West German P226 breaks slide rails

KiwiMatt

KiwiMatt

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Maple Ridge, BC
My older West German Sig 9mm broke at the range last weekend. It is a P226 with a serial number in the U120 000 range. I had read that the older Sigs had an issue with this happening, but it seemed in good condition when I puchased it last July. I've put around 700 rounds through it since I bought it and the previous round count is unknown.
Before anyone asks, I'm not posting to bash the guy who sold the Sig to me. Hes a CGN guy who I'm sure, if he had noticed a problem, would'nt have sold the gun.

So heres a few pics of the damage:
SigP226BrokenRail002.jpg


SigP226BrokenRail003.jpg


SigP226BrokenRail010.jpg


SigP226BrokenRail012.jpg


You can see a crack on the other slide rail. It is cracked completely through for about an inch and a half.
SigP226BrokenRail016.jpg

I noticed that the last round had not ejected from the gun and when I went to rack the slide to clear it, the slide was jammed. I then noticed that a thin piece of metal was jammed between the frame and the slide at the muzzle end of the gun. Hmmm thats not good. After calling a ceasfire with the other two guys at the range, we set about verifying the round stuck in the chamber was empty and then proceeded to eventually get the slide to move back and remove the case. After removing the slide it quickly became apparent that the gun was toast:eek:

I had put about 140 rounds through the gun that day and the slide was well lubed. I take care of my guns so I was suprised that I had'nt noticed a crack, although to be honest its not something I inspect for on a regular basis.

I might have a line on a replacement Norinco frame, but I'll have to wait and see. So a couple of questions for the Sig aficianados out there.
Is it possible to transfer all the other parts onto a Norinco frame?

Am I :onCrack: to think Sig might be able to help me out here?

Matt
 
good luck with Sig on this one. I know another guy here in BC that had the same thing happen. He managed to get Nichols to give him a deal on a new one, but only just barely. Check the roll pins in your slide that hold the firing pin block in. I can almost guarantee you that they are loose and that the block can move around a bit. This allows for the slide to from the front the rear, pulling up on the rails as it moves backwards.
 
KiwiMatt said:
So does anyone know if you can use the Norinco frame with the Sig Parts?
Click to expand...

SIG parts drop right into the Nork frame... had to tweak a DAC394 (made in Canada frame with Norinco p228 parts everywhere else) with SIG parts to correct the ####ty 1st Gen Nork P228 trigger pull. Everything fit like a charm!
 
reloads have nothing to do with this. This is a known issue with that style of Sig.
 
Yeah, I've seen several break. From U100001 to around U130000 they have that rail design and it breaks eventually, there's nothing you can do about it. They redesigned it around U130000 so that it has stress relief cuts in the rails. That (as far as I can tell) made no difference and they carried on breaking, so just before U150000 (I did know the exact number, U149937 I think) they finally got it to work with the present frame design.

The reason it happens is because the slide bends like a banana upon firing, on most guns this doesn't cause a problem because they don't use full length rails like the SIG-Sauer. Sauer spent a whole ####load of money solving this problem, they have a special machine that measures the flexing of the slide and the stress put on the frame. The current frame helps mitigate the stress at critical points, that's why it is bulkier in certain places than others.

SIG Arms will replace guns with broken frames, but I'm not sure if that holds for Canada. And when I say "replace gun" they replace the whole thing, not just the frame.
 
KiwiMatt said:
So does anyone know if you can use the Norinco frame with the Sig Parts?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't, the rails on the one I had looked pretty crude. I'd check with SIG Arms and R Nicholls and get their opinion if I were you before shelling out.
 
Oh yeah, on another point I had this happen on a P229, crack developed in front of the mag well on one side, hairline crack on the other side too. They replaced the gun for free.
 
the only reason the guy I know who had one do this, got a good deal on his gun is because he's an LEO and is charge of buying stuff from Nichols and they wanted to keep him happy. They did not replace it for free, and Sig told there was nothing they could do for him as it was too old of a gun. It's worth phoning SigArms, and trying to work the magic, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Nichols is useless and won't back you up either.
 
Slavex said:
the only reason the guy I know who had one do this, got a good deal on his gun is because he's an LEO and is charge of buying stuff from Nichols and they wanted to keep him happy. They did not replace it for free, and Sig told there was nothing they could do for him as it was too old of a gun. It's worth phoning SigArms, and trying to work the magic, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Nichols is useless and won't back you up either.
Click to expand...



From personal experience I can tell you that NO ONE will replace your
receiver free.
SIG Sauer in Germany will blame you for using "overloads" (NOT TRUE!!!)
charged me 4oo-Dollars and it happened again. 12 years ago.

Pictures of my milled steel-insert to replace the missing rail on the right side.
Worked perfect , and still does with 800 rds. after "surgery". (Broken rail above frame for comparison.)
At least I did not have to buy a new frame !
Yes, the Norinco frame will mate perfectly with the SIG slide, and the
other way 'round!
MillinganewshortrailinsertforSIG226.jpg

SIGframenewshortrailwithbrokenon-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Slavex said:
good luck with Sig on this one. I know another guy here in BC that had the same thing happen. He managed to get Nichols to give him a deal on a new one, but only just barely. Check the roll pins in your slide that hold the firing pin block in. I can almost guarantee you that they are loose and that the block can move around a bit. This allows for the slide to from the front the rear, pulling up on the rails as it moves backwards.
Click to expand...

You are right ........
You can be sure that the breech-block dropped after split pin broke.
Sounds very familiar.! Happened to me twice!
 
the pin doesn't even need to break, just get loose, and it causes that to happen.
any better pics of your insert? very neat idea!
 
Makes a guy think twice about buying a SIG! No wonder Norinco was having problems with their frames.
Slavex said:
the pin doesn't even need to break, just get loose, and it causes that to happen.
any better pics of your insert? very neat idea!
Click to expand...
X2 I would really like to see more pics of the process and the results if you've got em.
 
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