I'll vote no.
I've owned a Sig P228 since 1990. Thousands of rounds, and short of a recoil spring or two and a set of sights, not a single issue.
I've also owned an M11A1. They are NOT the same gun, even tho Sig's commercial hype says so.
The P228 is lighter in feel to me, perhaps 'sleeker', the M11a1 felt clunky to me.
The M11 did have an awesome SRT trigger, and broke very predictably. Accuracy of both guns was about the same in my eyes.
I sold the M11, but kept the P228.
"... And miles to go before I sleep".
Exactly. The commercial M11 is a P229; which is not a P228. My comparison of the two mirrors yours. The P229/M11A1 is a very nice pistol (if you have one that works)… but it ain't no P228 in terms of "carryability". To me, the added weight and slide thickness of the later guns is a deal-breaker for concealed carry.Originally Posted by Glockcoma
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And the thing is, I owned a P229 in .40 smith years ago, and my recollection of that gun wasn't as thick as the m11a1. At 52 I can't remember a lot of things, but it just didn't seem as big. The m11a1 to me was akin to holding a short gripped 226. Does that make sense?
"... And miles to go before I sleep".
All I can tell you is, I briefly owned a P229 9mm Scorpion, and compared it side-by-side with an M11A1 the day I bought it. Except for the flared beavertail, which I certainly could have done without, and the G10 stocks on the Scorpion, the two pistols seemed identical to me… and definitely thicker and heavier than the P228s I was intimately familiar with back in the day.
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Not really. The M11A1 is a 9mm P229 which if anything is going to be smaller than a .40 229, at least in terms of the slide thickness. M11A1 grip panels fit any 229 (.40 included) as well as 228s. The magazines will be different but not in such a way that will change the feel of the grip.
"Customer is very particular" -- SIG Sauer
Resurrecting an old thread because I'm facing the same choice between a P228 and an M11A1.
I've recently come into possession of both a M11A1 (manf 05/2013) and a made-in-Germany, assembled-in-Exeter P228 (manf 2000). Both were purchased used. Both wear G10 grips. Both have SRT guts. M11A1 has the short reach trigger; P228 has the Grayguns adjustable intermediate trigger. I have small hands (wear a size S glove) and find the Grayguns trigger much less comfortable than the short reach trigger. Trigger pull on the M11A1 is substantially smoother than that on the P228--the P228 trigger is pretty gritty and will need some work. For whatever reason, the M11A1 seems to point slightly better for me.
Digital kitchen scale shows weights as follows:
M11A1: 29.9 oz (w/ empty mag inserted, G10 grips); slide: 15.24 oz; frame: 11.75 oz
P228: 29.5 oz (w/ empty mag inserted, G10 grips); slide: 14.36 oz; frame: 12.13 oz
Have put a whopping 75 rounds through the (well-lubed) M11a1, during which I had two failures to extract with Winchester white box. That's a tiny sample, yes, and WWB isn't good ammo, but nearly every gun I've had has eaten it like candy. Those failures out-of-the-gate, plus similar stories here and elsewhere, give me pause about choosing it over the P228.
Here're the candidates, plus a bonus shot of my P239 w/freshly installed SRT:
1. Don't sell any of them, but if you must, make it the M11-A1 as it's not working 100%.
2. Otherwise, I'd shoot ~1,000 rounds through the M11-A1 to determine if the malfunctions occur again. If they malfunctions get worse, stop shooting.
3. If there are malfunctions, fix it. Then try shooting 1,000 rounds again. I just like 1,000 as a good round number which I'd likely do in two consecutive days as I shoot a lot. If you feel comfortable shooting less, that's fine, too.
4. I'd suspect it's the long extractor as I had problems with my long extractor in my P226R. For me, I took a chance and replaced the two extractor springs myself which cured the problem. If it didn't, I'd have sent the gun back to SIG.
I vote Karma the M11. To me.
Last edited by MGW; 12-13-2016 at 07:09 AM.
“If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi
I've converted my 2 M11A1 pistols into P228/M11A1 hybrids.
I prefer the recoil characteristics of the carbon slides and the balance. I feel the P228 guns balance better and for me, point better.
If you want to keep the P228, sell the GG trigger and convert the mainspring to the E2 mainspring. Getting rid of the longer mainspring seat and over-greasing the mainspring assembly really helped smooth up my older Sig triggers.
If you have small hands, I'd say keep the 228, convert to the new mainspring as jwperry suggests (easy to do) and go with an E2 grip as well.
The 228 is a sweet pistol; they are going up in value, and with the E2 grips they fit smaller hands nicely.
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