Sig P226 Aftermarket Barrel Question

Blue_Fish

Blue_Fish

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From what I gather, the barrels in factory sigs are not stainless but there are aftermarket Bar Sto barrels available in stainless. I noticed on their site that you can convert a p226 from .40/.357 to 9mm but not the other way around. Can somebody explain why this is? If that is the case, would it make sense to buy a p226 in .40S&W so that I have the option of shooting both 9mm and .40 if I buy different mags or am I just way out to lunch on this one? As an aside, I already own 9mm and .40 pistols but it would be nice to have the option of shooting both from the Sig. Thanks.
 
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From what I read on Sigforum, Bruce Gray believes only Bar Sto barrels surpass factory SIG barrels thus it's the only supplier he uses.

*I think* you can only go from .40 to 9mm but not the other way because of the size of the barrel hole in the slide. The conversion barrel is probably thicker to fill the .40 hole. I have no prior experience with this but I know for sure you can only go from .40 to 9mm and not the other way.

On another note, I believe some people also use the .40 mags with the 9mm conversion barrel reliably.
 
^^^ That, and I think there's slight dimensional differences in the barrel hood. Apparently, you CAN use a non-conversion 9mm barrel in a .40, but not for long before it destroys itself. All you really need to remember is that you can go larger to smaller, not the other way.

And FWIW, I've got a Bar-Sto in a P225. Really nice barrel. Really easy to clean. Shiny.
 
I have a Bar-Sto .40 barrel for my .40 P226, it's nicely made but I don't think they did their math correctly on this one as the feedramp is off. As I got it ("drop in") the feed ramp extended too far back and the gun wouldn't feed. Having the feed ramp recut sorted that but now it appears to be too steep and it doesn't function reliably. Way more accurate than the factory barrel though.

Being able to use 9mm in a .40 is just a Bar-Sto invention, .40 barrel with a smaller hole down the middle, based on my experience with the .40 barrel I don't think I would buy one. The geometry of it by definition has to be different than the regular 9mm barrel.

If you want a 9mm P226, buy a 9mm P226, if you want a .40 P226, buy a .40 P226.
 
cybershooters said:
Having the feed ramp recut sorted that but now it appears to be too steep and it doesn't function reliably.
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Just have it recut again so that the ramp extends into the chamber. Then it'll be just like firing a Block - close your eyes and hope for the best!
 
The Sig 9mm barrel for the 40cal pistol is for the Sig 9mm cartridge wich is a necked down 40 cal case. Expensive ammo.
 
cybershooters said:
Being able to use 9mm in a .40 is just a Bar-Sto invention, .40 barrel with a smaller hole down the middle, based on my experience with the .40 barrel I don't think I would buy one. The geometry of it by definition has to be different than the regular 9mm barrel.
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Have you seen the x5 barrels? they are a thicker barrel with a 9mm hole down the middle. If you can find yourself a x5 barrel (not cheap) it would be the score.
 
I've been following sigs now for about a week because I'm Intressted in getting my first restricted and I'm leaning towards a sig p226 classic in 22lr. In doing my research I found out that you can go from a 22 to 9, 40 or 357 sig with that being said I don't see how you can go from a 40cal to 9mm but not a 9mm to 40cal. Can someone clarifie that for me and some feed back in my first restricted being a classic 22lr sig and the buying a conversion kit to 9mm.
 
I did that and couldn't be happier.

Bought a classic first and then bought the Xchange kit in 9mm.

By doing it this way you save 300 to 400 dollars in the end as if you were to do it the other way around.

The cheapest Sig 226 right now is $960. The .22 conversion kit is $319 (with a wait of 3 months) for a total of $1445 taxes in...

The classic is $599, the Xchange kit is $379 for a total of $1105..

As for kits you can use the 9mm, 40, and 357 on the classic.. Giving you a wide flexibility..

In your specific case, it is a great idea... Start off with the .22 and then move over the 9mm... The most important thing is using the same gun, good for muscle memory, handling, trigger pull and so forth...
 
simar said:
Have you seen the x5 barrels? they are a thicker barrel with a 9mm hole down the middle. If you can find yourself a x5 barrel (not cheap) it would be the score.
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Interesting idea, but rife with problems.
 
simar said:
What kind of problems would those be?
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Well, for starters, an extra 1.5mm of barrel diameter. You might be able to solve that with a Sport or a Sport Stock with a bull barrel, but if you mess up one of those, I'll personally hunt you down and beat you.

So say you drilled out your slide and got it right, I think the locking block is the same, but not sure. Then you've got the barrel hood, same problem. So if you managed to drill out your slide (say goodbye to ever selling it!) and actually fit the barrel, now you've got the higher pressures to deal with because of the extra 0.6" of barrel. Depending on whether you're using an internal or external extractor and a stainless or alloy frame, you may get the same FTEs that the older X-Fives were having a problem with. You might be able to fix that with a heavier recoil spring, but now how reliable is the ejection? (Oh, and now you need an X-Five .40 barrel, because the regular 226 .40 barrel rattles around like Michael J. Fox in a suit of armour.)

But hey, it's the score, right? Throw that fu(ker in there.
 
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