Has Sig Quality Gone Down?

Would you still buy a new Sig?

  • Yes

    Votes: 82 64.6%

  • No

    Votes: 45 35.4%
  • Total voters
    127
  • Poll closed .
D

DoctorDeath

New member
I did search and see other threads, but I didn't see any from the last few years. I would appreciate some current opinions on Sig quality. From what I have read, the older West German Sigs are the best, but are the new ones worth buying?
 
I have three of the German guns, two X-Series and a p232. I have three of the US guns, two 1911's and a p239 SAS Gen 2. I also bought the 22 conversion, made in Germany.

With the exception of the 22 conversation, the guns are all good. One can't compare the X-Series to any of the others; the X-Series are a world apart. m/b as good as the p210. Perhaps the US guns don't have as nice machining as the German ones. However, the p239 US is as nice as the p232 German.

I don't think the US 1911's are as good as the Dan Wesson Guardian, or the STI Range Master. But, the US guns are much less expensive; and, shoot as accurately.

Can't recommend the 22 conversion at all.
 
No. The older W German ones are different.... but I wouldn't call them better. It just feels like two different factories making the same design... which.... it is.

I think a lot of it is just people don't like change. The old W German's had great fit and finish... but those stamped slides are incredibly rust prone. They're also not that strong. They work just fine for 9mm, but they couldn't handle 40/357 which is why they started milling the slides.

Sig did have a bout of QC issues a few years back but everything I've seen for the past couple of years have been great. They moved to a new plant in like.. 2012 or 2013 sometime. Everything in the new plant has been top notch.
 
No, I think the quality continues to be solid..../ my Sigs are older models ( nothing purchased in the last 10 yrs or so )....but I have an X-Five L-1 model in .40 S&W / a pair of all stainless 226's ( one in 9mm and one in .40 S&W ) ...and a pair of 239's ( one in .40 S&W and one in 9mm )....

and they've all been solid guns....
-----------------------
I've fired a bunch of their newer models...and I don't see any issues with them ...some buddies have them as well / and they're all performing at a high level.
 
I just watched a review and a guy in Canada bought a brand new P226. His decocking lever was riding up too high and it gouged the frame. He sent it back to Sig, and it took them 4 months to send it back to him and say that it's normal wear and tough luck. That doesn't sound very promising to me... Have any of you guys heard of that decocking lever problem or experienced it with one of your Sigs?
 
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What Uncle Malice said. There were some problems for awhile, but I think they have been sorted out for the most part. I have a mid/early 90's SIG
P220, and a mid 90's P245; both W. German. There is a certain feel that those handguns have this is just so perfect. I also have a SIG P226 Tacops that I bought a couple of years ago, and a recent purchase of a P238 Equinox that are great. They are built like tanks (in a good way) and fire whatever I put through them. They feel great...just not quite the same as the W. German ones. My buddy recently bought a P229 Extreme. Phemomenal. The list goes on. The Short-Reset Trigger's are very nice and FAST, but just a different feel than older ones, which are smoother.

The only "problem" I have had with the newer ones, was that the front sight of my P226 Tacops was off. The local know-it-all told me over and over that I was just pulling it, that the sights were fine. Then one of the other guys that worked at the range looked at it and just laughed, took it over to his sight adjuster, realigned, and now it hits dead-on.

I'd buy a new SIG in a heartbeat.
 
Yes, I've seen the issue with the decocker. One of my oldest US made P226's had the 'problem' and it was a circa 2002 or so.

It's just a question of tolerances. Sometimes it happens. If you're buying one in the store, it's something to look out for. If you're buying online, you can refuse to accept the gun if it exhibits this. The resting point is like 1mm from the frame, and the tab that stops the decocker is behind the grip on the opposite side of the pivot point. If that little tab somehow gets bent ever so slightly, it can cause it to make contact with the frame. It's a purely cosmetic issue but some people are especially anal about things like that.

Usually, you can order a replacement decocker and see how it fits. My 2011 MK25 nor my 2013 P229 Extreme exhibit the issue.
 
I've bought somewhere north of a half dozen new Sigs over the last three years or thereabouts.

Not one- not one single one- has given me any kind of problem whatsoever.

I'd buy a Sig without any hesitation at all.
 
I'm not a huge fan of the quality and workmanship on the 238 and 938. At least not for the $500+ to $600+ price you have to shell out respectively. They should be $100 cheaper for the type of pistol they are putting out. I suppose I feel the same way about all of the Sig models for that matter. I've given several Sigs a thorough go at it and I personally can't get them to do anything better than the pistols that I already own and shoot more precisely for quite a bit less. Not that they aren't well built pistols, but I just am not sold on value of the line.
 
No to your topic question and Yes to your poll question since they are different questions.

I have a West German 226 and I know guys with newer 226's. Not a whole lot of difference and parts interchange. You can put newer parts like the E2 grip and SRT on the older sigs and those parts fit and function just as good on the older models as they do on a brand new one.
 
No. The older W German ones are different.... but I wouldn't call them better. It just feels like two different factories making the same design... which.... it is.

I think a lot of it is just people don't like change. The old W German's had great fit and finish... but those stamped slides are incredibly rust prone. They're also not that strong. They work just fine for 9mm, but they couldn't handle 40/357 which is why they started milling the slides.

Sig did have a bout of QC issues a few years back but everything I've seen for the past couple of years have been great. They moved to a new plant in like.. 2012 or 2013 sometime. Everything in the new plant has been top notch.
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I agree with this and I personally would not hesitate to buy a new SIG.

IMHO perceptions of quality of pretty much anything has been impacted negatively by impatient "internet whiners" who would rather take a picture/video and post immediately to display their displeasure (mommy mommy) rather than do a little investigation into if there is really a problem and give the retailer or manufacturer time to respond and rectify if appropriate. :rolleyes:

"I can't hit squat with my new HK VP9. It's got to be defective. :mad:"

 
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@sigarms228 - I can understand that, but it seems like the OP of the video I'm referring to gave Sig ample time to make it right and they did nothing. I guess it is just a cosmetic issue, but still something that shouldn't happen with a pistol that prestigious and expensive. If I spend $900 on any firearm, I expect it to be cosmetically and mechanically 100% right out of the box. I also expect better customer service than that. At the very least they could have replaced the decocking lever and lined it up right before they sent it back to him. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that he's Canadian, or if Sig customer service really just sucks that bad.

For the record, I'm NOT trying to start anything, that's just how I honestly feel.
 
Dr Death believe only 10% of what you read on the web. everyone writes with a slant in their favor. unless you can speak directly to both sides a good deal of skepticism would be key in my world. you seem to have focused on one transaction, how many transactions do you think SIG has done in the past year? how many of them are unhappy? There is always someone you can't please.
 
IMHO perceptions of quality of pretty much anything has been impacted negatively by impatient "internet whiners" who would rather take a picture/video and post immediately to display their displeasure (mommy mommy) rather than do a little investigation into if there is really a problem and give the retailer or manufacturer time to respond and rectify if appropriate.
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Could not disagree with you more strongly. I guess that makes me a whiner.
 
@rtpzwms - Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't get hung up on one bad experience that I've read about. You can't make everybody happy, and I'm sure that unhappy customers are more inclined to post things than happy customers.
 
I will repost what I have said in the past on this subject.

The American Sigs are high quality guns especially when you stick to the P series and the SP2022 IMHO. I am not a fan of the offerings designed in the US. Guns like their 1911, P250 P238 and P938. These have all had problems and Sig used the buying public to QC these offerings.

The US made P series guns all have a milled stainless steel slide with a alum frame. IIRC the ST line guns have German frames. They are a little more top heavy than the older folded carbon steel and are finished in Nitron not blued. Nitron is a much harder longer lasting finish but it has lead to more slide rail damage which results from poor finishing at the factory at times. Not all the time but it has been much more frequent with US Sigs than in the past and the Nitron finish makes the damage worse.

All Sig now have external extractors which once the kinks were worked out of the designs once again by the buying public seem to run. The P220 was the worst of the change overs because Sig did not bother to change the extractor design when it changed the slide to stainless steel.

IMHO if you "LOVED" the older guns you will be satisfied by the new ones but they are not the same. There is a different feel to them which does not appeal to me. Maybe its all the "kimber" like add ons and finishes and instant collectibles that they have created. I am not a Cohen Sig fan.

This is not to say that US Sigs are not good guns. They are they are just not "german" Sigs. It you really want a German Sig there are still small batches which make their way over from time to time. It is hard to predict when and what will come over but if you know where to look and keep your eyes open and $$$ ready they pop up. Also all the the master series pistols are all German.

Honestly if you like the older Sigs like I do the used market is where I would go. New Sigs are $800+ guns and you can still find cherry LNIB P series guns from Germany for under $650 so even if you do not like the new ones you can still get a new Sig....
 
In my experience, the guns built recently are back to previous levels of quality. The end of the time when the American guns were Sigarms guns to about 2013, I would be hesitant to buy.
 
I will add that all Sigs will soon be made in the US. IIRC all production will be US based by the end of this year.

Also I will add that it seems like the p320 is a hit. I just wish they did not use the P250 platform as its foundation but economy of scale is the Cohen Sig way.
 
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