SIG P229R picture thread

[ghostie]

I decided take the plunge and pick up a SIG P229R in 9mm. I had been thinking about buying one of the .40S&W's ever since P&D Enterprises first brought them in, but I saw this in a local shop (Reliable Gun & Tackle, Vancouver) and had one of those "must... have... this..." moments. If I really like it, maybe I'll get a .40 and a .357 SIG barrel later on if these keep coming into the country.

Here are a boat load of photos. I'll keep the comentary to a minimum until I actually shoot the thing. I should be heading to the range on Saturday. I'll keep you guys posted.

Size comparison with a GLOCK 17:

Size comparison with a USP:

Size comparison with a SIG Mosquito:

In order to really get a feel for how much "beefier" the 229 is, you have to look at it from this angle:

 

[MPI]

Great pics. For the life of me I can understand what they did to the 9mm that is can't take a 40/357 barrel but a 40/357 can take a barsto aftermarket 9mm barrel?

I'm going to compare the pic of your barrel to a 40 and see if there are any differences. If I can't get a barsto 9mm barrel for the 40 (needs to be extended) then I'm going to get a 9mm too.

 

[Soli]

You know, I wasn't sure which one (P226 or 9) I wanted... but after this, I'm fairly certain it's the compact I'll be purchasing.

Make sure to let us know how it performed after your trip to the range.

 

[Caboose]

Very nice. I was considering a compact HK or Glock. You just changed my mind.

Looking forward to the range report.

 

[IM_Lugger]

I handled one in .40 few months ago...it's smaller than P226 but not really that small... Personally I preffer the P226 (IMO it looks nicer too).

 

[MPI]

Well my hands never fit around a P226 right but they do on a P229, it doesn;t make sense since the P229 is fat as hell, but there is something different about the grip that makes me love the P229.

 

[capp325]

Well my hands never fit around a P226 right but they do on a P229, it doesn;t make sense since the P229 is fat as hell, but there is something different about the grip that makes me love the P229.

You can make the 226 fatter by replacing the factory grips with Hogues.

 

[BC Mike]

I handled one in .40 few months ago...it's smaller than P226 but not really that small... Personally I preffer the P226 (IMO it looks nicer too).

I'm not dumping on the 229 but I just don't get why you would want that little bit sticking out when you could have a very slick looking 226 with longer sight line etc.

 

[ghostie]

O.k., ...one more day to go before I can get out to the range and shoot this thing

In the meantime, I must say that I really like the feel of the 229's trigger. The precise "take-up to breakpoint" in a welcome change from some of the guns I shoot. The feel of the gun is also just great. Awesome ergonomics on these P229's. It feels so comfortable to grip. I find that, for myself, it feels a lot more balanced in my hand than a P226. The gun has no tendancy forward, back, or to either side. It's pretty weighty and it just sits perfectly in my hand.

On the looks... well, there's room for all opinions, but for myself the P229 is hands-down the better looking gun than the P226. Not just better looking, but WAAAY better looking. I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there that will agree with me on this. The P229 just exudes coolness and uniqueness for us Canadians. The P226 exudes... "been there done that, seen a million of these". I've shot and handled all manner of P226's for years. They are excellent guns, but I never really got too excited about them. When the P229's came to Canada though... I just knew I had to have one. I like how "4 inch" barrel-type guns handle, and I like the look of them as well. The P229 is just such an awesome little gun.

On the extended barrel, if you are just going by the pictures -comparing it to the U.S. website or the catalog - you might see this as some kind of issue. But when you actually handle the gun in person, it looks absolutely flawless. It does not look like a compromise, the way some of the aftermarket barrel GLOCKS do (like G26 and 27). The SIG P229's we have in Canada now are just beautiful little firearms that look completely natural. I own three different guns that have a slightly longer factory barrel for the Canadian market (SIG P229, Steyr M9-A1, and Walther P99) and all of them look fantastic. I never think of any of them as anything other than a factory gun.

Then there is the uniqueness factor. The difference is like the difference between the GLOCK 17 and GLOCK 19. The GLOCK 17's and 22's are great guns, they are just sooooooo common place. Every newbie has one. Same with the SIG P226. Awesome gun, but try going to any busy range and not seeing at least a few of them. It's not going to happen. It's true that GLOCK 19's and SIG P229's are getting a lot more common in Canada, but it'll still be years before things even begin to even out.

All of these guns are quality firearms, but I'd personally rather have a compact, balanced gun, and something that is cool and a bit unique, rather than run-of-the-mill.

 

[Colin]

Stop it!! I am trying slow my gun buying down for a bit!!!!

 

[foxbat]

I agree that the 'compact' models of both the Glock and the Sig are my picks.
I've got a G19 (Marstar) as well as two 229's, one in 9MM (DA) as well as one in 40S&W ( SAS/DAK) and prefer them to my full size G17 and 226's( one in 9MM/DAK and two stainless models ( 9MM and 40S&W).
It's a personal preference deal, with the 229's (and G19) just 'feeling',and 'pointing', better than the full size units....
When I have a selection of the above at the range, and let other shooters do their own 'back to back' comparisons, I find that a lot of them agree.
Without being able to handle, and shoot, the compacts versus the full size units at the same sitting, it's tough to appreciate how different they are.

 

[MPI]

I agree that the 'compact' models of both the Glock and the Sig are my picks.
I've got a G19 (Marstar) as well as two 229's, one in 9MM (DA) as well as one in 40S&W ( SAS/DAK) and prefer them to my full size G17 and 226's( one in 9MM/DAK and two stainless models ( 9MM and 40S&W).
It's a personal preference deal, with the 229's (and G19) just 'feeling',and 'pointing', better than the full size units....
When I have a selection of the above at the range, and let other shooters do their own 'back to back' comparisons, I find that a lot of them agree.
Without being able to handle, and shoot, the compacts versus the full size units at the same sitting, it's tough to appreciate how different they are.

Wow I totaly agree and say the same thing all the time. You have to shoot them side by side to understand. I've never owned a 226 fired it lot but when I fired it against a p229 (extended) I was sold on the P229. The P229 and G19 are my two fav pistols for a lot of reasons, but mostly because they fit my hands best and I shoot them well. If I had to CCW I'd sway to the G19 though, its just such a simple and practical gun.

 

[Ix]

Sweet gun for sure, I love the "Canadian" compact look too...
The fact that the Sig P229R comes with a factory extended barrel is a plus over the available Glock IMHO, makes it a whole Sig.

Hope they have more coming, I'd get one.
How much do they go for if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Soli]

1150.00

 

[Sigismund]

shot a .40s&w 229 today. Beutiful pistol, very smooth triggerpul, but then again im used to sigs, so to some it may seem off. I was expecting a very snappy little pistol, but it was very tight and easy to shoot, I was debating wheather to go for a 9mm or a .40, and IMHO, .40 is a the perfect caliber for the 229.

 

[Devilito]

you have an awesome taste in handguns. nice

 

[ghostie]

O.k. boys, here's some targets from the P229 at the range today. This gun is a major gamer. I can't believe how controllable it is. Felt recoil is very minimal (due to the weight, I believe). The sights were right on the money. None of that raising the front sight above the rear sight business that I do with some of my guns (I know, I should get a lower front sight if that is the case.... but). With the the P229 you can just line-up the tops of the two sights and it is right on point of aim.

This is the second group I ever shot with the pistol. It was shot at 8 metres.

It's a little over an inch and a half, centre to centre, on 10 shots eek:...)

This is another one I shot at 10 metres a bit later in the day:

It's about 2 inches, centre to centre:

I could put up a lot more, but that would bore everyone to death, including me. I can tell you that my girlfriend and I shot very well with the P229 all afternoon. I was trying some rapid-fire 5 shot groups, and they were coming out quite nicely (3.5 to 4 inch sort of thing). There is something about the balance or handling of this gun that gives great confidence in the ability to fire quickly and on target. As I have said in many different posts, my girlfriend has a Beretta 92G. she has also shot all my guns and a lot of other guns at the ranges where we go. She is now saying that she wants her own P229 in 9mm. You can't really say much more than that.

I don't know where to put this, but i thought that some of you guys might be interested in this. I have a GLOCK 17 and I like it fine. I only shoot it about once a month, but I used to shoot it a lot more. I've never really been able to do any better than about 4 inch groups with it. Getting it down to 3 inch, even on a 5 shot group, would be rare for me. It has the standard factory barrel. Today I was shooting the G19 (with Bar-Sto barrel) of one of the range officers at PoCo. This gun is the one that was in the used cabinet at Relaible for awhile. The previous owner traded it in on a P7M8 after very little use.

Well anyway, I shot this group with it on my second try. It's basically (o.k., let's call it "almost") a 10-shot "ragged hole" at 10 metres. That shot in the top right is some garbage that drifted into my target from a different point of aim (and I think it was something my GF was shooting!). There are 10 points of impact in that group if you decipher it.

It's about 2 inch centre to centre. With a little more practice I think I would be able to shrink it down to a 1 inch (Loonie sized) group on slow-fire, and very excellent results on rapid-fire, double taps and triple taps. Man... this is one nice little GLOCK. I really love the feel of it. If I could trade my G17 for this G19, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I've got to put G19 back onto my "acquisition list". I was thinking about waiting for the much talked about (in the circles I travel in anyway) coming of compact GLOCKs with factory GLOCK barrels (ala Walther, Steyr, and now SIG), but now I'm thinking Bar-Sto might be the way to go. WOW! Such a fun gun to shoot. Feels smaller than a P229 and much lighter, but handles very well.

 

[PeterPan]

Congratulation on the pistol.
Not having Sig229 but loving its look and functionality.
I am very impress with groups.

Again congrats and good luck.

 

[winter]

Notice ghostie's posts have remained at '229'

 

[Soli]

It's a sign! ;