I'm somewhat of a "newbie" here, and I apologize upfront if I'm posting in the wrong section. Basically, several years ago (December 2005), I purchased an M357-A1 through a member here for my first handgun while I was visiting my home state (Texas) but was living in Wisconsin for school. Unfortunately, I never really got an opportunity to use the firearm as the gun club I belonged to fell apart shortly after I returned. To make things worse, I lost the key locks to my case in 2007 and never got around to cutting the locks off until last month. In effect, I have had this brand new M357-A1 never shot for the last seven years. Since returning to Texas, I've rekindled my interest in firearms and got in touch with a cousin of mine around here who is somewhat of a shooter. She referred me to a good friend of hers that offers training courses and other instruction in concealed carry (which I'm not exactly comfortable with at this point given my general inexperience). Anyhow, I got in touch with this guy and expressed my interest in gaining experience and instruction, and he recommended that I use the weapon for training purposes but would supply me with one of his handguns if I didn't feel comfortable with mine.
I wish I had more time to search through the threads (I've spent nearly an hour already not really sure I've found the answers I'm looking for), but my schedule is a little hectic leading up to the weekend and not sure I can spend too much time weeding through all the various threads. I'm supposed to get together with this guy on Saturday morning, and I was hoping someone would be able to answer a few quick questions relating to the M357-A1. First, I was hoping to find a holster I could pick up rather easily as I do not own one that is compatible with this model. I've seen quite a bit of discussion about holsters in reference to some of the other models, but I'm reluctant to pick one up if what works well for the M9-A1, for example, doesn't necessarily correspond to the M357-A1. Also, the magazines I have are the LE .357 SIG marked ones (holding 12 rounds) which have extremely stiff springs when trying to load to full capacity. I recently loaded some magazines last week in which I ended up ripping the skin on my fingers until they were bleeding and getting sone nasty calluses and blisters on my thumbs. If anyone has any recommendations for any semi-auto pistol magazine speedloaders that work well with these clips, I would greatly appreciate it. Finally, if anyone has a good idea of which ammo works best with the gun, that advice would also be helpful. Right now, I own some Fiocchi .357 SIG 124gr FMJ for target practice (which I got rather cheaply) and a couple different variations of Hornady ammo (124gr TAP CQ and 124gr XTP)for self-defense rounds. Any other advice would be appreciated.
Once again, let me apologize for asking such questions because I'm sure they are answered somewhere on here within the forums, but the confusion between (and the lack of time I currently have) the various calibers and whatnot make me not want to make purchases that works well with one of the variations of the gun but not particularly my own. Even a link to another post that addresses my concerns would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and let me thank those in advance who take the time and effort to assist me here.
Brandon
I wish I had more time to search through the threads (I've spent nearly an hour already not really sure I've found the answers I'm looking for), but my schedule is a little hectic leading up to the weekend and not sure I can spend too much time weeding through all the various threads. I'm supposed to get together with this guy on Saturday morning, and I was hoping someone would be able to answer a few quick questions relating to the M357-A1. First, I was hoping to find a holster I could pick up rather easily as I do not own one that is compatible with this model. I've seen quite a bit of discussion about holsters in reference to some of the other models, but I'm reluctant to pick one up if what works well for the M9-A1, for example, doesn't necessarily correspond to the M357-A1. Also, the magazines I have are the LE .357 SIG marked ones (holding 12 rounds) which have extremely stiff springs when trying to load to full capacity. I recently loaded some magazines last week in which I ended up ripping the skin on my fingers until they were bleeding and getting sone nasty calluses and blisters on my thumbs. If anyone has any recommendations for any semi-auto pistol magazine speedloaders that work well with these clips, I would greatly appreciate it. Finally, if anyone has a good idea of which ammo works best with the gun, that advice would also be helpful. Right now, I own some Fiocchi .357 SIG 124gr FMJ for target practice (which I got rather cheaply) and a couple different variations of Hornady ammo (124gr TAP CQ and 124gr XTP)for self-defense rounds. Any other advice would be appreciated.
Once again, let me apologize for asking such questions because I'm sure they are answered somewhere on here within the forums, but the confusion between (and the lack of time I currently have) the various calibers and whatnot make me not want to make purchases that works well with one of the variations of the gun but not particularly my own. Even a link to another post that addresses my concerns would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and let me thank those in advance who take the time and effort to assist me here.
Brandon