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SIG P229 Question
- Thread starter WillyJP
- Start date
The Sig is a great gun. I like them all, but only have a 226. The key to if it is a good carry gun is if you can shoot it well. If it doesn't fit you and you don't shoot it well as a result, then it's not a good carry gun for you. Next is getting a good rig to carry it in.
Willy,
I have a P229 and it is a good gun. It is reliable and accurate.
It is not very small. You may want to take a closer look at one if you intend to carry it concealed.
I believe that all of the current production P229s have rails, including the P229M (MA compliant version).
http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=8&productid=63
Jack
I have a P229 and it is a good gun. It is reliable and accurate.
It is not very small. You may want to take a closer look at one if you intend to carry it concealed.
I believe that all of the current production P229s have rails, including the P229M (MA compliant version).
http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=8&productid=63
Jack
I have the P229RM and while it shoots great, I cannot use it as a carry gun. It is too thick for an IWB holster, which is how I carry. Plus, I have found that the hammer release lever kept pinching my side just about every time I tried to re-holster it...very uncomfortable.
A great gun...I have one and carry it sometimes. However, I do find it a little too big and heavy my main carry weapon though. But as always, YMMV.
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+1
I have one in .357Sig that I would love to use as a CCW,but it's just too damn heavy.
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2005
- Messages
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I have both the 229 and the 239. I carry my 229 in a comp-tac holster which works great, but will agree it is heavy. I find myself carrying the 239 in .357sig with a high noon iwb holster. I can carry all day and forget it's there if you can believe that.
The 229 is really more of a small duty pistol rather than a CCW. It is quite thick in cross section making it difficult to conceal and carry comfortably. The 239 is a better choice for CCW but is also rather thick for a CCW. If you are sold on Sig, go with the 239, otherwise look into the S&W 3rd generation semi-autos which are available for exeptional prices on the used market, and carry much easier model-for-model than the Sig, Think 4013 rather than 239 and you may be surprised.
They're compliant and relatively easy to come by.
The only downside is the weight... you'll be clocking in in the low
30's range... but it is manageable with the right kind of holster
and belt.
Preban 12 rnd mags are also readily available, just takes a little bit
of searching.
The only real "con" to these rigs is that they're DA/SA, and every
once in awhile one comes out of the factory with a "so so" SA
trigger. Might be worth testing with dry fires at shop to see
if it suits you. Worst case competent gunsmith can probably
clean it up a bit. The DA is helped a bit by a wolff spring
replacement. The only thing to keep in mind when using a wolff
reduced power mainspring is the replacement interval will be a
bit higher (eg, you want to replace every 3000 rounds or so..
they'll go a lot longer, but just to be safe, 3K is a good marker. )
Don't let the "its too heavy/big" naysayers get you down- that's
offset by the fact that the guns are generally built like a brick
shithouse and are extremely reliable. If you can "deal" with the
weight, it's an excellent carry gun.
-Mike
Rockrivr1
NES Member
As others have said, it's pretty heavy and thick for CCW. If you find a good holster for you and wear baggy cloths then you can probably pull it off. I would think though that you'd get tired of it pulling down one side of your pants pretty quick. Of course that will depend on the belt you carry it with. If you do CCW it, you'll need to get you a good quality belt in order to do so.
The one plus of getting a 40 cal 229 is that it can easily be converted to either 357 Sig or 9mm by just changing out the bbls. I have a Sig 357 and a BarSto 9mm bbl for mine and it shoot great with all three calibers. The 40 mag will also hold the 357 and 9mm round so you do not need to change those and you convert between the three.
Good luck in your choice.
The one plus of getting a 40 cal 229 is that it can easily be converted to either 357 Sig or 9mm by just changing out the bbls. I have a Sig 357 and a BarSto 9mm bbl for mine and it shoot great with all three calibers. The 40 mag will also hold the 357 and 9mm round so you do not need to change those and you convert between the three.
Good luck in your choice.
I wouldn't say you need to wear baggy clothing, just a good holster should do just like any firearm.
And another one showing how it compares to a fullsize model.
I should have expanded earlier on it but much like Rockrivr1 mentioned the 229 gives you the ability to use it in 40 S&W and .357sig, which in my opinion is great as you can plink with the lightning and carry the thunder
. The magazines between 40/.357 are interchangeable as well, so for the price of one gun and perhaps an extra $150 or so for the other calibers barrel you have two guns.
Online I've seen many people talking about Barstos conversion kit from the 40/.357 frame to the 9mm, but other than Rocks mention of it I've never known anyone to actually get that barrel and would be interested in hearing about how well it fires with the different calibers using the same springs.
Anyhow back on topic, the 229 is an excellent carry gun and a great plinker.
And another one showing how it compares to a fullsize model.
I should have expanded earlier on it but much like Rockrivr1 mentioned the 229 gives you the ability to use it in 40 S&W and .357sig, which in my opinion is great as you can plink with the lightning and carry the thunder
. The magazines between 40/.357 are interchangeable as well, so for the price of one gun and perhaps an extra $150 or so for the other calibers barrel you have two guns. Online I've seen many people talking about Barstos conversion kit from the 40/.357 frame to the 9mm, but other than Rocks mention of it I've never known anyone to actually get that barrel and would be interested in hearing about how well it fires with the different calibers using the same springs.
Anyhow back on topic, the 229 is an excellent carry gun and a great plinker.
Rockrivr1
NES Member
I bought the BarSto bbl about 5-6 years ago and have shot somewhere in the area of 2000 rnds of 9mm though it. Because it's a lot cheaper to shoot the 9mm, it's the primary bbl I keep in it. Overall round count between all 3 calibers in my 229 would have to be over 3000. I've never changed the recoil spring and the handgun is accurate and functions fine in all three calibers. The one thing I do notice though is that the 357 round is a lot snappier on the recoil then the 9mm and 40 S&W.
I'm not sure about that. I think if you have a 229 in .40, to go to 9mm you also need a different slide in addition to the barrel because of the slide face differential between the 9mm cart. base and the .40. I had three 229's over the years and yes, you can just drop a .357S barrel in and that will work.
All in all, with the thousands of rounds fired out of the three 229's we never had a jam of any type. One hell of a reliable pistol.
Rockrivr1
NES Member
You will not need a new slide. BarSto has taken into account the variences between the two bbls and made the 9mm conversion bbl to spec so it will fit into the existing slide.
The top bbl is the 9mm and the bottom bbl is the 40 S&W. As you can see there is no difference in the size of the two bbls. Just the different chamber and rifling to fit 9mm.
If your still skeptical, anyone is more then welcome to shoot it in all three calibers. You can also check the Sig Forum as there are numerous successful reports of people shooting all three calibers in the same handgun using the 40 S&W mags.
Excellent advancement over the old way of doing things. Thanks.
I have a P226 in 9mm and a P229 in 40 S&W. Hard to say which is my favorite. They are both awesome guns. The P229 is my range gun for fun plinking and the P229 is my home defense gun in the bedroom safe. They are both beautiful pieces of equipment and are very accurate out of the box and extremely reliable.
I do find both to big to CCW. I have flirted with the idea of a P239 but have a Kahr MK9 that I really really like for CCW.
I do find both to big to CCW. I have flirted with the idea of a P239 but have a Kahr MK9 that I really really like for CCW.
I'm like an old truck stuck in a big rut......do I bring the P226 or 228, both in 9mm, to the range today to shoot or the P220 in .45acp. Oh well, just bring them all. That seems to solve that problem. As far as CC goes, I like the S&W J frames and their old stand by- the 3913.
My Sig P229 is a beast. It's an absolute tack-driver. I have fired over 600 rounds without one single malfunction. NOT ONE! Granted it is heavy, but I carry it quite often and it doesn't bother me. I carry it either IWB or OWB and I find that OWB 3 Oclock is the most comfortable. The hammer will pinch you occationally, but I usually have a shirt in between me and the gun so it doesn't pinch me anymore. Overall, unbelievable gun. It shoots .40 as if its a 9mm
