Many of us here probably already know the story of the M11B (not the etched out "US" "M11" P228R, or the unverified and suspect/fake M11s floating out there). For those new to it, its history/origin can be found in this TTAG article, Obscure Object of Desire: SIG SAUER M11-B Pistol.

The 50 M11s that the Air Force didn't want that SIG subsequently sold as M11Bs in October 16, 2012 all came in the SIG cases with original labels as in the below pics. Note the Part Number (12011978) and the National Stock Number (1005-01-336-8625) and the UID sticker. These guns were proofed in 2011 (BB date code).

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Over the years, I was fortunate to have owned three of these (the two above and the one below). But, my very first one (and the only one I still have, shown below) is the most interesting. Bought it in early 2014 from GB as a CPO. The box was absent of any labels, but the gun came with the red CPO band intact on the grip. Seller claimed the gun new. At the time, I was excited to be able to get a real M11B for relatively cheap, so I didn't bother arguing new, used, CPO, etc. Over the subsequent years, I was able to learn the origin and history of this particular M11B from 3 different SIG employees.

1- The gun came from Germany to SIG NH as M11 in December 2012 (so not part of the Air Force 50 that were sold to the civilian market in Oct 2012).

2- A total of 12 of these were imported from Germany in 2 batches (10 and 2). It is strange to me that they ordered more of these guns, when they already had 50 extra on hand the Air Force didn't want that they had to sell.

3- These guns' Part Number is 228-9-SP, not the military 12011978 as noted above. Another strange factoid. But I suppose, since the military no longer had the need for these guns, putting the military Part Number and National Stock Number (NSN) label on them was meaningless. So SIG came up with 228-9-SP, instead.

4- This particular gun was originally owned by a SIG employee, was converted to a CPO in May 2013 with the Part Number UD228-9-B1, and eventually was sold on GB where I bought it.

So, in total, there are 62 of these M11Bs floating around.

This M11B has exact same finishes and specs as the Air Force 50, with K-Kote slide, anodized frame, phosphate internals, MP tested slide & barrel. Not shown in pic but the locking insert is also MP tested and marked on its side. Gun is date coded BC (2012), with triple serial numbers and with proof marks on all three major parts.










I made the labels myself to document its history.

Nice!

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
MP tested

Very cool, Q! Thank you for sharing this with us.

What is MP testing?

What happened to the other two M11Bs you once owned?

You do find the good stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
MP tested

Very cool, Q! Thank you for sharing this with us.

What is MP testing?

Magnetic Particle testing

https://www.weldingandndt.com/...ic-particle-testing/

quote:

Originally posted by L90814:
Magnetic Particle testing

https://www.weldingandndt.com/...ic-particle-testing/

Thank you!

Very nice!
Great info and pictures!

Is that take-down lever nickel?

.

quote:

Originally posted by Greymann:
Is that take-down lever nickel?.

Q would know better than I and I'm certain will confirm or reject this, but it certainly appears to be SIG's "corrosion resistant" coating...phosphate.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
This M11B has exact same finishes and specs as the Air Force 50, with K-Kote slide, anodized frame, phosphate internals, MP tested slide & barrel. Not shown in pic but the locking insert is also MP tested and marked on its side. Gun is date coded BC (2012), with triple serial numbers and with proof marks on all three major parts.

I found this interesting. I didn't realize that SIG continued this legacy finish into the 21st Century...although given the contract, it makes sense.

Q, a question. In the case of the P226 NSW contract over-runs, there was no effort, at least none that I'm aware of, in which SIG made any effort to 'market' this limited release to gun-buying civilians. This was at a time when the internet certainly existed, but wasn't nearly so heavily relied upon by manufacturers to get the word out on new products. No press releases, no posters, no promo materials, no interviews, no FB posts/ Twitter Tweets, no videos highlighting them etc... This was before the current SIG distributor model, and SIG simply contacted several of their FFLs and let them know there were a limited number available and would they like to add any to their order, and it was up to the FFLs/ distributors to actually get the word out.

The M11 Bs were released several years later. I'm curious how the word got out and that they even existed and the fact that interested buyers had to go direct through the Pro Shop. Did SIG make any attempt to market the M11 Bs, or was it simply word of mouth coming out of the Pro Shop and going internet viral?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Modern Day Savage,

Should've pounced on one when the rare opportunities have presented themselves...

quote:

Originally posted by Greymann:

Is that take-down lever nickel?

*Phosphate internals...

Hammer, trigger, slidelock, decocker, mag release, takedown, ejector, levers, locking block, etc...

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
What happened to the other two M11Bs you once owned?

Sold.

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As mentioned above, MP = Magnetically Particle inspected/tested, and that is to detect micro defects/cracks that cannot be found visually. Same thing you see on the mil-spec M16 bolt and barrel in the AR world.

And, also mentioned are the small parts with that grayish appearance due the phosphate coating.

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quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:
Q, a question. In the case of the P226 NSW....

<snip>

The M11 Bs were released several years later. I'm curious how the word got out and that they even existed and the fact that interested buyers had to go direct through the Pro Shop. Did SIG make any attempt to market the M11 Bs, or was it simply word of mouth coming out of the Pro Shop and going internet viral?

Yeah, no advertisements and all that. Just word of mouth. Such a small number of guns, so they just sold it out of their Pro Shop. Many were sold to the employees. The rest went to whomever that knew about it and bought it from the Shop. Price was nine hundred and some changes. Once the words got out, and more people started wanting it, they were all sold out. Then, the price shot up to $3k and more at the time. Crazy!

quote:

converted to a CPO in May 2013

any idea why this was converted to a CPO?

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:

quote:

converted to a CPO in May 2013

any idea why this was converted to a CPO?

All three of my contacts were unable to say why, just that it was converted. But, as you know, once the new gun is sold, even to their employee, it can never be sold again as a new gun. It will always be a used gun. The employee owner probably had the Custom Shop do the CPO on it then sold it.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Yeah, no advertisements and all that. Just word of mouth.

Thanks for the reply! I find these few guns that were designated for government service but somehow made their way into civilian gun owner hands interesting and very much appreciate the time you take to not only document and share your finds, but also the time you take to photograph them so well. Not everyone has the patience or skill to do this, so thanks for your efforts!

Although it likely won't happen, I'd love to come across one of these M11 Bs one day.

quote:

not the etched out "US" "M11" P228R

Beautiful pistol! It's great that you were able to document the history of it, and verify the existence of several more M11Bs! Have you or your contacts ever been able to discover the history behind the "etched out" P228Rs? That seems to be an elusive story!

quote:

Originally posted by NavyEngineer:

quote:

not the etched out "US" "M11" P228R

Beautiful pistol! It's great that you were able to document the history of it, and verify the existence of several more M11Bs! Have you or your contacts ever been able to discover the history behind the "etched out" P228Rs? That seems to be an elusive story!

Hi my friend. They were unable (or maybe unwilling) to say much, except that there was an overrun of P229 railed frames at the time, and a little over a thousand P228Rs were built from them, with a subset being the "US" "M11" ones. But the exact number and any military affiliations are not available to the commercial market. They just said the "US" and "M11" were stippled out for commercial purpose.

Hi Q. I hope you are doing well. Thank you for the reply, and for trying to find more about those unusually marked P228R pistols.