Originally Posted by
JonInWA
Sigh. I ran a P225 for a significant period from about 1992 to about 2006 or so. The ergos of the gun are exquisite, and it's a joy to carry. Triggerpull can be nicely massaged as well, but only so far due to the action geometry.
However-and this is a big however-there is a huge problem with it, and it has to do with the magazines. They're single stack, 8 rounds, and configured to be flush with the butt of the gun when loaded. When fully loaded, there is constant pressure against the feed lips, which over time, and, in my experience, relatively short time, began to microscopically spread.
Operational problems manifest themselves when performing a reload. With your first magazine, which is administratively loaded and chambered (and it doesn't matter if it's loaded, round chambered, and then topped off { so you're 8+1), or run with a round in the chamber and 7 in the magazine, for 7+1) problems aren't encountered. Where the problems occur is when you're at slidelock, and reload a next magazine, and try to go into battery; the top round tends to nosedive and stumble at the feedramp.
With the senior gunsmith a SIG at the time, the late Mike Guarnieri, we literally worked for years, repeated times to resolve this issue. My P225 was obtained BNIB-I was the original owner-and we experimented with multiple magazines-mine, brand new ones, etc. All magazines were SIG OEM, again with me as the original owner.
Ultimately and after much work and time personally expended on my personal P225 and magazines, Mike deferred to an H.P. White Lab study, which established that the pressure weight each cartridge placed on the feed lips were geometric, not progressive, and that the only effective solution was to download magazines by 1-2 rounds. The magazine in the gun, however, could be at 8 rounds, as the problem manifested itself only during initial chambering of a reload magazine (and it didn't matter if the reload was initiated by utilizing the slide release, or tug/release the slide, or overhand tug/release the slide).
We hypothesized that the problems didn't occur during the normal firing cycle do to the speed and mass of the slide reciprocation during the operating sequence after firing; the slide's mass and speed overpowered/overcame the stumbling point.
At the time, I owned copied of all of the pistols that succeeded in the 1970 German Police trials, The P225, a HK P7 PSP, and a Walther P5. All of them were superb pistols, all of them with single-stack 8 round magazines. The HK and Walther magazines were more extensively engineered (and significantly more expensive), but both the P5 and P7 were noted for impeccable operational performance.
I held on to the P225 the longest, hoping that Mike could resolve the issue. The P5 and P7 were superbly engineered, but the P7 had a very unique manual of arms, and heated up very quickly, and the P5 had a hitch in the triggerpull near the break point, induced as the triggerpull physically raised the safety out of the way during the firing sequence.
Ultimately I sold all three (I probably should have held on to one of my P5s)(I also had a P5C, which was a kludge pistol, with a huge inherent material flaw, but that's another story-and the flaw was unique to the P5C, not the P5).
A P225/P6 is a great pistol, but not one that I felt trustworthy for duty or defensive carry unless the magazines were downloaded as discussed (I personally downloaded mine to 6 rounds). Ultimately, a Glock G19 just made more sense on multiple levels (weight, reliability, durability, weather imperviousness, magazines, cost). In the 2000, a moved from a preponderance of SIGs to Glocks, with no real regrets.
Another solution to the P225 conundrum was to move to the P239, which had a similar profile and single-stack magazine, but was the beneficiary of better engineering and magazines. The P239 never quite developed the cachet and exquisite ergonomics of the P225/P6, but it was operationally a better gun, and with multiple caliber options. Other successful similarly sized single stack 9mm pistols of the period were the Smith & Wesson 3913/3914 and Beretta 92 FS Type M, any an all of with were operationally superior to the P225/P6.
An unanswered question is, "How could the P225 do so well in the German trials and in extensive, multi-German State and federal agency issue without the problems cropping up?" The best answer we could come up with was the hypothesis that the German LEOs carried their issue pistols, but qualified (and possibly trained with) other P225 pistols/magazines dedicated for range/training use, preserving wear and tear on actual issue pistols, precluding the problems from appearing.
Best, Jon
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