If you like the P229, grab one now.

I stopped by the Sig Pro Shop (SEC) the other day to see what's new, especially the new P226 Carry. It was okay but I don't feel the need to buy one. It may be mental but it didn't feel as good in the hand as my P229.

Unfortunately, the sales guy said it is replacing the P229 as Sig is moving to a "modular" concept with the P226. While not a modular FCU, he was talking about being able to swap slide lengths and consistent mag compatibility across the P226 range.

While I understand some of the thinking behind this, I think it is a mistake to move on from the P229, especially in light of the P320 fiasco.

quote:

the new P226 Carry. It was okay but I don't feel the need to buy one. It may be mental but it didn't feel as good in the hand as my P229.

It’s because the frame is P226. Its grip profile is different than that of the P229. Some people prefer one grip profile over the other. Just like the G17 vs G19.

quote:

While I understand some of the thinking behind this, I think it is a mistake to move on from the P229, especially in light of the P320 fiasco.

I suspect they will eventually come out with the “P226 Compact” that has the exact same size as the P229 but everything is standardized with the P226. So, although the P229 line is no longer, the gun will still exist in the P226 line. It’s not as bad as you think.

I suspected this when they came out with the P226 X-Carry. As stated above, the 229 was built for the 40/357. Sig doesn't even make 357 Sig ammo anymore.

Were there any indications from the Sig Pro Shop Guy as to whether or how long SIG will support the P229, which they sold, rather successfully for 30 -40 years?

^^^^ Considering them still servicing the P228, which has been discontinued since 2005, I wouldn't worry about the P229 future support.

Some what of a thread drift but, I was not concerned with support for my P224SAS.357sig when I purchased it. A few short years later parts and service are hard to come by.
I hope you're correct 12131 with your assumption.

The P224 and its big brother P229C were very short-lived, plus they share very little with the other P-series SIGs. Hence, support dried up quickly. The P228, even when discontinued commercially, was still being used by the military. So, SIG continued to support it. Plus it shares almost everything with the P229. So, I don’t see the P229 support dried up anytime soon.

With due respect to you, and your Sig Knowledge, I hope your prognostication is correct.
Thanks for your input 12131.

Not a shocker, really. It being built for calibers everyone has moved on from, combined with what made it all that different from the rest of the line when it was introduced being rolled in as standard features since then (solid milled slide instead of stamped and folded) means it’s a bit of an odd man out in the lineup these days. Purely from a viewpoint of what’s selling, the P229 can’t be doing a lot in terms of sales these days. While other companies seem to like to standardize their SKU’s, SIG Exeter has always had a huge variety, but quickly dropped stuff that wasn’t moving. Given that, I’m actually surprised the P229 made it this long.

I mentioned in another thread recently that I doubted the M11-A1 wouldn't be discontinued anytime soon. Guess I should be eating those words.

Guess I am just one of the odd men out with my menagerie of P229s in 40 S&W / .357 Sig!

quote:

Originally posted by jgerge222:
Guess I am just one of the odd men out with my menagerie of P229s in 40 S&W / .357 Sig!

Oh, I had three of them. A decade ago. Like most guys, I think, I moved on to lighter guns that carry more ammo.

Oh, a menagerie à trois?

I think once the P229 left federal service most of its following stopped. The current P229 was of the best balanced P-Series guns out there.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Oh, a menagerie à trois?

Something like that. They used to get all the action and the P220 used to sit in the corner of the safe untouched.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
I think once the P229 left federal service most of its following stopped.

I'm guessing this more or less was the same timeframe as the FBI switching back to 9mm? So much changed right around five to six years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
The current P229 was of the best balanced P-Series guns out there.

The full slide height serrations version?

The FBI went to .40 Glocks before the 9mm. The FAMS and USSS went from the 229 to the 9mm.

The full serration guns had the perfect combination of weight, balance and recoil spring set up in 9mm. A lot of different guns feel like they have a garage door spring in them. The 9mm 229 was perfect. Great out of the box for shooting sports where the 226 took a little finesse to be perfect.

Right on. I haven't shot one of the newer P229-1's, mine were all the legacy half height serration version in .40. A friend of mine just sold one of the newer 9mm guns, maybe I should've asked to try it out first.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
I think once the P229 left federal service most of its following stopped. The current P229 was of the best balanced P-Series guns out there.

I concur. My first duty gun was a legacy slide P229 in .40, and while it wasn't bad for a .40, it was kind of a brick. I had pretty much retired it to the back of my safe, and then a couple of years ago stumbled into a P229 SAS in 9mm, and found it to be an almost totally different gun. The balance is better than the old legacy .40...more like a P228, but IMO the recoil is a bit less snappy than the folded slide gun.

I recently picked up another one. A recent manufacture Elite, and got it cut for an optic. It's pretty excellent as well.

All that said, I get why Sig is doing this. It just makes sense to have the cross-compatibility/modularity between the compact and full-size models, and this next generation of "P226 Compact" will give you everything you got with a P229 and be more versatile at the same time. IMO one thing that would make it even cooler is if it took P320 mags...

I haven't tried the 226 X-carry but I want to. I'd be interested to see how it compares to the 229 Legacy (the gun I carried for 12 years). The 226 X-Carry has a 3.8 inch barrel instead of 3.9, which seems odd.

I still own 2 .40 caliber P-229s. I don't plan on getting rid of either one.