Sig Sauer (P226) Questions and Insights

How do you rate Sig P226's reliability as a survival handgun?

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  • Average. I have reservations (please explain in your answer)

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cougar1717 said:
Straw Man with an implied ad hominem fallacy! haha. Attack a position the opponent doesn't hold. Then, vilify them with implication that the opponent desires to see massive destruction and possible loss of life. Sorry, no one should buy into the logic that watching MAC's tests equates into a twisted desire to revel in destruction. Ok, ok. Maybe I've watched Monster Jam once or twice - haha.

Don't forget other motorsports like rock crawling, organized drag racing, mud bogging, or off roading. People break and wear out all kinds of parts more expensive than a gun just trying to go as fast as they can or attempting to traverse obstacles in the name of performance, accomplishment, and fun....AND the incredibly vast majority of people go home intact.

MAC doesn't even do destructive testing. The firearm still functions after the gauntlet. He just washes it out under the water spigot.
What he does is test the limits of one criterion, in this case the ability for a firearm to cycle. Does this cause accelerated wear? Probably. But so does testing the limits of a sports car.
If anything, MAC takes something that is incredibly reliable, and in Mythbusters fashion, asks "What does it take to make it fail?" There are varying results, but the generic answer is willful sabotage.
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Sorry what MAC does is a complete and total red herring... since we are clearly into logical fallacies. He sets up an arbitrary criteria which he sells as a reliability test. He then shoots pistols under those conditions until they fail or don't fail and declares them reliable or unreliable. The test and the method are flawed. Therefore the conclusions are flawed. They leave the real discussion of real world reliability somewhere in the weeds. I get it that you like to watch them but they are complete theater. There is no substance.

Again you seem to know that if you are in the end of the world scenario where your side arm of choice is something you are going to depend on to keep you alive you are not going to subject it to anything like MAC does in his "tests". I would argue that in such a scenario you are going to treat it with greater care than you do in normal times because your life depends on it. That is why a good bug out bag has some form of CLP and cleaning kit that can keep a gun running. Pushing it further in such a time if you survive you are going to be doing a lot of battle field picks if your skills allow you to survive. If you survive an encounter odds are you are no longer going to be relying on one gun. LMAO
 
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Once again I find myself agreeing with WVSig. These 'torture' tests are fun to watch, but they mean little in the real world. I respectfully submit that in an extended survival situation, including the well-beat TEOTWAWKI, that we will have much in common with Confederate infantry in 1863. They were constantly hungry, dirty, often barefoot, with disgustingly dirty clothes. The only thing clean and happy about them were their rifles.

So in this context, love your Sigs a little and they will love you back.
 
el Godfather said:
Congrats on getting it back. 229 is a great handgun especially to carry. How do you compare it with 226?
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Thank you. I hated losing it but my purpose as a father includes sheltering and feeding my family. Firearms beyond what’s needed for defense are a luxury


Never owned a 226. I was looking for 226 when my first 229 presented itself My understanding is they are very similar and IMO they are much closer to perfection that that plastic gun that is marketed as perfection.
 
I found those fails test irrelevant and others as well, we must understand they are focus with the solo purpose of selling few minutes of entertainment with no other value.
Therefore, the only scientific portion will be missing on purpose.
 
I like it when one of the guns I own does well on the torture tests, but in real life, there doesn't seem to be much difference between guns that I trust. I don't go rolling in mud or sand much.
 
If Navy Seals employ SIG for their use it means that have done extensive testing more so than some of the internet ninjas. That said, it would be interesting to know what exactly were the protocols for them to chose SIG over other options. What were the parameters of their tests? Water, Mud and Sand are elements that they must have considered - and if so how exactly they tested their pistols for those conditions.
 
el Godfather said:
If Navy Seals employ SIG for their use it means that have done extensive testing more so than some of the internet ninjas. That said, it would be interesting to know what exactly were the protocols for them to chose SIG over other options. What were the parameters of their tests? Water, Mud and Sand are elements that they must have considered - and if so how exactly they tested their pistols for those conditions.
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This article gives a short chonology which matches my own recollection (I have an H&K 45c as well as a mk25 and a M1A1):

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-navy-seals-loved-sig-sauer-p226-gun-65631

This article goes into the history a bit more and mentions the trials briefly:

upload_2020-7-13_17-33-27.png

https://defensemaven.io/warriormave...o-into-a-shootout-with-0YQr7hrVq06uBtShvdqTKg
 
Another question regarding SIg P226 9mm:

How well are the magazines made for it?

I fill up my magazines to the capacity of 15 rounds and they remain that way until and when used. Will this take toll on the springs, and if so, after how long?
 
el Godfather said:
Another question regarding SIg P226 9mm:

How well are the magazines made for it?

I fill up my magazines to the capacity of 15 rounds and they remain that way until and when used. Will this take toll on the springs, and if so, after how long?
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Buy the cheaper MecGar 18 round mags and you'll be good to go. Mine have been stored loaded for years and go bang no problem.
 
el Godfather said:
Another question regarding SIg P226 9mm:

How well are the magazines made for it?

I fill up my magazines to the capacity of 15 rounds and they remain that way until and when used. Will this take toll on the springs, and if so, after how long?
Click to expand...
Magazine springs weaken with use, not from taking a set (after the initial set from new)

If you are buying SIG (marked) springs there is the additional offset in that the springs aren't nested in the tube. Given I choice, my preference in magazines for the SIG 226 would be ones marked SIG, followed by MecGar, and finally Checkmate
 
SharpDog said:
This article gives a short chonology which matches my own recollection (I have an H&K 45c as well as a mk25 and a M1A1):

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-navy-seals-loved-sig-sauer-p226-gun-65631

This article goes into the history a bit more and mentions the trials briefly:

View attachment 929234

https://defensemaven.io/warriormave...o-into-a-shootout-with-0YQr7hrVq06uBtShvdqTKg
Click to expand...

You have to take that with a grain of salt because the Sig Navy P226 has a phosphate coating to prevent it from rusting. Not all Sigs P226s have that and not even all P226 Navys sold to the public do either.
 
I have MecGar made in Italy with Sig Sauer 9mm marked on the other side. So I am ok.
 
el Godfather said:
I have MecGar made in Italy with Sig Sauer 9mm marked on the other side. So I am ok.
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Mecgar is the OEM for many of the P226 mags. Some were Checkmate I think. Mecgar gets more capacity out of the same design by using a hollow follower without legs to sneak in 2 additional rounds by nesting the spring in the follower. 13 vs 15, 15 vs 17 etc...
 
I use Lubriplate No. 105 for all my auto slides and apply a coat to the exterior of the frame and slide, too. Wipe off exterior.

Apply Renaissance Wax to interior of Kydex and leather holsters where contacts with frame and slide. Mitigates "wear" effectively.
 
Just sent off my recently acquired LE trade-in P226 for SSP(Sig Service Plan), SRT (short reset trigger) and barrel crown. After reading this post I was compelled to send email to Sig confirming SRT..and NOT short trigger. Eesh, too close a description with very different outcomes.
 
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