Glock 33 .357 for concealed carry?

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A police officer friend of mine and I were talking about the best concealed carry handgun,and I`d mentioned the Glock 26 and Ruger LC9 (both 9mm),and he suggested I go with at least a .357,and suggested I buy a Glock 33,which is the same exact size and weight as the Glock 26.

What`s everyone`s thoughts?
 
In my mind a 357sig is designed to shoot "flatter for longer" than you avg handgun rnd.....among other things, I love this round honestly. and use of a concealed weapon will ganeraly happen upclose
Did your freind say why this was his rec. ?

IMO, a good concealed carry rnd is a 45acp..."the GLOCK 30" it's still a GLOCK "sub-compact" and is a bit thicker, I switch off between two GLOCKS usually for carry my 30 or if I open carry my GEN4 17 I love them both I have no issue with a 9mm, but the 45 is an uplcose no mistake kinda rnd IMO....
my CC rnd of choice are HORNADY TAP HP's

alot of guys swear by the 40's and 10mm...but lets face it if [censored] gets rough you will always find common NATO rnds and a good ol 45acp, that will not be the case with these specialty rnds.
 
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I suggest going with a caliber that you can shoot well with and control, if you can, try going to the range and shooting different caliber and see which one you are good with, as well as which gun you are good with. With modern hollow points these days, 9mm is quite a good round, and it's what I use, cheaper to practice shooting with, and you can carry a few more rounds with 9mm in most guns.

Side note, with glocks, alot of people buy larger caliber to carry and get a conversion to something like 9mm to shoot and practice with because it's cheaper, but always practice shooting whatever round you are going to carry, even if it's expensive hollow points, use up your old rounds for practice is what I do.
 
I carry a 38 revolver a 9mm XD and a Kimber Ultra CDP II 45 ACP and like them all. Buy what you like and are willing to carry and don't buy cheap. Your life is worth moer than a few dollars.
 
Shoot yourself in each foot, one with the .357, and the other with the 9mm. Get whichever one hurts the most.
 
the old addage that a 9mm just isnt enuff comes from many sources.. but most common is the story of the jacked up on drugs perp that multiple 9mm rounds from multiple officers couldnt stop.. till one withdrew his 357 ankle backup and that round stopped him cold..

Fact of the matter is anything short of a person wearing body armor or extremely jacked out of there mind on drugs.. and a simple litte .22 will stop almost anyone threatening your well being.

Now my personal choice is a sub-com 45acp, but it honestly comes down to what your most comfortable operating

#1 most gun battles are close range.
#2 most people (not even police) can defeat the 21 foot rule.

when choosing a side arm choose one that offers all day comfort, that you can conceal somewhere with easy reach..
 
Will you practice a lot with the .357 ? Will you carry it? Have you shot one before?
Basically pick the caliber that you can handle with the cost that you can afford to shoot regularly and marry that with how comfortable it is to carry. The larger caliber is no good if you don't practice and its too awkward to carry regularly. I have .45, 9mm , 380, and .22. I carry the .380 most often in the summer as it is the most concealable and its better to have a 380 than the .45 that you left at home.
 
Why not also check out the Glock 27? You get some good from both worlds. Good control with good power. Nothing wrong with the 9mm, but there is a reason why most LEO's are going with 40 as opposed to 9mm and 45. It's an all around good round.

40 ammo is more expensive than 9mm, but nothing that terrible. 9mm and .40 cal ammo are generally readily available everywhere.

Shoot the sub-compact in all three rounds and see which on you shoot the best with. There is no point in having a more powerful bullet if you can't hit the target.

One small pro to the 26 is that it holds an extra round. The 26 holds 10, whereas the 27 & 33 hold 9. That may not even mean that much to you, but it does to some people.
 
The .357 SIG is an impressive round but a very expensive round to purchase. There is no such thing as cheap practice ammo in the .357.

I pack either a .380, 9mm, .44, or .45 depending on circumstances. If I had to narrow it down to just one caliber, it would be the 9mm. Inexpensive practice ammo is readily available everywhere. It's a mature round so hollowpoints have been extensively tested. Being able to afford to fire 150 rounds in one practice sitting without destroying the budget is a big selling point for me.

I can double tap quicker and more accurately with the 9mm. Better to hit 2X with the 9mm than to miss once with something else.

I also believe you can use the Glock 17 mags as extended capacity mags in the Glock 26. I know an officer who carries a Glock 26 off-duty but packs Glock 17 mags as spares.
 
Originally Posted By: RW1
The .357 SIG is an impressive round but a very expensive round to purchase. There is no such thing as cheap practice ammo in the .357.



sure there is, run 38's
smile.gif
im only kidding, and i know all the rebutals.. But on the serious side ive done this many, many times when i wanted to shoot a particular weapon but didnt want to pony up for 357's ..of course if your seriously practicing with a weapon you should atleast shoot some with your carry loads.. even if that means using up those high dollar dollar hollow points.
 
Reason I`d initially decided on 9mm was the availability of ammo and the reasonable price. I currently carry a 380,and it seems like the ammo is always hard to find locally. All the pros point towards the 9mm. But,I LOVE the thought of the more powerful 33 .357,especially since it`s the exact same size/weight of the 26 9mm. Yeah,when my friend and I were talking about handguns today,he said he`d seen suspects get up and run away after being hit with a 9,but with a .357 that simply won`t happen. I`m leaning more towards the .357.
 
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this is not a 357mag....this is a 357sig, very different.

the 357sig is pretty much a 9mm round with a 357 load behind it.

all GLOCK sub-compacts can take the mags from compacts and full-size versions of there own model, for range time I use GLOCK 21 mags with +2 extensions in my 30, and I also have GLOCK 18 mags for my 17.
 
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If you WANT a .357sig then get a .40 S&W gun (I have a smith and wesson M&P) and then get a .357sig barrel. Same spring and mags.

Personally I would NOT carry my .357sig for PP. I'd rather have the .40 S&W or 9mm for that purpose. If you don't reload forget the .357sig as its way too expensive for what it is. I enjoy shooting mine but I reload for it (its more work than anything else that I reload incl rifle calibers) and use it only for blowing up jugs of water and making loud noises.

All it is a necked down .40 s&w case (though the cases are NOT modified .40 S&W) shooting a 9mm bullet.

If you want something with more "power" then go play with a 10mm. Again something that I would NOT carry for PP.

Bill
 
.357 Sig = too loud, too expensive, and too much recoil for a gun that small. Short barrel will cut into the velocity gain of the high power cartridge as well.

9mm will be much better.
 
Originally Posted By: wsar10
this is not a 357mag....this is a 357sig, very different.

the 357sig is pretty much a 9mm round with a 357 load behind it.


Yes, IIRC, the .357 SIG is a .40SW case necked down to seat a .355 (9mm) bullet. Factory loads run from 1350 to 1450 fps with 4 1/2 inch barrels. The bottleneck case design helps reliability but sure makes it a pain to reload.

I do have a friend with a Glock 33 and I can tell you, when she fires that beast off it's got quite a signature flash. It would be great as a signal device at night. Firing it in an indoor range, it's very oppressive. We wear earplugs and headphones.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Reason I`d initially decided on 9mm was the availability of ammo and the reasonable price. I currently carry a 380,and it seems like the ammo is always hard to find locally. All the pros point towards the 9mm. But,I LOVE the thought of the more powerful 33 .357,especially since it`s the exact same size/weight of the 26 9mm. Yeah,when my friend and I were talking about handguns today,he said he`d seen suspects get up and run away after being hit with a 9,but with a .357 that simply won`t happen. I`m leaning more towards the .357.


Load your 9mm with this and anyone who's been shot with it will probably be in a world of hurt.

That is the beauty of 9mm; it's ultra cheap to shoot and there are good defense loads available.
 
I say get a REAL .357 magnum!!! How about a Ruger SP-101 w/3"barrel? If you want to hit 'em with a .357, then by God hit 'em with the real deal!!!
 
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