The Gun Counter

Does Sig have some kind of weird distribution system? They seem hard to get around here in the Dallas area. Their popularity seems to keep the used prices high.

okay, as a relative newbie, this might be an odd question. but what exactly is the difference between a Sig P226 and Sig P228?

CByrneIV wrote:

jcollins wrote:okay, as a relative newbie, this might be an odd question. but what exactly is the difference between a Sig P226 and Sig P228?

The P228 is the civilian version of the military SIG M11. in comparison to the p226 It's only available in 9mm, has a 3.9" barrel (.5" shorter), it's .6" shorter in length, .1" shorter in height, 5oz lighter (no mag), and uses a 13rd flush magazine rather than a 15rnd magazine (though it can take the 15rd and 20rd p226mags).

It's actually closer to the P229 than the P226. In fact, they're nearly identical except for the shape of the trigger guard, the grip panels, and that the 229slide is milled stainless steel, while the 228 slide is forged carbon steel.

i.e. it's smaller!

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CByrneIV wrote:

jcollins wrote:okay, as a relative newbie, this might be an odd question. but what exactly is the difference between a Sig P226 and Sig P228?

The P228 is the civilian version of the military SIG M11. in comparison to the p226 It's only available in 9mm, has a 3.9" barrel (.5" shorter), it's .6" shorter in length, .1" shorter in height, 5oz lighter (no mag), and uses a 13rd flush magazine rather than a 15rnd magazine (though it can take the 15rd and 20rd p226mags).

It's actually closer to the P229 than the P226. In fact, they're nearly identical except for the shape of the trigger guard, the grip panels, and that the 229slide is milled stainless steel, while the 228 slide is forged carbon steel.

That slide thing is actually a big deal.

It used to be that a 228 was just a slightly smaller 226. Both were 9mm-only, and both had a slide made from a flat piece of steel that was folded over (with a pinned-in breech block).

Then they created the 229 from the 228 by changing the slide to a solid milled slide. The new slide is heavier and stronger and together they allow the gun to be chambered in .40sw and .357sig. So the 229 is available in 3 chamberings.

That worked out so well, they then applied the same change to the 226, changing the slide and offering it (with the new slide) in .40sw and .357sig in addition to 9mm. However this time they didn't change the model #, which is unfortunate.

You know that:
228 = folded slide and 9mm only, and
229 = milled slide and 9mm, .40 or .357

But with the 226?
The "old" ones are folded slide and 9mm only.
The "new" ones are milled slide and 9mm, .40 or .357.

There are some extremely strong opinions out there in world of Sig owners and users as to which slide design is better. The "purists" insist that the folded slide is the 'one true Sig'. (Oh, and don't ask about 229 frames. Sig originally did something really stupid, then they eventually fixed it but in a stupid way. All the stupidity makes it hard to explain, almost sounds like a 'who's on first' routine. You only really need to understand it if you'e trying to buy 229 9mm magazines.)