So I bought a new P229 from my dealer in 2011 and I've never seen another one like it. I guess I'm just curious if it was a precursor to something or some kind of special contract overrun or if anyone has any ideas.

It's a P229R Beavertail Special Edition legacy slide two tone (controls and slide) and came with Hogue grey/black G-10 grips (I don't think I ever swapped them out)

-Frame made in Exeter low serial number after the 3 letters. 0XX00
-Beavertail frame
-Front strap of grip and front of trigger housing are CHECKERED instead of simply grooved.
-Mag release also checkered instead of grooved
-Older style smooth black roll pin cover on stainless slide
-Appears to be meprolite night sights?
-Nickel trigger is hollowed out in three segements in the rear
-Chambered in 40

I do have the box around here somewhere and I might have to dig it out to see exactly what the tag says.

I've never fired it or carried it, but I thought I might have changed the grips. It's been sitting in a safe for 6 years. I was going to steal the grips off of it to build a nice SAS with 357 Sig legion barrel carry gun and use the G10 grips rather than have them collect dust.
Unfortunately, i only found 2 sets of old P229 grips and they were both old enough that they would not fit the frame.

I don't have any online storage so no easy way to post photos without signing up for some service. I'll email the photo to anyone that wants to post it.

Is it pretty normal for Sig to create unique guns and then send them to dealers to sell off?

I can’t answer all your questions, but some comments:

The most significant part of the serial number for determining age is the two-letter portion, so yours is not necessarily “low” or old. There’s a thread here that lists many manufacture dates based on serial numbers. The ducktail and accessory rail don’t go back decades.

Several features are newer: “hollowed out” trigger; ducktail frame; checkered magazine catch.

The checkered frame might be something that was used on a limited edition model, but I’m just guessing now.

This I don’t understand: “Older style smooth black roll pin cover on stainless slide.”
Do you mean that the firing pin positioning pin is solid rather than being a (hollow) roll pin? If so, it could be an older slide that was installed on a newer frame. SIG also stopped marking slides with “stainless” some time ago, so that could be another indication.

To answer your basic question, SIG has indeed been known to put out guns that are made from parts that aren’t normally assembled together.

email me pics. I'll post them for you. All this wordy description is really bad, when it comes to guns.

Posting pic for OP.

Why let that sit unfired for six years?

Seeing the box color and label might help figure out what it is.

I can't dig out the box for a couple days, it's in storage, but I will do it on Friday or Saturday. I was just curious if anyone had seen one or knew of the skew #. I recently found out I have a couple interesting ones.

I have a full satin nickel one without manufacturer markings on it and with a stainless factory barrel as well. I've seen a couple of those out there, for some reason a production run of the "AL XXXXX" guns in satin don't have a logo, name, or proof marks at all.

Also I had to purchase a couple new factory barrels in the past year, and they all appear to have the new "legion" coating on them instead of the old bluing. Seems to be just a production change, not marketed as a new style barrel. Very happy to shoot a couple hundred rounds and have no smiley face on the barrel at all, just like the P320 with thousands of rounds and no barrel markings.
I guess you know why I didn't shoot this one, I've been shooting other ones :-)

Thanks Mr 12131 :-)

If your box still has the labels on it, the Item Number might have "SP" in it, meaning Special Configuration, i.e., factory made FrankenSIG. Nothing wrong with it.

Although I hate rails on the P229, that gun looks nice. Maybe it's because of the 2-tone nature.

Yep, it shows the model number SP001 sent you the photo.

Pics of box's labels.

Wonder what "001" means. One of a kind, or one of so many. Greg, I suggest you contact SIG CS and give them the serial #, and they will be able to tell you.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Wonder what "001" means.

I'm curious about that also. I've never seen or heard of a ### like that after the -SP.

001 means for Special Agent 1, vice 007...

Well they certainly weren't going by SIGARMS anymore by 2011. Perhaps just SIG hating to see a perfectly good slide from an era long past go to waste? It would certainly be cool if it was a one of one.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is a bit puzzled. It seems like they threw together some parts they didn't want to waste, but had a US frame without the SRT trigger, and had a legacy slide with "Sigarms" on it laying around. The more I think about it the more I think I purchased the grips aftermarket because I liked the black/grey with the two tone. which is also why I cut the grey band off. The rest of it completely matches the box tag.
If it is one of one I might have to sell it, I'm not that special. ;-)

I finally got around to calling Sig, and they had very few answers to why I have an SP001. Could not tell me how many were made, or why they were made. It COULD be 1 of 1, or the first SP run of a certain year or something...who knows.

While I had them on the phone I asked about another odd one I have. A nickle and stainless P229 with a stainless barrel and controls. The quirky part about his one is that the frame is unmarked except for the serial number. I've seen a couple others like it on line. No sig markings or germany markings or anything on the frame to designate who made it or where it came from. I think it was a gun of the month from a while back, but it does not explain the lack of markings.

Really, I don't have this much time on my hands, it's just cloudy outside and I needed a break from work. :-)

Great looking Frankengun in any case. I love that combo...so much so, I made my old P6 into a carry gun like that. Grey/black G10 grips, Cerakoted slide in a bead-blasted stainless color, CCR finished controls in CPII.

Looks sweet either way, but a definite head scratcher nonetheless.

Kind of like having an Israeli pistol where instead of the serial number it is stamped 'IDF Toolroom'

Can't help any, but that is one great looking Sig!