Sig or CZ 9mm

st1264 said:
Think your math is off a little. Sig is more expensive, for sure. Sig's base model is all metal (alloy frame and SS slide) for about $900-1050 or so... depending where you buy and the features it has (sights/grips/etc). SS Elite 226 is around $1300 or so. A range buddy got his new SS Elite for $1100 on sale :)
Click to expand...

He said “no polymer variants”. Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t all SIGs with the “P” designation have polymer made frames? My price comparison refers to all steel made SIG.
 
P does not mean polymer. Most are alloy lowers with a few high end ones being steel. Sig does make a polymer pistol in the pro series.
 
I recommend the CZ... Both are fine pistols, but my pre-B CZ75 was my first pistol, an is still my favourite. I too was initially drawn to it because of my experience with the Browning HiPower in the Canadian Forces. I think the suggestion of renting them at the range is a great option!

You can purchase and import from the US, but export permits under ITAR are a colossal pain and can take months. I know that sponsor businesses irunguns.ca and Prophet River (among others) offer an import service, but fees usually take care of any price differential unless you are ordering in quantity...

Good luck!
 
Tetescu said:
I'm not sure if the Shadow works with the Kadet kit... Check first.
Click to expand...

The Kadet Kit works perfectly with my CZ 75 SP01 Shadow, I've owned two and had a third on my Shadow, all fit and functioned well. If the fit is to snug you can file a little to loosen it but I have not needed to.

lemonsorbie said:
According to my LGC it will work but the advice is conversions are not the best way to go. If I want to save $ on ammo start off with a .22 then go 9mm and buy a .22 handgun first, not a 9mm that has a conversion kit like the Kadet.

:)
Click to expand...

People either love or hate conversion kits. The arguments against seem to fall into two main groups; the cost is excessive or that they are unreliable. I haven't found either to be valid. My Kadet Kit now has thousands of rounds through and as long as it even remotely clean it does not have any issues (it will stovepipe if very dirty) and works with any ammunition I can get my hands on. A used Kadet Kit cost less than my M&P .22LR, but what was great was that it allowed me to practice on the same gun I use to compete. It takes less than 30 seconds to swap the kit off at the range, and I can shoot no recoil .22LR to practice my grip, draw and trigger control at minimal cost. 30 seconds later I'm back to 9mm with the same weight, feel and sight picture because its the same gun.

It has been a great tool to learn on at a minimal expense and I would recommend combo to anyone who likes the fit and feel of the Shadow. The savings in ammunition more than pay for the cost of the kit, especially if you like to shoot and it's great for drills and practice. It's just not the same as switching back and forth between say an M&P 9mm and an M&P .22LR The Kadet Kit is an excellent design that functions very well and an excellent investment IMO if you go with the Shadow.
 
All the advice so far has been bang on. But you need to get to a place like Calgary shooting centre and rent both and shoot them. Only then will all the advice and research come together.
 
Phat Eagle said:
I recommend the CZ... Both are fine pistols, but my pre-B CZ75 was my first pistol, an is still my favourite. I too was initially drawn to it because of my experience with the Browning HiPower in the Canadian Forces. I think the suggestion of renting them at the range is a great option!

You can purchase and import from the US, but export permits under ITAR are a colossal pain and can take months. I know that sponsor businesses irunguns.ca and Prophet River (among others) offer an import service, but fees usually take care of any price differential unless you are ordering in quantity...

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks Phat Eagle!

I was not a great fan of the 9mm Browning, but as you appreciate that's all we had to offer.

My gut feeling is the CZ (especially the Shadow Canadian edition, although a few $ more but you do get the trigger job from CZ custom, lovely embossed laser etched maple leaf and a comp hammer) for the price difference.

Only issue is finding one! They are quite rare.

Thanks all for you comments.
 
Wyntera said:
The Kadet Kit works perfectly with my CZ 75 SP01 Shadow, I've owned two and had a third on my Shadow, all fit and functioned well. If the fit is to snug you can file a little to loosen it but I have not needed to.



People either love or hate conversion kits. The arguments against seem to fall into two main groups; the cost is excessive or that they are unreliable. I haven't found either to be valid. My Kadet Kit now has thousands of rounds through and as long as it even remotely clean it does not have any issues (it will stovepipe if very dirty) and works with any ammunition I can get my hands on. A used Kadet Kit cost less than my M&P .22LR, but what was great was that it allowed me to practice on the same gun I use to compete. It takes less than 30 seconds to swap the kit off at the range, and I can shoot no recoil .22LR to practice my grip, draw and trigger control at minimal cost. 30 seconds later I'm back to 9mm with the same weight, feel and sight picture because its the same gun.

It has been a great tool to learn on at a minimal expense and I would recommend combo to anyone who likes the fit and feel of the Shadow. The savings in ammunition more than pay for the cost of the kit, especially if you like to shoot and it's great for drills and practice. It's just not the same as switching back and forth between say an M&P 9mm and an M&P .22LR The Kadet Kit is an excellent design that functions very well and an excellent investment IMO if you go with the Shadow.
Click to expand...

Spot on! My exact analogy with using the same handgun, just a slight weight difference from.22 to 9mm but the grip, hold and sight position would be the same to perfect groupings.

Tx
 
sigsauer226 said:
All the advice so far has been bang on. But you need to get to a place like Calgary shooting centre and rent both and shoot them. Only then will all the advice and research come together.
Click to expand...


Yes Sir, that's in my diary the next time I visit Calgary. I called them this morning and one of the owners actually gave me adverse advice. He said realistically renting a Sig and CZ and putting say 100 rounds through each would not really help make a practical decision of which handgun to purchase.

Very weird as he has almost turned down my $ to rent both pistols with ammo and then buy from there store!
 
I have a Shadow and love everything about it,However I am now looking for an opinion on a Sig Traditional Match Elite in a 9mm,if anyone here has had the opportunity to try one I would appreciate any input..thanks..
 
I would recommend the all stainless elite 226 and get a 22 conversion. You definately want an SRT trigger. The 22 conversion takes about 15 seconds to do.

You can pick up the stainless elite on the ee from time to time, regular 226's have an aluminum frame and I don't think an aluminum frame is that much better than a polymer frame, actually the polymers have steel inserts anyway.

Thats crazy telling someone not to try them out, that's the best thing you could do.

I don't have a traditional but the X-5 is a very nice gun.
 
+1 for going to CSC to try both.
Both are really good pistols and you won't regret either one.
I own both and like each for slightly different reasons.
If you plan on shooting competition then the shadow is is better choice as the trigger is generally much smoother. But as a backup on my hip, I prefer the sig.
Great that your thinking about the .22 conversion. While .22 kits may have a "reputation" of being unreliable I wouldn't state it as fact. Sold my .22 kit for the sig and regret it, and thinking about getting another one.
 
I own a SP-01 and two P226s so I feel that I can comment on the pros and cons of each. I would also like to say that the Sig P226 is an all-metal gun...last time I checked aluminum is a metal (it's a 7075 T6 alloy, same as a high-quality AR15 or 92FS).

The CZ:
Pros:
Heavy gun soaks up the recoil
Extremely durable
Low-bore axis
Parts available to make it a great gun
Everybody says they feel great in the hand

Cons:
I dislike the small slide, makes it hard for me to grip (I get sweaty hands), so if you compete and your hands slip or don't get a 100% firm contact with it, it may make clearing a jam or cycling the slide more difficult.
The trigger is gritty out of the box. I got a local gunsmith to tune it up and he did a great job, now it's the nicest trigger on any gun I own. :)
They're not as nicely finished inside as a Sig

P226:
Pros:
This gun will eat anything.
Insanely reliable
Easy to field strip
More refined feeling

Cons:
It's an aluminum-alloy which means it won't last AS LONG as the steel CZ, but unless you exceed 60 thousand rounds or more I don't know if you'd know the difference
More expensive
More maintenance intensive because the frame rails need grease instead of oil to protect the anodizing
Might be harder to find parts like recoil springs, for.

I also have a P226 all-steel which makes a .40 feel like a 9mm.

If you want a gun that will make recoil feel nonexistent and like a hefty gun, get the CZ
If you don't mind spending more on the gun and more time on maintenance, and like a smoother gun that's insanely reliable, get the Sig

You will often hear people say, "Sig's quality sucks," but any time I ask for examples, I don't get them. The one gripe about Sig is the Checkmate magazines. Why Sig? Get the Mec-Gars, which are OEM on the CZ and are available for the Sig.
 
SIG 226R cons

"More maintenance intensive because the frame rails need grease instead of oil to protect the anodizing"
I work on guns that have seen well over 100,000rds 9mm +P and rarely lubed,rails are still good and not worn out

"Might be harder to find parts like recoil springs, for."
very easy to find parts for the SIG, Quest star, Wolverine, MD Charlton.....


SOF guys do not baby their guns, they abuse the crap out of them and the P226R never lets anyone down :)
 
Last edited:
Dsiwy said:
SIG cons

More maintenance intensive because the frame rails need grease instead of oil to protect the anodizing
Wrong, I work guns that have seen well over 100,000rds and rarely lubed "rails are still good

Might be harder to find parts like recoil springs, for.
Wrong very easy to find parts for the SIG, Quest star, Wolverine, MD Charlton.....
Click to expand...

Our SIGs were constantly in the weather, rain, snow, sleet, heat, cold, you name it and an like tops. I do not understand the grease comment at all.
 
mr00jimbo said:
I'm going by the most well renowned gunsmith for Sigs, GrayGuns
I am glad to hear that P226s are going 100,000 rounds and still going. Is there any black left on the rails? Don't forget that during the XM9 trials some Sigs cracked in 7,000 rounds before they beefed them up.

http://grayguns.com/lubrication-of-sig-sauer-pistol-rails/
Click to expand...

One time all I had to lube my SIG was Petrolium Jelly AKA vaseline, ran like a champ but I cleaned and relubed as soon as I could.
Read the article, whatever works for him, I guess.
 
Last edited:
mr00jimbo said:
I'm going by the most well renowned gunsmith for Sigs, GrayGuns
I am glad to hear that P226s are going 100,000 rounds and still going. Is there any black left on the rails? Don't forget that during the XM9 trials some Sigs cracked in 7,000 rounds before they beefed them up.

http://grayguns.com/lubrication-of-sig-sauer-pistol-rails/
Click to expand...

There is wear at the rear of the rails and some at the locking block area. Most of the wear is from aggressive racking of the slide over time. No big deal since it runs perfect and still driving tacks!

The only issue this will cause after 100,000rds or so, is the SIG will fail the out of battery test. But that is the end life of the frame and time for a new gun anyways.

I have never seen a cracked rail on a P226R and thats out of hundreds of guns. It was only a issue with older stamp steel slide SIGs. You will wear your recoil spring, trigger bar and barrel out long before the frame :)

I still LOVE the CZ! and it is a better looking gun IMO than the SIG
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom