Plenty of classic firearms that are no longer made but that still have huge followings. People love them because of the durability of the materials they were made from, which also happens to be why they are no longer made.

I shoot old Ruger rifles and old Browning shotguns and old Sig pistols.

IMHO, one of major reasons why P-Classics are waning in popularity is due to loss of marketshare to CZ. When it comes to all-metal DA/SA pistols, there major players are: Sig, Beretta, CZ, and who else?

For whatever the reasons, the CZ 75 platform is considered the 'in' thing. It helps that they sell a gun of similar (if not comparable) quality to a Sig at 2/3rds the price. The aftermarket support from companies such as CGW makes them popular w/ shooters who like to mod their guns.

I never understood how it developed the reputation, but I often hear CZ as the brand of choice of hipster gun owners.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:

quote:

I can't help but think about how much money I could have saved if I just bought a GLOCK 19 to begin with and left it at that.

Where is the fun in that?

What are the statistical chances that you will ever need to point, much less fire gun in anger?

Now what are the statistical chances you will enjoy shooting, admire and generally appreciate a given firearm or firearms?

Therefore simply owning a Glock 19 while EMINENTLY practical and quite possibly the best overall defensive handgun choice one can make.....is well boring. Not that Glocks can’t be fun to shoot.

Now owning those sexy SIGs.....practical.....maybe not as much but ohhh so enjoyable.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it and why I am collecting the whole set...... of firearms......period.

Can't argue with that!

If you enjoy taking your guns apart and maintaining them on your own, as I do, the classic P-series line is for you. The internals work the same way in all of them, with just a few variations in some models.

I am amazed at the engineering that went into the P365, but there’s no way I want to fully disassemble mine, at least not without taking the SIG armorer’s course for it.

Best,
Ian

Just remember Wes, I'm always a classic P-series guy. Not like our foodie friend up north.







Tony.

My very first pistol was a West German P226 i bought in 1994. I’d still have it if it wasn’t stolen in 1999. But i have a P220/.45, P226/.40, P229/.40, P239/.40...and still want a P226/9mm, P228 and P225.

So if anything, they are my favorites.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Ahhh DA/SA the manual transmission of the gun world. ...
Alas yes DA/SA metal guns are soon to be Forgotten Weapons material.

The P220 got the FW spotlight in 2018! :-)
https://youtu.be/1YXgBXvBSlk

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
compared to a Glock-type design... teaching DA/SA is

Hah! I am constantly reaching for the decocking lever on my P365!

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
IMHO, one of major reasons why P-Classics are waning in popularity is due to loss of marketshare to CZ. When it comes to all-metal DA/SA pistols, there major players are: Sig, Beretta, CZ, and who else?

Show me a P226 Race Gun.
I've never seen one, but maybe they could do something with the LDC ?
2011, CZ, Walther and P320 Legion own that.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
IMHO, one of major reasons why P-Classics are waning in popularity is due to loss of marketshare to CZ. When it comes to all-metal DA/SA pistols, there major players are: Sig, Beretta, CZ, and who else?

For whatever the reasons, the CZ 75 platform is considered the 'in' thing. It helps that they sell a gun of similar (if not comparable) quality to a Sig at 2/3rds the price.

This.

Ever since the introduction of the P320 , the prices of the classic P series have gone through the roof. That did not help with the adoption of the P320 by the military. In 2008 I bought a P228 at a local FFL for $600 . That's what it cost now for a P320 .

In my area , you cannot walk out of the store with a Sig Classic P Series for less than 1K when CZ 75 series cost about $650 out the door. And CZs are about as good or better than Sig (to me) .

The majority of guns in my safes were Sigs. Now CZs . For the price of a Sig Classic P Series, I can get a CZ Shadow 2 which is an amazing gun.

They are not dead at my house. I have several classic Sigs and don’t plan to part with them anytime soon. I really like my striker fired Sigs though the older ones, even up to the early to mid 2000’s are my favorites.

The classic SIGs are not dead, as long as we keep them alive. My 2004 P229R DAK, my duty pistol from 2004 to 2015, is still alive. The tritium vials got a little bit dim, but I replaced the rear sight with the old-school style sight. My aging hands do not like .40, fired from the high-bore-axis barrel, so I may install a 9mm conversion barrel. (I switched to low-bore-axis 9mm G17 duty pistols, in late 2015, as soon as my chief OK’ed 9mm as an alternate duty cartridge for uniformed patrol.)

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
Just remember Wes, I'm always a classic P-series guy. Not like our foodie friend up north.



Tony.

Tony,

Your P226 is a beauty... may I ask, what is the slide finish?

I still favor them. I’m also one of the few that like the DAK trigger. I also prefer iron sights and manual transmissions...

From an LE angle, and I can only speak for my home state, but I think that classic Sigs have been dead for a decade or more. I see 120 new officers every year at the academy and have now since 2007. I can recall approximately 6 or so classic Sigs; a P226 Tacops 9mm and about 5 P226 .40s issued by a nearby county, which has since gone to Gen 5 Glock 9mms. Come to think of it, I've seen more P320s in the past 2 years than I've seen classic DA/SA Sigs in the past 13 years.

In Arkansas, I haven't seen DA/SA Sigs in appreciable numbers in LE holsters since the mid-1990s, when the state police issued the fine P229 .40 with Winchester 155-grain Silvertips. Just a theory, but I think classic Sigs have survived as long as they have on well-deserved reputation, federal LE contracts, and overall reliability. Beretta 92/M9 survived on military contracts and the Hollywood influence.

From a civilian CCW instructor angle, I haven't seen many classic Sigs or DA/SA guns in holsters for years now. If memory serves, The Glock 19, 26, and later, G43, and especially the Ruger LCP .380, put the nail in the coffin of classic Sigs. I would see occasional P225s and P239s, but those are now DOA. I see poly-strikers almost 100% of the time in classes and have for a decade or more. Glocks dominate, but Rugers are very popular, M&P/Shields are common, SA XDs are often seen, and the P320/P365 have come on strong as of late. The P365 is so popular in my classes that if it were $100 cheaper, I think they could out-Ruger Ruger in civilian holsters.

I think the move away from classic Sigs, or more specifically DA/SA guns, has been ongoing for almost 3 decades. We're just seeing the endgame play out.

^^ Given the thumb safety and relatively, what, straightforward? trigger system on the M17/M18, haven't we actually come full circle?

Possibly dead in the sense that they are unprofitable to produce in competition with semi-disposable plastic.

Very alive in the sense of continuing to be a top-notch firearm.

I confess that I really love what Sig-Sauer has done with modular designs that are technically steel-framed pistols. When the traction of the plastic inevitably wears down with time (due to basic properties of plastic), simply throw the plastic away and attach a new grip module to the same steel frame -- the same as installing new grips. A steel-frame pistol with the advantages of plastic, not the disadvantages.

I believe 2 things have driven the classic P-series (and DA/SA guns) out of favor with the masses: DA first trigger pull and pistol weight.

To people who don't live and breathe guns like we do, these are the 2 most common complaints I hear from them. These folks genuinely feel like they're at a disadvantage with a DA/SA metal pistol that weighs more when compared to a lighter striker-fired pistol with a consistent trigger action. I've heard this complaint 100 times or more.

quote:

Originally posted by Dakor:

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
Just remember Wes, I'm always a classic P-series guy. Not like our foodie friend up north.

Tony.

Tony,

Your P226 is a beauty... may I ask, what is the slide finish?

You're going to love this...

I bought this pistol from the original poster (Weshowe) about four or five years ago. It was refinished by Cummings Custom Refinishing. It appears to be their Cera-Hide. If you click here http://www.ccrrefinishing.com/pricing.html and scroll down to Cera-Hide, you'll see a P226 with the exact same color scheme.

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
I’ve been saying they’re dying for some time now.
It’s not just their expense and weight, but also their double action/single action triggers. I have a DA/SA 9mm P239 on consignment at a nearby store and although I was told, “Oh, that ought to go quick at $500 with the demand for guns now,” nope: still there after a couple of weeks. And of course there’s the self-fulfilling aspect: less demand, less support, less support, less demand.

And the fact that a few people still prefer them doesn’t change the overall situation any more than the fact that a few people still like to listen to their music on vinyl disks.

I have to agree with this 100%. Still have my 40 caliber P239's but carry nowadays is a Ruger LC9S Pro because it is just so much more convenient. BTW, also still listen to Vinyl.

I suspect it might still be there because magazines are nearing $50. The same for the p225- 6 magazines will always make a classic Sig relevant again imo. Yes, moved onto the lc9s singlestack, but the sp2022 is always ready for duty.