Why discontinue the Sig P224?

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I was window shopping online for another possible Sig, and came across the P224...a little tank of a thing...and when I went to Sig's official website, no P224.

Was it just to wide and heavy to be successful, or where there other faults with it once it hit the market? I like my guns with a little meat on their bones, so I was just curious if I was the last one on earth who thought that fat bottom girls make the world go 'round :)
 
Replaced by the P229.

Probably had something to do with the grip not being long enough for the average male hand.

P229 conceals just fine with more capacity and a better grip. Hard to beat IMO.
 
Replaced by the P229.

Probably had something to do with the grip not being long enough for the average male hand.

P229 conceals just fine with more capacity and a better grip. Hard to beat IMO.

Actually, the P229 predates the P224...by many years. The P224 just didn't sell well for Sig, plain and simple. It's a little too wide and heavy for what most folks are seeking out in a subcompact concealed carry pistol.
 
IMO the P224 is just a chopped down P226 clone but not much smaller or lighter than the popular P229. Looking at the sales numbers it seems the P229 is much more popular than the P224 so we all know what happens to any product not making a profit.

I like the feel of the P229 in my hand better than the P224. It has too short a grip for me and I'm guessing many others too.
 
I first had the P239, then the P229, and then the P224. All in .40 S&W (except that I also have a .357 Sig barrel for the P224).

From shooting and carrying all of these, my take is that the P224 carries more easily than the P229 and about the same as the P239. Though it is obviously wider than the P239, it is also shorter with the standard magazines.

The P224 is not as easy to control as either of the other two. The P229 is a longer, taller gun with more weight and a full length grip. The P239 does allow for the pinky to fit on the grip (though not as well as a larger pistol), and this makes it easier to shoot despite being lighter (from my memory) than the P224. However, the P224 gains some ground when a longer magazine is installed (good lucky trying to find the factory mag with grip extension). But even a P229 magazine will allow for a pinky, and this does improve control. It's certainly not difficult to shoot with the standard magazines, just not as easy as the other two when my pinky is hanging out there.

Side note: The Mec Gar +2 extensions do fit the standard magazines, though the mag springs may (or may not) need replacing for reliable feeding. I have two of these on the way as they are readily available. There is also a pink extension modification on Pinterest using extensions for a S&W or Springfield XD (I can't remember which, but the pinky extension baseplate requires so modification). Sig seem to have stopped producing parts and accessories.

I assume the P224 was Sig's answer to the G26 and G27. Mine functions well, and is now carried often (purchased only a few months ago). But it is a blocky, thick, and relatively heavy gun compared to the competition. And the short grip does make it feel slightly less than secure. So I understand why it wasn't popular, and why it was therefore discountinued. There may possibly have been some early reliability concerns, but mine was made in October 2013, and has had one failure to eject with each included 10 round magazine, the first time each was used. And it had a couple hickups with Winchester Ranger Bonded 165gr. Otherwise, it has worked as intended. Not a single problem with. 357 Sig.
 
I first had the P239, then the P229, and then the P224. All in .40 S&W (except that I also have a .357 Sig barrel for the P224).

From shooting and carrying all of these, my take is that the P224 carries more easily than the P229 and about the same as the P239. Though it is obviously wider than the P239, it is also shorter with the standard magazines.

The P224 is not as easy to control as either of the other two. The P229 is a longer, taller gun with more weight and a full length grip. The P239 does allow for the pinky to fit on the grip (though not as well as a larger pistol), and this makes it easier to shoot despite being lighter (from my memory) than the P224. However, the P224 gains some ground when a longer magazine is installed (good lucky trying to find the factory mag with grip extension). But even a P229 magazine will allow for a pinky, and this does improve control. It's certainly not difficult to shoot with the standard magazines, just not as easy as the other two when my pinky is hanging out there.

Side note: The Mec Gar +2 extensions do fit the standard magazines, though the mag springs may (or may not) need replacing for reliable feeding. I have two of these on the way as they are readily available. There is also a pink extension modification on Pinterest using extensions for a S&W or Springfield XD (I can't remember which, but the pinky extension baseplate requires so modification). Sig seem to have stopped producing parts and accessories.

I assume the P224 was Sig's answer to the G26 and G27. Mine functions well, and is now carried often (purchased only a few months ago). But it is a blocky, thick, and relatively heavy gun compared to the competition. And the short grip does make it feel slightly less than secure. So I understand why it wasn't popular, and why it was therefore discountinued. There may possibly have been some early reliability concerns, but mine was made in October 2013, and has had one failure to eject with each included 10 round magazine, the first time each was used. And it had a couple hickups with Winchester Ranger Bonded 165gr. Otherwise, it has worked as intended. Not a single problem with. 357 Sig.

Great comparison! Thank you for laying it all out there with personal experience with each gun. I do NOT have large hands, so I'm not sure if the shorter grip would affect me quite the same, but I'd never seriously looked at the P239. Thanks for weighing in.
 
Great comparison! Thank you for laying it all out there with personal experience with each gun. I do NOT have large hands, so I'm not sure if the shorter grip would affect me quite the same, but I'd never seriously looked at the P239. Thanks for weighing in.

Per Sig's current website, it appears that they've also pulled the P239 from production, instead favoring the relatively recently introduced P225-A1. The possible downside is that at present, the P225-A1 is only offered in 9mm. That may or may not be an issue for you.
 
One additional thought: I highly disliked the E2 grip that came with the gun. Partly that's due to being left-handed (the E2 is obviously shaped for right-handed shooters). But it's also because the grip feels like it tapers down from the slide to the butt. I wanted more meat at the bottom. Fortunately, there seems to be an abundance of Hogue G10 grips left over from when production was ahead of demand. The large bump at the back of those grips (very similar to that of a G26), and the rough cut textures available from Hogue, really made it a better gun for me. (I have G10s on all my Sigs though).
 
The only time I fondled a 224 I was immediately turned off by the E2 grip in that size. All the contours were wrongly shaped for my hand.

Dont much care for the 239 and 245 either. Short mag is too short for me to grip with 3 fingers, yet too long to curl my pinky under like I do with something like a Glock 26.

I'd take a 225 (though preferably an older 225/p6) or 229 over either, myself.
 
When I started working at my last shop in 2014 there was a P224 in the handgun case. When I moved to PA last year it was still there.
 
One additional thought: I highly disliked the E2 grip that came with the gun. Partly that's due to being left-handed (the E2 is obviously shaped for right-handed shooters).
That'd be a huge turn off for me right there. A handgun grip that's shaped specifically for one hand and not the other is a terrible idea, unless it's exclusively a target pistol.
 
The simple answer is it didn't sell. The proportions on the gun were all wrong. The barrel/slide were too long for a gun with that small of a grip making the gun front heavy and unbalanced. There's a reason Gl...., the Austrian gun maker, doesn't offer the G19 with a G26 size grip. Yeah, some guys might chop one down but the mass market will think that's an oddly proportioned gun.

I like the P239. I had one and carried it for several years but my oldest son recently graduated college with an engineering degree and he really liked that gun so I gave it to him as part of his graduation present. About the time I was ready to replace it, Sig discontinued it, parts and magazines. I was about ready to buy a 225-A1 instead but I've been checking Sig's website and magazines for the 225-A1 have been out of stock for a while. If I can catch magazines available again and get 6 total (including the ones that come with the gun) I'll probably buy the 225-A1 as a replacement for the 239. The 229 doesn't fit my hand at all. I have to reach too far to get my finger on the trigger. I'm not worried about capacity above 8+1, I doubt I will ever run into a pack of angry ninjas or disrupt a Spetznaz operation in progress. I really wish Sig made a pistol using their traditional DA/SA design scaled down to something closer in size to the P938. I've got a 938 Extreme and shoot that gun very poorly, not to mention I don't like carrying cocked and locked and having to remember to thumb the safety. I will be offering that gun for sale at the next local gun show.
 
I bought a nickel 224. I shot it well. But the thing was almost Glock 26 sized, but it weighed about as much as a Beretta 92. That was why I did not keep it long.
 
WoodchuckAssassin: said:
Was it just too wide and heavy to be successful, or were there other faults with it once it hit the market?

In addition to “too wide & heavy” add “too expensive” and keep in mind that SIG now offers a P320 polymer framed variant that (they want you to think) fills the role of the P224 at a lower production cost and therefore a lower purchase price. Sig also phased out the P239 so I didn’t hesitate to pickup a nice one at a decent price when I found one last year. Whether you like or want a P320, or you’d rather have a P224, or in my case a P239, changing corporate product and marketing strategies are what they are.

Just like the polymer framed M&P replaced the 3rd Gen S&Ws, and the FN polymer frame guns replaced the BHP. Ruger did the same thing. And I’ll wager that Beretta and CZ follow suit by replacing more of their high production cost metal framed guns with cheaper to produce polymer framed guns. You can’t fight progress!:eek:
 
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