31 has a very reasonable empty carry weight well under 2 pounds.

Fully loaded this Glock weighs approximately 2 pounds, 1 ounce.

Its sleek build makes it a good choice for concealing with dimensions of 1.26-inch width and 5.47-inch height.

It really is a great sized gun that is comfortable on your belt and in your hand.

Recoil Management

The crazy amounts of muzzle velocity mean you need some very well-designed recoil management systems.

Glock does a great job handling the power coming from this weapon with their 2-part spring-assembly system.

The spring-system absorbs most of the kick, but any additional recoil is filtered out through the well-textured grips.

Not to say this thing doesn’t give you a little lurch when firing. I mean, there is a ton of power being generated, but you’ll be surprised at how well this little gun manages the kick.

Price

The Glock 31 is very reasonably priced, retailing around $500.

That’s MUCH cheaper than the Sauer P226 Legion. (But again, you’re not getting as many features).

Glock 31 .357 Review: Is It Worth It?

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly, reliable handgun that you can count on in tough situations, the Glock 31 is for you.

Here’s why. It’s:

• Accurate
• Lightweight
• High velocity
• Battle-proven
• Interchangeable grips

It packs a lot of punch in a small package.

In short:

The Glock 31 .357 SIG is a budget-friendly powerhouse weapon that will take out your target the first time. Every time.

3. Sig Sauer P320: Best .357 Sig Carry Pistol

If you’re looking for a reliable, compact, conceal-carry weapon that will take out a mark with incredible precision, look no further than the Sig Sauer P320 pistol.

Nearly totally customizable, this weapon is sleek and dependable all for a great price.

In fact:

The United States Army trusts this handy pistol as their light duty weapon of choice, but can you?

Take a look and I’ll let you decide…

Accuracy

Fitted with your choice of Sig’s state of the art Siglite Night sights or standard 3-dot contrast sights, the P320 is meant to be usable under whatever circumstance you find yourself in.

However, if the factory sights aren’t doing it for you, this pistol is also designed with a red-dot cutout and a 4-slot Picatinny rail for additional sighting accessories.

On the range, this compact weapon will outshoot many of its competitors with consistent groups less than 2 inches at 25 yards.

Once you get used to the large, curved trigger, you’ll find that the smooth pull almost shoots the targets for you.

Reliability

With a carbon steel barrel and stainless steel on nearly every other component including the slide and frame, the 320 is built to stand the test of time.

After thousands of rounds through this gun, it showed no signs of action wear and had zero misfires or feed issues. This gun will hold up where it counts.

Let’s talk finish, though. The polymer stock doesn’t feel as sturdy as its Glock or M&P competitors. The slide with a Nitron finish seems to hold its own, but the finish on other metal components scratches and wears pretty easily.

I could certainly look past these cosmetic issues, but one irritating functional flaw was that if you weren’t holding the weapon just right, the slide didn’t always lock back like it’s supposed to on the last round.

Irritating, but not earth shattering.

Handling

One of the coolest features of the Sig P320 is the modular style build.

The grips can be interchanged to fit your hand just the way you want it with small, medium, or large options.

Speaking of grips, the angle is a little strange at first being more vertical than what you may be used to. The backstrap has rounded bottom Sig likes to call the “fastback profile” that makes for a comfortable hold.

Besides the grip, another customization feature of the P320 is the replaceable slide and magazine.

If you wanted to, you could totally change out the caliber of this weapon using Sig’s Caliber X-Change kits.

The slide on this pistol has a great release that is ergonomic and easy to use. The finish on the slide, however, isn’t super grooved which makes it difficult to rack if there is any moisture present.

Otherwise, the Sig P320 feels good to shoot, whether it comes that way out of the box or you take advantage of the many customization options.

Trigger

Like most of the components of this gun, you have some options as far as the trigger goes.

Choose between a standard striker trigger, short reach, or small-bladed option. The all-metal standard trigger works well enough with minimal over-travel and a short reset.

Because it is a striker-style firing mechanism, the pull is consistent and comes out of the box set around 6 pounds.

The squared-off trigger guard gets some getting used to, but the single-piece trigger itself has a comfortable, smooth face and a striker safety.

Magazine & Reloading

When you purchase a Sig P320, the standard option comes with 2 15-round steel magazines.

Designed with cutouts on the bottom of the grip, the magazines pull from the mag well easily. The mags do fit very snuggly in the well the first couple of uses which makes for difficulty dropping them for a reload.

After putting some rounds through they did loosen up, though, and weren’t a problem.

With a triangular ambidextrous release, it wasn’t hard to drop the mags after that initial sticking.

Length & Weight

This pistol is a great, compact size made for concealing.

With a barrel length of 3.9 inches, the overall length comes in around 7.2 inches in total. Other dimensions include a height of 5.3 inches and a bit wider on the width, around 1.4 inches.

Empty, you can expect the P320 to rest in your holster around 25.8 ounces.

These dimensions are for the standard, medium grip size option. They will change a bit if you customize the grip or use an X-Change kit.

Recoil Management

One thing that was a little weird about this gun at first was the high-bore axis.

I was expecting a ton of muzzle flip because of this, but it really wasn’t as bad as you’d imagine.

This is probably due to the dual-captured recoil spring and steel guide rod that directs most of the energy out and away from the muzzle.

The P320 does have a bit more flip than its Glock competitor, but not enough to deter most handgun owners.

Price

Going back to those Caliber X-Change kits.

They are super awesome if you want to take your .45 auto and decide you want to turn it into a .357 Sig, 9mm, or .40S&W.

But the kits cost around $400, so at that point it may be just as cost effective to purchase another gun.

The stock version of the P320 Compact runs retail between $628 and $713 depending on your trigger and sight choices.

Street costs are a little closer to $550.

Sig Sauer P320 Review: Is It Worth It?

After significant trials of many quality light duty guns, the Army put its trust in Sig’s P320 pistol. The same goes for thousands of civilian home defenders and carriers.

The reason? It’s:

• Reliable
• Sleek profile
• Highly customizable
• Dependable accuracy

Overall, Sig has come through with their version of a reliable, user-friendly modular conceal-carry weapon.

If you’re looking for a sleek and accurate every-day-carry, look no further than Sig Sauer’s P320 Compact pistol.

Now It’s Your Turn

I hope you enjoyed my best .357 sig pistol guide.

So as a recap:

If you’re looking for the best overall .357 pistol, get the SIG Sauer P226 Legion.

On a budget? Then the Glock 31 is for you.

Or how about the best carry pistol? Then opt-in for the Sig Sauer P320.

If you’re still unsure, just pick one you think will work best for you. Either way, I’ve fired hundreds of rounds through each one of these with no problems.

Now I want to turn it over to you:

Which pistol will you pick for your .357 sig?

Let me know by leaving a quick comment down below.