It's not a SIG but.....

[waynedm]

I seem to hear a lot of complaints about Sigs jamming. If I hear people say they've been reliable it's something like "I've got 1000 rounds through my 22X without one jam."

I've got over 30,000 rounds through my P89 without a jam, about half were hollow points and mil surplus. The slop of the Rugers is partially what makes them reliable. I'd also put Ruger's partial length guides up against Sig's full length any day in the sand or mud.

 

[whited]

.

I probably wouldn't ask that guy behind the counter for anything ever again.
If you buy anything but a Sig, you have made the wrong choice according
to him. Sounds to me like instead of selling you the right gun for you (any customer), he is more anxious to sell everyone a Sig.

They are nice guns, but other guns have equal/better reputations. Don't
judge the gun based on this one person's perception of Sig.


/because he loves a thing does not make the thing worthy of your love.

There are stories about gun shop blowhards saying idiotic things every single
day on this board!

 

[RTFM]

I did not intend this thread to be a thread of what gun shop owners try to push.

I'm just trying to understand why SIG has gained such a reputation as THE GO TO hand gun.

I know what I think of them and why. I was wondering why the general shooting public think they are the gun to own.

 

[Crosscut]

RTFM

Alot of the reputation of these guns may come from the fact that they are the choice of a number of our Special Forces Teams, the draw of the dark side, if you will. And IMHO, they are a fine reliable handgun. I own Sig's, Taurus's, Smith's, and have shot quite a number of other's. I still go back to the Sig's as the one's I like the best. It's all in what you like and feel comfortable with.

 

[RTFM]

You know that me be part of it.
I only own the 2 SIGs and have never had any other pistols. I have nothing to compare them against.

(It's true - bought my first SIG, then the second and have NEVER owned another companies hand gun....)

 

[MustangHowie]

In 9mm I own S&W, Beretta, Taurus, Browning, HK, Ruger, CZ, Walther (p-1), Norinco, Glock, and Sig. I prefer Sig. To me they shoot better, trigger pull is better and I am more accurate with them. I don't care who else likes or uses them. They fit me. As for price, they are expensive new so you can buy used. I don't remember where I saw it but someone posted once a comment that really made sense to me. "The price of a gun doesn't matter if you use it a lot you will spend more money on ammo than the price of the gun."

New Sig = $725
Box of 9mm = $7.5
5000rds 9mm = $750

It may seem like a lot of rounds but they add up in a hurry.

Crosscut: " It's all in what you like and feel comfortable with."

 

[whited]

.

I'm just trying to understand why SIG has gained such a reputation as THE GO TO hand gun.

I was not aware they had gained such a reputation.

I was wondering why the general shooting public think they are the gun to own.

Again, I wasn't aware of this. The 'general public' I associate with seems
completely oblivious of this, as well. I could talk to 10 different people and
get ten different answers as to which handgun is the one to own.
And they might all be correct, depending on their needs and abilities. I have
to ask, what constitutes your 'general public' ? Sig owners, gunshop
blowhards ? Just curious about your sample set.

 

[RTFM]

Gun owners I know.
Along whit members here and other gun boards (not counting SIG forums for obvious reasons).

Ask a general question:
I want a nice 9mm pistol, semi automatic sa/da pistol.

What are the replies? The usual but SIG P226, 228 will be the predominant pistol defined along with GLock (I know no sa/da but they are always presented).
With a consensus as SIG is a very nice gun, while expensive is the top quality choice.

Same goes for the .40 and the .357sig question.

Talk about the .22 plinkers and sooner or later they conversation comes up about the Trail side and how much better it is over the other available .22 pistols.

My question is still - how or why did they get the reputation?

 

[LT1coupe]

I bought a well used Sig P239-9 & it has quickly changed my opinion of what is acceptable in a handgun. I never knew what a trigger was supposed to feel like. This is the best DA/SA trigger I've ever had the pleasure to shoot & I'm more accurate with it than anything else i own. I've since sold off my lesser guns except for my wifes Bersa 380 which is the best performing inexpensive gun we've ever owned. I just placed an order for a P229 CPO.

 

[epic4444]

try the fact that most gun shop worker dont know anything but pricetag numbers so thats there pedigree rankings

 

[.44 magnuholic]

Forget all the talk about reliability and build quailty...

My P239 in .40 is the most accurate handgun I've ever fired. I mean, it's almost a joke when I take it out and shoot it. Every Sig I've ever shot has been extremely accurate out of the box.

 

[varoadking]

Forget all the talk about reliability and build quailty...

My P239 in .40 is the most accurate handgun I've ever fired. I mean, it's almost a joke when I take it out and shoot it. Every Sig I've ever shot has been extremely accurate out of the box.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding...

We have a winner...

 

[WinchesterAA]

I was complaining about the crappy trigger pull on a keltec 9mm I was looking at, and the clerk said "Yeah, it's no 1911"

 

[UnTainted]

Yeah, for me it's about the accuracy; that's what I love bout Sigs.

And I shoot thumbs forward as well, though I don't place my thumbs on the gun to support it. I use my palms and fingers to hold the gun secure, and my thumbs point to the target. Though I'm probably doing it "wrong," my SIG slides stay locked back and I can grip the weapons pretty high.

 

[jlh26oo]

lol at pedigree

I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about either, because "on paper" sig models were no match vs my particular favorites. Then I bought a p220, and all of a sudden factors like size, weight, capacity, finish, bore axis, consistent trigger, velocity (conventional vs polygonal rifling), and maintenance have dropped down my priority list significantly. Now all I want to shoot or carry is the Sig, despite all of the above. Even accuracy- while the p220 is my most accurate, it is not much more so than many autos which are far less expensive, and there are certainly more accurate pistols out there if 25 or 50 yard groups from benchrest are your thing.

No, Sig is my personal favorite simply because I like how they feel and shoot the best.

 

[jgo296]

ok "nail driving" sigs have tighter specs so they must be kept clearer than a glock does to function
well maintained both with probably function flawlessly
but in a "torture test" the sig will fail first

 

[Blarelli]

Of everything I have ever shot (personal favorite is a ruger p95dc. Don't laugh, I'm serious), sigs are the most accurate, particularly my brothers sig 239.
On top of that, when you pick one up and look it over, it just oozes the feel of quality.

 

[NGIB]

For me, and I stress ME as everything about handguns is subjective, a P239 with Hogue grips is the best defensive gun I've ever owned. It feels right, all the controls are in the right place, and is amazingly accurate. I have 2 P239s and a real P225 and I love them.

Now, I like DA/SA and decockers, so Sigs are a natural for me. The only complaint I have on Sigs is the slippery hard plastic grips that come stock, I change them immediately. For range work I like my 1911s and Berettas, but for a go to gun in a SHTF situation I'll reach for a Sig...

 

[Bones11b]

For myself the reason I choose Sig's over the competition is they simply make me look good. I shoot more accurately with my Sig's than I do with any other production pistol. It also doesn't hurt that on my first week working with an SF team we were talking guns and I mentioned my favorite handgun was my P220, feels good when the guys you know have been there and done that nod in agreement.

 

[.44 magnuholic]

Well, that's 3 guys who also agree with me on accuracy. I also wrap mine in the hogues and I swear on my life, no weapon is more balls on accurate (even with cheap ammo)

 

[MechAg94]

I got a P220 a little while ago. I agree that it is an accurate pistol, but other things really stood out to me.

It is a very smooth shooter with mild recoil even compared to an XD 45. The sights are well made and easy to line up. The grip just feel right to me. Unlike a lot of people on this thread, I like the DA/SA set up and Sig does it well IMO. The take down is extremely simple and easy similar to a Beretta 92; much easier than Glocks, XD's, and many others. I don't find the weight to be any different than any other full size 45 out there. It has been rock solid reliable for me though with few rounds so far.

The HK USP 45 and HK P7M8 I have seem to have many of these same feature and both have been 100% reliable also. The USP still has the plastic rectangular grip and feels a little fatter though.

Now is all that worth the extra money? I don't know. Each to his own. One thing I do know is that everyone has their own preferences and different guns will "fit" them better than others. If you don't care for Sigs, I am sure you have something else that fits you just as well. Fine by me.

The only time I have heard praise of Sigs off-line was from a retired LEO who taught my CHL renewal class. He just mentioned Sigs, HK's, and Glocks as good reliable gun that you can trust. He was pretty opinionated about it.

 

[DevilDog0402]

I don't own a Sig and don't know if i will or not. The ONLY handgun that I've ever seen "break" at the range was my friend's Sig P220. I'm not sure what it was, but the something in the trigger group "broke" and rendered the gun inoperable. Not that this single incident is indicative of Sig quality, but it made me a little leery of Sigs in general. Now I believe he sent it in and got it repaired under warranty, so at least Sig stood behind it.

I fired a P229 when i was in college and experienced several FTF. Maybe I was limpwristing it... I do know that my Glocks, Ruger P93, Beretta 96, and XD45 have yet to have a malfunction of any sort.

I think Sig makes a fine product, but like many on here, I don't believe that they are the end-all-be-all when it comes to semiautomatic pistols. Nor do I feel that there pricing is justified.

Ben

 

[Disaster]

Sigs have a deserved reputation. The company has made few mistakes and released few duds (.22 Mosquito one of the few flops, for example.)

Having said that, there are a lot of other great guns for a lot of less cash available. If you have the money, by all means, by a Sig. If you don't, or would like to buy a few guns for the price of a couple, consider some of the better guns from other manufacturers.

I have fired some Sigs and really liked them and was planning on buying a Sig as my first CCW. Then I picked up the S&W M&P compact and really liked it. I did some research and found lots of glowing reviews. With the money I saved vs. the P250 I was going to buy I bought a nice little Bersa .380 Thunder.

By the way, my friend, a Sig lover, was very pleasantly surprised when he shot my M&P...he might even trip over to the dark side.

 

[LT1coupe]

My S&W M&P compact & 3913 are the only other 9mm auto's I kept after getting the used P239.
My M&P9C is second only to the P239 in accuracy & so far 100% reliable after 300 rounds of mixed ammo. I carry it when I'm not carrying the P239.

 

[rellascout]

I used to be a huge Sig fan. I have had or still have tons of them.

P228 X2
P225
P239
P226 X2
P220 X 2
P220 SAS
Sig GSR 1911

Unfortunately they are not the company they used to be. They are not the old German company that produced the classic P series guns. Instead they are a mix of Kimber execs running a new gun company Sig Sauer which is leveraging the older German made P series products. The Kimberazation of Sig is sad to see. It makes be sad to see it change for the worse.

SigArms is Sig Sauer now. They simply changed the name recently. SigArms has existed since about 1985 when they were in Tysons Corner, VA. They were a quality company as Sigarms up until about 2004 or so when they started to be a manufacturer versus and importer of Sig Pistols.

The new company is now run by the gentleman who ran Kimber a few years ago. You might remember that. Kimber went from a very good small company making nice 1911s to a massive producer of average 1911 pistols. Customer service and product quality suffered as they focused on sales not the product itself.

Lets face it that is what Sig is doing now. If you look at the product offering changes over the last few years there are a lot of bells and whistle being added to the classic pistols.Many of these new products have had issues as soon as they hit the market. The GSR, Misquito, 556 rifle and current P220 are all examples.

The GSR had well known teething problems. I own one and love it but do not discount the fact that they were and still are some what it or miss. The new Sig offering are very ornate. They are a stark contrast from the older P series pistols that they built their reputation on.

The mosquito is made by a airsoft gun company made out of a Zinc slide and will not feed anything but the most expensive 22LR ammo out there. Also the trigger sucks. It feels like well and airsoft pistol. Where do I load the BBs?

The 556 rifle has been a failure. Many of the most avid Sig fans are disappointed. Same price point but no iron sights. When the Iron sights came out they were crap not Swiss dopplers that people wanted. The front light and foregrip they are selling looks like it was made in China, which it was by an outsourced vendor. If you upgrade to the $2000 SWAT rifle you get a $75 C-more sight. I cannot believe Sig put a POS C-more on gas piston rifle. What a joke. Not only that if you were lucky enough to get an early one you got an unintentional tutone rifle with a canted rail so when you mount your optics of choice you still can't shoot straight.

The P220 has well know extractor issues. These have been occurring since they got rid of all the carbon steel slides and replaced them with milled stainless steel. FTF and FTE are now common problems associated with the P220. The majority are good pistols but if you are putting out thousands a month and about 5% have issues that's lot of problems for someone who claims "HELL AND BACK RELIABLILTY."

Again i am not a troll or Sig basher. I have owned and own more Sig pistols than most people but do not full yourself. This is not your fathers Sig. I will never buy a new Sig product ever again. I will keep my German Sigs but in the end the newer ones are no worth the NIB pricing.

My opinion is not shared by many of the Sig fans here and other places but to me there are now better values out there.