Sig P228...picked up a few weeks ago.

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Howland937

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Had asked in another thread about things to look for. Picked it up a couple weeks ago but haven't shot it yet. Still trying to fall in love with it, but not sure I ever will even when I shoot it (a 1911 it isn't)
Anyway, here it is. Not sure if the date code shows up well enough in the pic, but it's KG. 1996 if I looked at it right. All 3 #'s match, it's got some minor wear here and there. Couple of grip screws are a little boogered up. 20200821_195109.jpg 20200821_195030.jpg 20200821_195147.jpg
 
Looks great! That’s in better cosmetic shape than mine is, hopefully it shoots for you as good as it looks. :thumbup:

The DA/SA SIG trigger is completely unlike the 1911 as you’ve noticed, and the double stack grip feels a lot different in the hand than the slim grips of the old warhorse. Dry fire a bunch, taking care to press through the DA stroke in a smooth manner until it breaks. (One dry-fire trick I was shown is to hold the gun in your shooting hand and with your off hand place a fired cartridge case on the front sight. Press through the DA trigger pull, doing your best to keep the sights aligned on your target. The goal is to pull smoothly enough to keep the case from falling off the sight as you keep the sights properly aligned.)

All that being said; I find the P-220 series of SIGSauer pistols to be my favorite gun “family.” To me, the grip angle and ergonomics are perfect, the trigger is easy to use and the controls are fool proof.

Once you have a few hundred rounds through your 228 I think you’ll find the gun to be a pretty sweet shooter. Let us know how it shoots for you when you get a chance :thumbup:.

Stay safe.
 
Once you have a few hundred rounds through your 228 I think you’ll find the gun to be a pretty sweet shooter. Let us know how it shoots for you when you get a chance :thumbup:.

I'm going to try to shoot it over the weekend. I'd been patting myself on the back for not needing 9mm ammo during this craziness since I didn't own anything in 9mm. But now here I am, in the shortage boat with the rest. I did load some 124gr XTPs with some CFE pistol and some Power Pistol just to shoot it. I'd much rather function test with factory ammo than test loads and gun all at the same time

The feel is something I may get used to. I can probably get a feel for the trigger too. It's smooth and not terribly heavy, just goes a long way...but it breaks pretty clean.

Any idea if I read the date code right? If it is in fact a 1996 build date, would that make it an actual "made in Germany" and not a made in Germany but assembled in the US?

The wear isn't terrible really. If you look closely, some of the more pronounced edges appear to have the finish almost worn through. My daily carry gun is only about 2 years old and worn worse.
 
Well, if you desire improvement in the trigger, I highly recommend SIG's short-reset trigger system. If you're not scared of taking apart your guns, you can do it yourself (but, gunsmith recommended). SIG P-series are actually pretty simple. Definitely upgrade the sights (SIG has a great factory re-furbishing plan, they'll replace all the small parts, springs and put nice SIG-Lite sights on for a quite reasonable price, don't know about the turn-around times during the pandemic).

But the factory triggers on the 228s wore in pretty well, and typically aren't horrible in DA.

Yours should have been made in Germany.

Many of us consider the P-228 (the older models with the folded slides) one of the finest carry, and fighting, pistols ever made.
 
20200822_104105.jpg
Quick trip just to check function and see how it feels. Bottom left, 5.0gr. Power Pistol. Bottom right, 5.0gr. CFE Pistol, top left 5.2gr. Power Pistol. All offhand at 10yards, all with 124gr. XTP's.
Had 2 FTF with light primer strikes. Cycled those rounds again and they went off. Thinking It'll take some using to get accustomed to the trigger re-set. If I keep it, I'm definitely gonna check into this.
, if you desire improvement in the trigger, I highly recommend SIG's short-reset trigger system. If

And no, I didn't shoot at any of the middle row targets.
 
I had a SIG Armorer put a short reset trigger in my 228, for me it does make it a bit nicer/smoother to shoot DA.

Congrats on a great gun!
Stay safe.
 
Looks nice. Better shape than the 228 I picked up.. last week? Mine is an excellent shooter, but I got it to relearn the DA trigger, so I've been dry firing a bunch with it since I got it.

For trigger, yes, get the SRT. I was trying to get as fast splits as I could this past weekend with mine and I absolutely short stroked the reset a few times (I was comparing it to my EDC X9, so kinda unfair) but I've had SRT Sig's in the past that reset nice and quick.

Personally if I decide to get more serious about my 228 for carry or HD, I'll get the trigger worked over by grayguns or someone similar and get the SRT, and install a set of Ameriglo CAP sights on it.

My wife does really like the 228 though, better fit than the Glocks or my 1911s for her hands, so that's a reason to always keep it around
 
I still like the feel of the 1911's better, but the more I handle this thing, the more it's growing on me. Mostly just lamenting the thought of having to load more 9mm since I just started loading .380 a couple weeks ago on top of the .38 Super and .45acp I've been loading.

Side note, the dot type sights really seemed similar to the Sig-Lite sights on my p238 and 1911's. Sure enough, they glow very faintly in the dark. Not gonna be really useful in low light, but it does have them.
 
The P228 was one of my favorite double stack SIGs. My brother had one that he let me use for a number of years and there wan't a factory or handload that I put together that this gun wouldn't feed, fire, and eject. Just the right size too as I had an earlier P226 that I had that was just a bit of a reach to the trigger and also felt a little wide in my hand. The P228 was a great fit and being slightly more compact would have made for an excellent concealed carry gun. After my brother took it back I went looking for my own and came across a LNIB P229 with the E2 grips, the short reset trigger, night sights, a rail, and three extra magazines for an unbelievable price! So I got it and it's been my dedicated home defense gun for all these years!
yDxwP9t.jpg
 
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Howland, I see serial numbers on your frame, slide, and barrel. Also, I think I see a German proof mark at the end of the frame's serial number.

These all tell me that your pistol was completed and assembled in Germany, unlike mine. On mine, there is one serial number (on frame and easily covered over by a gunsmith when he refinished it - boy did his eyes get big when I showed him that he made my pistol rather illegal. Another refinish followed.) And mine has none of the German emojis and proof marks. Thus I know it was assembled in USA.

Bart Noir
 
I think I'd posted about the price in the other thread, but hadn't on this one. I wasn't sure when I bought it exactly how old it was but it's usually a dead giveaway when the instruction manual and parts list don't have a web address in them. Guessing box is original, 2 10rd made in Germany mags and one 13rd Sig mag. $500 OTD. Which seemed odd compared to the $600 G17 right beside it.
 
german-proof-marks-1024x822.png


Howland937: On the "chin", the proof marks on true German Sigs verify that they were manufactured, assembled and tested in Germany.
If the chin has a tiny, odd "squashed" bug (as on my P225 and one of my P6--the other has a weird "federal proof") this means that it was performed in Kiel Germany. Remember the famous U-Boot submarine pens in WW2? That....Kiel.

Maybe your box somehow has the original test target (paper)?

Even my Walther P99 has proof marks plus test target, and the "antler", as you see means in the factory in Ulm.
 
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I wouldnt mess with the trigger until youve shot it awhile and get used to it. If you havent been shooting a DA gun, youre going to need to get your muscle tone up to adjust. Once you do, I think youll find its not bad at all.

Dont compare it to the 1911 or anything else either, simply because they arent. Like anything else, once you put in some quality time with it, figure out how to work and shoot it, I think youll find it works and shoots great.

My 228 has a KA (1990) date code and externally, looks similar to yours. My barrel has a heavy
 
This is the P228 I picked up a little while back. Its a KA (1990) gun.

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As you can see by the "smiley" on the barrel, its had a few rounds through it over the years. Still shoots well though.

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The frame only shows a little wear on the one rail, and there are no "chips".

Personally, I wouldnt mess with the trigger. The more you shoot it, the more youll get to like it.

The only SIG's I ever did anything to the triggers were a couple of police trade in P6's I had, which had heavier triggers than the commercial guns. I swapped out the mainsprings on those with a P225 mainspring, just so they were consistent with my other guns.

Another thing I noticed across the different versions too was, the difference in grip geometry between the different models gave the triggers a slightly different feel.

I always found the P226's and P250's to have the best triggers, but I think thats because they were the guns that fit my hands the best, and I got the best leverage on the triggers because of it.
 
You should definitely keep shooting it and get it running right. Since the gun has been shot before, additional shooting it will not hurt the value.
Just keep it greased/oiled correctly.

Based on it's age, it might benefit from new springs.
 
"Sig Sauer Proof Marks And Date Codes." Google. My link won't work.

Howland937:
N means "Nitro Beschuss", powerful ammo "(be)shots" during testing.
Good time for beDucking and beSprinting from that area! Betwixt some concrete.

markings...as might have been done with Lee-Enfield rifles which sometimes had similar stamps?
 
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