Sig P226

[fencer]

Damn you Mark !! Now I have to go out and try a 5906!

Why do you have to go bursting my bubble and and altering my sense of certainty about what I have always assumed to be undisputed fact? 5 minutes ago I was certain that the 226 was far superior to the 5906, and then you come along and cast a shadow of doubt about what I have always believed to be true.

One thing that I find remarkable is that gun owners will vehemently defend their gun of choice, regardless of the facts that they may find. I think that to some degree, it is human nature. " Of course the Sig is a much better gun. It costs twice as much, and I would never spend twice as much for an inferior firearm because I am the smahrtest guy on the gun forum !"
Besides, the 5906's safety is on the slide and Jet Li can dismantle that pistol while I am shooting at and missing him with shot after shot!

Great post, but I think it may violate long standing NES rules that posts before 06:00 on a Sunday should be limited to " This thread is worthless without pics" "Is she hot?" and "I'd hit it".

 

[mark056]

I am the smahrtest guy on the gun forum !" [Besides, the 5906's safety is on the slide and Jet Li can dismantle that pistol while I am shooting at and missing him with shot after shot! Great post, but I think it may violate long standing NES rules that posts before 06:00 on a Sunday should be limited to " This thread is worthless expecting pics[" "Is she hot?" and "I'd hit it". [/QUOTE]

 

[ScottS]

I, and an astonishingly large number of .mil/LEO agencies, did not come to my opinion regarding the P226 in a vacuum, or by reading the 'net. I've owned two 3rd Gen S&W autos. Even carried one for a while. You couldn't give me a 5906, or any S&W pre-M&P auto for that matter. Friends don't let friends own 3rd Gen S&W autos...

Look at it this way: only one of those two pistols is still in production. There's a reason for that, and it's not the Internet.

 

[mark056]

Besides, the 5906's safety is on the slide and Jet Li can dismantle that pistol...

Thank you for your comments. Back when S&W was doing the "Gun of the Week" and had the famous or infamous Whiz Wheel with all the variations of guns, S&W had a variation that had a thumb decocker lever just like the Sig as one of the variations. As I recall too, the 1076 FBI 10mm Model also called for that feature.

Field stripping a 3rd Gen (or 2nd Gen or 1st Gen) is harder and that is a valid criticism of the pistol, but certainly not a deal breaker. The TSW line of pistols were marketed right at the Sig Price Point and actually had a lot of hand fitting and custom features . The only other criticism was that some claimed that S&Ws weren't as accurate as the Sigs, but this has also been refuted.

Interestingly to me, the original 1st Gen M39 remains my favorite, and is a pistol that do carry on occasion even today. The right combination of ergonomics and looks. Not the best trigger in either DA or SA, but good enough, very high viz sights and it points well for me. I also have a P229 which I like very much in 40 and also with a 357 Sig barrel. If you want to talk caliber, I think .357 Sig is probably the most unerrated and under-appreciated caliber today and will probably become extinct, too bad. Everybody is going back to a souped up 9, when you already had it with the .357 Sig plus it feeds well with the bottlenecked case.

 

[mikem317]

5906 is a good gun but dat manual slide safety... never been a fan of manual slide safeties/locks on my carry units. YMMV.

I find the ergos ofthe P229 to be better than its older and bigger brother but obviously the P226 has the advantage WRT capacity

 

[mark056]

5906 is a good gun but dat manual slide safety... never been a fan of manual slide safeties/locks on my carry units. YMMV. I find the ergos ofthe P229 to be better than its older and bigger brother but obviously the P226 has the advantage WRT capacity

The only thing I have ever used it for is a decocker. All 2nd and 3rd Gen guns have firing pin retention and are drop proof.

 

[EvolutionArmory]

I like mine but would like a Short reset trigger installed. Anyone know a good person to install this?

I can handle this for you. 30 dollars plus the cost of the parts. We also do a nice trigger job for 125. If you opted for that there would be no extra labor for the SRT.

 

[BigEd]

I have owned mine for 25 years. I think I will probably keep it.

Same here. Bought my 226 new in 1992 with K-koat from Exerter.

I want another 226.

Edit: Less mags to buy if I pickup another Sig...

 

[Pete G]

Have had my 226 about 3 years now I think and have been very happy with it. Its been very reliable and its at least as accurate as I am. I got mine brand new from four seasons and it has the E2 grip, which fits my hands great. I tried a few different guns before purchasing the 226 (which was my first gun) and has soon as I had the 226 in my hand I knew it was the one I wanted. YMMV.

 

[Robert1]

I should pitch in here.
I love my Sig. I have fired Berettes, H&K. Glocks, many 1911's, at times not even knowing which one was which.
At the end of the game, the solid feel, smooth operation and confidence the the Sig gave me, just can not be beat.
I own a 9mm 226, It is too beg to carry, but just an absolute great firearm.

 

[beaker]

I liked mine a lot, never thought I'd sell it but I prefer striker fired guns. Was flawless, SRT was also a huge difference.

 

[Gammon]

This S&W bashing confuses me. 5906 difficult to field strip? I just disassembled and reassembles a 6906 in about a minute. What is the problem? If you don't like the safety, don't use it. The fact that S&W discontinued these pistols is an example of S&W's incompetence, not evidence of the 3d generation gun's lack of quality. S&W dumped their metal guns to jump on the plastic bandwagon with the M&P line. I think the real steel guns will be back.

I am also surprised that no one has alluded to the problems that SIG is having with their alloy framed pistols, which is not a well kept secret. Alloy framed 226s have experienced frame cracking in the area of the rails with extended use. The problem is common enough for at least one gunsmith to be working on an after market solution. A friend of mine had to replace the alloy frame on his 9mm 226 due to this problem. The word I have from a reliable source is that SIG will not cover such repairs under warranty.

 

[ScottS]

This S&W bashing confuses me. 5906 difficult to field strip? I just disassembled and reassembles a 6906 in about a minute. What is the problem? If you don't like the safety, don't use it. The fact that S&W discontinued these pistols is an example of S&W's incompetence, not evidence of the 3d generation gun's lack of quality. S&W dumped their metal guns to jump on the plastic bandwagon with the M&P line. I think the real steel guns will be back.

I am also surprised that no one has alluded to the problems that SIG is having with their alloy framed pistols, which is not a well kept secret. Alloy framed 226s have experienced frame cracking in the area of the rails with extended use. The problem is common enough for at least one gunsmith to be working on an after market solution. A friend of mine had to replace the alloy frame on his 9mm 226 due to this problem. The word I have from a reliable source is that SIG will not cover such repairs under warranty.

Could you please provide some documentation for that statement? Sig P226 alloy framed guns have been in .mil and LE service for literally thousands and tens of thousand of rounds without problem. You base this "problem" on the fact that one gunsmith is working on a "solution?" You can buy a steel frame for a Glock, too. That doesn't mean Glock frames suddenly have a problem.

And, I think you're living in the past with this statement: "I think the real steel guns will be back." No way does S&W (or any major manufacture of polymer-framed pistols) re-introduce a steel-framed gun. To what end, and to what market?

 

[mark056]

Could you please provide some documentation for that statement? Sig P226 alloy framed guns have been in .mil and LE service for literally thousands and tens of thousand of rounds without problem. You base this "problem" on the fact that one gunsmith is working on a "solution?" You can buy a steel frame for a Glock, too. That doesn't mean Glock frames suddenly have a problem.

And, I think you're living in the past with this statement: "I think the real steel guns will be back." No way does S&W (or any major manufacture of polymer-framed pistols) re-introduce a steel-framed gun. To what end, and to what market?

FACT: Some agencies have dropped Sig Sauer Pistols due to QC issues, not aware of frame cracking issues. Sig's issue with QC is well documented and has to do with increased production. They produce more guns at Epping in a month, than they used to produce in a year. Increased production = lowered QC standards
FACT: Some agencies such as the West Virginia Highway Patrol prefer the S&W metal pistols and in the 2012-2013 time frame S&W outfitted them with new 4506 3rd Gen Pistols. (they tried the M&P BTW) S&W will still make 3rd Gen pistols on order, and will replace 3rd Gen guns currently in service with agencies that still use them.

There will be a demand for the traditional DA/SA into the near future. Eventually this will give way to the polymer striker fired guns, but pistols such as the Beretta 92, and the Sig P226/229 will be out there for a long time. Since thousands and thousands of S&W DA/SA semi-autos were made they will comprise a significant portion of the used gun market for decades, and there is a demand for them. There is also a growing collector interest because of so many variations and relatively cheap prices. It is not inconceivable that S&W will offer limited production runs or a run from time to time of these classics as they have with other guns.

As long as the mlitary remains wedded to the traditional double action concept, and if they retain the M9 in some format, traditional DA auto pistols will be around. For those like myself who learned to shoot a DA/SA auto pistol first, the so called difficulty in transitioning from the first DA shot to the subsequent single action shot has never been the big deal that some make it out to be. YMMV.