Auction is now open: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/7260080205

With management approval, I’m putting PROTO-1 up for auction to pass it on to the next custodian. The entire proceeds will go to Para.

Most SIGforum veteran members probably already know what PROTO-1 is. But, those who don’t, and for those newer members, the original forum thread in Feb 2016 that revealed its existence is found >>here<<.

Brief summary is, SF member waynewash inherited this prototype from Lee Salter, Manager of Technical Services at SIGARMS in the mid-1980s. Three prototype specimens were made. Two were destroyed. Only this present sample is left. It is prototype #1. Rich Morovitz, SIG’s Training Manager, Commercial Sales, wanted to arrange with waynewash to bring the gun back to SIG’s historical vault, but they did not come to agreeable terms. So, waynewash arranged with Para to have it auctioned on here.


The original auction in Sept 2016 is found >>here<<.

I won the auction and wrote a detailed write-up >>here<<.
Further digging revealed the >>original machine company<< that helped Lee accomplish this project.

Shooting evaluation is >>here<<. The pistol has not seen any further action after that range day and has been the safe king since.

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With all that out of the way, here are the particulars of this auction, with Para conducting it.

1- Auction starts Sunday July 16, 2023 at noon Eastern time

2- Auction ends on Sunday August 6, 2023 at 9 PM Eastern time

3- Starting bid: US $2600.00

4- Bid increment is $50.00

5- If there are any bids in the last 15 minutes of the auction, the auction will be extended by 15 minutes. This is to avoid sniping.

6- Payment methods: Certified bank check, money order (from your bank), or personal check (from well-established members)

7- Bidder eligibility:

a) Open only to SIGforum members who reside in states which do not have magazine restrictions of 10 and less, including those who register within the first ten days after the auction begins.
b) Any brand new members who intend to post must contact Para first using the “Contact Us” button at the bottom of the web page and provide references- including their Gunbroker user ID- so that their identity may be verified. These new members must receive approval to bid in the auction.
c) Trolls and trouble makers will be dealt with accordingly by Para.

*ETA*: Of course this is a firearm, and, per federal law, it can only be shipped to the winner's FFL dealer and be transferred to him. A signed FFL copy of the winner's dealer must be received on my end first, before the pistol can be shipped.

*ETA #2*: Insured shipping is free. You just have to pay whatever your FFL dealer charges for the transfer.

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What the winner will receive:

- PROTO-1
- Magazine
- Lee Salter’s SIGARMS ID card and business card
- SIG case
- Original Rich Morovitz’s email communication to waynewash stating PROTO-1 legit status.

Pics:

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

Wow, I can't believe you are getting rid of it.

A piece of history.

Unbelievable! I didn't think you could get more generous, and then....

For those that are newer here, I don't think it was mentioned in the first post that this is the prototype for the P-228, hence the name Proto-1.

Most generous and hope it raises lots of $$$. Truly a well documented one-of-a-kind. Whoever wins it will have a piece of Sig history.

Wow! So cool.

I can't believe it's been six years, since the original auction.

It's beyond my government salary but best wishes to all who bid and Para.

This is awesome

Wow! Q, your generosity knows no bounds! It’s way above my pay grade, but I hope the auction raises lots of money. For everything that Para has done to make us this nice interweb home, I’m sure he can use the help. I can only imagine how much money and time running this forum costs him.

You are definitely a class act, Q!

In 2016 I handled the outgoing transfer to 12131.

I also knew Lee.

I can attest the gun, with its provenance, last time I saw it, wasn’t done justice by the pictures. It was far nicer.

Bid with confidence.

OMG i drooled on my keyboard last time and just did again.

Q, you've got a tidal wave of karma coming back your way. This is incredibly generous of you.

I am so glad to see this happening and renewing interest in this piece of SigSauer history.

I had bought a used P226 in late 1987 and happened to end up on the phone with Lee Salter himself one day as I was trying to get some spare parts and an answer for a maintenance issue.

We talked for several minutes and he was very helpful. He seemed to enjoy telling some of the stories of how the P226 made it to the US.

I mentioned that I loved mine, but was having to use it as a backup because Dallas PD didn't allow semiautos for sidearms and it was a little too big to carry in a vest holster. Mr. Salter said, "Well, sit tight, you might see something pretty soon."

Not very long after that, here came the P228.

I talked to him for help over another issue a couple of years later. DPD had decided to approve semiautos and was going through testing with Glocks and Berettas. I asked our range if they were testing Sigs, and they said Sig hadn't sent them any. I called Mr. Salter and gave him the rangemaster's phone number to get some P226 test pistols down here. It didn't take long.

Sig ended up getting the contract, and they had Lee Salter to thank. He did it all under the radar.

In fact, he did a LOT under the radar, which is another story.

Wow, Q you are amazing. I will watch from the sidelines. Good luck to the bidders it’s an amazing piece of history.

Hey Q I remember that whole verification and auction.

Time to step this action up.

I’ll bid $5,500 for the firearm. No need for a guy who gives so much to this forum to lose money on a transaction.

Edit…

And shit sorry I am on a trip and on the other side of the date line so it is already past noon on Sunday.

The bid still stands sir!

furlough, the auction thread and rules are here: The Auction thread for the one-of-a-kind SIG Sauer Pistol, PROTO-1 (aka the P226 Compact Prototype)

Q, you continue to amaze

The auction is now open for bidding:

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/7260080205

Have kicked off the bidding.

An incredible opportunity to have a piece of SIG history, and also to give back to the best forum on this planet.

Thanks 12131, and thank you Para!

As a point of curiosity, as Q. and others are far more knowledgeable than I, how close is the P226C to a production P228? Mostly, I am curious as to how likely it might be to find a P228 part that fits the PROTO-1 should something break. Can barrels, slides, etc. from a "regular" P228 fit and work on the PROTO-1?

Obviously, since Q has it in hand, and perhaps the most comprehensive collection of P228's in the world, he is probably the best person to answer my questions, but I am happy to garner well-founded information from anyone.

Makes me damp…

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
...how close is the P226C to a production P228? Mostly, I am curious as to how likely it might be to find a P228 part that fits the PROTO-1 should something break. Can barrels, slides, etc. from a "regular" P228 fit and work on the PROTO-1?...

The PROTO-1 frame is a modified P226 frame, so a P228 upper does not fit on it, just as it does not fit on an original P226 frame. Another interesting thing about the PROTO-1 frame that I completely overlooked initially is that Lee's team also chopped off the end of the dust cover a little to make it the same length as the regular P225, which is the same length as the eventual P228.