P228/M11/P229 9mm Sweet Spot

[MDFA]

Waiting on delivery.

And waiting on a second one...

Both are West German Pistols with matching serial numbers and proof marks.

So much for 2nd day delivery on the first one. Looks like tomorrow.

[Evil_Ed]

There were several threads on M11A1s and 229s circa 2015 and onwards...earlier versions with earlier long extractors had lots of failure to extract (especially with WWB!), and a lot of data was bought forth from the NJSP about their experiment with issuing the P229E2s and having to send them back to Sig repeatedly...leading up to them shit-canning the entire 229 lineup as their duty issued gun and moving on to something else (the M&P I think? I forget, it's been a while).

If your gun has the long extractor and the extractor rev is "2" or higher, you should be fine. I have a 9mm RXP kit on a 357Sig gov't issued DAK gun that is great. I don't shoot it very much...it might sound dumb but the grip angle on Sigs is so vertical that I involuntarily rotate my grip when shooting to better match ...literally everything else on the market... so I wind up shooting these things low since I keep trying to rotate my wrist forward. It's not a recoil thing as they shoot really softly, and it's not something I do on other similar guns like a PX4 or HK P30...who knows. It's a me thing, and it's one of those things that I'm not sure it's worth the training time and ammo to wring out of myself. It would be if I were going to dump everything else I have and go all-in on the 22x series (and honestly it wouldn't be a bad thing if I did that), but...that's just not going to happen.

[MDFA]

My first P228 arrived yesterday. Haven't had a chance to get to the range yet. It's a West German Pistol with all matching serial numbers, proof marks and date codes. It's a 1990 date code pistol. It's in excellent shape with the original factory box and manual. No test target however. All original parts. I stripped it down and gave it a detailed cleaning and inspection. No issues and I would say a very low round count. We'll see what #2 looks like in a few days. I'm very pleased with it.

[fatdog]

That is an excellent find.

Because nostalgia seems to have an outsized role at this point in my life, and my CCW semi-auto pistol was either a P228 or P220 from about '87 until 2000 I am pretty far down this hole.

I have a P228 of similar vintage that I recently updated with a short reset trigger kit from Gray's, a set of checkered aluminum Hogue grips, 3M step tape for the front strap, a short reach trigger, Wolf 19# mainspring, fresh recoil spring, and a set of Warren Tactical sights with an orange'd front. With the 15 round Mec-gar's it is no longer a collector's item to me, but a real serious hard use pistol. It groups well with both 124gr +P Gold Dot and HST. Rounded out with JMCK IWB #3 and a horsehide Kramer IWB#3 for cooler weather, it is now my personal version of what is the viable DA/SA G19 replacement.

So now a practice gun with identical features is required.....

[Sammy1]

Just visited Sig's website and found the weight variations with P229 interesting.

P229: 34.4 oz
Elite: 32.0 oz
Pro: 30.1 oz
Legion: 31.1 oz
M11A1: 29.6 oz

[MDFA]

That is an excellent find.

Because nostalgia seems to have an outsized role at this point in my life, and my CCW semi-auto pistol was either a P228 or P220 from about '87 until 2000 I am pretty far down this hole.

I have a P228 of similar vintage that I recently updated with a short reset trigger kit from Gray's, a set of checkered aluminum Hogue grips, 3M step tape for the front strap, a short reach trigger, Wolf 19# mainspring, fresh recoil spring, and a set of Warren Tactical sights with an orange'd front. With the 15 round Mec-gar's it is no longer a collector's item to me, but a real serious hard use pistol. It groups well with both 124gr +P Gold Dot and HST. Rounded out with JMCK IWB #3 and a horsehide Kramer IWB#3 for cooler weather, it is now my personal version of what is the viable DA/SA G19 replacement.

So now a practice gun with identical features is required.....

Kind of what I'm planning. Just waiting on the second one to arrive to decide which one I modify first, and if I keep one stock for the collector value. I've already ordered some of the components.

[MattyD380]

My first P228 arrived yesterday. Haven't had a chance to get to the range yet. It's a West German Pistol with all matching serial numbers, proof marks and date codes. It's a 1990 date code pistol. It's in excellent shape with the original factory box and manual. No test target however. All original parts. I stripped it down and gave it a detailed cleaning and inspection. No issues and I would say a very low round count. We'll see what #2 looks like in a few days. I'm very pleased with it.

Congrats. That is beautiful. To me, the P228 is the quintessential Sig. I’m happy with my P229 (and P239s), but something about the P228 just captures the essence of the ‘90s, for me.

Probably has a lot to do with Dana Scully.

[Suvorov]

YOU BASTARDS are going to get me shooting my P229 and P228 again!

They are great guns though. My 228 belonged to my father, low mileage “German” gun 1994 vintage. Didn’t want to turn it into a high mileage gun so when the P228 bug bit hard 10 or so years ago I purchased a Flint PD DAO police trade in. After switching it to TDA and figuring out how to remove the magazine safety so I could install an SRT into it, it became my primary shooter for 2-3 years putting well over 3000 rounds though it. It looked to be fairly well used (a few dings on the German frame and prominent finish wear on the barely with a distinct smile) when I got it and with what I’ve put through it I still am impressed with how tight it feels.

[SecondsCount]

My first P228 arrived yesterday. Haven't had a chance to get to the range yet. It's a West German Pistol with all matching serial numbers, proof marks and date codes. It's a 1990 date code pistol. It's in excellent shape with the original factory box and manual. No test target however. All original parts. I stripped it down and gave it a detailed cleaning and inspection. No issues and I would say a very low round count. We'll see what #2 looks like in a few days. I'm very pleased with it.

Nice purchase. The 90s were the pinnacle of quality for Sig. I wish I had picked up a P228 back then but I still have my P226, purchased new in the mid 90s when the hi cap ban went into effect.

[MattyD380]

That’s awesome. I know these guns can stand up to rounds. My P229 has some mileage—but it’s still very accurate and very pleasant gun to shoot.

In case anyone’s looking for sight options… I’ve been using an Ameriglo front with the stock rear aperture. I just black out the rear dot, and the sight picture is perfect (for me, anyway). And you’re only buying one sight. I have one of my P239s and my P245 set up that way. Love the way they shoot in that configuration.



I need to get P229 on that level, stat. And my P6.