Evaluating a Sig p229

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I have a chance to trade my S&W model 60 for an apparently like new p229.

I'm inclined to do the trade, which seems in my favor. I'm mediocre with the mod 60 and I have other carry guns.

Is there anything I should look for on the sig other than atypical or uneven wear, barrel condition, etc? Anything particular to look for?
 
I've read about some extraction issues with SIG P229's. SIG has used a variety of extractors over the years, from internal, short external, and long external. I don't know which is the better option.

Here's one man's opinion on "The 5 best guns for concealed carry"

 
Understanding the P229 is not a carry gun and the Mod 60 may be,
Is this an even trade? If so, is there something special about your Mod. 60? I just sold a 2" Mod 60 from the mid 1990's for $450 and was very happy with the price. (gun store offered me $200)
Where I live the P229 is worth a lot more than a Mod. 60.
Having owned both, I would jump on the P229.
 
The 229 is a fine carry gun. It is in the same size range as a Glock 19, and while the Sig is a little heavier than the Glock, with a good holster and belt it is not difficult to carry.

Check the date code on the gun, that should give you an idea about the kind of issues that might be present (sigforum is a good reference for this, and IIRC they also have a serial number range look up if you can get the SN). Sig did have a period where their guns had extraction issues - I think this was sometime around the mid to late 2000's. A recent production gun should be fine, and an old production gun should be fine as well. Besides the extraction issues, just look for general wear. I'm not sure of any other big issues with 229s.

FYI if you're looking at a .40 cal, I've seen a lot of police trade ins lately that look good. Might want to check the price on those just to be sure of what kind of deal you're getting.
 
Take the slide off and look at the rails. If it's been properly greased there should be minimal wear to the finish. If the finish is worn off you can assume it's been run dry/abused. Other than that it should be GTG if it looks in good shape overall.
 
Thanks all. I will do my routine wear inspection and also look into the extractor issues and dates.
It is in 9mm, and from the pictures I've seen it appears to be in very good condition, if not excellent.
Seems almost too good to be true. Or maybe he'll decide he wants to haggle some, or retract the offer.
 
Cump

I picked up a used but like new P229R with the SRT, night sights, and 3 magazines for $499. This was a few years back but still I probably paid less than half what a new one would go for. I bought it primarily for home defense (added a SIG STL-900L laser/light module), but have no problem carrying it concealed in a DeSantis E-GAT holster.

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340PD said:
Understanding the P229 is not a carry gun and the Mod 60 may be,
Is this an even trade? If so, is there something special about your Mod. 60? I just sold a 2" Mod 60 from the mid 1990's for $450 and was very happy with the price. (gun store offered me $200)
Click to expand...
Uh, say what? The P-229 is a fine carry gun; I often pack a Legion or M11-A1, OWB with no difficulty. I would jump on that trade!

In any case, it's very hard to beat up any P-229 to the point where it wouldn't be worth doing the aforementioned trade. Then you'd have a great carry pistol and a great range gun, which would seem to be worth more than having a J-frame that's not that much fun to shoot and lacks in capacity as a carry gun.
 
Cump said:
Thanks all. I will do my routine wear inspection and also look into the extractor issues and dates.
It is in 9mm, and from the pictures I've seen it appears to be in very good condition, if not excellent.
Seems almost too good to be true. Or maybe he'll decide he wants to haggle some, or retract the offer.
Click to expand...
The additional information that it is a 9mm 229 changes the situation quite a bit. In any case, I would jump on this trade in a moment.

Unless it is a brand new 229-1, the 9mm 229 is quite a different gun than a 229 in .40 or 357SIG. For all practical purposes, the 9mm 229 is a 228 with a stainless milled slide...that is why they use different magazines than the current 9mm 229-1. The 9mm 229 did not experience the extraction issues that the .40 one did.

The article linked in Post #6, written by a close friend, is an excellent reference to determine the condition of SIG alloy framed pistols
 
Standard (old version) of a P-228/229 magazine on left; new P-229-1 mag on right (note vertical indentations)

SIG mags.jpg

Police trade-in P-229 with no slide rail wear ($425, great pistol)
SIG slide.jpg

The extractor is a non-issue; pretty much decided that all three incarnations (internal, short, long) work reliably -- some don't like the long version for cosmetic reasons ...
SIG P228 229.jpg
 
I'm definitely going for it. Owner reports 500-600 rounds fired. Even if its double that, its a good deal.
 
Cump

Sure sounds like a good deal. Let us know how it all plays out and range report when you get a chance.
 
Good trade. Definitely a no brainer. I'm a new Sig p229 Scorpion owner. It's my first sig, the polymer models felt awful to me and I always thought the 226 and 229 were a bit large for my ghands. The upgraded scorpion grips are an improvement, as is the SRT trigger. It's far too large for me to take seriously for ccw and I can't understand the need for the extended beaver tail on my model but for home defense or range use it's not an issue. So far it's been 100% reliable and a pleasure to shoot. I do find the high bore axis is a bit noticeable (compared to shooting something like my HK vp9) but I'm not competitive and it's of no consequence.
 
340PD said:
Understanding the P229 is not a carry gun and the Mod 60 may be,
Is this an even trade? If so, is there something special about your Mod. 60? I just sold a 2" Mod 60 from the mid 1990's for $450 and was very happy with the price. (gun store offered me $200)
Where I live the P229 is worth a lot more than a Mod. 60.
Having owned both, I would jump on the P229.
Click to expand...

P229 not a carry gun? Hogwash, I regularly carry a P226, which is somewhat bigger than a P229.
 
So I went with it, though he only brought one mag, and there was some unpictured handling wear.

Confirm or correct my thoughts on the rail wear I see: the rails on this one are black except for a few small areas at the front and rear. I took the gamble that this was some uneven wear on a lowish round count gun, that won't progress much now that its broken in. I guessed that I'd see some orange or gold coloring to the anodization on the whole rail if it had more rounds than he reported. Right or wrong?
 
The wear at the rear of the rails is normal and shouldn't progress. I'd be more concerned about wear at the front. The wear on the slide stop is a bit odd

Were the rails greased when you got it?

You can stop further wear by coating the rails with a good grease
 
Thanks. My guess is that he ran it a little dry. There is no corresponding wear to the slide from the slide stop.
 
Old Dog said:
Uh, say what? The P-229 is a fine carry gun; I often pack a Legion or M11-A1, OWB with no difficulty. I would jump on that trade!

In any case, it's very hard to beat up any P-229 to the point where it wouldn't be worth doing the aforementioned trade. Then you'd have a great carry pistol and a great range gun, which would seem to be worth more than having a J-frame that's not that much fun to shoot and lacks in capacity as a carry gun.
Click to expand...

tbob38 said:
P229 not a carry gun? Hogwash, I regularly carry a P226, which is somewhat bigger than a P229.
Click to expand...

Sorry guys I phrased that poorly. I was speaking of the P229 vs. the snubbie as a carry gun size wise. I carry my M11-A1 quite a bit but I do not consider it to be a pocket gun.
 
Cump said:
I've read some posts on sigtalk that say the newer milled stainless nitron slides are harder on the frame than the stamped slides. Do you know if that is correct?
Click to expand...
They've been using milled slides for a couple of decades, since 1996, and I haven't seen or heard that the milled slides cause more wear on the frames due to the manufacturing process. The milled slides flex less than the stamped slide, so there might actually be less wear on the frame rails.

What seems to have caused more wear on the frame rails has been the change to "stainless" slides. New owners seem to believe that this means that the pistol requires less maintenance and attendant lubrication. That lack of maintenance translates into abuse of the frame which shortens service life
 
340PD said:
I was speaking of the P229 vs. the snubbie as a carry gun size wise. I carry my M11-A1 quite a bit but I do not consider it to be a pocket gun.
Click to expand...
I don't think most people equate the term carry size with the idea of pocket carry.

I've been carrying for 40 years and have utilized pocket carry exactly twice...and was disappointed both times
 
9mmepiphany said:
They've been using milled slides for a couple of decades, since 1996, and I haven't seen or heard that the milled slides cause more wear on the frames due to the manufacturing process. The milled slides flex less than the stamped slide, so there might actually be less wear on the frame rails.

What seems to have caused more wear on the frame rails has been the change to "stainless" slides. New owners seem to believe that this means that the pistol requires less maintenance and attendant lubrication. That lack of maintenance translates into abuse of the frame which shortens service life
Click to expand...

That makes sense. And I'm feeling less satisfied with the trade.
 
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