So I've been in the mood for another handgun recently. Something flashier, a tad bit nicer pistol than all of the admittedly pedestrian (but still fun as all get-out) Gen5 Glocks that I've been picking up of late.

The Newington P226 X-Five has been out for a while now. And we just got our first example in at the shop (natural stainless finish with the wood grips) and I will admit that despite my detestation of the aesthetics of the l-o-n-g black extractor (what's so wrong with the Mk25 extractor?) and its neutered 10-round mags, it otherwise certainly looks and feels the part.

However I wasn't wowed by the trigger on this example; way too much slop and grit on take-up for a $2200 pistol, with more grit with creep when pulling through the break. No "breaks like glass" here, and at least with this one it doesn't come close to matching my Mastershop X-Fives, or any of my SAO CZ Shadows and Custom pistols for significantly less $$$. And against guns like Staccatos that sell for similar money, despite the cheesiness of their poly grips I'd rather be sending my money to Texas rather than New Hampshire if based on bang switches alone. Honestly I have regular SRT SIGs that have better, cleaner single-action pulls. Disappointment doesn't begin to describe my feeling; I guess I expected something akin to how good the trigger of my NH P210 Target compares to its earlier German and Swiss forbearers, but sadly didn't find it here.

The SIG's fitting and finish otherwise seems pretty good, certainly befitting a gun of gun priced north of 2 large. But the trigger of this example didn't do anything to make this gun whisper "I'm a special shooter". And that certainly doesn't make me want to drop $2200 for one. But I'm curious what others who have bought and/or shot this one have discovered with their own examples and experiences. Is what we have here just a one-off aberration, or is this typical of the breed?

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The NH P226 X-Five; now that it's been live for a while...thoughts?

I have a new X-Five, and my observations are similar to yours. (Mine has the black grips.) After making the trigger adjustments for for weight, pre-travel, and over travel, it breaks at 2 lbs. 4 ounces. I will say it is not "gritty" at all, and I removed as much pre and over travel as safely possible. What annoys me is some creep at the wall before the trigger breaks. I would think this shouldn't be present in a gun this expensive, if they'd one any hand fitting. On the other hand, I have a US P210 Target (which I've had for a couple years) that has a fantastic "breaks like glass" trigger - the best I've ever had for an out-of-the box handgun. Recently, I handled another two new P210s at the gun store, and their triggers were sadly nowhere near as good as mine - both were heavy and gritty with a creepy break. That said, I've had a couple STI pistols that needed trigger jobs, and a CZ TS0 that, while the trigger was super light at about 1.5 lbs. also had a little bit of creep, though less than the X-Five. I recently checked out an SAO P226 Legion, that had a very crisp trigger, better than the X-Five, though much heavier, of course. I think it's the luck of the draw regarding how the parts interface when they take them out of a bin and assemble the pistol.

I sold mine because of the trigger. What's the point of an adjustable trigger that you can adjust the weight and position of if it's almost pure mush? Eventually, I'll get a P226 SAO Legion RXP to replace it, but I'm in no hurry.

…and I thought I was a trigger snob.

I have one and enjoy shooting it. Not saying it’s the equal of a Mastershop model, but I don’t think the trigger is that bad. It’s the best American P226 I’ve ever shot. I’m not a fan of the Legion models at all. Sig can keep that goofy gimmicky BS.

I just bought one about two weeks ago at the Pro Shop (or whatever they're calling it now). I too am not a fan of the esthetics of the long extractor, but it seems less objectionable on the STAS with all black controls.
I thought the trigger on mine was very good. Several other shooters who I know to be "trigger snobs" shot it and were impressed. For me, it scratched an itch without the price tag of a German Xfive.

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I too am not a fan of the esthetics of the long extractor, but it seems less objectionable on the STAS with all black controls.

I sort of agree. Sort of. I'd still rather have the Mk25 extractor. More slide, less gash.

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…and I thought I was a trigger snob.

Kinda hard not to be once the floor base surpasses $2k. But yeah, nerding out on triggers I certainly do.

From what it sounds like, the triggers on the Newington build X-Five may vary in quality. Just as savoy6 pointed out, SIG NH isn't particularly consistent with the P210 triggers either. Each of the P210 Carrys that we had through the shop all had rather 'meh' triggers, not particularly close to what my much earlier NH P210 came with. And wasn't that one purportedly made in their Custom Works?

Not quite master craftsmen yet. Craftmeh? :shrug: Okay, maybe that's a bit too harsh but for now this one goes on the wait n see part of the want list.

I've handled one...the one I sold to Q...and I thought the trigger was really good on it. I intend to pick one up for myself.

Curiously enough, shortly after my first post in the thread, a chance to get another one came up and I did. My example appears very well fitted. The trigger is pretty good. There are two little walls in it that you can find if you really try.

I find the optic mounting situation perplexing. The rear sight is attached to the cover plate, which is obviously not that odd and I'm sure a way to put an adjustable rear on the gun while still having an optic cut. There is a fairly ugly provision at the rear of the slide under the plate, though, that appears intended for a bolt-on (pretty literally) rear sight, except that Sig doesn't make the sight, at least yet.

I haven't shot it yet.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DaBigBR,

Interesting thread. I was considering one of these for my next Sig but I might just stick with my P226 Legion SAO. Best trigger I've shot other than high end 1911s and 2011s.

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Originally posted by Benderx4:
Interesting thread. I was considering one of these for my next Sig but I might just stick with my P226 Legion SAO. Best trigger I've shot other than high end 1911s and 2011s.

Mine definitely has a nicer trigger than the SAO Legion, but I guess they aren’t consistent or something.

Yeah. Mine had no wall and reads complete mush. It was almost like a P320 trigger I could change the weight on.

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Originally posted by DanH:
Yeah. Mine had no wall and reads complete mush. It was almost like a P320 trigger I could change the weight on.

I was just messing with my X-Five Classic the other night and purposely compared it to a German X-Series. Yeah, there's definitely a difference in the triggers. I would not call my Classic trigger mushy by any means, but certainly not as clean or crisp by comparison.

Shooting it or even dry firing it by itself, I don't really notice it much though. It shoots very well for me.

My "wait-in-see" period didn't last very long.

We got a second X-Five in; yes, consistency is not yet a thing at SIG as this one is noticeably cleaner in the take-up though there's still some sandpaperish (okay, more like wet sand 1200 grit stuff) creep after the stack point when staging the trigger. Pure nitpicking stuff. Pulling the trigger at speed I don't notice it or the creep. Frankly I didn't really notice it with the first example either. Build quality otherwise is as good as the first one was (since sold)...so temptation and impatience being what they are for me (sigh), I bought this second one.

At some point my wife is certainly going to kill me.

Brought the X-Five STAS home a week ago. Aesthetics aside, I like it better than the Classic I originally considered, and it does have a nicer state of tune to its trigger action. But I still don't have a clue as to what "STAS" stands for, or means.

Took it out for its first run this past Wednesday; after approximately 125 rounds of 124GR ball and even an assortment of old hollow points that I'd cycled out of my past carry 9mms, there were no rude surprises as the gun ran without incident. Although the range time did more or less confirm my preference for my CZ TS2s over the X-Fives. The gun's easily capable of fist-sized groups at 10 to 15 yards without really trying all that hard. However the CZs just 'fit' me slightly better--namely for my smaller hands--though this SIG was still quite enjoyable to shoot much like my German X-Fives and regular P226s are.

I'd say that its trigger is overall pretty good; not quite to the same degree of "precise-ness" as my Mastershops but it's close enough especially if my nitpicking is set aside. Definitively the STAS's trigger is less creepy with no hint of grit when staging than the Classic I first looked at and that originally started this thread. However it's not a 'breaks like glass' state of tune, but admittedly decent enough even when taking into consideration its price point.

To my eye and usual aesthetic preferences the Classic version is prettier with its Cocobolo grips, but the Piranha texture of the STAS's G10 grips is functionally more to my liking. Neither gun looks great with the dumbed-down 10rd magazine that my state requires; losing the visually beefy extended mag base makes it look like the mag fell out and was lost. If the triggers had be equal in quality, I'd definitely would've picked the STAS for its grip texture over the aesthetics of the wood grips. There's no question that this one was the right choice for me.

I finally got around to cleaning it up tonight, so I figured it was now worthy of a 'proof it did happen' snapshot.

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Originally posted by monoblok:
...Neither gun looks great with the dumbed-down 10rd magazine that my state requires; losing the visually beefy extended mag base makes it look like the mag fell out and was lost.

The one I ended up buying myself is a 10 round SKU (it was what I could find at wholesale). I was disappointed to find that the mags were just "normal" P226 magazines and did not have an extended base, even if only 10 rounders. I ended up buying six XFive mags.

Congratulations of your new X-FIVE. I got mine a few months ago so I know you're going to love it.

By the way, "STAS" stands for 'stainless adjustable sight' which makes no sense since the classic has the same feature, but I guess it's Sig's way to differentiate between the two models.

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Originally posted by rlbuzz:
By the way, "STAS" stands for 'stainless adjustable sight' which makes no sense since the classic has the same feature, but I guess it's Sig's way to differentiate between the two models.

Thanks for the explanation. You're right; the name's somewhat nonsensical but I suppose calling it something like "Competition" or "Silver & Black" would've too boring for SIG's marketing folks. Nothing is better than drumming up weird tacticoolish acronyms to make a neat gun even neater...I guess...