I was just talking to my wife about a Ruger GP100 that I saw in a LGS for what I think is a good price. She said " I thought you wanted a 229 or something like that." She has mentioned the "229 or whatever" several times without any real provocation from me. She may be planning on surprising me for my birthday. This is something she has done before. My question is are there any specific problems with the Sig 229, 226, 220, or 227 that I might want to know about before I get one. I just watched a video about the P229 40cal and a loose barrel fit causing feed problems. If there are any issues that you folks can warn me about it would be greatly appreciated. I was not so much interested in the 229 as I was the 226 40cal or the 220 or 227. I like the extra 1/2" of barrel. BTW, I do realize the 220 and 227 are in 45cal. I am not quite sure which caliber I want yet.
Sig Problems?
- Thread starter KMAX
- Start date
There is a possibility for an issue with any firearm, but with regards to your question I have friends that have either the 226 or 229 or both and it is their primary go to gun. And not once have they had an issue or complaint that I'm aware of. In fact its nothing but high praise and the comment “ you should get one!". Which by the way the 229 in .40 is my next buy!
I am personally not aware of any inherent problems with the P-series Sig models except for the problem you mentioned. The "loose barrel" in the P229 was in a small initial run of P229s with the long external extractor. Since it was new, the feeding problems were initially blamed on the long extractor and is why, in my opinion, it got a bad reputation (that and the fact it is ugly 
). However, the problem turned out to be the slides that were "drilled" over-sized, causing the loose barrel fit and leading to feeding failures.
In the spirit of full disclosure I have to state that just about all of my Sigs are of the older variety and most of what I know about the newer models is from reading and contributing to general gun and Sig-specific forums for the last several years and talking with my many Sig-owning friends.
). However, the problem turned out to be the slides that were "drilled" over-sized, causing the loose barrel fit and leading to feeding failures.In the spirit of full disclosure I have to state that just about all of my Sigs are of the older variety and most of what I know about the newer models is from reading and contributing to general gun and Sig-specific forums for the last several years and talking with my many Sig-owning friends.
The SIG classic line of guns are all top notch. Yes they have had troubles production runs in the past but even the all mighty glock has had issues.
I have owned (2) P226's and (1) P229 plus a 556 with few issues.
My 40 S&W P-226 had some magazine related issues and I had to change the recoil spring after about 2K rounds but nothing major.
My P229 likes the lube, a lot, but I have only had a couple of failures(probably ammo related) out of a thousand rounds fired.
The best and most dead nuts reliable of them all is my W. German P226 in 9MM. About 750 rounds fired, no issues, just a dead nuts nail driver. You can't go wrong with a SIG. This is the gun that's on my night stand most nights.
That said; you might want to wait until after the intial production run of P227's. Buying a brand newly designed gun is like buying a car on its first model year, there are bound to be a couple of issues.
I have owned (2) P226's and (1) P229 plus a 556 with few issues.
My 40 S&W P-226 had some magazine related issues and I had to change the recoil spring after about 2K rounds but nothing major.
My P229 likes the lube, a lot, but I have only had a couple of failures(probably ammo related) out of a thousand rounds fired.
The best and most dead nuts reliable of them all is my W. German P226 in 9MM. About 750 rounds fired, no issues, just a dead nuts nail driver. You can't go wrong with a SIG. This is the gun that's on my night stand most nights.
That said; you might want to wait until after the intial production run of P227's. Buying a brand newly designed gun is like buying a car on its first model year, there are bound to be a couple of issues.
armsmaster270
New member
I have been carrying a 226 for years, I bought it in .40 and later bought a 357Sig barrel and once I installed the 357 barrel I never looked back. I have not had a problem with either barrel.
I'm not trying to start any caliber war. I personally like something about all calibers. Caliber and Sig model type were part of the OP.
Most of us are not shooting bad guys period. I once had a car full of gang banger looking type dudes cruise up aside me when I was walking down a sidewalk in Houston. They asked me what time it was, perhaps to get a better look at the Rolex I had on and to get me to look away. All I had was a .25 Beretta in my pocket but I was ready with my hand on it and I never took my eyes off them and stood my ground. I believe they sensed a less soft target than they originally thought and cruised on.
These days I have no expensive watch to tempt fate and nothing less than 9mm in my pocket.
I would agree with that; when possible/practical 9MM/38spcl should be your minimum caliber. I know a lot of people who carry 380's or smaller because of concealability concerns though. All things being equal if you can conceal and carry a 9MM 50% of the time and a 380 100% of the time its a no brainer.
The nice thing about SIG is the variety; the only thing they could make more of is 380's and to build more 357 SIG's. It would be nice to see a P224 in 380 sort of like those Glocks they have over in Germany.
Every time I get it in my head to buy a new SIG in 357 I can't find one.
The nice thing about SIG is the variety; the only thing they could make more of is 380's and to build more 357 SIG's. It would be nice to see a P224 in 380 sort of like those Glocks they have over in Germany.
Every time I get it in my head to buy a new SIG in 357 I can't find one.
Classic P-Series are fine guns. P220,P226,P229 are all confirmed good performers. As always, all firearms have some issues, but when doing any research on it,always note the date of the complaint. Many of the issues with any SIG pistol has probably been resolved as of now. But the P227 is a new design,sort of, and has not had much feedback on it yet. On the other hand, if you buy new, SIG will make any problem right. Can;t really go wrong with any of them.
Disclosure: I currently own a P220.P226 and P229. Have to wait for the P227.
Disclosure: I currently own a P220.P226 and P229. Have to wait for the P227.