A costly mistake

[Trey45]

Last week I traded a buddy of mine for his Sig P226. This is my first Sig pistol, what a terrible mistake I made. This gun fits me like it was made for me, it shoots like it was tuned by pistolsmith, out of all the bottom feeders that I own, this P226 has the best single action trigger out of all of them, none as in zero creep, a crisp break with short reset. I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but this one is stamped "Made In W.Germany". I'm starting to feel that old familiar itch again and I'm looking at gunbroker prices and Bobs Guns prices on other Sigs.

Sigs are expensive, this is going to end up costing money. I'm going to have to have more than one now.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=625&pictureid=4549

Since I'm new to the Sig game, maybe some of ya'll can point me in the right direction for what I should avoid if anything and what I should keep an eye out for in Sig pistols. Particularly 45acp and 40S&W.

[sqlbullet]

At least you don't have the 10mm bug to go with it. The Grey Guns conversion to 10mm for a P220 is about $2000 as I recall.

Guess that is why I don't have one....yet. :smile:

[rintinglen]

I've an older P 220 45 ACP that is the most accurate out of the box center fire pistol I have fired, at least, most accurate of those that cost less than my last car. (Baer makes sweet guns, but out of my price range.) I also have a P-6 that I got for a very reasonable 349.00. They are excellent and habit forming. I've been shopping for a P-228, but missed out on the last clean used one that came into my local gun shop.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I have an old P228 9mm that is extremely accurate. It will ring my 12"x12" plate all day at 100 yds. Has a stiff DAO trigger but it is a shooter.

You can't go wrong with a Sig!

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=706842&postcount=8

[Ragnarok]

I've got an older west German 226 myself..I think the date code identifys it to 1989.

It's a good shooter

[FN in MT]

Welcome to the Club (addiction). I've got a few 226's and 229's myself.

I started carrying a pre 220 way back in the early 1980's when they were first imported by Browning and called the BDA. Bottom (european) mag release, etc. THAT gun started me on my SIG love affair.

Few autos out there in 9mm as nice IMHO as a full sized 226, or as plain "shootable".

Agree also on the 100 yd accuracy. I have a 10" plate at 100 yds and it's been hit countless times with the 226 and cheapo WW WB ammo.

There are far WORSE interests/addictions than SIG's.

FN in MT

[pdawg_shooter]

I have a German made P220 that I cannot say enough good things about. And this is coming from a hard core 1911 fan!

[Trey45]

I was just talking to friend on the phone and he mentioned the single stack Sig 225 9mm's. That sounds appealing to me as well, any of you guys have first hand experience with them? Pro's - Con's?

Rintinglen, can you tell me a bit more about your P6?

[Ragnarok]

Sigs have the best de-cocker around too...I just hate to use a de-cock safety that drops the hammer hard...but the Sig just lets it down so nice...

[Trey45]

Ragnarok you'd like how the CZ P01 decocks then, nice and easy, like it's 2 stage, the hammer drops halfway on the downstroke of the decock lever, and the rest of the way on the upstroke of the lever. It's not as smooth as the Sig though.

[wellfedirishman]

The 22LR Conversion Kit for a Sig P226 is a pretty good investment also. I have one and it switches out for 9mm in about 10 seconds. Lots of cheap practice shooting 22LR with the same grip/trigger platform.

The P226 is very accurate and comfortable 9mm IMO.

[Mk42gunner]

I haven't shot a SIG in way too many years, but the fullsized ones like the 220 and 226 always felt better to me than the 228. I don't remember ever even holding one of the 225's.

Robert

[MtGun44]

I have several P6/225s. The biggest problem USED to be no spare mags, no SIG made a run of
factory mags, so they are not cheap, but they are available and high quality. I am no kind of
fan of double/single action semis, MUCH preferring 1911s, but the P6s are dead reliable and
reasonably accurate. Once I sat down and trained up on the little beasties, I am OK with
them, although the 1911 is still by far my favorite. Actually, the ProMags were available, but I
didn't like the looks of them.

The other interesting thing about the P6s is that the slides are formed ~1/8" steel sheet with
a machined breech section pinned in. This was faster than machining a forging in the 1970s,
but today CNC has brought them back to machined slides from forgings. The old style are
fine and don't seem to be a problem in any way, just different. The other thing is that they
have a really silly little curlicuw machined into the hammer spur. This is reported to have been
a tell-tale to let the unit armorer know that the gun had been dropped on the hammer spur
and to pull it apart to check for firing system damage. Looks pretty silly, but not a real issue.

Bill

[Who's this Guy ?]

The 225/P6 SIG is my favorite pistol to both shoot and carry. Reliable and fits my hand well and I do prefer the slim magazine profile in the hand. I bought the P6 back when they were going at a great price and it came with a German Police surplus holster and a spare mag and original blue box. It is now carried around in a Desantis molded holster. I also acquired 2 other magazines for it and have a total of 4. One I bought brand new from Top gun Supply by SIG and the other 3 SIG are marked p6 on the bottom. I have heard the Pro mags are fair range mags but not something to trust to carry with.
Did not know about the way the slide was built. That is interesting to know.

[ColColt]

One of the few pistols I've really regretted selling was a SIG P220...German made and not just the frame-all of it. I bought it back in the early 90's and wish I still had it. Like most, it would feed anything. Precious memories. I'd love to find one LNIB today but that ain't gonna happen.

[Atakawow]

Does your P226 have the Short Reset Trigger (SRT)? It makes the reset much, much shorter.

[shotstring]

Nice gun. I have a couple of German Model 28s and they are simply a more compact version of your gun. Sweet. Better balance in my opinion than the 229s, but I have a couple of those as well and even have a fondness for them in all their clunky glory!

[Taylor]

I loved y P226,great gun,like you stated,it just felt good.Alas,someone else liked it too.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Trey45 - I had a P226 American and carried it as a peace officer for about 2 years. Hit yourself with a hammer on the your toe or take hypnosis therapy - it was the most accurate pistol I have ever owned. They used to be very popular with other large law enforcement agencies around here, they are extremely accurate and easy to maintain. Another factor that might dissuade you from purchasing the P226 is to put up steel targets. Shoot steel with the P226, then hit the steel with a 1911 .45. The 9mm just goes pa-ting where the .45 hits with a resounding ka-thun.

[Moonman]

CDNN is selling a SIG 220 COMPACT 45ACP S.A.O. for under $600, a great deal, I love mine.

[Ilwil]

I bought my 228 in the late 80's after my reserve unit got re-armed with them as our duty weapon. Sigs are for my money, pound-for pound, the best pistols made. The 226 was unaccountably edged out by the Beretta M-9 when DOD changed out the 1911. It remains, I think, the Navy Seals' issue pistol, so how much higher an accolade can one want? Mine has had untold thousands of rounds go through it with not so much as one misfire, and after years of belt and shoulder holster carry, it looks as good as it ever did; that's how rugged the finish is.

[dk17hmr]

I just got my first SIG also, a P250C in 45 acp. I have never carried 10 rounds of 45acp more comfortably, along with 2 extra mags Im looking at 28 rounds of double action awesomeness.

Im not sure why it took me so long to get a SIG.

[Moonie]

I learned how to shoot pistols on a P226 that my father bought in the mid 80's. I guess that makes me spoiled, it was one of the best shooting pistols I've ever held.

[piece]

The Sig Neuhausen p210 is what you should try out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_P210

[Trey45]

When I sell a kidney to buy a gun, it won't be a Sig 210! Nice gun, but I'd rather have a Browning Hi Power for less money.

[M4bushy]

My stainless sig p220 have rendered my 1911's safe queens. I love that gun! I bought an early non railed p229 and really didn't care for it. The grip just didn't feel right in my hand. I'm on the lookout for a 226 elite I'm my price range.

[piece]

When I sell a kidney to buy a gun, it won't be a Sig 210! Nice gun, but I'd rather have a Browning Hi Power for less money.

Have you ever handled one? The SigP226 feels quite cheep beside a P210.

[x101airborne]

A buddy of mine (actually my BIL) on the force had a sig for a duty gun. I carried a G. He would always run me down for owning a plastic gun for duty use. We had a bad bus roll-over and it hurt a lot of people during a rain storm on our Friday. We were both in the rain for several hours and were soaking wet. He went home and did not clean his weapon, figuing it only got a little wet. The day before we went back to work, we decided to go shooting against each other. Using our weapons that we use on duty (wich was the point) his sig was rusted shut. I am not talking a little, I mean A LOT. We had to beat that weapon with a live chamber to get the round out. Needless to say, we did not shoot that weapon without a full strip-down and cleaning.

Three months later after I left the force, I took my G-22 offshore and it was RANK. Even the dry box got three inches of water in it. Dang near sunk the boat. i was too sick to remember everything and the G-22 sat in salt water for near a month. Finally went out to find my dry box with salt water in it and the glock in the bottom. The weapon was loaded and chambered while submerged. When I found it, my BIL was with me and asked, "You think that thing will ever shoot again?" I said dunno, and dumped the entire clip into the dirt without fail. The next week he owned his first G.

The sig is an awesome range weapon. Accurate, slick, and about all you could want. Keep em clean and no worries. But for a defensive weapon, wich may be something different than what you are talking about, I would rather go with a Glock. I live in a corrosive, humid environment and almost all stainless, much less coated or blue, will corrode here. His sig would out shoot my glock every time. No doubt. But I did not need the Glock to shoot 1 inch groups at 30 yards.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

M4bushy; your choosing the Sig over the 1911 would crush the spirit of my first firearms instructor. x101airborne; excellent story. When Sigs work they are great, I prefer the Sig over the Glock but my law enforcement agency and a neighboring agency experienced Sigs frozen up on the range during qualification when we first got them. The problem we discovered had to do with the gang dunk tank used for cleaning. Guns came out of the dunk tank and went into the holsters not to be fired again until the next qualification. The Glocks came out of the holsters months later and went bang but some of the Sigs were so frozen up we couldn’t even pull the triggers, other Sigs simply malfunctioned. It was a serious problem. The fix turned out to be drying all the gang dunk tank cleaning fluid out of the Sigs and oiling them well. The saying was; if you didn’t have an oil stain on your seat where your holster is you’re not using enough oil. Break-Free worked great. We didn’t have this problem with the Glocks. The personally owned Sigs worked but the Dept issued Sigs did not last. When a guy spends his own money on his equipment he tends to maintain it. Issue guns are never treated as well. The oldest gun on my Dept is a Sig 226 personally owned and has been in service since the late 1980’s. It has never missed a beat. The owner has never put it in a dunk tank, and he keeps it oiled. All works well as we work in a wet climate with low humidity. The local agency issued the P226 and the guys hated them, wanted P220’s. We wanted the Beretta’s and got Glocks, so we were not happy either. The Army got Beretta’s and wanted Glocks. Thank goodness for personally owned well maintained weapons. If you’re going to issue a bunch of guys a weapon, I would recommend a Glock. Especially in a humid environment. Our AR’s go through the dung tank with no problems too.

[Plastikosmd]

I figured myself as a 1911 guy but I never owned one. Figured I would get round-to-it. Was at a friends store and he took a german sig 45 in trade. He said I should buy it. I thought about it for a week, plopped 425$ down and picked up the best 45 I think I will ever own. 4 magazines, box, holster and gun. What a shooter. My wife, who maybe shoots 1x every 3 yrs, shot maybe 10x in her life picked it up and shot to qualify at my range, first time. 10 shots in 12" at 25 yards offhand, double hold. While no miracle for a shooter, with her minimal experience the gun made it easy for her. I punch paper so I cannot comment on service duty. I guess I am not getting a 1911 anytime soon!

[DoubleAdobe]

Isn't the Signess when first experienced, wonderful?
In about 1992 my department switched from revolvers to semiautomatics, and because Arizona DPS had recently gone to Sig, my department took their recommendation and did too. We got the P229 in the then newfangled .40 S&W. I had never shot a semiautomatic pistol and struggled, along with other officers, in transition school. However, I learned to shoot the dang thing, and soon learned to appreciate how well it was made and how well it shot.

Many years later, I went to work for another department, they issued the P226, also in .40, and it too was an amazingly dependable weapon.
Here is where my experience diverges from some others posting above. It was decided, evidently, as is often the case, that these weapons were old, past their life of usefulness or whatever. The bottom line is we got Glock 22's. Well, I hadn't been living in a vaccum after all, I had heard a lot of very good things about these wonder weapons. Some bad too. Admittedly, most of the bad was from the older officers that can be, um, somewhat resistant to change. So when we got the Glock and started shooting them, I saw more malfunctions in one qualification than I had in all those years of shooting the Sigs. I asked the FI's about this, and they talk about, break-in, limp-wristing, possible ammo issues, possible mag issues, etc. Could be, but problem after problem on the firing line. But, this was our new weapong, and they didn't really want to deal with i
We have had the G's for two years now, I will admit the malfunctions have lessened. The most common is FTE that I have seen and has happened to me three times in four range trips, shooting less than 125 rounds per session. I keep reading about and hearing about the absolute reliablity of Glocks, but honestly, I am not seeing it.
The silver lining in this rather, to me, worrisome cloud is that we were given the option of buying the Sig for a heckuva good price from the outfit that sold the dept. the Glocks. So, I was able to keep my old 226 for my very own, and that is great.
I will restate this just to make clear, and I don't want to endlessly belabor this.
I saw more malfunctions, ftf,fte,on the firing line with the Glock 22,generation 3, with experienced officers than I had seen with the Sig P2229 or P226, both in .40 cal. all combined in appx. 17 years of qualification and training shoots.
I have been on the planet quite awhile now, I know all about the endless arguing about what is better, the Ford or the Chevy. It boils down to what you have had the best experience, luck, or what your most familiar with. That is my experience, no harm intended.

[Freightman]

I was in a pawn shop looking at the guns and a man came in with a Sig just like that with five mags , box, and papers and wanted to pawn it. I tried to get his attention but to no avail he got $200 for it I was sick, went back in a couple of months and there it was for sale, with a tag sacrifice, $700. I quit going to that shop and it is no gone and replaced with a sewing shop. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

[Trey45]

Isn't the Signess when first experienced, wonderful?


The signess! Not only do I agree with you, but I just permanently borrowed that word "signess" from you. :)

[Silver Jack Hammer]

My LEA just bought about 50 Glocks and handed them out. They are working for the guys who attend their quarterly quals. Back in the early 90's we bought about as many new Glocks, most of them 40's, about half of them malfunctioned. As a Glock armorer I could not find a fix for the feedramp stoppage. The jammed Glock would have a live cartridge stopped with the nose of the projectile resting at the top of the chamber and the brass of the cartridge resting along the feed ramp. I could not duplicate this malfunction by intentionally limp wristing, and the Glocks would malfuction like this with all major brands of ammo. A rep from Glock finally came out and filed on the frame contact points, then the Glocks worked after that. It only took 2 years of complaining to get them to work. These Glocks were the first to be manufactured with the new 40 S&W cartridge. Back then Glock just drilled out a bigger bore and put stiffer springs in their 9mm's to make a 40. Recently someone told me these first guns were made before the none supported chamber. All this was very frustrating back in then. The Glocks were handed to us, glad I never carried one.

[OneBagNomad]

The P226 is the only semi-auto that ever fit my hand perfectly. From an ergonomic standpoint, it couldn't have been designed better. If you've got a good one, hang on to it like your life depends on it. Some of the stuff coming from the new SIG is highly suspect.

[Tazman1602]

At least you don't have the 10mm bug to go with it. The Grey Guns conversion to 10mm for a P220 is about $2000 as I recall.

Guess that is why I don't have one....yet. :smile:

Oh and you just HAD to post there is indeed a 10mm conversion for a P220 didn't you?

ARRRRRGGGH! This site makes me want more dam guns and molds!

...no offense SQL.....GRIN:kidding:

[DoubleAdobe]

The signess! Not only do I agree with you, but I just permanently borrowed that word "signess" from you.

Trey45, while I would like to take credit for "the Signess", I can't. It is a rather common expression on the sigforum. Check it out.