I don't have a full-size P22X Sig yet, and Benny6's post about V-Tail's P229 build got me looking at those blem Matrix Frames, and I decided I couldn't resist that price and ordered one. The original plan was to put everything together over a few months, but of course that didn't happen. I now have a complete upper on the way from our very own cyberphobia, I bought a lower parts kit from Matrix, and grips and a locking block on Ebay.

The frame arrived over the weekend and my dealer never called me, and he's closed Mondays so I had to wait until today to pick it up. I got sort of a rude shock when I discovered that he's raised his transfer price to $50, which takes some of the savings out of the blem deal. On the other hand, he had a box of used mags on the counter labeled $10/each, and I found two like new Sig factory P320 "Made in Italy" 17-rounders in there, so $70 for a transfer and $100 worth of mags didn't seem like such a bad deal at the end of the day.

Got it home and unboxed it. This frame is really nice. I can't find the blem (maybe a couple of tiny scratches on the inside of the frame?). The grip is very nicely finished and has a nice relieved radius below the trigger guard that feels good in the hand. All of the pin holes lined up and the pins are snug, and the action passes the function tests.



The Revenant Arms parts kit is ok. The trigger has more of a squared-off profile on the edges than the Sig factory triggers, which I don't really care for but I'm probably going to eventually replace that and the strut with Grayguns stuff anyway. I had a factory Sig SRT kit handy, so I put that in instead of the Revenant sear and safety lever. Trigger pull is not amazing but decent. It's a little gritty and there's a small amount of perceptible mush in the single-action takeup. It's not any worse than some factory triggers I've encountered and it'll work for now, but leaves plenty of room for improvement with the Grayguns parts.

The grip panels are a tiny bit proud to the radius around the beavertail...nothing I can't fix with a little sanding.

Overall I'm pleased, and can't wait to put the upper on it and see how it shoots!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 92fstech,

Thank you for sharing. I’m looking forward to the finished project and your range report.

Nice project! Glad I could be a bad influence!

Looking forward to the finished product!

Tony.

I greatly appreciate your contribution .

USPS tracking says the upper should be here tomorrow, so I'll have a complete gun. I kinda planned to space the Grayguns stuff out a bit, but tomorrow is pay day, so....

The upper came yesterday and it's great. Had a fantastic transaction with cyberphobia. Unfortunately there was an issue with the ebay-purchased locking block, but I was unable to get some help on that in another thread and it looks like it's going to get resolved. Unfortunately it means the gun isn't together yet.

I did have a separate issue that I thought was worth noting. The first time I put the slide on, I couldn't get it off. Turns out the slide lock lever was bottoming out against the top of the grip panels and sticking up far enough to hang up on the slide and prevent it from coming off. I had to remove the left side grip panel to get the slide off the gun.



They appear to be factory grip panels (bought off of Ebay), so I’ve gotta assume it’s an out-of-spec slide catch lever. It is a bit forward of the recess, so I trimmed the grips down a hair and bent the tab on the lever out a bit for clearance. I also stoned the sharp corner off the top, just for good measure. It now works as designed.



I also had an issue where the provided takedown lever spring did not bottom-out in the notch of the takedown lever, which allowed the lever to over-rotate back up towards the slide. Thankfully I had a factory spring in my parts box that resolved this issue.

So far the Revenant parts are proving workable, but with a few tolerance-stacking issues.

Not a great photo due to the angle and trying to hold a macro lens still but here's my Matrix 226



I used all factory parts except the GGI trigger and trigger bar and strut 'system.' The factory grips also need a bit of sanding under the beavertail. I have a pair of Hogue grips on another Matrix frame and they fit perfectly.

The only fitting 'issue' I had is that the sear pin is a tight fit in the hole in the ejector. It does go through but only just. Because of that all the parts that 'ride' on the sear pin feel a bit tight but better than loose I suppose. I decided not to sand or mess with anything, I'm trying to learn my lesson after trashing quite a few parts over the years. Everything should sort of break in once I start shooting it.

Nice, thanks for sharing the pic! My sear pin was just right. So far I've been very happy with my frame, and all the pin holes seem to be just the right diameter and properly located (although I have yet to shoot it to confirm function). The Elite slide I got from cyberphobia fits perfectly and rides smoothly on the rails.

There must be just a bit of variance around the beavertail from an actual P226. About 10 minutes of sanding with 400 grit and my grips are nice and flush now. Not a big deal at all. If there had to be a fitment issue somewhere, better the back of the beavertail than with the internal working bits!

The replacement locking insert came today from Midway. It's an MIM part from India, and the finish is quite a bit rougher than the other one, but it has the necessary machining to actually assemble the gun, so I'll take it.





Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it went together. It passes all the function checks, tolerances are good with no wobble, and it feels good in the hand. The only fitment issue is that the back of the slide is a little proud to the rear of the frame, but that shouldn't affect function.



I still feel that the profile of the trigger is kind of awkward, but I haven't shot it yet so I'll withold judgement until I do that. Unless I get stuck late at work I'm hoping to put some rounds through it tomorrow night.

Shot it tonight. It ran 100% with both factory WWB and reloads. It's reasonably accurate as well, but the trigger is only so-so...there's some grit, a hitch, and some slop that I don't really care for. I may try cleaning it up myself but it'll probably ultimately get grayguns parts, anyway, as I don't care for the wide Revenant shoe.

Good info and great pictures, sir – I picked up a nearly new Legion slide last year and have been wondering about a frame to make it a pistol. Just noticed that the nickel-plated frames are available and will probably pull the trigger given the low cost. Understand that a lower parts kit – minus the locking insert+ – will actually cost more than the frame itself. The whole project will still set me back less than $800 plus that 226’s are commanding on Crook Broker now. Silly question #1 - have you or anyone else here actually seen one of their nickel-plated frames? And, my one worry point is that the Legion slide will not align correctly at the rear of the frame. I assume this is because of tolerance stacking, maybe?

I have not seen one of the nickel frames, so I can't speak to that. As far as slide alignment to the back of the frame...mine is an example of one, but while I'd prefer it be flush, it has had absolutely zero impact on reliability. I've seen factory guns with the same issue, FWIW.

I'm moving ahead on this build. I ordered a trigger, guide rod, and strut from Grayguns today, and am looking at Parker Mountain Machine for milling. I'm leaning towards a Holosun 407k due to the slim profile and low deck height.

What recoil spring and guide rod are you using? It's hard to see in my photo above but my slide if anything is a little far forward, not back. I'm using a factory guide rod and a new factory 'twisted strand' recoil spring. As the spring wears and compresses the slide won't remain in the same position relative to the frame anyway, right?

quote:

Originally posted by cyberiad:
What recoil spring and guide rod are you using? It's hard to see in my photo above but my slide if anything is a little far forward, not back. I'm using a factory guide rod and a new factory 'twisted strand' recoil spring. As the spring wears and compresses the slide won't remain in the same position relative to the frame anyway, right?

Currently it's a factory spring and guide rod, but I have a Grayguns FAT guide rod coming.

Grayguns parts got here today. I ordered a strut kit (in my experience that is your best "bang for the buck" in improving the trigger pull), an adjustable trigger, and the solid guide rod. I'm very happy with the results. I used the 19lb mainspring, and the pull is light and smooth all the way thought. I put about 100 rounds through it today, with zero light strikes.

The "curved" trigger is adjustable for pretravel and overtravel, and the shape of the shoe is very comfortable. It's much closer to a factory Sig trigger shape than the Revenant part was.

The FAT guide rod was more of an afterthought, but coupled with the TLR-1 up front, the gun has very minimal recoil and hardly any muzzle flip. It also fills the hole at the front of the slide a little better. It's not a huge change, but was worth the $25, IMO, especially since I was already paying shipping.

I got an email from DaBigBR today that my Holosun 407k is on the way. When I get back from a family trip next week I'm going to give Parker Mountain Machine a call about getting the slide milled.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

quote:

Originally posted by cyberiad:
What recoil spring and guide rod are you using? It's hard to see in my photo above but my slide if anything is a little far forward, not back. I'm using a factory guide rod and a new factory 'twisted strand' recoil spring. As the spring wears and compresses the slide won't remain in the same position relative to the frame anyway, right?

Currently it's a factory spring and guide rod, but I have a Grayguns FAT guide rod coming.

FWIW, slide position relative to the frame is pretty much identical with the Grayguns guide rod installed as it was with the factory rod.

That came out really nice! Let us know how it shoots!

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
That came out really nice! Let us know how it shoots!

Tony.

I'm down in Pensacola this week and went shooting with my son, FIL, and BIL. We brought the new P09, the PCR, and the P226 on our end. My FIL shot his gen 5 G19, and my BIL brought his P365. With the Grayguns strut and trigger installed, the P226 was by far my favorite of the bunch.

It was a public range with some pretty onerous rules about what, how, and how fast you could shoot, so I just focused on trying to make tiny groups at 7 yards and the gun made it easy. It recoils very flat, too, so I can't wait to get the slide milled and the dot installed and really wring it out on the range back home. I'll be making some calls as soon as we get home to get the ball rolling on that...the gun has proven itself reliable so I'm good with spending the money at this point to get it milled.

I can only add one very small tidbit: the current factory 226 left grip panels may be out of spec. I’ve tried a new set – received from SIG in the last 10 days – on two factory 226 frames … same thing as noted here. They don’t fit correctly and stand proud of the frame at the back by the beavertail. Should have some Hogue G10’s in this week. Thanks to the great input and photos here I have a (prolly) 229 frame on my to-get list (VA is one-per-month) unless you have a CCW permit and most recent 226 (from Shoot Straight in Fla) took my April slot.

Sounds like the grip panels are out of spec, not the frame then. Thanks for the input! Thankfully it was a pretty small matter to blend them in.

I received the Hogue G10 grips yesterday - absolutely perfect fit with no bump-out on the upper left. I have waited too long to get a pair of their grips - they are fabby.

Looking at all the great photos here again, is it my imagination or does Revenant/Matrix actually make the frames for SIG? Even the font on the right front of the frame looks the same.

Thanks to a coupla great members here, I have a 229 Legion slide inbound and am going to try this myself ...