SIGforum
P229 caliber exchange kits

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June 13, 2018, 03:46 PM
largebore1
P229 caliber exchange kits
In 2013 I bought a P229 elite dark in .40 S&W IMHO one of the finest guns ever. I've shot 5000 flawless accurate fun rounds thru it,really love this gun. One of the reasons I purchased this gun was the ability to buy a .357 drop in barrel and the 9mm caliber exchange kit and shoot 3 different calibers. I just purchased the .357 barrel and the 9mm exchange kit anxiously waiting for delivery. Would like to hear other members experiences with the drop in barrels and caliber exchange kit and what its like shooting 9mm and .357 after shooting .40 for so long. I'm thinking 9mm will have very little recoil, the .357 I've no idea what it will be like but since I like shooting .40 thinking it will be similar.


THERE'S NO EXHILARATION LIKE ACCELERATION
June 13, 2018, 11:01 PM
largebore1
quote:
Originally posted by largebore1:
In 2013 I bought a P229 elite dark in .40 S&W. I've shot 5000 flawless accurate fun rounds thru it,really love this gun. One of the reasons I purchased this gun was the ability to buy a .357 drop in barrel and the 9mm caliber exchange kit and shoot 3 different calibers. I just purchased the .357 barrel and the 9mm exchange kit anxiously waiting for delivery. Would like to hear other members experiences with the drop in barrels and caliber exchange kit and what its like shooting 9mm and .357 after shooting .40 for so long. I'm thinking 9mm will have very little recoil, the .357 I've no idea what it will be like but since I like shooting .40 thinking it will be similar.



THERE'S NO EXHILARATION LIKE ACCELERATION
June 14, 2018, 10:07 PM
pointman73
I love my X-Change Kit in 9mm for my P229. In fact, I am going to be carrying it now and then. It functions great and is amazingly accurate. It was so much better than buying a whole new gun, not that I won't...


Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
June 14, 2018, 10:25 PM
AVG
I have an Sig P229 Elite in 9mm also a
40 X-change kit. I have put over 200 rounds thru the gun in 40 and over 500 rounds in 9mm. I just received a Sig .357 sig barrel last week. Did a drop in test in the slide with the barrel it did fine will try to shoot it some time soon.

June 15, 2018, 07:25 AM
pblanc
I have two P229 pistols chambered in .40 S&W. I do have a 357 SIG barrel. I will probably buy a 9mm X-Change kit this year.

There seems to be some divergence of opinion regarding the comparative recoil characteristics of .40 S&W and 357 SIG. I have seen quite a few comment that they feel the recoil from 357 SIG is easier to control.

Personally, I would say that the recoil characteristics are similar, but different. There might be a bit more muzzle rise with .40 S&W. To me, 357 SIG seems to result in a sharper push back into the hand. If you enjoy shooting .40 S&W I suspect you will like shooting 357 SIG.

If you are using the same slide and sights for both calibers, you will probably need to make a slight adjustment in hold (POI) to shoot to the same POI. .40 S&W shoots to a little higher POI than 357 SIG for ranges of 25 yards or less since it does not get out of the barrel as quickly. 357 SIG is higher velocity so it shoots flatter and will have less drop at longer ranges.

357 SIG definitely has a louder report and more muzzle flash and FMJ target and practice ammo is considerably more expensive. The price difference for quality JHP ammunition is not nearly as significant, however.
June 16, 2018, 11:21 AM
John3200
SIG makes their guns to a specific tolerance and their QC on such has been very good in my experience. What that means is that parts are drop in and simply work. I have a couple Caliber X-Change kits and they have worked flawlessly. I've also swapped slides from gun to gun and had them work flawlessly.

The only issue to think about with the Caliber X-Change kits and swapping slides is (and I've heard this from Bruce Grey as well as a couple sources at SIG) Slides metal is harder than the alloy frames on most SIGs so you can have 2 distinctly different wear patterns from 2 different slides.

Even if they fit the same it just stands to reason that the surface flats and edges can be slightly different from one slide to another. Like 2 different pieces of the same grit of sandpaper. I hope that makes sense. So they may wear the frame a bit faster than the same number of rounds fired from a single frame/slide combo.

All that being said, most of us won't put so many rounds through these guns to even start to approach worrying about this.

Also, all that being said. Ultimately, I'd rather have 2 complete guns rather than one frame and 2 different slides to put on it.
June 16, 2018, 02:13 PM
Z06

The first SIG I ever bought was a P229 .22 Classic for $449. I then bought a threaded barrel so I could use my Gemtech Outback IID and converted the 2 mags that came with it to hold 15 rounds ea.
Then I bought a .40 S&W X-Change kit + a .357 SIG barrel. After that I bought a 9mm X-Change kit (that was shipped with an Elite slide!) + a threaded barrel for my Gemtech Tundra can.
All 4 calibers work and interchange perfectly with 0 problems.


________________________________________________________
The trouble with trouble is; it always starts out as fun.
June 18, 2018, 08:02 PM
largebore1
Thanks for the responses guys. The exchange kit is out of stock but I placed my order knowing that. still waiting for delivery. I have 2 other 9mm pistols and one other .40 S&W pistol and shot a lot of both rounds but have never shot any .357 SIG. Was just wondering what it would be like shooting 9MM and .357 SIG from the same platform. Z06 you sir have a nice collection. Impressive

This message has been edited. Last edited by: largebore1,


THERE'S NO EXHILARATION LIKE ACCELERATION
June 18, 2018, 09:29 PM
hrcjon
except for the optic mount.


“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
June 18, 2018, 09:41 PM
H&K-Guy
quote:
Originally posted by Z06:

The first SIG I ever bought was a P229 .22 Classic for $449. I then bought a threaded barrel so I could use my Gemtech Outback IID and converted the 2 mags that came with it to hold 15 rounds ea.
Then I bought a .40 S&W X-Change kit + a .357 SIG barrel. After that I bought a 9mm X-Change kit (that was shipped with an Elite slide!) + a threaded barrel for my Gemtech Tundra can.
All 4 calibers work and interchange perfectly with 0 problems.


Thank you for my new wallpaper!!!

H&K-Guy
June 18, 2018, 09:52 PM
John3200
quote:
Originally posted by largebore1:
Thanks for the responses guys. The exchange kit is out of stock but I placed my order knowing that. still waiting for delivery. I have 2 other 9mm pistols and one other .40 S&W pistol and shot a lot of both rounds but have never shot any .357 S&W. Was just wondering what it would be like shooting 9MM and .357 S&W from the same platform. Z06 you sir have a nice collection. Impressive


I have a P229 in 357 Sig. It's snappier than 9mm as you would imagine but by no means hard recoiling. It's a lot louder though. I have a Glock 32C that is the loudest handgun I've ever owned.