Hello Everyone,

I just want to get a consensus from my fellow SIG aficionados. Please let me know which you would choose, and why.

As always, any and all input is greatly appreciated.

Question:
If given the choice between these two SIG Sauer P226's in 9mm, which would you choose?

Choices:
W. German standard model from 1994 (Black)
German frame/U.S. milled slide from 2000 (Two-tone/non-railed)

 

If one is looking for a gun to shoot rather than just have for the sake of having, the second listing with the stainless steel slide is far superior. No worries about periodically replacing the breechblock retention pins, and parts such as the firing pin and extractor are still available.

If similar condition, the one that was the best price.

If similar prices, the one that was in the best condition

If similar price and condition, the one that had the box, paperwork and accessories

Unless there is something really cool about the W. German gun, go with the milled slide. Parts are MUCH cheaper, the heavier slide helps with recoil, and you will have less rust concerns. The newer mainspring seat and hammer strut seem to give you a little bit smoother trigger pull as well.

I have a thing for the W Germans, so that would be my 1st choice depending on condition and price. If just to shoot, then probably the newer one.

Yeah, you're really asking about two different beasties. I still have the 1989 that launched me down the road of SIGfreakism because it's so cool and so much fun to shoot. I have a 2008 that I feel free to feed anything and basically treat like a stolen mule. Ask yourself which mood you're in, and that will tell you which 226 you want - at the moment.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
If one is looking for a gun to shoot rather than just have for the sake of having, the second listing with the stainless steel slide is far superior. No worries about periodically replacing the breechblock retention pins, and parts such as the firing pin and extractor are still available.

Sound advice.

I prefer the feel and the looks of the German folded slide version. YMMV.

I'm partial to West German Sigs so that would be my choice.

I go German when I can. But if the deal is right, then that is what the final decision rests on.
And any older Sig I get goes right back to the mother ship for SSP, so that factors in to the purchase decision, too.
And given the ages of your options, either one would go back!

I have both a 1988 W German JJ model and a 2017 Classic Carry. I bought both new. Love em both and can’t tell a huge difference between the two. I’ve modernized the mainspring assy of the JJ and added SRT and Hogue G10s to each.

I like my old W German 226 and continue to use it as often as the others. But the new one is equally satisfying. Plus, it’s nice and shiny!

BTW, I didn’t vote because I’d want more info on pricing and condition, given that you offered two relatively-specific choices.

But, my prior post does at least indicate that I would abstain (from indifference) if the choice was W German vs new.

quote:

Originally posted by FHHM213:
I have both a 1988 W German JJ model and a 2017 Classic Carry. I bought both new. Love em both and can’t tell a huge difference between the two. I’ve modernized the mainspring assy of the JJ and added SRT and Hogue G10s to each.

I like my old W German 226 and continue to use it as often as the others. But the new one is equally satisfying. Plus, it’s nice and shiny!

It is this very reason I don't advocate for people to pay any kind of premium for the coveted "WEST GERMAN" pistols. From an end users standpoint, they are no more reliable than new production guns. Some folks romanticize the German guns as being crafted by gnomes and pixie dust, but at the end of the day the failure/reliability rate is the same. If there was a half percent difference, the internet would be screaming it from the rooftops. It just isn't so.

If you can pick it up at a decent price, buy the milled slide.

I would go with the later model. I prefer the stainless slides.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:

quote:

Originally posted by FHHM213:
I have both a 1988 W German JJ model and a 2017 Classic Carry. I bought both new. Love em both and can’t tell a huge difference between the two. I’ve modernized the mainspring assy of the JJ and added SRT and Hogue G10s to each.

I like my old W German 226 and continue to use it as often as the others. But the new one is equally satisfying. Plus, it’s nice and shiny!

It is this very reason I don't advocate for people to pay any kind of premium for the coveted "WEST GERMAN" pistols. From an end users standpoint, they are no more reliable than new production guns. Some folks romanticize the German guns as being crafted by gnomes and pixie dust, but at the end of the day the failure/reliability rate is the same. If there was a half percent difference, the internet would be screaming it from the rooftops. It just isn't so.

If you can pick it up at a decent price, buy the milled slide.

It's not because of "gnomes and pixie dust" that the older German ones are better. The older ones were individually tested and verified to include a factory test target. I NEVER used to hear about older SIGs with sights loose in the dovetails or a whole host of other well documented issues related to the QA decline in newer SIGs.

Also, I think 12131 pretty much proved that a stamped slide P228 can run longer and harder than most people will ever see in a lifetime's worth of shooting.

As a side note, I bet if you compared old American Rifleman shooting results from the early 80's to the most recent article on the P228A1, you'd find the older SIGs were more accurate in their testing. Overall, I don't think the slide to barrel fit on newer SIGs is as tight uniformly as the older German SIGs.

but if you are going to actually shoot the thing in volume you want a milled slide. trust me you will need parts and milled slides make that easy.

I admit to buying into the pixie dust stuff. And it’s flattering to read about W German examples having such appeal, especially given that mine is one owner, triple number, etc. Yet, when the forum posts shift to “how much would you pay?”, the expressed values tend to contradict the expressed hype - at least for any example that has been used (and I would frankly hope most 30-yr-old pistols have been allowed to fire!).

When I bought the NIB Classic Carry model, my expectations were modest. My purchase was stirred by its discounted price, rail-less chin and a desire to have a sacrificial host to experiment with an RX slide that I separately bought from Sig.

However, I’ve been impressed with the new CC. Accuracy is as good as my old JJ (at least for me) and I’ve had no hiccups. I’m enjoying it so much that I haven’t even bothered to try the new RX slide!

If I were to buy a used model, I first look for CPO models and then go from there.

As others have said, all else equal go with the newer stainless. Good luck getting an internal extractor or whole breach block for a folded slide. Plus the slightly heavier milled slide should absorb a touch bit more of recoil, not that 9mm in a P226 has much to begin with.

For a safe queen, the folded slide. For a shooter, the milled slide version.

Hell, knuckle down and get both.

Full confession. I believed my W German SIGs were made by gnomes using pixie dust until jljones destroyed my childhood dreams! I have 3 W German SIGs purchased in the late 90s/early 2000s that are fantastic pistols but my friends US made SIGs are just as nice. The stainless slides on the US models are more advantageous for me for carry and general use living in coastal GA.