Sig P226 - update

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In order to attain a faster, more secure grip on my pistol when drawing, and to help improve general accuracy, I've done something to my Sig P226 that will probably have some people cringe.....
added a set of Hogue rubber grips with finger grooves!



Thought my school's mouse pad would serve as a nice background...

However, the top grip screw that you can see in the pic feels sunken in deeper than the rest. I suspected it might have to do with the grip being thicker on this side to accommodate the decocker and slide catch. Is this normal? Thanks!

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I took the Hogue grips off my 228 about a year ago but my memory is that they fit the way you describe.

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I swapped my Hogues for a set of stock grips off of my Sig P239 just this evening. The Hogues feel fine, but for CC, they stick to any kind of cover clothing. But, I also have an LE friend in AZ that swears by them on anything he owns. To each his own. Nice Sig.

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Have had hogues on my Sig 226 for over a year now. Like them so much they go on everything I get now...

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G20-IWB24/7 wrote:

I swapped my Hogues for a set of stock grips off of my Sig P239 just this evening. The Hogues feel fine, but for CC, they stick to any kind of cover clothing. But, I also have an LE friend in AZ that swears by them on anything he owns. To each his own. Nice Sig.

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Exactly what I did for the same reason as I can't OC where I spend most of my time.

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Got a bunch of friends to go to the range before spring break started. Along with my P226, we also shot a Kimber Custom 2, Ruger SR9, and AR-15. Overall, we agreed that because of the hogue grip, the P226 was by far the most manageable in terms of recoil, even when I was shooting +P ammo. Due to the 226 being brand new, and the range-issued ammo appeared to be underpowered, there were several FTE/fail to lock back on the first round. I presented the problems to the range officer, and he said I have permission to use factory ammo (Federal 9mm), and with the exception of 2 fail to lock backs on the the last round, all 100 rounds fired flawlessly, crisply, and on target. Overall it was a great day, and I'm very happy with the 226. Definitely even more comfortable with OCing it now!

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is it failing to lock the slide open after shooting the last round in the mag?? (lock back?)

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If you're willing to spend a semi-absurd amount of money on a set of grips, the Nill grips for Sigs are pretty amazing. I have a set on my P239 that really transformed the shootability of the gun for me. The stock skinny plastic grips were difficult for me to get a good grip on and I was getting a good kick in the finger from the trigger resetting. The Nill grips have palm swells and fill your hand while not really adding much to the overall width of the gun and their rhomlas checkering is grippy but doesn't stick on your clothes. The look really good too

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1245ADefender: at the range we went to, the range officer suggested/recommend we "purchase" their range ammo; they were cheaper than the Federal ammo, and the bottom of the casings had "Blazer" on them.

My Sig 226 was failing to lock back after the last round and (occasionally) having stovepipes/fail to completely extract, during mid-magazine. We determined it had to do with the range ammo; once I got the green light to shoot the 100 rds of Federal that I brought with me (and 5 rounds of Corbon +P that I had in my case), the fail to lock back on the last round decreased to just once (And I think I was limpwristing that one), and maybe 1 or 2 FTE in 100 rds. Thoughts?

Lemmiwinks: Thanks for the suggestion. The reason I put the Hogue grips on my gun to begin with was the fact that I have average/slightly-smaller-than-average hands, and although the Hogue grips might be a tad thicker than the stock grips, they actually helped my grip (the material and finger grooves did) significantly. SO much to the point that when I was shooting the SR9, even though it had a thinner grip and I could wrap my hands around it much better, I had worse accuracy compared to when I was using my 226...
Of course, I practice drawing/dry firing my 226 several times a day...so I might be SLIGHTLY biased...

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Did it happen with all of your magazines?

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Unfortunately, I have only 1 magazine right now, and since the range did not have a Sig 226 as a pistol for rent, they did not have any extra magazines on had for me to try. The range master told me it's probly due to the range ammo (which I suspect to be under-charged in terms of gun powder), and the 226 still being broken in. During the last 50 rds of Federal the gun functioned flawlessly.

EDIT: here's another reason that I think the range ammo was undercharged: I had a FTF (!!!) with the range ammo, and when I took the round out, I could see the firing pin had indeed struck the primer; the dent was just as deep and pronounced as all the other spent cartridges, and yet the bullet was sitting there right in the casing!

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The slide failing to lock on the last round in the mag wouldn't be due to ammo... Also surprised you had that many FTEs. Are you sure that the Hogue grips aren't interfering with or pushing on the slide lock? Did this happen with all your mags? Are you using factory mags?

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Lemmiwinks wrote:

If you're willing to spend a semi-absurd amount of money on a set of grips, the Nill grips for Sigs are pretty amazing. I have a set on my P239 that really transformed the shootability of the gun for me. The stock skinny plastic grips were difficult for me to get a good grip on and I was getting a good kick in the finger from the trigger resetting. The Nill grips have palm swells and fill your hand while not really adding much to the overall width of the gun and their rhomlas checkering is grippy but doesn't stick on your clothes. The look really good too

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I'm going to have to check out those. I like the feel of the Hogue grips for shooting and if I could just OC they would be fine. CC they are sort of irritating.

Hopefully I'll have a new Sig P229 Elite in the next 3-4 months and won't be worrying about it for me and can let the wife pick out grips for the P228.

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1) I don't think the hogue grips are interfering with the slidelock's operations; the FTE's happened most often with the range ammo, and only once (or twice) with Federal cartridges, and that was in the first 50 rds. The gun functioned well on the last 50 rds.
2) I only have 1 mag....
3) Yes, it is the original magazine that was shipped with the gun; it is factory new with Sig P226 stamped on it.

However, thanks for the suggestion deepdiver; I'll definitely take the grips off at a later time and see if there's something in the grip that's interfering with the lockback.

Also, I know some people don't quite believe in the idea that a $700+ gun needs to be broken in, but do you think that's the case here? The gun did seem to function much better once I moved to factory ammo and it had a few rounds through it..

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I've never had any kind of failure with my sigs. I have never heard of sigs needing a break-in period, particularly the 226. I've never had Blazer ammo that caused a problem with any of my firearms (I'm a big fan of CCI) and I've never heard of a brand new sig 226 shipping with only one magazine.

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Norman wrote:

I've never heard of a brand new sig 226 shipping with only one magazine.

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Sig went cheap for a while and shipped their pistols with a single magazine.

OP, I am curious if your 226 was ever cleaned/lubed properly prior to firing? You will find that your Sig will like to be run wet in general with grease on the rails and exterior of the barrel...Remoil won't cut it and no you should not need to break it in either, if your Sig isn't extremely accurate and reliable right out of the box then something is wrong with it.

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Hm, that's a really good point FrankC; I didn't know Sigs like to to run on the wet side. I lubed the rail but didn't lube the top of the barrel all that much. I'll definitely pay more attention to that next time I'm lubing it.
I'm coming back home to WA from Baltimore, Murderland (Sorry, Maryland) for spring break. Hopefully I'll be able to get some range time in.

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I like the look of the original grips on my P239, but went with the Hogue grips myself.

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Slidelock problems are likely from the magazine, imo. I installed the same Hogue grips on my Springfield 1911A1 and love em. Also, it crossed my mind that 'house ammo' with Blazer stamped on the brass are possibly reloads. Might be why you were having FTE problems. Either way, pick up a few more factory mags and shoot the hell out of your new companion and see how things work out.

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I use Hogues on my Beretta 92FS (my match gun.) They're kinda ugly but man do they work!