For how much I've always wanted a no-rail P226, as well as liking the short extractors, I assumed I was going to pick one up at some point. My local range has a store wide sale going on and I noticed they had it in stock so I pulled the trigger. I have to agree that the price seems high but from what I'm seeing all new Classic line Sig's are priced high right now. Some quick initial impressions and findings:

-Well lubricated out of the box - To say it was liberally oiled would be putting it mildly. I've never seen frame rails, barrel, slide, and other parts lubricated like this out of the box before. I could have easily taken it from the sales counter into the range without any concern.

-Preservative - After taking some pictures I wiped everything down and unlike I've usually experienced, there was no trace of the factory preservative on the cloths. You know, that orange stuff that usually comes off, especially on magazines.

-Short reset trigger - Not indicated on the box label but included.

-Guide rod - Solid guide rod, not the typical hollow one.

-Barrel crown - I was a little surprised at this one. Any Classic line Sig I've ever seen has a rounded front barrel with slight recessed bevel. The P226 40YR barrel is not rounded at the front. It's flat with a slight recessed bevel. I took a couple pictures of this.

-Grips - I've never felt the checkered aluminum grips before. Good feel in the hand, I like them.

-Hammer and sear - I won't know for sure until I do a complete tear-down but the quality of the hammer and sear do not appear to be MIM. They look almost like the original parts from long, long ago that develop that deep purple like tone.

-Trigger - The pull is a little heavy with the stock factory spring but I am super impressed with the trigger. It's the best factory Classic line trigger I've ever experienced out of the box by a mile. Pulling the trigger is completely smooth and you feel nothing but the weight of the hammer spring. You cannot feel any kind of friction, rubbing, interference, or otherwise such as the trigger bar on the frame, hammer on the frame, nothing.

-Overall feel - I have to give it to Sig. If you enjoy the Classic line, it definitely brings back that old feel of 1980's Sig. The fit and finish are solid.

This will definitely be a shooter for me, and probably winter carry at times. I understand why it ships with the basic Siglite night sights but I will be changing those out with XRay3's. The only other changes will be GG or SA strut and a 19# hammer spring.

Pictures here:

https://imgur.com/a/PZqJPRv

EDIT: It did ship with the chamber flag installed. As people were complaining about previously posted pictures of the cut-out, with the flag installed the rear of the slide is just about touching the left / rear most part. The cut-out is the size it needs to be based on how it's shipped.

Born-on date of July 3rd, 2024.

That is very nice.
Nice write up and pics as well.
The first 'new' Sig in years that I would consider purchasing..

That's very, very nice! Glad to hear that the trigger is excellent, and that it has the SRT out of the box, as that's a must-have addition for every classic Sig I own. From what I can tell from the photos, that muzzle crown looks like all the other new production P22X barrels that I have, and all of those have been good shooters with more consistent headspace than some of the older ones. I know the older folded-slide models get most of the love, but the newer milled slide guns are also excellent in their own right.

I don't need this gun, nor do I have a practical use for it...but man I want one, and you just made it worse, lol.

Thank you for this write-up and report - looking forward to range impressions but I suspect this one will impress.

I’m enjoying a recently-acquired ‘94-era P226 but also really like the looks of this anniversary offering from SIG.

Cool!

Would like a peek of the 40th anniversary booklet that comes with it (maybe it would let me know why this isn't the 42nd anniversary?).

Thanks for the report. The SRT is a nice move. Good to hear that (apparently) those who speculated about the excessive space behind the hammer in the foam cutout being necessitated by the chamber flag were correct.

For me personally, the look and feel of the stamped/welded slide with its milled flat spots on top is a key feature of the "original" P226 so I can't see myself saving for one of these. If I were going to purchase a newer P226 it would be the Legion with its other upgrades and ergonomic tweaks. However I may change my mind

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Cool!...why this isn't the 42nd anniversary?).

Maybe the delay in production was the offset cut in the foam?

Nice review ah3, thanks. Like posted above, it would have been nice to have a stamped/welded slide like the original but I can understand why not. That being the case, if you are buying a new P226 229 or even 220 with a milled slide, the Legion is worth the money for just the frame undercut and front strap checkering.

Just my opinion. YMMV.

Looks like they changed it to the newer style mag catch with the plastic retainer instead of the original plate retainer.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Looks like they changed it to the newer style mag catch with the plastic retainer instead of the original plate retainer.

Yes. It's the first time I've seen one. It reminded me of a P365 mag catch.

The retro yellow box from the late 80s/early 90s is a nice touch.

Thanks ah3, but probably not what I needed to see! It looks nice and appears it comes with an actual owners manual, true?

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
...and appears it comes with an actual owners manual, true?

Yes, true. The manual is unique to the 40th anniversary limited edition P226. At 101 pages, it includes and calls out hand drawn images used in the original manual for the P226. The images were taken from archives in Switzerland and Germany.