Sig 229 questions

[Casefull]

View attachment 823175 I have a used police trade in sig 229. It is the only sig 229 I have handled and it seemed nose heavy compared to the three sig 226's that I have. I weighed both barrels/slide and the shorter 229 is actually 1/2 ounce heavier than the longer 226 barrel/slide combo. The photo shows a difference in width at breech area. Both pistols are 40 caliber. The slide is .100 wider.
I was wondering if later 229's are made this way or are they dimensionally like the newer 226 pistols that I have?

 

[JR24]

I believe (and I'm no expert) that the newer 9mm 229s are the same thickness as the older .40/.357 sig 229s, basically they all share the fat heavy frame now.*

The older 229 and 228 9mms have the slimmer frame, closer to the 226 but only the 13 rounds in the mag.

The E2 grips really help make the fatty 229 feel slimmer in the hand, even if they are too rounded for my taste. My wife likes em.

I prefer the 226 in all cases

*there may be a newer model with the slimmer frame, I'm not fully up on the myriad models SIG has these days, just my basic nitron 229-1 (fat frame) with SRT.

 

[Casefull]

Thank you JR. BTW how do you know if you have the E2 grips?

 

[JR24]

They are one piece wrap around grips, instead of the 2 piece panels held in place with screws.

 

[Casefull]

I will have to get some of those as this is my wife's bear gun.

 

[Rock185]

My current SIGs are 9MMs, so I no longer have a SIG .40 to compare, but do recall the .40 slides were about an ounce and a half or so heavier than the 9mm slides. I suspect it is to maintain optimal slide mass, function,etc. that P229 slides are manufactured to be as heavy or slightly heavier than P226 slides in the same caliber. For instance, my P226 MK25 slide weighs 12.3 Oz., my P229CC slide weighs 12.5 Oz. While my M11-A1 slide., advertised as but not really a "P228", weighed 11.5 Oz. The older folded steel P226/P228 slides tended to be fractionally lighter, but the same width. A P226 slide weighed 11.4 ounces, a real P228 slide 10.7 Oz. The "Legacy" type P229 slides are wider around the rails than the other models. BTW, the P229 frames are the same width on the outside. Before the P229-1 guns, the .357 and .40 mag wells were about .050" wider internally than the 9MMs. So early, late, .40, 9mm,etc. P229s can all use the same grips. Only exception I can think of at the moment is the P229 "Carry" model which is, as they say, "a whole nuther thing"......

 

[bannockburn]

Casefull

Here's a slightly larger photo of the P229R with the E2 grip. I have small hands and the E2 grips make the grip area of the frame feel much more comfortable and easier to reach the trigger. Hope this helps.

 

[bannockburn]

Casefull

Another angle that better shows how contoured and thin the E2 grip is.

 

[Casefull]

Thanks. Looks like it's contoured. That's good.

 

[golden]

When the 229 was developed, it was found that it could not stand up to the battering of the 155 grain .40 S&W load. If fact, every gun submitted in the U.S. I&NS pistol selection failed. SIG and BERETTA went back to the designs and the milled, heavier slide was the answer for SIG and the heavier Brigadier slide was the solution for the BERETTA 96. Both pistols were approved for carry, but only the BERETTA 96D Brigadier was purchased by the I&NS for issue. Later on, the SIG was disapproved because of a bureaucratic decision, though the gun worked fine.
Eventually, the I&NS would authorize the H&K USP pistol because of complaints the BERETTA was too large. Then the later H&K P2000 and P2000Sk model were chosen to replace the BERETTA.
The usual story were the government is involved.

Jim

 

[Casefull]

I had the wife shooting the 229 at the range today and she liked it better with the heavier slide that she did the 226.

 

[1KPerDay]

Consider the short reach trigger for your wife if you don't have it already. The one in the pics above is it.