Sig P226 Enhanced Elite

Blue_Fish

Blue_Fish

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I love my Sig 1911 Tac Ops and want to know if any one owns the P226 Enhanced Elite; what are your thoughts on this pistol? I prefer a full stainless steel frame for it's durability but I'm interested to hear how the alloy frames are wearing from those of you that own or have owned one. I've read a few stories about bad QC and cracked frames on new Sigs but I'm inclined to dismiss most of these as I have yet to see any reliable reports and have never had a problem with mine. I'm considering one of these for my next purchase so any thoughts or experiences are greatly appreciated. :rockOn:
 
SIGs are top guns and very well built!
I have all type of SIG pistols: stainless, alloy and polymer, 100% made in Germany or frame made in Germany with US slide, machined or stamped...etc
ALL works flawless, reliable and accurate, you got what you pay for!
 
I bought my first Sig about a month ago....226 Tactical Operations in 9mm. I think it's basically the same alloyed framed pistol as the Enhanced Elite but comes with the Tritium FO front sight and the extended magwell grips. Anyway, in this last month I know I have well over 1200 rounds down the pipe and she hasn't missed a beat or cracked the frame yet. Of course reliability is to be expected but what has really impressed me the most is the accuracy for such a pistol. I've been doing quite a bit of unsupported shooting out to 25+ yards with this pistol and I have to say I'm amazed at what I can do with it. Knowing what I know today I should have owned a 226 years and years ago.....very happy with this one. Couple of things I don't like. The external finish on the barrel is terrible. If you looked at mine you'd think that the barrel was cycled 40,000 times. Secondly I think Sig needs more improvement with the SRT. The reset on my Gen3 Glock 17 is much crisper and shorter in my opinion. Overall I'm an extremely happy Sig newbie and will definitely look at higher end 226 X-Fives down the road. A little late but I'm drinking that Sig koolaid now....:).
 
"And if I press this button on the CNC machine..."

The beavertail is totally superfluous. Especially on the models with the reduced trigger reach.

I wouldn't worry too much about a frame on a new gun cracking, but they do wear out faster than the stainless steel guns. Also easier to shoot the stainless steel guns due to the mass, obviously.

But longevity in 9mm isn't really too much of a problem since they sorted the trigger bar spring problem out about 15 years ago.

Anyway are your hands really so small that you want this model?

Secondly I think Sig needs more improvement with the SRT.
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Another overrated widget, the real problem with American-made guns is that a lot of them just have crappy trigger pulls compared to the German guns. How fast it resets is pretty academic if the let-off is lousy.

Having shot dozens if not hundreds of IPSC matches over 20+ years using SIG-Sauer pistols, the trigger reset speed is not something I've ever really been concerned about. First time I tried the SRT I was expecting big things but it's not a patch on the trigger mech in my German-made sport models.

If I were you I'd buy the standard gun with night sights, and get Dlask to do a trigger job on it. Standard gun with stainless steel frame if you can find one, P226ST or whatever it's called.
 
If I were you I'd buy the standard gun with night sights, and get Dlask to do a trigger job on it. Standard gun with stainless steel frame if you can find one, P226ST or whatever it's called.
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Thanks for the advice guys, I think I will look at the Nitron stainless or stainless elite as an option then. Does the difference in the machining between the german models and the U.S. made models justify the price difference? One thing I have noticed on a lot of P226 is that the black coating on the barrels seems to wear off prematurely relative to a number of other manufacturer's barrels. Does this occur due to machining tolerance or different coatings? Thanks.
 
Blue_Fish said:
One thing I have noticed on a lot of P226 is that the black coating on the barrels seems to wear off prematurely relative to a number of other manufacturer's barrels. Does this occur due to machining tolerance or different coatings? Thanks.
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They all do, I guess they do it by design; they're actually called "Barrel smileys". Even new guns have it.
 
Blue_Fish said:
Does the difference in the machining between the german models and the U.S. made models justify the price difference?
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It's not the machining; it's the fitting. The US has a "pile them high and get them out the door" philosophy to gun manufacture; Germany having much tougher gun laws and the civilian customers being almost solely target shooters they pay more attention to the guns, I find. Also European countries have formal govt. proof test requirements that also tend to focus their minds.

You can say that about almost any gun manufacturer actually. I've used S&W pistols in Europe that were easily better than anything I've used in the US. Even Glocks, and there isn't much to a Glock. I remember one time we had a guy on the range who had imported a Glock 21 from the US (why I don't know) and another guy had a Glock 21 with Austrian proof marks on it. We compared them side-by-side and you could tell the fitting on the gun assembled in Austria had been done better, there were less tool marks on the slide and the barrel to slide fit was a bit tighter.

The SIG-Sauer X-5 has to be the ultimate example - there's a reason they're made in Germany, not New Hampshire. You can't imagine Colt's or S&W ever having come up with something like the H&K P7 or the P210.
 
I think I have decided on the P226 Stainless elite. I will probably swap out the rosewood grips for the e2 though. It should look something like this except with front cocking serrations and a beaver tail.

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Has anyone changed out the e2 grips on the sig, Questar's website says something about it being a custom job but I can't see it being that difficult. Any idea why they say this?
 
Blue_Fish said:
Has anyone changed out the e2 grips on the sig, Questar's website says something about it being a custom job but I can't see it being that difficult. Any idea why they say this?
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Custom job? Lol, no. Just be advised that you'll be going from the beefiest SIG grips to the daintiest. Most people end up somewhere more in the middle
 
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I like the E2 grips and I have large hands. Not sure what the other grips feel like, as this is the only Sig I've shot. I like the beaver tail as well. True tritium (glow in the dark, like watch hands) sights is pretty cool too.
 
I always thought I wanted a beretta, and still do, but my first is a 226EE.
Don't have a single regret. Put 2000+ rounds through it since sept and the ONLY FTF I've had is from AE 147 flatnose.
For some reason unknown to me the edge of the flat nose is getting caught on the ramp and not chambering. It's not a consistent problem but happens atleast once in the 4 mags I've tried in 147.

Also came down to the grip, the sig just fit my hand better and more comfortably.
 
Blue_Fish said:
Has anyone changed out the e2 grips on the sig, Questar's website says something about it being a custom job but I can't see it being that difficult. Any idea why they say this?
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0- Be sure it's unloaded :p
1- Decock the pistol
2- Remove the grips using correct size screwdriver.
3- use a screwdriver to remove the mainspring housing.
4- Put the new short mainspring housing in with the modified hammer strut.
5- Slide the E2 grips on it. The provided tool helps!
6- Function check.

*The kit comes with a decocker lever which I never used. The old one worked perfectly after installation...

You might want to watch re-assembly video, at least the part where they insert the mainspring housing assembly; there is a way to put it in and engage the hammer and hammer strut correctly. I'll try to put some pictures up later if I remember...
 
I have an E2 which I bought two years ago, put a few rounds through it and then put it in storage while I am out of the country.

I love the feel of this piece and it fits my hands perfectly. I am not a fan of the Siglite night sights that it came with as they are no where accurate enough at longer distances.
 
Sorry to bring up a month old thread, but I thought better than start a fresh one. As a new shooter I really would like to get the enhanced elite as my first pistol...

The question I have is on the availability of these. Are they readily available or would I be looking at having to order one and wait one month?two months? half a dozen months?

Thanks for your help and patience.
 
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