I’m new to the Sig world. Been hunting for a 226 Legion in 40 cal.
I just read they are discontinued ?? Fact or fiction ??
TIA
Mike

I don't know but I did hear a Sig employee say they were concentrating on 9mm pistols to try and keep up with demand.

There are many .40 SIG Sauer P226 on Gunbroker.com I just took a peek and saw one with a bid for as low as $4.95. I didn’t see any Legion .40 P226 however.

The market has steered toward 9mm in masse, so I can see why SigArms has focused mainly on 9mm pistols. I have experienced as much on an individual level when I have relatives try to give me .40 ammo and I pass on it because I can’t use it.

4.95? I'll take 100 of them.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
4.95? I'll take 100 of them.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/897987135

Correction $4.25, but that is only an auction for 1 unit not 100.

Checking the SIG web site shows that all P226, P229, and P320 models are evidently being offered in 9mm only. I can only guess whether those models will ever be produced in 357 SIG or 40 S&W again, but both of those cartridges had been waning in popularity for years now. There’s a thread in the Ammunition section here that dates back three years commenting about the phenomenon.

The pandemic-driven increased demand for guns (for a time) and ammunition (to this day) no doubt furthered the trend, partially because unpopularity leads to more unpopularity, but if a company like SIG can sell all the guns it can produce in one specific caliber, there’s little reason to stay diversified. It may be as well that ammunition manufacturers are contributing to all that. When I check my favorite ammo supplier, SG Ammo, there is usually some sort of 9mm available; the same has not been true of 40 S&W for some time.

Thanks for the comments. Ironically my desire for a 40 cal gun was the availability of ammo in that caliber.
Now if 40 is going to get difficult to find vs. the more popular 9mm I may have to rethink.

Yes, The P226 in 40S&W is a fine pistol to have.

Bigger choice of calibers means more likely ammo can be found.

You'll only need a barrel to convert it from 40 S&W to .357 Sig.

The 226 is a perfect match for taming down the snap of the .40. I have one that I gave the Equinox treatment and it is a fine pistol. Prices for them on GB are about as low for any Classic Sig you can think of for some reason.

Ironically, earlier this week I queried SIG CS about the P229 in .40 S&W. Their response was that we are not making any right now because of demand and we may or may not change our mind in the future. In short, it's doubtful we will see a run of Classic SIGs in .40 S&W this year.

Unless I'm mistaken, the .40 226 can accept a 9mm barrel swap (.357 sig barrel, too!), just like the 239. You'll just have to track down magazines. And likely a lighter spring.

A factory barrel to barrel switch will not work; you will need to source an aftermarket barrel such as a Bar-sto and have it fitted. It may be less expensive in the long run to buy a 9mm parts kit off of broker and have dedicated uppers for both 9mm and .40. A .357 Sig barrel is a straight drop in. I found that any 226 9mm upper assembly will drop right on, however, with no modifications necessary.

A factory 9mm P226 barrel is a sloppy fit in a 357/40 slide, but many people have reported using that combination. The barrel hood extension of the 9mm barrel is slightly narrower than the corresponding slot in the 357/40 slide, but evidently the other locking surfaces serve to hold it in place. It’s not something I’ve ever tried myself, and have no intention of doing so, but that’s what I’ve read here. One obviously does that at his own risk.

I suspect that if I fall in love with the 40, I’d feel compelled to just buy another Sig in 9mm. Can one actually have too many ?? History says no.

Ive ran a factory Glock 17 9mm barrel in a Glock 22 .40 cal pistol. It was a very sloppy fit and not accurate at all with practically no lock up, but it did function 100% amazingly. It was just a test to see if it would work, I have no use for that combination...

I have the P229 in .40 S&W, the compact version of the P226. Very fine pistol. Nothing wrong with the .40 S&W for defensive use, IMO. 180-grain bullets launched at ~1000FPS provide a lot of power in a controllable cartridge. Brass is still easy to obtain so those of us who reload have no particular problems keeping a supply of ammo on hand. Like every other caliber I use, first thing I did was order a set of dies and a bullet mold. Prior to the current shortages and ridiculous prices for components I was producing .40 S&W ammo with salvaged lead, bulk powder and primers for about a nickel per round (about what it costs me for 9X19, .38 Special, .357 mag, .44 Special, .45ACP, and other common handgun cartridges).

My P229 is a "red box" gun, LE trade-in that Sig runs through the shop to refurbish to new condition, ships in a red box with manual, 2 magazines, and a one-year warranty. I bought it in Nov. 2018 for $388 when a new P229 was $1087 MSRP. Incredible bargain in today's market! Found two more 12-round factory mags in as-new condition for $35 and added a good pancake holster. One of the other members at our range gave me a factory 10-round mag so I'm good to go for certain states that have such limitations.

IMO, now is a very good time to shop for a .40 S&W Sig, either P229 or P226. Lots of LE agencies have decided to follow the herd back to the 9mm pasture, so some very good deals can be had. Extra magazines are plentiful and inexpensive, as are parts, accessories, drop-in .357 Sig barrels (use the same magazines as .40 S&W).

35 years ago the US military adopted a new 9X19 service pistol (Beretta M9), and LE agencies were moving away from DA .38/.357 revolvers to the new "wonder-nines". Lots of predictions that the .45ACP was dead, the 1911 pistol was ancient history, and revolvers would never recover. What really happened?

Millions of quality .40 S&W pistols still in use, and I suspect that ammunition will remain in production for many years to come.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
A factory barrel to barrel switch will not work; you will need to source an aftermarket barrel such as a Bar-sto and have it fitted. It may be less expensive in the long run to buy a 9mm parts kit off of broker and have dedicated uppers for both 9mm and .40. A .357 Sig barrel is a straight drop in. I found that any 226 9mm upper assembly will drop right on, however, with no modifications necessary.

Specific to the 226?

I've had no, and until now haven't heard of any, issues swapping 9mm barrel into 239 sigs, with new spring and mags. Glad I was in early so have plenty of 9mm mags, barrel, and replacement springs for my two 239s originally in .40, which includes .357 barrel and mag swaps! All work flawlessly. It's almost like having six different pistols.

quote:

Specific to the 226?

I've had no, and until now haven't heard of any, issues swapping 9mm barrel into 239 sigs, with new spring and mags. Glad I was in early so have plenty of 9mm mags, barrel, and replacement springs for my two 239s originally in .40, which includes .357 barrel and mag swaps! All work flawlessly. It's almost like having six different pistols.

I believe the P239 is an anomaly in this regard, in that you can swap barrels for all 3 calibers into the same slide. I know the .40/.357 P229 slide will not accept a factory 9mm barrel, and I believe there are locking block differences as well. Conversion barrels are available with the correct geometry to do this, but you can't just drop in a factory barrel like you can with the P239. I think the P226 is similar to the P229 in this regard.

As to the issue of Sig discontinuing everything but 9mm, I had a conversation with a regional sales rep about this at a class a couple of weeks ago. He was kind of non-committal, so I wouldn't take this as gospel, but he said due to the high demand for guns in general right now, Sig is chosing to focus pretty much entirely on their 9mm platforms since they sell the best and they can't even keep up with the demand for those. When I asked him if he thought they would bring back the other calibers when things settled down, he said he thought they would. So hopefully it's just a matter of waiting things out.

I know for a fact if works on the p239... but have to say have no experience with the P226 switch.

With that said, one of the few pistols still on my list is a P226 in 40 cal in desert tan.... I want one in 357 sig but have the barrel just not the gun.

My advise to the OP is to just be patient, if that is possible. then again, that has never worked with me and a gun I get a whim for. Personally I would not worry about the caliber issue.... even though 9mm should always be a easier find in hard time. And especially in really hard times...

Like my father said, if things really get bad there will be plenty of ammo just laying around. And he had actually 'seen that tiger' night after night thousands of Chinese coming at you..... they melted two water cooled machine guns one of those nights...

Two things prevent swapping 9mm and 357/40 factory P229 barrels, barrel diameters and locking inserts incompatibility.