Buy what makes you happy. I've been on a S&W three inch revolver kick for the past three years. I'm up to 14 now. The cost of admission on them has risen quite a bit. But I enjoy them and that's all that matters. Had an ANIB 226 factory nickel I purchased unfired. Didnt have the heart to shoot it and sold it a year later.

One thing I noticed that's not necessarily just down to West German but the folded carbon slide pistols definitely balance differently. I really liked how my KD P220 felt in the hand.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
One thing I noticed that's not necessarily just down to West German but the folded carbon slide pistols definitely balance differently. I really liked how my KD P220 felt in the hand.

This. I don't care a whit about the markings on the slide, but I do prefer the balance of the folded slides to the milled stainless ones. I know that the milled slide is a more robust design, but it's heavier, which puts more weight up top and increases reciprocating mass. I don't hate the milled slide guns, but given the choice between the two and all else being equal, I'll take a folded slide gun every time.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Your wife is a he? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Lol.

Do you watch Seinfeld?

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
One thing I noticed that's not necessarily just down to West German but the folded carbon slide pistols definitely balance differently. I really liked how my KD P220 felt in the hand.

And that's the biggest difference!!! The new slides are heavier, the recoil impulse is different. I like the Germans Sig better just for that.

My 226 Legion is one of the best shooting/fitting pistols I have ever owned! I don't have a problem with any balance issues between guns, as I learn to shoot whatever gun is in my hand at the moment.

quote:

Originally posted by JDG:
My 226 Legion is one of the best shooting/fitting pistols I have ever owned! I don't have a problem with any balance issues between guns, as I learn to shoot whatever gun is in my hand at the moment.

This sounds defensive to me. I'm sure your Legion is great. Nobody said it wasn't. I'd hazard a guess that most, if not all of us, learn to shoot whatever gun is in our hand at the moment. Some of them have a preferential feel to them.

When I got my P220, it was as a surprise gift from my best friend the same day he bought a brand new P220 Equinox for himself. We spent the day at a gunshow and when we got back to his jeep, I was buckling in and this pistol box landed in my lap. We made it back to his place to have dinner with his family and inspect our new guns, and we both decided the West German felt better in the hand, and this particular example had a better trigger than his Equinox. I offered to trade him when he seemed disappointed with the Equinox, but he declined. That Equinox didn't stick around too long after the sheen wore off comparing them side by side.

I'm sure someone here got rid of a West German P220 for an Equinox and absolutely loves it. Again, it's all down to what you prefer and I simply said the folded slide German guns balance differently. Some people prefer the way that feels in the hand, and I'm sure they can shoot Legions and all the other milled slide guns just fine.

As the old adage goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I’ve found benefits to both & at the end of the day,perform similarly..

I admit my bias in favor of the German/W. German SIGs, but some of today's selling prices are beyond the beyond/Not worth it, in my opinion. I bought my first SIG, a 226, about '86 IIRC, when our department authorized their use. A 220 and 228 or two followed. These were all the folded slide guns WG/G guns. The barrel/slide/frame fit of all these guns was very precise. None of mine malfunctioned, or suffered any parts breakage,etc. Just overall excellent pistols. I recall wishing my Colts and Browning Hi Powers were fit as well as these German guns.

When the made-in-USA SIGs began production, I was biased against them. I have read of some parts breakage, extraction issues,etc. But now, having now owned a few, and while slide to frame fit is not as tight, I can't fault the performance of those I've owned.

FWIW, I was really negative about the prospect of an American made P210, but the 210As did turn out to be precisely fitted, accurate, reliable pistols, that most would likely agree are worth the asking price...

quote:

Originally posted by sigmeister84:

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
No, but the Swiss ones are. Try finding one.

I'd give up a testicle for a 210

Careful what you ask for . Some members on this forum hold a number of Sigs that would blow your mind away. The kind that your average Sig collector don't even know they exist.

Your testicles would end up in a jar somewhere if they don't already have.

I think the fit and finish are better. I think the german mags have a better fit and finish but I wouldnt say they are better otherwise.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by JDG:
My 226 Legion is one of the best shooting/fitting pistols I have ever owned! I don't have a problem with any balance issues between guns, as I learn to shoot whatever gun is in my hand at the moment.

This sounds defensive to me. I'm sure your Legion is great. Nobody said it wasn't. I'd hazard a guess that most, if not all of us, learn to shoot whatever gun is in our hand at the moment. Some of them have a preferential feel to them.

When I got my P220, it was as a surprise gift from my best friend the same day he bought a brand new P220 Equinox for himself. We spent the day at a gunshow and when we got back to his jeep, I was buckling in and this pistol box landed in my lap. We made it back to his place to have dinner with his family and inspect our new guns, and we both decided the West German felt better in the hand, and this particular example had a better trigger than his Equinox. I offered to trade him when he seemed disappointed with the Equinox, but he declined. That Equinox didn't stick around too long after the sheen wore off comparing them side by side.

I'm sure someone here got rid of a West German P220 for an Equinox and absolutely loves it. Again, it's all down to what you prefer and I simply said the folded slide German guns balance differently. Some people prefer the way that feels in the hand, and I'm sure they can shoot Legions and all the other milled slide guns just fine.

Not at all defensive. I tried to feel the difference between my 228 and M11-A1, but I just couldn't. Not sensitive enough I guess. The only gun I had, that felt better/different than any other Sig was my P-6. That gun felt tighter, smoother, even sounded different when the slide was racked! My new 225-A1 shot so much better, that I traded it away. It's like saying, I don't like the balance of my pistol after shooting 3rds, because that's about the difference in weight between a folded and milled slide.

The Sig factory in NH is state of the art. When new you could take a virtual tour of the place.
So, in my opinion Sigs made there are as fine as any ever made in West Germany.
All of mine were made in that factory and all are perfect.
Poli Viejo

Have we arrived at a definitive answer yet?

That is the point. There is none. The older W. German guns, in general, go for a premium, although it isn't always huge.

But there is no consensus that they are actually better. Some prefer them for different reasons, and some like the later guns better. Even those who do prefer them will tell you there isn't much wrong with the newer guns. (Although, I also hate rails on pistols unless you absolutely have to have a gun mounted light.)

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
This reminds me of a battle I have had occasionally with my wife and her friends. They buy expensive wines when they meet. I challenged them to a blind taste test with cheap stuff and guess what they all funked several times. On the range you aren't going to tell squat. Now if you happen to like aesthetics or history or finish or all the other visual or historical clues have at it.

Something which seems inherent between the old and new Sig pistols and, I speak mainly of P226 and P220, are the handleing quality of that darn grip frame. Barring that we can compare factory grips to factory grips, new and old, a WG P220 feels much the same as a American P220. Then there is the P226. Again, factory grips dont seem to have changed that wonderful contour of the P226. All the way up into the X guns is that beautiful contour. Beyond that it is pretty much a difference in weight.

I'd enjoy adding my much limited experience in making parts both from various materials in flat stock and bar or forging. The forging I will let be here. The initial plates which the Germans drew the slides from look fairly heavy in thickness. My thinking is it required more than one strike of a draw die to form and finish form the slide rear section. Tight enough tolerence can easily be held when making parts from flat stock. Begin with quality material and you can end with a quality piece. Quality fit in these older battle pistols is not absolutely true. They were not hard fit like a high dollar 1911. Quality yes but not quite the same. Having some limited experience machining bar stock, after market Glock slides, it was a learning process to get to the completed parts. First mistake was attempting to machine bar material which was prehardened to the desired Rockwell hardness of the finished slide. It was a bitch to machine and changes were made. Those first batches needed to be sofened to allow for machining. There after, stock was ordered of a softer state. Next came issues with rough machining out the slides interior causing deformation. Finish machining would cause out of tolerence numbers. Basically bad parts. Stress relieved material made for a higher quality finish machined piece. These are some of the things encountered when milling from solid bar as opposed to forming the piece from flat stock. The type of machined features required to finish the German made slides does not require special treatments to make the part complete. A minimum of machining was required to make the earlier type slides.

As the owner of West German P220, P228 and a Swiss P225....yeah...I totally think they are worth a little more money.

They are well made and feel good in the hand and are very accurate.

quote:

Originally posted by PGT:
228's and 226's routinely sell for a lot. To wit:

this could be faked. or not.

gaming the system on GB is a real possibility.

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quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
this could be faked. or not.

gaming the system on GB is a real possibility.

-----------------------------------

Can you tell me what might be fake about it? A lot of times, they sure are over the top when it comes to item descriptions, but my personal experience in dealing with Keystone is that they are straight arrows.

Most everything they list is "ultra rare" and/or "holy grail". Some truly do deserve such labeling, but most don't. The Nickel P226 above definitely don't. It might be a little scarce, but ultra rare it ain't.

A crazy example is a P365 they describe as "hard to find". Lol.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:

this could be faked. or not.

gaming the system on GB is a real possibility.

even with shill bidders, it wouldn't be a viable business if someone, somewhere didn't pay now would it?

Looking at comps on nickel Sig's, they all close very strongly. I.e. this wasn't a fluke.

I've bought two guns from Keystone. I paid as much as I wanted and not a penny more.