P229 was designed as a more concealable version of the 226. Since concealed carry is largely a moot point in this country, there's not reason to pay extra for the 229 - and live with the ugly extended barrel.

the 226 will be much cheaper as you don't need to buy an aftermaket barrel. I have the 226ST and the 229elite, both are great guns, but the 229 is about $300 more at the end of the day.
I'm not sure how P229 would be more comfortable in certain hands, seeing that the size of the grip is not much different.The P229 is smaller and will possibly feel a lot better in certain hands than the 226... Also, your logic is flawed. If applied to all guns, 90% would be removed from the market. Wrong attitude, for someone who claims to be a gun nut.
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Your buddies are idiots. Anyone with even a basic understanding of firearms will tell you that longer sight radius is preferable for accurate shooting. And what the hell does one's hand size have to do with sight radius anyway?Even my buddies with larger hands say they prefer the smaller sight radius of the 229. Your opinion of the extended barrel is a "moot point", since that is in the eye of the beholder.
There may be something to it in theory, but I doubt that the shorter sight radius significantly affects target re-acquisition. If that was the case, completive shooters would be relocating the rear sight further up the slide (a la Detonics 1911). But I've never heard of anyone actually doing that.At least, I find that my 228 copy has a very fast reacqusition time. Could be the reduced distance to the front sight.



























