Contemplating goodbye to my SIGs

[roysha]

The last couple of weekends I have been shooting some of my S&W revolvers, 38, 357, and 44 Mag along with my P220 and P226 SIGs. I have come to the conclusion that I just can't shoot the autoloaders as well, plus I hate shagging brass, so am contemplating turning them into S&W revolvers. I have been a revolver fan for 60+ years so perhaps that has some bearing on the issue.

I guess what I'm asking is if turning the SIGs into S&W revolvers makes sense. I like my SIGS but I LOVE my S&Ws so it would not be too painful parting ways with the SIGs.

[megasupermagnum]

I wouldn't, you would regret it. I too prefer my revolvers, but a nice semi auto like a Sig is something to hold onto. Especially the P220 and P226.

Buy more, don't sell.

[engineer401]

That’s what I did.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd think twice about that.

The SIGs will feel like the family dog does when it gets dropped off and left at the dog pound.

[Outpost75]

Smart to get out of SIG anyway because they have stopped servicing older models and the company is in dire straights:

SIG Sauer GmbH, based in Eckernförde, Germany, is to close down. According to German media outlets, SIG Sauer GmbH’s shareholders are unwilling to invest further funds in the struggling European arm of the company. SIG Sauer GmbH’s Managing Director, Tim Castagne, told German press that the 130 strong workforce at Eckernförde will be laid off this year and the German plant, which has been in operation since 1951, will close.

To be clear SIG Sauer GmbH is a separate entity to the US-based SIG Sauer, Inc. Both the German arm and US-based company are owned by Lüke & Ortmeier Holding Gruppe. The company also owns Swiss company SIG SAUER AG (formerly Swiss Arms). SIG Sauer was initially formed in 1976, with the partnership of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) of Switzerland and J.P. Sauer & Sohn of Germany. In the US SIG Sauer pistols were initially sold under the name SIGARMS before it was renamed SIG Sauer, Inc. in 2007. A number of factors have led to the downturn in SIG Sauer GmbH’s fortunes, their exclusion from Bundeswehr small arms programs due to ITAR restrictions (as the company’s firearms are principally developed in the US, by SIG Sauer, Inc). In a press release, shared by numerous German media outlets, Managing Director, Tim Castagne, said that “SIG Sauer [GmbH] is systematically excluded from the tender because of its international orientation.” The impact of the European Union’s increasingly hampering firearms legislation and recent legal issues have also been factors. The ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic has also no doubt played a part with sales slowing significantly in 2020...

(SIG Sauer was initially formed to get around Switzerland's restriction on the export of firearms.)

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/06/05/breaking-sig-sauer-germany-closes-down/

[sparkyv]

I too, much prefer S&W revolvers vs, autoloaders, but if I were getting rid of my autoloaders, my SIGs would be the last to go.

[rintinglen]

My S&W 69 44 is up for sale. My Sig P-220 is not. I like my revolvers and shoot them a lot, but it will be a while yet before my age drives me away from the accuracy of the P-220. But were I to sell it, its replacement would not be a current manufacture Smith. "Better an old gun that works...."

[Thumbcocker]

I have a Sig 1911 that I love. i should get a commission because 2 people shot have shot my sig 1911 have gone out and bought themselves one. I had a Sig P229 that was a well made gun but just did not fit my hand and was uncomfortable for me to shoot. I would have been happy to trade it for a model 24 or a nice P&R smith. Bottom line handguns are highly personal and life is too short to mess with guns you don't really like.

[JimB..]

You can always change course again later.

[Texas by God]

I consider the P220 to be one of the best .45 auto pistols ever made. So personally I would keep that one.

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[Silvercreek Farmer]

I enjoy shooting revolvers much more than semis, but I keep my Sig around in case things get serious.

[DukeConnors]

The worse my back gets the more I enjoy my revolvers.

[osteodoc08]

The P226 and P220 are about as iconic a sig as a person can have. I’d keep them and enjoy them from time to time.

[MrWolf]

If you get some health issues like loss of feelings in your last three fingers you will find revolvers harder to shoot. I would hold onto the Sigs.

[Drm50]

I there is no issue on use, like self defense, I would off the SIGs and get S&Ws in P&R era guns. I’m looking at new 210 right now. I have Gold Cup, S&W 52 and HP comp presently. A PP is only gut buster I own, auto or revolver.

[45workhorse]

Keep the Sigs, take the grandkids, or a worthy youngin to police the brass:bigsmyl2:

[downzero]

I'm the wrong person to express my opinion, because I owned 2 Sigs about 15 years ago and I never understood the hype. They were perfectly fine pistols but offered nothing that really got me excited about shooting them, and the high bore axis really made them far less interesting than some of their competitors. I let them go and replaced them with 19/2011s, S&W M&Ps, a Glock, and several revolvers, including a few S&W revolvers. I don't think you'll regret letting them go at all, but I also doubt it'd be a life changing decision to keep them if you plan to use them. I do think giving up autoloaders entirely would be a bad idea, so if that's the plan, I would say don't do that.

[Petrol & Powder]

roysha - this sounds like a personal decision that only you can make.

I'll toss out some thoughts here: You don't have to sell a gun to buy a gun. If you want another gun, save up the money and buy exactly what you want. You can keep the SIGs and just not shoot them. If you need to sell the SIGs to purchase a replacement, you probably shouldn't be spending that money at all. I've certainly sold & traded guns to purchase other guns but that was done because I wanted to, not because I needed to.

I own a few SIGs and I've owned many others. Same with S&W revolvers. I think it goes without saying that quality isn't a factor when comparing those brands; both manufacturers are capable of producing high quality firearms.

It sounds to me......that this isn't a SIG v. S&W issue as much as it's a Pistol v. Revolver issue. I will caution you that these interests can be transient. I have been through many phases of interest when it comes to firearms.
I've been through the black rifle phase, the target .22 phase, the shotgun phase, the 1911 phase, the DA revolver phase, the wonder nine phase (that one was kinda fun :-o), the high power target rifle phase.........you get the drift. And most importantly - I've been through some of those phases multiple times !!!

So, my advice to you would be to sit down, field strip each SIG and clean it as well as you can. Carefully reassemble it and use the grease/oil of your choice. Package it up in some appropriate storage container. Disassemble the magazines, clean and grease them as well. Put everything in the back of the safe.

If you go two or three years without shooting them; pull them out, inspect them and then......PUT THEM BACK IN THE SAFE :razz:.

[Prcshooter]

I think they both have their place. For paper punching I prefer a
S&W revolver. Keep one of the Sigs.

[white eagle]

if you don't shoot them that itself is no reason to be rid of them
keep them you will have a change of heart

[charlie b]

I'd trade/sell them. But, I am one of those who only keeps guns that are fired regularly.

[1006]

I would sell or trade them, but would look for an auto-loader you might like. I have taken many first time shooters to the range. I try to bring an assortment of popular guns. The 9mm Glock and the 45ACP 1911 usually prevail as the most liked and the most accurate for the new shooters.

I have run some informal comparisons of my 9mm 226 to all of the other guns that I have, the Sig is the most accurate factory gun that I have tried, but it’s controls are unique, the grip is large, and most range shooters do better with all Single Action or all Double Action, not DA/SA.

[FergusonTO35]

The Sig P220 and P226 will probably go up in value. I would hang on to them even if you don't shoot them anymore.

[onelight]

An article about the German sig plant
. https://www.internationalsportsman.com/sig-sauer-is-not-bankrupt/

[megasupermagnum]

An article about the German sig plant
. https://www.internationalsportsman.com/sig-sauer-is-not-bankrupt/

Next year I may have to get myself a new USA made P227.

[roysha]

Thank you all for your thoughts.

After reading the comments I think, since I have all 3 barrels for the P226 and the .22 conversion kit for the P220, I'll hang on to them for a while and see what plays out. As someone posted I don't HAVE to shoot them and they won't wither away and die just laying in the safe, so we'll see.

As far as the financial problems SIG is apparently experiencing, that is really the very least of my worries. These guns are so well made they seldom break and when they do, for all practical purposes, it is a simple parts replacement issue. I strongly doubt that there will be a shortage of SIG parts anytime in the near or distant future, especially for the P220 & P226.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

When I contemplate trading, one rule I have is always trade up. So you are acquiring a greater value than what you are parting with. This invariably means an outlay of cash when you are trading.

Yesterday I was shooting my 2 wonderful 1911’s, and like you, picking up brass is painful in my back. And I’d rather shoot my single action revolvers anyway.

[curdog007]

I am thinking about getting a SIG 365. I'm not worried about the bankruptcy in Germany - what it amounts to is the left wing government does not want guns or gun makers, so has regulated them out of business. The blockheads have now got what they voted for.

[Pete44mag]

If you can afford to keep them, why not? I have had guns that I was going to sell but never got around to it. Several years later I started to shoot them again and rediscovered the original joy that I found in them in the first place. Give it some time and see if that doesn't happen for you. You can always sell them but you can't always buy them again. My wife asked me the other day which gun was my favorite one and I told her "The one I'm holding right now"!!!

[am44mag]

The last couple of weekends I have been shooting some of my S&W revolvers, 38, 357, and 44 Mag along with my P220 and P226 SIGs. I have come to the conclusion that I just can't shoot the autoloaders as well, plus I hate shagging brass, so am contemplating turning them into S&W revolvers. I have been a revolver fan for 60+ years so perhaps that has some bearing on the issue.

I guess what I'm asking is if turning the SIGs into S&W revolvers makes sense. I like my SIGS but I LOVE my S&Ws so it would not be too painful parting ways with the SIGs.

There are two handguns that I would never get rid of. My S&W 629, and my Sig P226. Keep at least one of the Sigs, you'll find yourself regretting your choices if you don't.

[Art in Colorado]

I have a West German 220 Sig in 45 ACP and a Sig American M11-A1 in 9MM. I would not part with either. I am not a 1911 guy but the few I have tried do not match the 220 single action trigger. After a bit of take up it breaks like an older S&W revolver trigger at about 3 pounds. The M11 has the amazing Short Reset Sear. Would not ever part with them. At first like you I shot Smith revolvers much better but that is all I would buy since the early eighties. I still have some of those early Smiths but I shoot them all about equaly. I would hang on to those Sigs. I my self made some hasty gun decisions and still regret them.

[Idaho45guy]

I am thinking about getting a SIG 365. I'm not worried about the bankruptcy in Germany - what it amounts to is the left wing government does not want guns or gun makers, so has regulated them out of business. The blockheads have now got what they voted for.

Love my P365. For the size, weight, capacity, accuracy, and ergonomics, it is a no-brainer for most people as a carry pistol...

263775

[charlie b]

SIG is only closing that one plant. FWIW, the US plant makes all the parts for weapons made in the US so the German plant closing will have no effect on things here.

[MATT HELM]

Next year I may have to get myself a new USA made P227.
I bought a SIG P227 Nitron Carry ... 6 yrs. ago. The pistol has the 3.9" Bbl. Rail underneath the dust cover. Enhanced PSAIT Trigger.
Geeze , that gun is way more accurate than I am normally able to shoot it. One good day 2 magazines ( 20 rds.) Shot into the 9 , & 10 ring ... big old open ragged hole. 2.5 " group
A little past 15 yds. In distance.
Knowing that is possible , given the Sig's potential with my handloads . (230 gr. On top of American Select powder)
That gun is a nice part of my life ; we will only part ways at my demise.

[Tokarev]

SIGs are great carry guns. Keep them, just add revolvers on top.

[megasupermagnum]

I bought a SIG P227 Nitron Carry ... 6 yrs. ago. The pistol has the 3.9" Bbl. Rail underneath the dust cover. Enhanced PSAIT Trigger.
Geeze , that gun is way more accurate than I am normally able to shoot it. One good day 2 magazines ( 20 rds.) Shot into the 9 , & 10 ring ... big old open ragged hole. 2.5 " group
A little past 15 yds. In distance.
Knowing that is possible , given the Sig's potential with my handloads . (230 gr. On top of American Select powder)
That gun is a nice part of my life ; we will only part ways at my demise.

I've got the P220, and it too is accurate. And it's accurate with anything, not picky at all. I figured a P227 would be a good companion, but it seems they were discontinued last year. Oh well, it looks like they only gave you 2 extra rounds anyway. I thought it was a 14 round, but apparently that is only the extended magazine.

[snowwolfe]

Semi’s have there place even for someone who owns a lot of revolvers like I do. For the most part I prefer the simplicity of a 5 or 6 shooter. Especially since we keep them stashed around the house for protection and all the wife needs to do is pull the trigger.
However, I have developed a liking to a semi that is a DA/SA. Some can hold 19 rounds and at our house they can sit with a round in the chamber and the hammer down. In an emergency just pick it up and pull the trigger. Nice knowing all that firepower is in the hand in case of a SHTF situation.

[Tokarev]

all the wife needs to do is pull the trigger.

You've just descrbed a SIG :)