V-Tail dropped off a pile-o-parts yesterday and asked me to make sense of it all. It is built on a Matrix Precision P229 no-rail blemished frame, I can't find the blemish. I was impressed by the quality and bought one for myself.

I can't find much on here about these, so I figured I'd post my experience on it here.

Anyway, this is his. I still need to collect all the parts for mine. It went together without issue. Now that I know it all fits, I just need to tear it down and give it a proper lube job. Then it's off to test fire. He's got 40 and 357 Sig barrels for it.











Thanks for looking!

Tony.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: benny6,

What advantages are provided by the Matrix Precision frame?

Well, there's a few advantages to building one. I haven't checked out the cost of building versus buying complete, so I don't know if it's cost-saving or not.

One advantage is that it allows you to custom build a P-series Sig from the start instead of buying a complete pistol, only to change out parts, like different triggers, different barrels, different grips, different sights, etc...

Another advantage is that it allows you to piece it together over time as finances allow instead of coming up with $1k to outright buy a new base-model Sig.

Some people hate the squared trigger guard on current P-series Sigs and prefer the P228 style rounded trigger guard like the one this frame has.

Another benefit is being able to convert a P-series Sig frame to have, or not have a rail.

And yet another benefit is the ability to replace a frame if you have a really old and tired P-series Sig from the 80's or 90's that has a worn or cracked frame. The 80's-era Sigs had weaker rails, IIRC, and were eventually beefed up to handle +P ammunition.

The frames were only like $140.

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
What advantages are provided by the Matrix Precision frame?

Availability as a new, finished (100%) frame. Good production quality in my limited (3 of them; 2xP228, 1xP226).

WOW! That looks fantastic! Looking forward to getting together to test-fire it. I have a small amount of .357 SIG ammunition on hand, no .40 S&W, will need to order some of each.

Here is some more information about the whole project, as well as a huge "thank you" to everybody who made it possible:

Dr. Q (12131) started my interest in this project, with his tale of doing it in this thread: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...160010794#4160010794.

The idea interested me, but it sat on a back burner, until DennisM offered a karma for a P229 .357 parts kit: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/7320084894/p/1. Leemur was the winner, I was the first runner-up. Well, it turned out that Dennis had enough parts for a second kit, which he sent to me.

Then, along came 4MUL8R, with a karma for grip and magaizines: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/5750062005/p/1. The winner on this was vthoky, who read about my project, and asked 4MUL8R to send the karma package to me.

So, the hardware donors to this were, in chronological order,

• DennisM,
  
  
• 4MUL8R, and
  
  
• vthoky.

I thank you all, for your generosity!

At this point, I had everything that I needed for a P229 / .357 SIG except for the naked serialized frame, so I lurked on the Matrix Precision website, waiting for a sale on the "blem" frames, and one finally came along. I do not use a light (WML) and I like the cleaner look of the frame without a rail, so I ordered one. The frame is, of course, the "firearm" as defined by ATF, and has to be shipped to an FFL.

I thought about this for a bit and decided that it would be a fool's mission for me to try to assemble the pistol. I do not have the knowledge and my bout with Guillain Barré left me with numb fingers and reduced dexterity, so I contacted TonyBen and we agreed on "one-stop shopping." Tony is FFL, so he could receive the frame for me, he is an extremely talented gunsmith, and has the knowledge and tools to do the job, so it just made sense to have a professional handle it for me.

I also bought a clean used barrel in .40 S&W from a member here, so the finished P229 will handle both .357 SIG and .40 S&W.

I drove over to Tony's house yesterday with a box o' parts. He had received the frame from Matrix Precision -- he liked it and ordered one for himself. We had a great visit, he gave me the guided tour of his facility and showed me some really impressive rifles that he is in the process of building. He is a great gentleman, very personable, and it is an honor to know him. Turns out that we did similar work in the military. Tony, a Marine, maintained avionics in helicopters, I was Navy and did the same sort of work primarily in Regulus missiles, and some in KDA target drones and also the airplanes that controlled the missiles.

Looking forward to a range session to try it all out, as soon as Tony has time to get together for this!

It was good seeing you again, V-Tail! Thanks for the kind words and making the drive over here. Once the relatives leave town, we'll get together for the range trip!

Tony.

Very nice looking gun,especially the grips. Are they Equinox grips by chance? I don't think I have seen that 2 tone texture done on them. Very nicely done.

That is a nice build. Those Matrix frames look appealing.

Very nice! Can anybody speak to the quality of the Revenant arms lower parts kits that Matrix is selling on their website?

Mr. V-Tail, I'm honored to be mentioned in your build thread. It looks like you and Tony have done some beautiful work, and I look forward to hearing how it performs for you.

Heck, I'm tempted to buy a frame myself now.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
What advantages are provided by the Matrix Precision frame?

It is a new frame and you can, if you want, go from a railed to a non-railed version or vice-versa.

When you think about it, most of a classic P-series pistol is steel or plastic that really doesn't wear out over the life of the pistol. It is the aluminum frame and springs that wear over time.

With a Matrix Precision frame and a spring kit you can basically have a like-new classic P-series pistol.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Very nice! Can anybody speak to the quality of the Revenant arms lower parts kits that Matrix is selling on their website?

I can't. But what I can tell you is that I called up Sig Sauer inquiring if they still did any work at all on P232's and the person I spoke with recommended that I purchase a P232 spring kit from Matrix Precision.

Well, you guys have yet again inspired me. I've been toying with the idea of a P226 range gun for a while, and had been watching gunbroker, but after shipping, fees, transfer, etc, it was a big chunk to bite off, and I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. The price on these blem frames was too good to pass up, and I can take my time figuring out and sourcing the rest of this build.

Now to inventory the parts I have on hand and figure out what I still need to order. This should be fun!

<Excerpts extracted>

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Dr. Q (12131) started my interest in this project, with his tale of doing it in this thread: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...160010794#4160010794.

The idea interested me, but it sat on a back burner, until DennisM offered a karma for a P229 .357 parts kit: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/7320084894/p/1. Leemur was the winner, I was the first runner-up. Well, it turned out that Dennis had enough parts for a second kit, which he sent to me.

Then, along came 4MUL8R, with a karma for grip and magaizines: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/5750062005/p/1. The winner on this was vthoky, who read about my project, and asked 4MUL8R to send the karma package to me.

So, the hardware donors to this were, in chronological order,

• DennisM,
  
  
• 4MUL8R, and
  
  
• vthoky.

I thank you all, for your generosity!

I drove over to Tony's house yesterday with a box o' parts. He had received the frame from Matrix Precision -- he liked it and ordered one for himself. We had a great visit, he gave me the guided tour of his facility and showed me some really impressive rifles that he is in the process of building. He is a great gentleman, very personable, and it is an honor to know him. Turns out that we did similar work in the military. Tony, a Marine, maintained avionics in helicopters, I was Navy and did the same sort of work primarily in Regulus missiles, and some in KDA target drones and also the airplanes that controlled the missiles.

This is so freakin’ awesome! The community of good, kind, generous folks here is one of the best aspects of SigForum!

I like that P226 frame designed for the P229 slide on their site. I don’t need another project, I don’t need to spend money and the last thing I need is another gun. YOU GUYS SUCK!

So in the ordering process for the P226 frame on Matrix's site, they never asked for FFL info, and there was nowhere to enter it. I did add my guy's address and business name in the notes. Do they contact you later about that or how does that work?

They have two frames. Serialized and 80% did you get the 80%?

I mean not that I’ve been browsing their site. Total conjecture on my part.

I ordered the serialized one.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

So in the ordering process for the P226 frame on Matrix's site, they never asked for FFL info, and there was nowhere to enter it. I did add my guy's address and business name in the notes. Do they contact you later about that or how does that work?

I don't remember the exact sequence, but some place in the process, either placing the order, or the email exchange that followed, I gave them Tony's FFL information.

Might be that I placed the order and followed it up by sending a copy of Tony's FFL to them in an email that referenced the order. Can't remember for sure, but I can say that they (Matrix Precision) are VERY responsive to email questions, so just ask them and they'll tell you what to do.

Good deal. I ordered it on a Saturday so I don't really expect to hear from them until Monday if that's the case. My FFL isn't open until Tuesday, so that'll take another day. I'm not in any kind of rush, just want to be sure it gets taken care of. Coordinating transfers (and having to pay for them) is the worst part of buying online.