I am in the mood to buy another W German Sig. I have found a couple on that big auction site. I have noticed on more than one "CPO" Sigs that W German Sigs have the serial number ground off slide. Is this something new?

The seller thought that maybe they changed the slide and the serial numbers would not match so they are grinding them off.

Anyone else encounter this?

quote:

The seller thought that maybe they changed the slide and the serial numbers would not match so they are grinding them off.

On a CPO, he's probably right, it's certainly not unheard of.

Fear not. Milled slide serial numbers are nothing new on CPO guns. The practice is somewhat akin to import stamping or ownership marks which have been removed from former LEO weapons prior to being sold as surplus. While perhaps not aesthetically pleasing, there are many otherwise excellent firearms available with these cosmetic distractions.

I had heard a story once about Sig. The story goes that a guy was showing his new W German Sig to a friend on a boat. He swiveled the take down lever (Empty gun), dropped the slide and watched slide jump off into the lake. He called Sig and they had him send his gun in. They gave him a new slide which they serial numbered to the gun. I guess we can't expect that anymore.

There was a time when a batch of CPO guns were released with serial numbers on the slides didn’t match those on the frame. They were obviously reworks of some sort to make use of serviceable slides and frames, but not from the same guns.

That led to anguished whining by some buyers who objected to the mismatch. It was then that the guns with numbers milled off the slides appeared, and obviously because of the earlier complaints about the mismatches. I thought that was a good idea, but not everyone agreed, and probably because they didn’t know about the earlier practice.

Knowing what I do now, SIG should have just anticipated the “lightening cuts” fad and milled the serial number holes all the way through along with a few extras to balance everything out. Heck, they not only would have avoided the complaints, they could have charged $50 per gun more for that “custom” look.

Yes, been done. Nothing new.

quote:

Originally posted by xfarfuldog:
I had heard a story once about Sig. The story goes that a guy was showing his new W German Sig to a friend on a boat. He swiveled the take down lever (Empty gun), dropped the slide and watched slide jump off into the lake. He called Sig and they had him send his gun in. They gave him a new slide which they serial numbered to the gun. I guess we can't expect that anymore.

Did you hear this story from a LGS guy?

^^^I believe that lake is located within the 'Fairytale Forest'....

Don't remember for sure but probably nota gun shop. I did go thru a Sig gunsmith class at OPOTA, maybe there.