View Full Version : Who Wants To See Something Cool...(Part VI)
Figure we need a break from Trump, exploding Muslims and exaggerated Navy Seal stories.
https://i.imgur.com/lCVXJQD.jpg
So a SIG P226...BFD right? But there is this.
https://i.imgur.com/PswbLN6.jpg
Yes, that is a 1985 date code. Unlike HK, SIG chose to omit the "I" from their date code configuration. What is interesting about a 1985 date P226 is the weapon itself was designed in 1984 for the XM9 trials to replace the 1911. Beretta would eventually be the handgun that was adopted, with the exception of some Navy units which did adopt the SIG 226.
As a result, in 1985 SIGs weren't exactly well known and most people wanted the Beretta anyway since it won the Army contract and must therefore be the best handgun option available. That is unless you grew up reading stuff like Soldier of Fortune and considered the SIG P210 to be one of the ultimate 9mm handguns ever made.
Long story short I graduated high school in 1985 and my father decided that was a perfect excuse to take me shopping and we both picked up P226s. Technically we had to order them because nobody knew was a P226 was yet but we had them within a couple weeks.
Mine finally gave up the ghost in 2005 after more than 25,000 rounds when the frame cracked. I was able to send it to SIG (reluctantly) and they replaced it with a CPO P226 which I still own and shoot.
The one in the photo is my fathers which I came into possession of a few years later after his passing. His has fewer than a few hundred rounds through it and hasn't been fired since I cleaned it last sometime around 1987. He was always a 1911 guy and just didn't shoot most of his other handguns after the "new and cool" wore off.
1985 might have been the first year of commercial production, I haven't been able to get a definitive and reliable answer on that one. This is compounded by the fact that SIG produced a P220 in 9mm and a few of those seem to have made it to the US market and are often confused with the P226.
At any rate, it's an early one.
SeriousStudent
05-22-16, 00:53
I love me some early Sig's. I had one back in the 80's with the K-Kote polymer finish.
I remember hunting down a pair of 20-round mags for it, which were not cheap. I think they were damn near a hundred bucks then.
I'm tempted to try and find a replacement, but it would likely end up being a safe queen.
Neat photos, I hope the pistol brings you many happy memories of shooting with your dad.
Neat pistol, Steyr.
Is that a Tyson's Corner?
That thing is beautiful Steyr.
JR1572
Neat pistol, Steyr.
Is that a Tyson's Corner?
Yes it is.
Moose-Knuckle
05-22-16, 02:32
Very cool.
What did these cost in 1985 and how much did mags go for? I was just a kid and have no idea what Sig and GLOCK mags went for in the 80's.
Knock on wood, we've been spoiled since '04 with handgun mag prices.
Very cool.
What did these cost in 1985 and how much did mags go for? I was just a kid and have no idea what Sig and GLOCK mags went for in the 80's.
Knock on wood, we've been spoiled since '04 with handgun mag prices.
The earliest listing I can find for P226s is a June 1985 advertisement that has them at $397 ("Interarms" marked imports), for comparison Beretta 92S models were $349.95 (retail $620.00) and advertised as "The Military Trial Winner", looks like Glocks weren't imported until 1986 and the earliest listed price I can find is $332.95 in May of 1986.
Mine is from the early 90's. I have no idea what the little symbols and letters mean. Can you tell me anything about mine?
http://i68.tinypic.com/ejtq21.jpg
That is a really neat piece. It looks like it's entirely brand new.
I'm curious on 80s mag prices too.
I know during the ban that people paid $200 easy for Sig mags
3958339582I've posted a couple of pics of mine in another thread here. Mine has the k-kote as well. I believe mine is an early '86.
Mine is from the early 90's. I have no idea what the little symbols and letters mean. Can you tell me anything about mine?
http://i68.tinypic.com/ejtq21.jpg
http://www.realgunreviews.com/sig-sauer-proof-marks-date-codes/
1993 date code. Kiel (W. German) proof house, definitive proof.
I'm curious on 80s mag prices too.
I know during the ban that people paid $200 easy for Sig mags
In 1985 P226 magazines were $22.00.
ramairthree
05-22-16, 23:02
Damn it, you so had the child hood I wanted.
This is bullshit.
If I trans identify as steyraug and demand it be the early 80s,
Will the government make sure it happens.
In 1985 P226 magazines were $22.00.
inflation calculator says $48.
Par for the course.
Wouldn't hurt to get a few putting away mags.
I have a copy of Survival Guns by Mel Tappan and It is horridly outdated and opinionated, but interesting. The original P220 got a mention and was railed against. Same with an AR15.
If it wasn't an M1 carbine, AR-180, 6" .357 magnum, or a Mini 14; it wasn't looked upon as worthy.
I haven't read it in a while but apparently biker gangs were his greatest fear.
inflation calculator says $48.
Par for the course.
Wouldn't hurt to get a few putting away mags.
I have a copy of Survival Guns by Mel Tappan and It is horridly outdated and opinionated, but interesting. The original P220 got a mention and was railed against. Same with an AR15.
If it wasn't an M1 carbine, AR-180, 6" .357 magnum, or a Mini 14; it wasn't looked upon as worthy.
I haven't read it in a while but apparently biker gangs were his greatest fear.
Soon as the ban ended and suppliers had inventory I grabbed about (30) factory 15 round mags and (20) 17 round Mecgar mags. Added to the 20 15 round mags I already had and I'm pretty good.
I think I have about 50 Glock 19 mags and 75 Glock 17 mags.
And yeah, I remember reading things like Warriors magazine where the Mini 14 was the ultimate survival weapon, etc. In 1985 people thought Colt was making the same rifle they made in 1965. I can remember a few gun show dwellers pointing out that the SP1 rifles had "no forward assist" so they were the bad ones.
Not to digress, but the Mini 14 did seem to be the rifle du décennie. I've actually shot a patrol rifle course(the real one, not this 25 yards with an aimpoint spiel) with a stainless bayo lugged Mini 14. Nowhere as easy as with an M16, but could still hit a man-sized target at 200 yards. Wider spread but solid hits.
It was just for kicks and that was an old rifle. Wouldn't be my first choice but it did feel handy kind of.
As for mags, you have me beat. I thought I was doing great. Nope.
Not to digress, but the Mini 14 did seem to be the rifle du décennie. I've actually shot a patrol rifle course(the real one, not this 25 yards with an aimpoint spiel) with a stainless bayo lugged Mini 14. Nowhere as easy as with an M16, but could still hit a man-sized target at 200 yards. Wider spread but solid hits.
It was just for kicks and that was an old rifle. Wouldn't be my first choice but it did feel handy kind of.
As for mags, you have me beat. I thought I was doing great. Nope.
I mag whored hard after the sunset. I've got a couple Mini's, one GB stainless folding stock "A Team" variant because...well because...and my Dad's 1982 stainless variant with a Leupold stainless scope. They are what they are, we really didn't have a lot of AK options at the time so a bunch of "experts" declared it the American AK.
Ironically we did have Valmets but for some reason everyone didn't jump all over them, except of course for Robin Williams in "The Survivors" (1983).
I have a pile, but yeesh. Maybe I should get more. Healthy or not, I use the same few mags forever until they die. So far only one Glock 10 rounder died and two GI mags over some years. Currently I use ETS mags and lancers/pmags as my shooting mags and keeping my factory ones put away.
Sacrificial lambs, I call them.
My two regrets are a decent Chinese AK that looked like something out of Vietnam and an STG 58. I was young and stupid.
I have never been an AK guy but I just wanted it because it was a bad guy gun. I'm tempted to go a parts kit route. The STG 58 was an Imbel and my first 'evil' gun. I wouldn't mind having another FAL.
After funding some far out stuff, I've vowed never to trade/sell anything anymore.
You'll always regret it.
Honestly, my stuff is pretty "missionary"; Glock and a Colt. Aside from my .22s thats all I mess with beyond my KAC. But some stuff I just enjoyed having because it was associated with a war, a TV show, or just something that I thought was cool as a kid. I still want an UZI. Doesn't have to be original or select fire.
I need to make more money.
It could be worse. I could've gotten into Fabrege eggs. That's worse and more expensive than heroin.
1993 date code. Kiel (W. German) proof house, definitive proof.
I learned something new today. Thank you sir. And thank you for the link.
I should have bought my brother's SiG P220 in 45 ACP. I bought something else instead and I kick myself for it every once in awhile- Until I remember how much a LOVE DA/SA handguns.
I don't remember exactly when the P226, but I remember really wanting a P229 in 40 S&W. But the 40s sold out within hours of the California ban, leaving nothing but 9mms on the shelves. Should have bought a 9mm right then and there, but I had nothing but disdain for the little 9 Wimpameter. Again, I occasionally kick myself, but that stops as soon as I remember the DA/SA thing. I really liked some of the SiG pistols
I have a pile, but yeesh. Maybe I should get more. Healthy or not, I use the same few mags forever until they die. So far only one Glock 10 rounder died and two GI mags over some years. Currently I use ETS mags and lancers/pmags as my shooting mags and keeping my factory ones put away.
Sacrificial lambs, I call them.
My two regrets are a decent Chinese AK that looked like something out of Vietnam and an STG 58. I was young and stupid.
I have never been an AK guy but I just wanted it because it was a bad guy gun. I'm tempted to go a parts kit route. The STG 58 was an Imbel and my first 'evil' gun. I wouldn't mind having another FAL.
After funding some far out stuff, I've vowed never to trade/sell anything anymore.
You'll always regret it.
Honestly, my stuff is pretty "missionary"; Glock and a Colt. Aside from my .22s thats all I mess with beyond my KAC. But some stuff I just enjoyed having because it was associated with a war, a TV show, or just something that I thought was cool as a kid. I still want an UZI. Doesn't have to be original or select fire.
I need to make more money.
It could be worse. I could've gotten into Fabrege eggs. That's worse and more expensive than heroin.
Could have been worse, could have sunk a bunch of money into Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch kids. I remember people paying hundreds of dollars for one. Now they all have a collective value of about $5.
I got my first gun in the 4th grade and by Junior High I had more guns than most adults I knew. Having lived through the 86, 89 and 94 bans I learned a few things. Sometimes I went overboard, I have about 750+ G3 magazines from when they were $1.50 each (NIW to Exc) and today they are worth maybe $5, but hey I have G3 mags for life.
At one point I had about 500+ AR magazines, but with the Sandy Hook hysteria I flipped about 100 them for around $125 each. It was a gamble but I won, I then took the money and grabbed about 300 more magazines when things finally settled.
Not sure if everyone here has seen this one, but here are the contents of two of my safes when I had to move and reorganize things.
http://i65.tinypic.com/18g4uh.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/xnhuvq.jpg
At the time that was almost half of my collection. None of my really big stuff is in the photos, but I had a nice selection of HKs, AKs, ARs and FALs. Most of my NFA stuff, WWII stuff, Swiss SIGs and other seriously rares were in different safes. And my collection was actually much larger the year before, during the great Obama Gun Sale of 2008, I flipped a lot of superfluous firearms such as Aks that were the exact configuration but one was a Yugo, one was Hungarian, etc. Basically I flushed all my Century Arms receiver builds like Polish Tantals, Yugo M70s, etc. because they were getting $2,500 each and I barely paid $400 for them.
Also dumped some Stg58 kits on an Imbel receiver FALs and similar builds that just didn't do it for me but were getting crazy prices. I've managed to make some good moves and streamline my collection to some seriously quality stuff.
I still need some Knights rifles and a few 80s icons, but I've almost reached a level of contentment.
Moose-Knuckle
05-23-16, 03:08
My dad was a big Mel Tappen fan back in the 70's/80's. But then again there was no internet, no 1st SFOD-D retirees training and gracing us with there sage wisdom, majority of the gun rags were Fudd and wheel guns.
He bought me a copy of Survival Guns and I torn into and had to have a talk with him. Tappen's opinions on the AR-15 are way outdated, today it is the Zennith of US rifles as far as ergos and parts availability. It's not like Mini-14 OEM parts are available and the rifle is not really that user friendly in regards to working on like an AR is. Then there is the mag issue and Bill Ruger getting stupid with "hi-caps".
My dad wanted a Colt AR back then but got two Minis instead. He also wanted a Valmet but settled on an HK91.
As for handgun mags, in September of '04 I spent whole pay checks on mags. Some of the first boxes to arrive had mags that still had the gay LEO ONLY stamped/etched onto them. I'm a mag hoarder. In prep for a Hilary win I've been squirreling away PMAG 17 and 19 GL9 mags for range use and training so I can leave my OEM mags the hell alone, not that I would ever get to all of them but one must think of future generations.
Moose-Knuckle
05-23-16, 03:19
http://i65.tinypic.com/18g4uh.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/xnhuvq.jpg
When I see photos like this I can't help but to think of the Burt Gummer paradox.
So Steyr, if Graboids were invading your rec room and you and your wife were bugging out with some friends in a gutted tanker and you could only take one long arm which one would it be?
When I see photos like this I can't help but to think of the Burt Gummer paradox.
So Steyr, if Graboids were invading your rec room and you and your wife were bugging out with some friends in a gutted tanker and you could only take one long arm which one would it be?
Ironically enough, probably a HK G3, I certainly have the mags for it.
Moose-Knuckle
05-24-16, 03:03
Ironically enough, probably a HK G3, I certainly have the mags for it.
LOL, good choice!
I find the Burt Gummer paradox to be good litmus test though admittedly a little immature.
Since Glocks were brought up, my Dad got in on those sorta early too.
While not as cool IMO as a classic SIG, here is his "ITY" (Sept. 1987) date code Gen 1 G17. Glocks were first imported in 1986 so a late 87 model is still pretty early. Of course "Die Hard 2" (1990) and the whole Glock 7 thing really drove Glock sales, just like the first "Die Hard" (1988) had everyone dying for an MP5 and a Steyr AUG.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2afhb13.jpg
If you want to date your Glock, the 3 letters represent the barrel test fire date code:
The first letter is for the month:
E...Jan
L...Feb
N...Mar
B...Apr
S...May
Z...Jun
G...Jul
P...Aug
I...Sep
C...Oct
V...Nov
A...Dec
The last two letters are for the year:
O...0
W...1
K...2
R...3
F...4
M...5
H...6
Y...7
T...8
D...9
Since Glocks were brought up, my Dad got in on those sorta early too.
While not as cool IMO as a classic SIG, here is his "ITY" (Sept. 1987) date code Gen 1 G17. Glocks were first imported in 1986 so a late 87 model is still pretty early. Of course "Die Hard 2" (1990) and the whole Glock 7 thing really drove Glock sales, just like the first "Die Hard" (1988) had everyone dying for an MP5 and a Steyr AUG.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2afhb13.jpg
If you want to date your Glock, the 3 letters represent the barrel test fire date code:
The first letter is for the month:
E...Jan
L...Feb
N...Mar
B...Apr
S...May
Z...Jun
G...Jul
P...Aug
I...Sep
C...Oct
V...Nov
A...Dec
The last two letters are for the year:
O...0
W...1
K...2
R...3
F...4
M...5
H...6
Y...7
T...8
D...9
Good info. My boss just started carrying a Gen 1 Glock 19 that she got from her father in law. Ill try and get an age for it.
Figure we need a break from Trump, exploding Muslims and exaggerated Navy Seal stories.
http://i67.tinypic.com/wmcq3a.jpg
So a SIG P226...BFD right? But there is this.
http://i64.tinypic.com/eg2v09.jpg
Yes, that is a 1985 date code. Unlike HK, SIG chose to omit the "I" from their date code configuration. What is interesting about a 1985 date P226 is the weapon itself was designed in 1984 for the XM9 trials to replace the 1911. Beretta would eventually be the handgun that was adopted, with the exception of some Navy units which did adopt the SIG 226.
As a result, in 1985 SIGs weren't exactly well known and most people wanted the Beretta anyway since it won the Army contract and must therefore be the best handgun option available. That is unless you grew up reading stuff like Soldier of Fortune and considered the SIG P210 to be one of the ultimate 9mm handguns ever made.
Long story short I graduated high school in 1985 and my father decided that was a perfect excuse to take me shopping and we both picked up P226s. Technically we had to order them because nobody knew was a P226 was yet but we had them within a couple weeks.
Mine finally gave up the ghost in 2005 after more than 25,000 rounds when the frame cracked. I was able to send it to SIG (reluctantly) and they replaced it with a CPO P226 which I still own and shoot.
The one in the photo is my fathers which I came into possession of a few years later after his passing. His has fewer than a few hundred rounds through it and hasn't been fired since I cleaned it last sometime around 1987. He was always a 1911 guy and just didn't shoot most of his other handguns after the "new and cool" wore off.
1985 might have been the first year of commercial production, I haven't been able to get a definitive and reliable answer on that one. This is compounded by the fact that SIG produced a P220 in 9mm and a few of those seem to have made it to the US market and are often confused with the P226.
At any rate, it's an early one.
Saw this topic from the Sig Army contract topic.
Have they ever made those type of grips for the 228? I have a German 228 and can't stand the whatever grips they were putting on in the late 90s. Getting ready to just sell it
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170120/fd4295b442fab3f4cbe919103f53c409.jpg
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
I have a German 228 and can't stand the whatever grips they were putting on in the late 90s. Getting ready to just sell it[/IMG]
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
European mag release? If yes and you are serious PM me with the details.
European mag release? If yes and you are serious PM me with the details.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170120/8847a8fdedfcd10c74e1df10bb64dde2.jpg
Are you referring to the heel release? Didn't know 228 came that way. I did have a 220 9mm Geneva Switzerland PD import with the heel release
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170120/8847a8fdedfcd10c74e1df10bb64dde2.jpg
Are you referring to the heel release? Didn't know 228 came that way. I did have a 220 9mm Geneva Switzerland PD import with the heel release
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Yep, that's what I was referring to. When you said German I thought it might be.
Thanks.
In times past, I've reversed my thoughts.
I have an old P226 that I never shoot but will keep.
I realized I really am not an AK guy.
And I think I miss being 21 more than I miss that FAL. I shoot my HK more and really would sooner get another G3 style gun.
Saw this topic from the Sig Army contract topic.
Have they ever made those type of grips for the 228? I have a German 228 and can't stand the whatever grips they were putting on in the late 90s. Getting ready to just sell it
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170120/fd4295b442fab3f4cbe919103f53c409.jpg
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
There are lots of grip options for the P228, including nice looking woods. Pretty sure somebody makes a reproduction of the classic grip.
SteyrAUG..amazing post & pics!! You are literally the reason I have a 226 on my hip as I type this..(MK25, not German I know) lol. That is an OUTSTANDING collection you have!!!
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