Here below is the new progress on the story:
April 3 -
Picked up the refurbished P226 from the gun store. Both sights were adjusted to centre by the store. The gun looked and felt wonderful. It looked almost brand new, except a few scratch marks on the barrel which I knew was normal and minimal.
.
April 7 -
Took the gun to the range. Shots were all slightly to the left side, and then became wider and wider until all shots flew. I looked down at the gun, and saw that the rear sight had moved to the left edge of the slide, and was just "hanging in" there. I moved it back to centre with my finger, and realized it was completely LOOSE.
My wife gave it another try, and the rear sight dropped from the slide and it took us some time to find it on the floor.
Later, when I cleaned the gun, I found that the front sight was loose, too.
.
April 9 -
I hesitated when I was about to take the gun back to the gun store for warranty fix. I believed they would just Locktite the sights, which would come loose again sooner or later. I was looking for a better fix (firm but could be adjusted if necessary), which should be done by a gunsmith.
.
April 10 -
I took the gun to Joe Dlask. He had some 2-year-old P226 night sights that were slightly bigger than the original sights, and he would install them onto my gun at the charge of $65, parts and labor all included. These night sights do not glow in the dark any more, but I believed that $65 was a good deal, and so I took it.
.
April 11 -
New sights were installed and sighted in. They are tight, but will be adjustable if necessary. They are taller than the original sights, too. I think this is the best solution to the loose sight problem on the P226.
.
My original post on March 31 -
Hi,
I went to my local gun store to buy a refurbished Sig P226. I checked 4 pieces they had in stock, and found the followings:
Gun #1: Severely worn barrel and slide, lost of scratchs on the frame.
Gun #2: Good finish on barrel, slide and frame. Good trigger pull (same as the new guns). But both the front & rear sights were off to the right. The rear sight were on the right edge of the slide.
Gun #3: Good finish on barrel, slide and frame. TERRIBLE trigger pull. The sights were on the centre positions.
Gun #4: Good finish on barrel, slide and frame. Not-so-good trigger pull. The front sight was off to the right.
I was puzzled by all these small problems in the refurbished Sigs. And I have the following doubts/questions:
1. Sights:
I was told by the store clerk that all refurbished Sigs were sighted in for about 25 meters befored being shipped. But why were the sights so off-centre on 2 of the 4 guns I looked at? If they were indeed sighted in, does that mean the barrel inside is way off?? If they were not sighted in, do they have any quality control on the refurbished guns at all?
2. Difference betweeen refurb & new:
All the refurbs I checked had the flat-top slides, breech face insert and internal extractor (the new guns on display had round top slides, external extractors and no breech face inserts). The store told me that the refurbished guns were the European version of P226, which were made in Germany instead of slide bing made in U.S. and being assembled in U.S.. All refurbs were shipped from Germany instead of from the U.S..
But my question is: Does that mean the refurbs are the older generation of P226? Are there any differences between the old & new generations? Should I avoid the older generation guns?
I paid for the #2 gun, which has good finish, good trigger, but with both sights off to the right. But now after I come home, I can't stop thinking about it. Why are there so many uncomfortable problem on the refurbs?
And should I pay $390 more for a brand new P226 instead?
Please let me know your experiences with Sig refurbs, and/or your suggestions. Thanks.
Terry
April 3 -
Picked up the refurbished P226 from the gun store. Both sights were adjusted to centre by the store. The gun looked and felt wonderful. It looked almost brand new, except a few scratch marks on the barrel which I knew was normal and minimal.
.
April 7 -
Took the gun to the range. Shots were all slightly to the left side, and then became wider and wider until all shots flew. I looked down at the gun, and saw that the rear sight had moved to the left edge of the slide, and was just "hanging in" there. I moved it back to centre with my finger, and realized it was completely LOOSE.
My wife gave it another try, and the rear sight dropped from the slide and it took us some time to find it on the floor.
Later, when I cleaned the gun, I found that the front sight was loose, too.
.
April 9 -
I hesitated when I was about to take the gun back to the gun store for warranty fix. I believed they would just Locktite the sights, which would come loose again sooner or later. I was looking for a better fix (firm but could be adjusted if necessary), which should be done by a gunsmith.
.
April 10 -
I took the gun to Joe Dlask. He had some 2-year-old P226 night sights that were slightly bigger than the original sights, and he would install them onto my gun at the charge of $65, parts and labor all included. These night sights do not glow in the dark any more, but I believed that $65 was a good deal, and so I took it.
.
April 11 -
New sights were installed and sighted in. They are tight, but will be adjustable if necessary. They are taller than the original sights, too. I think this is the best solution to the loose sight problem on the P226.
.
My original post on March 31 -
Hi,
I went to my local gun store to buy a refurbished Sig P226. I checked 4 pieces they had in stock, and found the followings:
Gun #1: Severely worn barrel and slide, lost of scratchs on the frame.
Gun #2: Good finish on barrel, slide and frame. Good trigger pull (same as the new guns). But both the front & rear sights were off to the right. The rear sight were on the right edge of the slide.
Gun #3: Good finish on barrel, slide and frame. TERRIBLE trigger pull. The sights were on the centre positions.
Gun #4: Good finish on barrel, slide and frame. Not-so-good trigger pull. The front sight was off to the right.
I was puzzled by all these small problems in the refurbished Sigs. And I have the following doubts/questions:
1. Sights:
I was told by the store clerk that all refurbished Sigs were sighted in for about 25 meters befored being shipped. But why were the sights so off-centre on 2 of the 4 guns I looked at? If they were indeed sighted in, does that mean the barrel inside is way off?? If they were not sighted in, do they have any quality control on the refurbished guns at all?
2. Difference betweeen refurb & new:
All the refurbs I checked had the flat-top slides, breech face insert and internal extractor (the new guns on display had round top slides, external extractors and no breech face inserts). The store told me that the refurbished guns were the European version of P226, which were made in Germany instead of slide bing made in U.S. and being assembled in U.S.. All refurbs were shipped from Germany instead of from the U.S..
But my question is: Does that mean the refurbs are the older generation of P226? Are there any differences between the old & new generations? Should I avoid the older generation guns?
I paid for the #2 gun, which has good finish, good trigger, but with both sights off to the right. But now after I come home, I can't stop thinking about it. Why are there so many uncomfortable problem on the refurbs?
And should I pay $390 more for a brand new P226 instead?
Please let me know your experiences with Sig refurbs, and/or your suggestions. Thanks.
Terry
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