How Durable Are Sigs Alloy Frames???

rollie100

rollie100

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How durable are the sig sauer p226/p220 aluminum alloy frames?, how many rounds can a sig frame live through/or stand up to in its liftime?, or the gun for that matter. how much crap or abuse can they handle?.

i only ask this cause for a brand new sig they are fairly expensive, and way to expensive for steel framed ones. i really like sigs and really want some new ones.
 
On our range the frame generally outlasts the slide. Certainly the SIGs have outlasted Glocks, Czs, S&W, and Berettas.

I have only been using a steel framed SIG for about 3 months so I can't say if they are better yet.
 
Check Sigforum.com and you will find all kinds of threads on durability etc. I don't think you will "wear out" the frame though.
 
I put over 90 000 rounds through a Sig P229 in 40 cal and there was very little frame wear.

We retired the gun because the trigger return spring locator hole near the slide catch was starting to wear in an oval pattern and our gunsmith felt it MIGHT fail (it was a duty gun and I would bet my life on it). My 229 after that had 30 000 rounds through it with zero issues except for failures to feed during the break in period that went away after 400 rounds.

As for the slide, it was on slide number 2, firing pin number 4 or 5 and barrel number 3... the barrels developed flat spots around 25 000 and 30 000 rounds. Slide number 2 was required because I broke a firing pin and we could not get the locator pin to come out. Wear on the slide was not excessive and was limited to holster wear.

My current 226 is around 10 00 rounds and looks almost brand new. Frame wear is normal and is limited to only bluing/anodizing wear.

Note, Sigs are wet guns and should be well lubed! Slide rails, frame rails, barrel, trigger bar.

Oh, BTW, I was an adjunct instructor at the Sigarms Academy in 2005, 2006.
 
SIGs will not outlast Glocks. Check out the number of police departments issuing Glocks instead of SIG products; no comparison (and NOT just due to price). SIG firearms are fine pistols, just not in the same durability league as Glocks. Nobody torture tests their products like Glock.
 
Shootshellz said:
SIGs will not outlast Glocks. Check out the number of police departments issuing Glocks instead of SIG products; no comparison (and NOT just due to price). SIG firearms are fine pistols, just not in the same durability league as Glocks. Nobody torture tests their products like Glock.
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:jerkit::jerkit::jerkit:

comme on price has EVERYTHING to do with it.
 
Capp...:

The sigs were all American manufacture with the stainless one piece slide. The only issues I faced were 3 broken extractors, broken trigger return springs (don;t remeber how many, maybe 3) and 3 broken firing pins. The extractors would sheer off the claw and believe Sig now markets a new extractor. The extractors would have broken anyway just due to fatigue and use. The firing pins concerned me but there was no pattern as to when or why they would break.

As for Glocks being better than Sigs, I think it is a matter of what gun the selection committees decide upon. The Glock has an excellent rep, is a good gun and the law enforcment price CANNOT be beat... for volume sales the price was so low it was scary!

To say it is better than Sig is like the Ford vs Chev argument. They both have good and bad points.

In purchasing of police guns, life expectancy is not a huge concern. The average officer will only shoot 5000 to 10 000 rounds out of a patrol firearm.

I will say this though...if you are an officer, buy the exact same gun that you carry on patrol and practice with it. That way, your duty gun won't get beat up or break springs, pins, etc. during that time when your life depends on a reliable gun.
 
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Shootshellz said:
SIGs will not outlast Glocks. Check out the number of police departments issuing Glocks instead of SIG products; no comparison (and NOT just due to price). SIG firearms are fine pistols, just not in the same durability league as Glocks. Nobody torture tests their products like Glock.
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And yet strangely enough, they do.

Who cares how many departments issue one over the other? It is pretty unusual for any police gun to be fired to the point of failure.

Yes, FWIW most manufacturers torture test their products like Glock.
 
Shootshellz said:
SIGs will not outlast Glocks. Check out the number of police departments issuing Glocks instead of SIG products; no comparison (and NOT just due to price). SIG firearms are fine pistols, just not in the same durability league as Glocks. Nobody torture tests their products like Glock.
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As already stated the fact the Law enforcement agencies pick the glock over anything else is the price point.

As for durability? My old man has carried his G 22 on his belt for about 8 years. His total round count is much lower than what he puts through any of my pistols in one year. And he practices the most out of the whole detachment. In general most cops don't use their guns near as much as you'd think.

I'd take redleg's word for durability. I'd imagine their rental guns see a lot of rounds in a short time. This is a much better way to tell if a gun is going to last than some phony baloney durability tests that have gone on.
 
Hey redleg, im curios to know how the sigpro is faring so far as compared to the other poly frame guns.

How many rounds has it gone through?
 
PeteL said:
Hey redleg, im curios to know how the sigpro is faring so far as compared to the other poly frame guns.

How many rounds has it gone through?
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The SIGPro is amazing. It has outlasted a good many big name guns. FWIW the polymer framed guns last as long as anything else. It is as often or not the slides that fail. The problem with Glock and HK polymer frames is that the rails are not replaceable when they fail. The SIGPro design allows replacemnt (although they have not failed after more than 3 years on the range).
 
wobbles99 said:
...I'd take redleg's word for durability. I'd imagine their rental guns see a lot of rounds in a short time. This is a much better way to tell if a gun is going to last than some phony baloney durability tests that have gone on.
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There is one Glock test that I know of that is not phony baloney. Bigbore on GT did some unbelievable things to his G21:

http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=462537

I'm sure that SIGs can stand up to some serious use and abuse, but I doubt they could stand up to much of what he did. Then again I wouldn't even try to ruin a fine firearm like a SIG by doing any of that to it. I was impressed enough to buy a G21 though...
 
Max Power said:
There is one Glock test that I know of that is not phony baloney. Bigbore on GT did some unbelievable things to his G21:

http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=462537

I'm sure that SIGs can stand up to some serious use and abuse, but I doubt they could stand up to much of what he did.
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And for every story like the one above, you will find ten Glock kaboom stories. The only way to prove one gun's superiority over another is to conduct a scientific tests involving multiple samples in a controlled environment.
 
To Shootshellz and everyone else,

The last major scientific test that was conducted for duty firearms was the US Dept. of Homeland Security test a few years back.
Everyone was invited and nearly every major company submitted guns.

The only pistol test on par with this one was the old US Military tests of the early / mid 80's to replace the 1911 pattern gun.

Only 2 guns actually finished the Homeland security tests:

1. Sig Sauer
2. HK

All others failed, broke, "jamed" and couldn't make it.
Contracts were awarded to both Sig and HK.

For the record I am a big Glock fan and think it is an outstanding weapon (I own one as well). It's just not as good as the Sig.
JTF 2 tested the Glock and seriously considered changing to it. They ended up staying with Sig Sauer.

I'm sorry but details of the very, very extensive Dept. of Homeland Security Tests are only available to Law Enforcement Agencies so I can not provide details to assist anyone.

Rich
 
capp325 said:
And for every story like the one above, you will find ten Glock kaboom stories. The only way to prove one gun's superiority over another is to conduct a scientific tests involving multiple samples in a controlled environment.
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Yeah point taken...It is funny how most of the KB stories are confined to the .40 S&W and involve reloads. The controlled tests you mention would be able to identify factors like that though.

redleg said:
Look, all military issue firearms are tested for reliability under extreme conditions. The Glock is no better or worse than most others.
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That is also true. I guess I've been drinking too much Glock kool-aid lately.:D I'll have to head to the range with the SIG and leave the Glock at home to counter the effects...
 
To clear the air, price does not have everything to do with the selection of a police firearm; if that were true Jennings 22 autos would be issued. And life expectancy is a concern, as the pistol will be passed on to another officer once retirement age is reached.
 
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