Sig P226 .40 Cal

[Heavyweight]

Make sure you have effective hearing protection. 357-SIG is a bit feisty.

What’s funny is that .357 Sig is the one caliber I have never fired. I’ve never owned a pistol chambered in it. Is recoil similar to .40 S&W? It should be….and I’ve fired boat loads of .40. I’ve never had an issue with .40.

I’m also a big 9mm guy. Always have been. But it’s not a perfect caliber by any means. I agree with Mark…..we’ve basically moved to managing to the least common denominator (vaginization I believe you called it Mark). Why else would LEOs like the Secret Service switch from .357 Sig back to 9mm? Seems to me they would have a clear need for a caliber with a bit more oomph and penetration. If I need to punch through a car door or windshield I know which round I’d rather have. 9mm works for me most of the time because I’m just a civilian needing basic self defense. But if I was a professional, I would want every reasonable advantage I could get. Including more power. I just don’t get the dumbing down. That’s why I’m totally blown away at the pricing on these fantastic pistols in .40 cal.

I know I got way off topic but would love to hear your thoughts too. Does it make more sense to just move everyone to 9mm like the current trend suggests?


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[kerplode]

What’s funny is that .357 Sig is the one caliber I have never fired. I’ve never owned a pistol chambered in it. Is recoil similar to .40 S&W? It should be….and I’ve fired boat loads of .40. I’ve never had an issue with .40.

I had a P239 in 357 Sig for a minute back in the early 2000's. I found the recoil to be noticeably harsher than the 40. Honestly it was a nasty little thing and I hated shooting it so I sold it pretty quick.

Some of that is probably the form factor, though. It might not be as bad in the full-sized gun.

Still have loads of 40's...It's a great round and I find it pretty easy to shoot, even in the G27. I have absolutely no interest in owning another 357 Sig though.

Does it make more sense to just move everyone to 9mm like the current trend suggests?

I think so. 9mm is "good enough" for LE and gives them higher capacity in a package that easier for the common-denominator officer to handle. Let's be real...The majority of cops are not gun people and don't train enough to be completely proficient. They can get better results from half-ass training with the 9 than with other things. Best situation is probably officer's choice for caliber, but for large departments with a diverse officer pool, I think 9mm makes sense. Being able to piggy back ammo contracts is also a benefit for the feds.

In the "civilian" world, most people that buy a gun treat it as a talisman to ward off evil. They don't even shoot regularly much less actually train. You think they're gonna get good hits with a 10mm or 357? Most of them would be better off with a .22 if I'm completely honest.

[Bret]

What’s funny is that .357 Sig is the one caliber I have never fired. I’ve never owned a pistol chambered in it. Is recoil similar to .40 S&W? It should be….and I’ve fired boat loads of .40.

I'd say that the recoil is a step up from 40S&W. It feels sharper like the slide is moving faster.

[gunnut284]

The P226 in .40 is a nice shooter, mine always surprises me how soft and accurately it shoots. .357 Sig is also very accurate, it does have a noticeable bark. I have 10s of thousands of rounds through the .357 P226 (back when it was my duty gun). That $500 deal for a non-LE trade, non-DAK, with 500 rds sounds like a good deal. I like E2 grips as well.

[mpddoug162]

I carried a 226 in 40 for just over 16 years as a duty weapon. They and it performed well when needed throughout my agency. One of the first things I did was get a 357 sig bbl. My issued 226 had standard grip panels that I switched out with the E2 grips making it even more comfortable for me. You might as well invest in some mec-gar 226 extra capacity mags for it as they are the oem sig mag supplier and they fit flush.

[Heavyweight]

I got a chance to shoot it with .357 Sig and .40 yesterday. LOVED it in both calibers. Recoil I thought was extremely manageable. I can’t say that I really noticed any difference in .357 except it was loud as ****! It’s a fire breather but recoil? No worse.

I can see why you guys carried it for duty guns for so long. What a great pistol…..and accurate! If I can manage to find an x-change kit in 9mm I’m all over it. Or **** it….maybe I should just pick up a Mk25.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the CZ75. It pains me to say that the P226 is a better gun.


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[Ron3]

I got a chance to shoot it with .357 Sig and .40 yesterday. LOVED it in both calibers. Recoil I thought was extremely manageable. I can’t say that I really noticed any difference in .357 except it was loud as ****! It’s a fire breather but recoil? No worse.

I can see why you guys carried it for duty guns for so long. What a great pistol…..and accurate! If I can manage to find an x-change kit in 9mm I’m all over it. Or **** it….maybe I should just pick up a Mk25.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the CZ75. It pains me to say that the P226 is a better gun.


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Cool, man!

I've only had / fired .357 auto from Glocks. Pretty similar to 135 gr .40...go figure. Less push than .40, more snap.

I tend to shy away from ear splitters for SD though. That includes .357 auto, .327 fed, light weight .357 mag, and .44 mag.

7.62 Tok is a loud one, too.

[anachronism]

357 SIG is a favorite of mine. There's something very satisfying about 357 on steel targets. I haven't had any problems with the recoil either. It is an attention getter at indoor ranges though

[jesuvuah]

I got a chance to shoot it with .357 Sig and .40 yesterday. LOVED it in both calibers. Recoil I thought was extremely manageable. I can’t say that I really noticed any difference in .357 except it was loud as ****! It’s a fire breather but recoil? No worse.

I can see why you guys carried it for duty guns for so long. What a great pistol…..and accurate! If I can manage to find an x-change kit in 9mm I’m all over it. Or **** it….maybe I should just pick up a Mk25.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the CZ75. It pains me to say that the P226 is a better gun.


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I own and have owned multiple variants of the p226. The MK 25 being one of them. IMHO, unless you want that model from a collection standpoint, it is way over priced.

I would pay a little more and get a legion. It will have better sights, an extra mag, g10 grips, srt trigger, better grip checkering, and the newer models are optic ready. They also have a gray guns trigger in them. The undercut and beavertail are also nice on them. I spent more on upgrading my mk25 then I did on my legion. Grabagun had the older non optic legions on a good sale if they still have any.

You can also just drop a stock 9mm barrel into a 40 p226 and it will function and give you a cheap practice option.

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[jnc36rcpd]

My former department issued the .40 226 and 239 for many years. I never found recoil an issue and I don't believe many, if any, did. The size of the weapon proved problematic for some smaller officers (thus the 239 option). The grip does feel slightly larger than the 9mm version.

While we had occasional mechanical issues, things came to a head during an annual inspection and detail cleaning of agency pistols. Multiple 226's and one 239 had developed cracks in the frame. SigSauer was responsive to the problem, supplying E2 grips for all weapons and replacing frames and even entire guns. Unfortunately, we were unable to determine why the particular weapons had problems. (SigSauer would not offer an hypothesis.) My guess is probably the age of the pistols though that isn't clear.

Nonetheless, it was a good weapon until that point.