gun world trashes the Sig P225

L

leej

Moderator
This months Gun World Magazine has an article written by Duane Thomas. This is what Duane Said about the new Sig P239 being a better gun than the Sig P225.

Duane Thomas said that the magazines of the P225 were not well constructed. Duane Thomas said that the feed lips often wore prematurely or often spread apart causing malfunctions.

My question is this. Is the construction of the newer model P229 any different. I have obeserved on my P220 and my P226 that the magazine is of a cross hatch pattern that is spot welded together on the spine of the magazine as opposed to the traditional continuous welded seam of the traditional type of magazine construction. Does the new P229 have the cross hatch pattern or the tradtional continuous welded seam? I have read that the cross hatch spot welded magazine sometimes come apart under hard usage. So far this had not happened to either one of my guns.

Duane Thomas also stated that the new Sig P229 has a solid stainless steel slide that is slimer and stronger than the Sig P225 that had a wider slide because of its stamped sheet metal construciton that had to be large enough to hold the solid steel breach block that is inserted into it.

Duane Thomas also seemed to hint that the P229 is not as reliable in .357 Sig caliber and 40 S&W caliber due to excess slide velocity.

Any one out there had any problems with his Sig P229 in .357 or 40 S&W in regards to reliability? Just Curious because I have often thought of buying a P229 in Sig. 357 caliber.

I am surprised to see such an article in "Gun World" magazine that is truthful about the performance of the weapon. Perhaps the Sig P225 has been discontinued so Gun World was therefore able to publish an honest report on this weapon.

By the way on the continuous welded seam magazine, you will not be able to see the seam on the spine of the magazine because on a well constructed magazine they grind down the weld flush with the spine of the magazine and then they blue it. The weld therfore disappears and the spine of the magazine looks smooth with no trace of the weld visible.

On some magazines they do leave a trace of the weld and you will be able to see a verticle weld line running top to bottom on the spine of the magazine.

On a cross hatch pattern magazine you will see a small spot weld on each or every other of the cross hatchs on the spine of the magazine.
 
If memory serves me, Duane Thomas wrote an article about a year ago extolling the virtues of the Sig 225. After reading the article, I wondered if Thomas was on the Sig payroll. According to the article, it was the ne plus ultra choice for IDPA. The article was accompanied by photos of Thomas(all his articles are accompanied by a lot of photos of him) in shooting stances and drawing from the Del Fatti holster that he assured us readers was made "just for him".

I have one that I bought used and have fired several thousand rounds through it. So far, so good. I really like the way it feels in my hands and how it points, so much for a scientific assessment.

Regarding the durability of a stamped Sig slide VS. a milled stainless Sig slide......If I could afford to buy enough ammo to wear out a Sig with a stamped slide (220-225-226-228) I would not worry about the expense of replacing with another one.

The 225 and 228 remain in production despite the legends that you hear from gun show and forum commandos.

However, if you want a small single stack 9MM, you would do well to look at the 239. It is a fine weapon.
 
Never heard of Mr. Thomas but the 225 is my favorite SIG. Mine has thousands of rounds through it with no malfunctions and is perhaps the most accurate 9mm I have ever shot.

YMMV
OALA
 
Could you please go back and re-edit your post with new numbers or clarification? It sounds like you're comparing the similar 225 and 239 models, but 229 keeps getting slipped in there and I don't follow which model is having problems.

As far as mag wear goes, worn or spread feed lips shouldn't have much to do with the welds on the back of the mag.

The criticism about slide construction is true, but pointless. Stamped slides with seperate breechblocks are strong enough and don't break or wear out faster in guns designed for their use.
 
Duane Thomas is a fool. I have read lots of his garbage.

Dave Thomas makes great burgers and chili. I have eaten lots of his food.

Laters,
MO :cool:
 
"Real men knoweth what they speak of"; Duane Thomas
apparently knows next to nothing about Sig's.:D All his
articles need to be compiled and submitted to the nearest
garbage container.:) "Fools and idiot's speak from their
inexperience's"; undoubtedly Mr. Thomas is at the top
of the heep.:cool:

Regards,
Ala Dan, Life Member N.R.A.
 
I quit subscribing to Handguns magazine, to a large extent because so much of Duane Thomas' articles were printed there.

Libourel, the editor, moved to Gun World, and has apparently taken Duane with him, as that magazine is now infested with more of Duane Thomas.

He considers himself God's model pistolero, and makes that point in every article he writes. If he is half as good as he thinks he is, he is very good indeed.

I may have to let my subscription to Gun World run out, too...

(Sigh)

And I like Jan Libourel...
 
I'd take that with a grain of salt. The P225 has served as the issue police sidearm in several German states for decades with distinction. My two P225s have been flawless performers as well, like all my SIG Sauers. I've never even seen a jammed or broken P-series SIG, and I've carried and shot the P225 most. Never had a single problem or malfunction in 13 years of P225 ownership.
 
Hello all. With all due respect to Duane Thomas, what's so different about the feed lips of the P225 vs P220 vs P226 vs BHP vs CZ75/85 vs 1911 vs SIG P210.

Perhaps the newer model SIG-Sauer pistols have "improved" feed lip construction; perhaps this is just something to write about?

I have not heard of frequent catastrophic "lip failures" from the above-listed handguns.

If you like the P225; buy it. Shoot it and enjoy it.

It's a non-issue.

Best.
 
I agree with Walt. I've always liked Jan Libourel. Had a P-225 a few years back that was a real sweet pistol. Don't remember a malfunction of anykind. Traded it for a hi-cap some-thing-or-other.
 
At Handguns Duane was the gober pushing S&W. He even ran two editorials telling us how great S&W was along with a bunch of articles on S&W products. This was about one year ago.

There is nothing wrong with the P225. He is also either a liar or an idiot. The P229 is extremely reliable in .357 SIG regardless of slide velocity. The Texas DPS, when transitioning from the .45 ACP P220 to the .357 SIG P229 and P226, fired over 300,000 rounds with no malfunctions. It doesn't get any more reliable than that.

It almost sounds like SIG asked him to bad mouth the P225 to steer customers to the more recent models.
 
I used to subscribe to Handguns magazine, but the writings of Duane Thomas finally made me drop my subscription. I also grew tired of Libourel's articles. For a while, it seemed that every gun reviewed was great, even when the shooting public knew better. Just my two cents, perhaps I am wrong, wouldn't be the first time.
 
I am surprised to see such an article in "Gun World" magazine that is truthful about the performance of the weapon.
Click to expand...
Which Gun World have you been reading? --Surely, not the Gun World edited by Jan Libourel. Jan Libourel is a good magazine editor--his job is to ensure sales not accuracy. --And like all good editors, he knows controversey sells so he prints authors like Duane Thomas and Ed Sanow--the one regular contributor who is actually worse (less accurate, more full of humus). than Duane Thomas.

Enjoy reading Gun Wordl occassionally, but just remember if the byline reads Duane Thomas or Corporal Ed Sanow (or Evan Marshall) read it only for enjoyment (or to get your blood pressure) and not for accuracy--then file it under humus. These articles are published to sell magazines and are not to be taken seriously.
 
Duane Thomas was the same guy that said 10 years ago that the .45 acp would be on it's way out in 10 years :p
 
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