Are all of these DA/SA or are the LEO’s DAK? And what caliber is each pistol?


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All are DA/SA - P226, P228 & P229 are 9mm, P227 is .45, (and the P230 is .380, but I don't carry that).

I have no interest in a DAK or SAO - I prefer the manual-of-arms to be the same for whatever I conceal carry.

 

Aww, come on. No pic of you favorite pistol? Just the barrel and a target?

 

This is what it looked like after going to Sig for the FSP and slide re-blueing..

 

I don't know what it is or if it can be explained but I like the P228 is my hand better than any other pistol ever

I know my M11A-1s (3) and my P229SAS are really updated versions of the P228 and technically a better handgun but for some reason any one of my P228s (4) is always the favorite in my hand

 

I don't know what it is or if it can be explained but I like the P228 is my hand better than any other pistol ever

I know my M11A-1s (3) and my P229SAS are really updated versions of the P228 and technically a better handgun but for some reason any one of my P228s (4) is always the favorite in my hand

Do yours sport the old style trigger bar spring or the new one? Believe it or not, the thinner right panel grip used on the old style ones feel much better to me.

 

^^^ Did you swap in the TruGlo TFO sights in? You like them better than Trijicon or Mepro?

 

Yes - The original Sig sights were dead (remember, it was made in 1991) and I got a good deal on these. I put them on several other Sigs, but have no experiences with either Trijicon or Mepro.

 

Love those Hogue overmold grips. I remember when those were about the only grips available for SIGs. Hogue has really stepped up their game since those days.

 

Wish they would make them for all the other models besides 229/228 & 226 - especially the 224 and 227. But unfortunately they will never make them for discontinued models.

 

I've owned 228s. There is something about them that just seems "right". They were always popular, but after production of the real 228s ended, they have almost achieved cult status.

 

I cannot explain it either, but of all the SIGs I own, I can carry anything I want, a German P228 is the one with which I trust my life and the lives of those who are mine. As said before, there is just something 'right' about the P228.




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My P228s are tighter than my new P229 ECC, and yes, they "balance better" when dry firing, but...

I can still get all the parts for my P229 20 years from now.

Is that balance meaningful when it has a loaded mag? No.

It is all in the shooting, and that jury is still out. Yes, they are COOL.

And that is why I believe SIG needs to make a SS slide with the same weight distribution and short extractor and legacy frame and make the P228A1.

But, they won't do it and kill their M11A1 sales. It would kill it.

 

flwing and I worked together for many years, and we both still prefer Sig's I however like my P229 best. Like Wulfman I have more than one, actually. 4 of them. The DA/SA is the best for me, too. I had a P226 in DAK, but I sent it to Sig and they fixed that.
The 228 slide is a little lighter and the recoil spring feels lighter, although not much, the recoil impulse is different. It seems milder.... It's nicer to have in your hand when it shoots, is about the best way to describe it. I'm referring to the pistol flwing has, I've never shot any other 228.

 

Same here. Had a non-railed 229 frame w/ 228 parts kit. Then got a "real" P228; definitely shoot better w/ the genuine article. Not sure why; maybe a balance issue?

 

If by "228 parts kit", you mean the entire upper is P228, then there are no differences between that gun and the "real" P228, except the serial numbers.

 

Yes, the frame is from my 229 .40 S&W, non-rail; which, I thought was slightly wider in the grip to accomodate 15 rd. mags vs. the 228's 13 rounders. No?

 

You are correct. The grip of the .40 P229 feels slightly fatter when compared to a 9mm P229 or a P228. I’ve noticed this as well, but some people don’t notice the difference. However, you mentioned a balance issue. Usually the P229 (especially the .40 variant) is considered to be very top-heavy and nose-heavy when compared to a P228. Some people like that. Some people don’t. I’m in the latter group. The .40 P229 feels like a brick compared to a P228, and it’s all due to the slide. That slightly fatter grip isn’t enough to affect how nose-heavy or top-heavy the gun feels or doesn’t feel. If you shoot better with a factory P228 vs your Franken-P228, it’s likely because you feel you can better grip the former. It shouldn’t be because of a balance issue.

You guys are just imagining things. Externals dimensions are the same. Nothing is fatter. The wider magwell is accomplished by removing metal on the inner surface of the grip frame area, not by making the grip area fatter. Think about it. If the .40/.357 frame, which is the same as the 229-1 frame, were really fatter, how is it that there is only one size grip across the board, P229/P228?

 

You are correct. The grip of the .40 P229 feels slightly fatter when compared to a 9mm P229 or a P228. I’ve noticed this as well, but some people don’t notice the difference. However, you mentioned a balance issue. Usually the P229 (especially the .40 variant) is considered to be very top-heavy and nose-heavy when compared to a P228. Some people like that. Some people don’t. I’m in the latter group. The .40 P229 feels like a brick compared to a P228, and it’s all due to the slide. That slightly fatter grip isn’t enough to affect how nose-heavy or top-heavy the gun feels or doesn’t feel. If you shoot better with a factory P228 vs your Franken-P228, it’s likely because you feel you can better grip the former. It shouldn’t be because of a balance issue.

 

These are the measurements I did several years ago, comparing the M11-A1 (which has the 229-1 frame) to the "real" P228. The 229-1 frame is 0.2 oz lighter than the P228, likely due to metal removal to make the magwell wider. And, you will notice that the wall thickness of the 229-1 grip frame is really less, both just visually, and by digital measurements.

 

Right you are 12131, I just noticed that on my guns, the difference is the grip and not the frame itself. The P228 has a slightly thinner right grip plate. My P229 has a fatter right grip plate. It must be something to do with how it fits on the trigger bar spring or the mainspring assembly. I’ve just assumed the difference was in the frame this whole time.

 

Right you are 12131, I just noticed that on my guns, the difference is the grip and not the frame itself. The P228 has a slightly thinner right grip plate. My P229 has a fatter right grip plate. Must be something to do with how it fits on the trigger bar spring or the mainspring assembly. I’ve just assumed the difference was in the frame this whole time

The right side grip was made thicker to accommodate the slightly deeper recess for the extra layer of spring wind on the new style TBS. It's subtle, but I can feel it for sure.

 

OP, You might try swapping the E2 grips off of your 40 to match your P228 to get a similar feel

 

I think there are a few contributing factors as to why any P228 may feel better than a P229, and why yours in particular does:

1) Better balance - the lighter slide on the P228 repositions the center of gravity for a more comfortable hold.

2) Trigger shape - most P228s came with the old-style serrated face trigger. In addition to better traction, this trigger has a flat-across face (not to be confused with a flat profile trigger). The flat-across face gives you another ergonomic reference for straight-ahead through the fingertip, so you feel more confident with your aim point.

3) Smoothness - much has been made of machined steel sear/hammer parts versus the newer MIM parts, but the manufacturing method is not where the improvement comes from; with much higher round counts (such as yours), these parts (along with the hammer strut and trigger bar) have self-polished against each other, giving themselves a gunsmith-level action improvement job.

The little stuff adds up.

 

flwing:
Besides the 228 and 229 being shorter (better c.g.) than the 226 and easier to conceal, does the 228's "proofed in Kiel" bug (or other German city) exert a subconscious influence ?

 

No - my P226 was proofed there too.

 

My P228 is my second favorite pistol but is my absolute favorite SA/DA or SA pistol. My favorite over all is my P250 it’s a .380 and the absolutely best shooting pistol I have ever shot by far.

 

I think of myself as a Sig guy. I did not know until reading the above, anything about the proof marks or springs. My first Sig was my P226 that I carried as a duty weapon, entry weapon, and started flying helicopters with it. I then moved to a P228, thinking I was stepping down to the smaller weapon as it fit in the helo better. Boy was I wrong! I love my original P228. It is about a 1992 model. B2002XX.
I currently own 9 Sigs. My old P226 in 9mm, and a newer P226R in .40 and .357.
I like the P228 so much I bought a new Franken Sig P228R in about 2007.
I have my old P220 that was my off duty weapon to my P226 duty weapon, a P220R Carry and P220R Carry Equinox. I also have a P229 in .40, and another one in .357. I love them all, however The old P228 just feels best! I have given away a P229R in .40, a P239 in .40, and a P220R.
For the LEOs, my old P226, P228 and P220 are all three 'SPECIALS' from when I was on the job, so it is not that I like the P228 for some reason like that. It feels best to me, and for some reason better than the newer P228R. I came from a large department in SoCal where I carried my own weapon in all of my assignments. I'll never get rid of those three specials. Most of us carried our personally owned weapons, and most of them were Sig's. Beretta was second but way behind.
I am thinking about a new P225A1 as my next purchase. I have looked at the M11A1 but it does not feel like my old P228. If Sig makes them again, I'll buy one or two right now, as I'd be concerned they will stop making them again.
I vote for balance making the P228 the best, but not because I really know.

 

Got to agree. I love my 1991 P228.

 

The p228 is just a special gun. Hard to find a flaw with it. The p225a1 is a great gun too, a little easier to carry, but the p228 is the one I would choose if I had to have one. But it’s not alone, all the German folded slide guns 220/225/226/228 have phenomenal balance and shoot great.