Controversial Sig Slide Rattle

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J.Bourne

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I know this has been a touchy lately, but I have had personal experience with it and am not pleased.

Sig is among my favorite make of semiauto handguns. I own a 220, 226, two 229s and a 239.

My latest two additions, a 229 and 239, chambered in .40 S&W and .357 SIG, respectively, both have an unacceptable amount of slide to frame play (IMO). So much so, that they actually rattle if you quickly move the pistols. It is very noticeable, and I do not believe I am being "nitpicky."

I have done searches here, on Glock Talk and Sigforum lately, and it appears that this is an often cited complaint lately.

I have not contacted Sig yet, but from other threads I have read, those that have were told by Sig representatives that this a normal condition, and that it won't affect reliability or accuracy.

Some people are satisfied with this response and some aren't, I guess.

I fall in the latter category because I don't understand why two of my Sigs have this slide play, while none of my others do.

Is this more common is recently produced or newer model Sigs? Has anyone else noticed this?

Thanks.
 
Hmm, my 226 and 229 are both abt 3.5 yrs old. Both have a little side-to-side movement, but not nearly to the point of rattle like yours. That seems too loose. How's the accuracy? My guess is that some of the play in seemingly pretty common in Sigs also contributes to the slide gouging that some observe, incl. me a little, and I wouldn't want that exacerbated. Any sign that it's having that effect on yours?

I haven't been paying attention to the controversy, but nothing makes me madder than being told something's "normal" or a "design feature" or "technically within spec" to cover for manufacturing flaw, all of which I've heard at various times.
 
I've got a number of Sigs, the latest being an alloy 226 with the rail. By the time I had shot 500 rounds through it, it had the rattles. My older 226 does the same thing. So I called SigArms and was told that the rattle was normal and shouldn't effect accuracy or reliability. I just shot my 226R today, it rattles, but accuracy is definitely not effected.

It is bothersome though, it just makes you think something is wrong, but everything appears to be ok.
 
Treeprof and Tangle,

Both reliability and accuracy are good, though they are both less than 2 mos. old (the 239 is 3 weeks old). So I have no complaints on those fronts.

I can relate to what your saying about the barrel "gouge" issue too. I would rather have looser slide to frame fit, as long as the barrel lockup is tight, than have such a tight frame to slide fit that the exterior of the barrel is damaged.

I've got the typical lapping, Sig similies on both barrels, which is perfectly normal.

Some people on Sigforum were told that the frame fit was loose to assist reliability.

Again, as what Tangle said, what bothers me is that my other Sigs don't have this condition whatsoever. Not only that, but I've handled both 229s and 239s in gunstores that had zero slide to frame play.
 
For what it's worth...

I realize we're talking about completely different designs here, but the most accurate semi-auto handgun I have ever shot was a friend's Colt Gold Cup that had an absolutely amazing amount of slide-to-frame play. The gun has been 100% flawless in 3000 to 4000 rounds (I'm guessing a bit here), with one notable exception. Around 1000 rounds the slide stop sheared in two when we were shooting some pretty warm ammo.

Anyway, I understand your concerns, but I've been a little more open-minded about owning loose fitting handguns from quality manufacturers since shooting that Colt. Still, that slide stop event was a bit unsettling; I just don't know enough to know what it may mean.
 
Sig loose slide phenomenum troubles me too. I've been in the market for a 232 and have handled several new 232's at dealers and gun shows. Some have incredibly sloppy frame-to-slide fit and others are fairly tight. As these were all new pistols, the variation has me wondering about Sig quality control.
 
I just went and gave 'em both some hard shakes. There's actually a hint of rattle in the 226, but I know it will shoot 1.5" 25 yd groups w/a coupla kinds of 357 SIG ammo. Consistent lock-up of course is key for accuracy (which SIGs always seem to do quite well), and I guess if you've got that, you're probably ok. I'm the same way abt stuff, tho, and I can understand you being bothered, esp. now that I got mine to rattle. Thanks a lot!
 
My old "Made in W. Germany" P226 rattles like crazy. It shoots well and is perfectly reliable, so I'm not particularly concerned.
 
i got two p220st's

one is the first run model wihtout the tac rail, and the second is a newer model with the tac rail. the older model st has a bit of play and the newer model has virtually no play. both are more accurate than me.
 
My 226 rattled like a ball bearing in a steel drum. And I worried about it, right up to the moment I shot it. As I understand it the rattle is not a problem as long as the barrel/slide lock up is tight.

and some gun porn because B27 started it :)

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Hello B27 and some nice guns.

I didn't realize that slide rattle was that big an issue or even discussed that much. But what do I know anyway?
 
I think in discussing a gun problem (rattle in this case) after repeated posts expressing various views, the "problem" becomes bigger than it really is simply because of the repetition.

For me, rattle is more of a disappointment or an annoyance than a problem. It's a disappointment because I know a Sig is a high quality gun and the rattle seems completely out of place on such a fine gun.

The rattle does not appear to cause accuracy or reliability problems and may in fact, as some have posted, enhance reliability. Just yesterday I shot 20 rounds through a 1" diameter hole (off hand, Weaver stance) at 15 feet with my 226R (9mm). That seems to be ample accuracy for a SD gun.

As for reliability, I have fired over 800 rounds through my 226R and have yet to have a FTE or FTF, and that is with a Wolff 17 pound, reduced hammer spring.
 
I work in a gunshop and just purchased a sig 226 elite less than a month ago. I have owned several sigs and have not had any slide rattle until this one. It was very tight when I bought it new, but after 150 or 200 rounds it rattles like crazy. I haven't had any FTF or FTE, though it is very, very annoying. And is not as accurate as some of the non elite models I've owned that didn't have the rattles. But the slide rattle may not have anything to do with that but it makes me wonder.
 
Most of my SIGs have reasonably tight slide-to-frame fits. My P226 Navy being the loosest. It is also very accurate. Try some TW25B or, better yet, Slide Glide and it will dampen the rattle. They're both fine lubricants.
 
one must ask, if you found the rattle unacceptable, why did you buy them?

most Sig i've handled have either rattled or not right away. the rattle usually doesn't increase until you get into 30k+ rounds if you don't maintain them well and 50k if you do. i handles a 226 9mm a while back that had 70k+ rounds through it and really rattled, but it was still very accurate
 
My 9mm 239 rattles noticebly.

I used it to start USPSA comp about 5yrs ago (10 rd mags), and it was amazingly accurate and reliable with the short barrell. It also was faster to draw than my later comp gun.

It still rattles and shoots great. 5 years ago there were posts discussing the slide rattle.
 
Some do, some don't

...

Well, you're in good company, as my 3yr old NIB P226R CT 9mm rattled from day 2, when I first heard it.. But, over the last 3yrs, thru some 5650 "flawless, accurate" rounds, it is its "character" as the rattle is only from the rear, both sides equal, of the slide/frame..

I like the way she talks, and she has my full trust and depending on the angle and strenght of my shaking her, it really is not much movement when still and moved gently, but yep, I can wind her up and make her talk loud..

No biggy, she's too accurate and dependable to turn lose.. lol


Ls

Oh and both my 229 n/r 40's don't but my 3yr old NIB P220R does, just a tad, same, equal, rear slide/frame spot.. But it's a keeper as well.. Just too damn accurate and dependable thru 1850 flawless rounds to think otherwise.
 
I have been shooting sigs for around 20 years, and have had loose ones, but none near as bad as this one. Even after thousands of rounds my others are tighter than this one. It was very tight when I got it new. Talked to my sig rep and he said it shouldnt be that bad. I deal with them on a daily basis so I have no doubt they will take care of it. Was just suprised to finally have a problem with one, especially being the elite model.
 
Sorry to go off subject but was wondering if anyone has had any experience with 17lbs wolf hammer springs on their 226s. Was considering putting one in my IDPA gun. Saw one person post earlier that they had no trouble with theirs, wondering if anyone else has used them.
 
Greg,

I was the one that had the 17# Wolff hammer spring in my 226. Just recently I fired some Wolf ammo in my 226 and got two failures to fire out of a box of 50. They each fired on second trigger pulls, so I have to believe the FTFs were because of the weaker spring.

Hence, for IDPA, if you aren't shooting Wolf ammo, you probably won't have a problem, but for self defense use the stock spring.
 
Not a SIG, but I had a Colt 1991A1 that rattled like a bucket of bolts in the back of my truck on a dirt road...

Great shooting gun.

Slide rattle dont bother me a bit.
 
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