SIG P-226 doesn't like longer 9mm rounds

[goon]

Hi guys,
I loaded some GDHP's up the other day and tried them for cycling in my P-226. To my suprise, they seemed too long to eject reliably as loaded rounds. They extract from the chamber OK but then when the ejector starts to kick them out the bullet gets caught on the rear of the chamber. I thought this was strange but not a big issue - handloads so you just load them a little shorter, right?
Today I tried some Win White box 115 grain FMJ's and they do the same thing - get hung up in the breech when ejecting a live round.
On the surface it doesn't seem like a huge deal but it's got me worried. What if you got a failure to fire while defending yourself and needed to hand cycle that round out, only to have it get stuck in there?
At the very least, with a SIG its kind of disappointing.
Is this even a real issue that I should worry about or is it just an ammo preference issue? Is this something that I should take up with SIG as a defect or is it just a "parameter" of the design that it will have issues with longer rounds? Anyone else ever had this issue?
This is a new one for me...

 

[shadowalker]

Have you shot / cycled other ammunition through this Sig?

What OAL are you using for your handloads, also how hard / fast are you cycling, I've seen people have trouble ejecting rounds when they don't cycle the firearm hard enough.

Have you shot any WWB with this particular Sig, if not you might make a range trip and try it out.

This is the reason why you should practice with your defensive ammo OR with hand loads to the same OAL / approximate velocity as the factory loads.

If you do get one stuck tip the firearm and cycle the slide a few times fairly hard, the casing should be ejected / drop out, otherwise try other failure drills.

 

[U-235]

I'll try it with WWB in my P-226

I plan on going to the range in the next week or so and will bring my P-226, I have a few boxes of WWB and will try ejecting unfired rounds to see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

 

[goon]

Guys, the issue isn't with firing. I have shot some WWB through it and it does seem to feed and fire fine. I'm not having trouble with empty casings getting stuck or stovepipes - this is with ejecting an unfired round from the chamber.

The best way I can tell you what is going on...
Loaded chamber with a loaded mag. Suppose you had a Failure to fire and you are doing the mag tap/slide rack. When I yank back on the slide the loaded round doesn't completely eject. It tries to come clear out but the bullet (bullet, not cartridge) gets caught in the rear of the chamber.
I can see what is going on pretty clearly - the round isn't free of the chamber before the ejector starts trying to eject it. This swings the bullet over and tries to eject the round but since the bullet isn't free of the chamber yet, it ends up just getting knocked back down into the action. It happens pretty often whether the mag is loaded or empty and whether I cycle the action slow, fast, or like I would if I were in a panic and trying to clear a malfunction while someone was shooting at me.
It doesn't seem to happen with rounds that have a shorter OAL but I don't really think I should have to limit myself to a certain OAL/bullet weight because of this. It's a SIG - it should just work.

Up to now I had only shot about 150 or so rounds out of it (I'm away from my guns most of the time so I don't get much range time anymore) and that's why I hadn't noticed it.

BTW - the handloads were loaded to an OAL of 1.127 with a Speer GDHP. The manual calls for 1.125 but the 1.127's always worked perfectly in everthing else and I prefer to load just a little long when I can to build in slightly more of a safety margin.
But I don't think it is a "handload" problem now that I see it happening with factory loaded FMJ ammo as well.

I'm wondering if maybe they have different ejectors for different models/calibers and maybe mine got the wrong part installed or something. (Just a guess).

 

[Kymasabe]

Is this a new Sig? I've been hearing recently of some problems with new Sigs. I had a CPO Sig P226 that was date coded 1989 and looked brand new after the refinish/rebuild and was 100% reliable with anything that I stuffed thru it, cycled by auto or by hand.

 

[goon]

I'm not sure how new it is. It is a CPO though. I called SIG about an hour ago and according to one of their gunsmiths, a P-229 ejector could have been installed and this could be the cause of my problem. They are going to get me info and a shipping label so I can send it in. I'll keep you all posted.

I really do wish for once that someone could just build a gun right the first time...

 

[American_Pit_Bull]

FYI... I just loaded up some 124gr Gold Dots in my 226 and they all ejected without any contact. I cycled the slide fast and as slow as I could and the result was the same.

 

[Scorpiusdeus]

I've owned and shot P226's for about 20 years now. I've used just about every type of 9mm and .40S&W round made and I've NEVER had an issue with the weapon ejecting a unfired round.

I swithc out Mags and ammo often and it's never been a problem. I shoot USPSA and most often am ejecting a live round on the completion of a stage to "show clear". Again, never an issue.

 

[motorheadjohn]

Agree with Scorp....

I've got an older P226 9mm, newer P226 9mm, a newer P226 .40 and a P226 stainless .40. Never had any problems with any of them ejecting live rounds. Get some snap caps for safety's sake, load them up (NO LIVE AMMO) and slow down the slide movement until you figure out what is wrong.

 

[goon]

I already did that with some dummies that I had loaded up - same result but the bullets hit in a slightly different place.
Everything I have been reading on this forum and on the SIG forum tells me that there is definitely something wrong with my gun.
It really irritates me to have to send it back for repairs. I thought the idea behind CPO was that an armorer checked it out and made sure it worked right before they sold it.
They seem to have missed the boat on that one.
I'm not completely writing off SIG at this point but only because I love this gun so much. But I'm not all that impressed with them at this point either.

About the only thing they have going for them is that their customer service people are doing what they can to make getting it back for repairs less of an inconvenience to me. But it still should have worked right the first time.
A couple days ago I said on here that I would trust a SIG straight from the box. After this, I don't think I could see myself saying that again.

 

[strambo]

Glad you are sending it in, this isn't normal. No probs with my P226 and I run 124 grain GD's exclusively as carry rounds and have had no probs like you describe with any others.

 

[Scorpiusdeus]

Goon: I'm glad you are giving it a chance to be repaired. The P226 is one of the finest firearms ever made IMHO.

Please keep in mind that it is a CPO and though I'm sure they went over it, ejecting live rounds is not likely on the list of checks they perform.

I've dealt with Sigsauer C/S and they are good people. Fix the problem with my girlfriend's P226ST free of charge by sending part out super fast.

 

[goon]

Yeah,
I just sent an apology to them for the slightly abrasive tone of my emails.
I have had problems with so many new guns in the last year or so that having any more issues just irritates me so much.
Even with customer service, it is still a huge PITA to deal with shipping it back, going to pick it up, trying it out to make sure it works, sending it back again when it doesn't, range and ammo costs to test it, gas to drive around to make all this stuff happen, etc.
My experiences with other companies have not impressed me in terms of actually repairing a defective gun. I have found that a defective gun tends to stay defective no matter how many times it goes back to get fixed.
Hence, my irritation about this.

But this is a first with SIG so maybe they can break my losing streak.

 

[CPLofMARINES]

That's weird, my Glock 19 does not do that.


Semper Fi!!

 

[RecoilRob]

So, you have a machine. It has a malfunction. You have diagnosed the cause of the malfunction. The ejector is too long. A few seconds shortening it with file or Dremel and you are good to go without all the hassle of sending it back and waiting for its' return.

Take a bit off...try to eject the rounds. Repeat until they leave the gun cleanly. Bask in the glow of a job well done!

Oh: Sig 228 used for pic. 226 should be very much similar.

 

[goon]

Normally I would agree with you.
If I had bought it used at a shop I would do exactly that.
But it's a CPO and that means that SIG puts a warranty on it. They screwed it up so they can fix it (and are apparently totally willing to do so).

 

[Noxx]

But it's a CPO and that means that SIG puts a warranty on it. They screwed it up so they can fix it (and are apparently totally willing to do so).

Glad to hear Sig is taking care of it, shame you had the luck to get the proverbial bad apple tho. Like other posters here, my experience with the 226 has been flawless, it cycles everything, fired or not. I'm sure yours will not disappoint once Sig corrects it.

 

[RecoilRob]

I worked as a Technician at a large automobile dealership years ago. If you bought a new car and found a loose bolt, would you go through all the hassle of making an appointment, driving to the shop, waiting for me to tighten the loose bolt and doing all the paperwork then driving all the way home? For something you could fix yourself in less than a minute?

Sorry, even IF it is warranteed, I can't see putting up with the PITA for such a small thing that is so easy to correct. You will always be soured on the SIG because of this and will remember the PITA rather than the tiny bit of metal that is standing between you and proper functioning.

And, since you have documented the problem and SIG has agreed to fix it, even if you screwed up the ejector (really, really hard to do) you still can get them to fix it because it isn't working now anyhow. But, you will do what you feel you must. Hope you like the pistol once it is fixed.