I have about 500 rds thru it. The last 50 rds was CCI Mini Mags. Of the 50 rds had 2 fail to fire and both had good firing pin indentations. Prior 200 rds of Remington Thunderbolts had 6 fail to feed, 1 fail to eject and 4 fail to fire. Have tried different Federals but no luck, mostly fail to fire. Using 19 lb Wolf hammer spring. Suggestion welcome. Seems to work better with oil vs grease. All this using same magazine.

I've had very similar experiences with the .22 conversion kit on my P229R 9mm. It seems to like CCI MiniMags the best out of all the .22 brands I've tried.

The 9mm slide has been flawless since day 1. The .22 slide, not so much.

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
Using 19 lb Wolf hammer spring. Suggestion welcome.

Put the stock main spring back in if you are having so many failures to fire.

^^^Yep.

I have a P226 .40 with the .22 conversion and use CCI Mini_Mags. I run an 18# and used to use a 19#. Misfires with both, but more with the 18#.

Goes with the territory, unless you use the factory mainspring (22#).

Also, clean it after each range session. The crud builds up in the chamber area and creates more misfires.

I have worked on many of these conversions. The slide typically rubs along the rails and or the top of the hammer . . . thus slowing down the chambering cycle. Take out the barrel and spring . . . cycle the slide slowly by hand and see where it might be dragging. Tweak those few areas with some fine abrasive. Keep the slide clean and very lightly lubbed.

I can run whatever .22 I put in mine. I do use oil, not grease.

I'd put the stock spring back in.

Will be changing to heavier spring. Will the plastic spring holder work in my older 226 triple serial numbers? Lost old spring so will have to order.

I'm unclear as to whether your P226 has the "Old Style" long strut/spring or the newer plastic base assembly.

The old long hammer strut/mainspring can be replaced with the "New Style" plastic base/hammer strut assembly. AFAIK, this is true for all older P226 models. Besides the new hammer strut and plastic base, the mainspring (hammer spring) is different (from the old style) as well.

My 226 does not have the plastic base/hammer strut assembly. It is all metal.

You may want to consider replacing the "Old Style" long metal hammer strut with the "New Style" strut/plastic base assembly. I found the DA pull was improved when I replaced the strut in my 1995 P229 with the newer style. Less stacking, plus far easier to replace mainsprings (hammer springs).

I'll try to make this simple, but Sig has made it complicated (after the E2 variation). There are TWO styles of the new plastic base assembly. One is E2-specific, the other is non-E2 which can be used only with standard two piece grips. The E2-specific can be used with E2 OR two piece grips. It's a clearance issue, based on the grip size/style.

See pic below. Note that the struts and bases are different. The proper base must be matched to the appropriate strut. The SAME recoil spring is used with both assemblies. In my own testing, the non-E2 specific assembly produced a better DA pull than the E2. I don't know if that is true with the current E2-specific assemblies or not. IIRC, someone stated that Sig is now standardized on the E2 assembly regardless of the grip style. Have not seen that confirmed by Sig though.

1) Determine which assembly type you want. Top Gun Supply shows both plastic bases, but only the E2 hammer strut.

E2 short base strut and short base:
https://www.topgunsupply.com/s...229-short-reach.html
https://www.topgunsupply.com/s...-for-small-grip.html

Non-E2 specific long plastic base. No matching hammer strut on the TGS Web site. You may have to check elsewhere or call them.
https://www.topgunsupply.com/s...-p226-p228-p229.html

2) Mainspring (hammer spring). Either buy a Sig OEM factory standard spring or Wolff springs. I'd get the Hammer Spring Pak with three RP springs. Might want to get a factory standard (21#) as well from Sig or Wolff. Note that the Factory Standard weights are different between the Old and New styles (24# versus 21#).

Wolff Springs (Old and New):
https://www.gunsprings.com/SIG...226/cID1/mID4/dID254

Both below are "New Style". Top is non-E2 (LONG base), bottom is E2 (SHORT base:


Finally, you can just buy some Wolff RP springs for your current Old Style long metal hammer strut. Wolff states: Reduced Power...: 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, & 22 Lb. Factory Standard.: 24 Lb. If you're using a 19#, may want to try 20 or 22#.

Personally, I'd opt for going to the New Style assembly, especially with a .22 conversion kit involved. May have to play with various weights to satisfy your center fire versus .22 reliability equation.

Thanks Nipper. I understand the grip deal. My 226 serial # U581... was manufactured in 97 according to the sig forum list. It has a L shaped metal bracket that fits in the frame which the strut set.in. I will try the non E-2 specific assembly and heavier spring. I use the Hogue rubber grips.

What does changing the firing spring to reduced power accomplish?

Darned if I know...never done it on any pistol.

Any updates?

Bruce

I purchased the new style hammer strut and plastic base and a 22lb spring just yesterday. Have not got to the range yet. Will let you know how it performs.

How is the trigger with the new setup?
Are you going with light oil vs grease for this range test?

Bruce

I like the trigger in single action. Will be using light oil. I will be changing my 229 & p6 to the new assembly. Much easier to disassemble and reassemble.

How do you determine which hammer spring to use with the old style strut assembly and the newer long and short plastic base assemblies?

I don't quite follow. The Old Style spring is unique to the old long all metal hammer strut. It is available from both Sig and Wolff.

Both the long and short base New Style assemblies use the same New Style spring. Thus, a New Style spring can be used in either variant, but NOT in the Old Style strut...and vice versa.

ANY of the above can be fitted with the appropriate RP or factory weight springs from Wolff.

Adding to what llama1 said,

On one of my conversions the slide would not always go fully into battery by a tiny amount. The hammer would fall and drive the slide the rest of the way home . . in doing so it would absorb enough hammer energy to cause a misfire, and hide the evidence moving the slide that tiny bit.

Problem was the extractor was misaligned with the "cut" or notch in the chamber. Removed a enough metal to enlarge the notch so the extractor wouldn't bind.