SIG P226 Range Report (Rental)

[Mike P. Wagner]

I rented a P226 today at the range. I rented a .40, the only caliber they had.

I really, really liked the way the pistol fit my hand. A year so so ago, I rented a P239 (in .357 SIG), and I remember that gun as fitting like a glove. This one did to. The longer barrel really helped me tremendously in accuracy.

The pistol made the .40 fun to shoot. I don't much liked shooting .40 in general, I prefer the .357 SIG or a 9mm.

That's the good news.

This particular weapon wasn't very reliable. I shot 100 rounds in 5 rounds at a time. I think the slide stayed back once on an emty magazine. I probably had a dozen stovepipes and FTFs. I guess I could have been limp-wristing, but I never had this trouble on the P239, or on my CZ-52. Several times, releasing the slide after inserting a new magazine, the top round would refuse to load.

The only other problem was that the pistol sent most of the shells directly back at my forehead. I had glasses and ear protection, which is how I usually shoot. One shell managed to get behind my glasses, which turns out to be pretty painful. Do most SIG P226s fire the brass right back at ya?

I liked the gun. I think I'm going to start saving my pennies for one of the police turn-ins.

Mike P. Wagner

 

[blades67]

I haven't had anything like that happen with any of my SIGs, but they're not rental guns either. You may have been the one hundredth person to shoot that P226 and who knows when the last time it was cleaned.

 

[CZ_]

Sigs are one of the most reliable pistols out there IMO. It sounds to me like the rental P226 might have some problems (ie: its dirty, maybe the extractor/ejector is not working right, or the recoil spring is worn out). I've never had my P226 9mm malfunction, and it has never thrown brass at my head. There is definitely something wrong with the one you rented. In fact, I've found it common for rental guns to be not quite right. They are shot often, cleaned little, and subjected to abuse.

 

[Mike P. Wagner]

I suspect that the weapons at this range never get cleaned until they seriously malfunction. The first revolver I rented there jammed on the tenth round.

I wasn't juding the model by this pistol.

Mike P. Wagner