Posted: 5/26/2005 12:34:55 PM EDT
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Looking around for a 2nd 9mm and my main man at the fun shop said "hey, we got a 228 in finally, we never see those anymore" he said it's one of his favorite Sigs, besided the 220 of course. What do you guys think? 4", 13+1 - grip felt really good and bit smaller than the 226 with 15+1. This will be personal defense and carry gun He advised that the military needed the M11 with a carbon steel frame vs. the stainless of the 226.. Thoughts? Are they "rare" because Unc Sam is scarfing them up? Appreciate it, thank a vet this Memorial Day |
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They are pretty readily available. Not as scarce as you would think. I carry a P226 as my primary and a P228 as a BUG. I use one of the "X-Grip" magazine adapters that allows me to use the 15-rd P226 mags in the P228. P228 with mag adapter on left, P226 on right. 
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Ok, lets get our terms right here. The P228, P226 & P229 all have aluminum frames. The slide is different for the P229 in that its machined out of one, solid piece of stainless steel. The P228, & P226 have a slide that is made from a bent, flat piece of steel. Originally it was flat and it was bent into a U-shape by a press. Then the locking block in secured with a roll-pin. Therefore the P229 has a more solid slide to take the punishment of the 40/357-sig round. Other than that, they are all very similar. I've had a P228 since 1994. I've put about 5,000 to 6000 rounds through it without a SINGLE malfunction. Actually NONE of my Sigs have EVER had a malfunction. |
Correct. But note that newer P226 slides are also machined out of stainless billet and are exceptional with the .40SW and 357SIG cartridges. I regard the P228 as the finest 9mm handgun ever made. |
No, actually the extender fits onto the magazine, not the gun, and you need one extender for every magazine. BUT If you don't care, you can just slap a 226 mag in and it hangs down just a little bit. I have extenders on some of my 226 mags and some I don't (I don't even own a 226 (yet)).  |
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jblachly is right. The extension snaps on to the existing P226 baseplate *CAUTION* Only works on the older and shorter baseplates. Newer mags with longer baseplates require modification (i.e. Dremel Tool) for proper fit and fills the gap between the frame and the regular baseplate. Regular 226 mag with padded buttplate on left, 226 mag with adapter for 228 on right:  Good choice in handguns!  Edited to save me from typo-Nazis! 
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This part cannot be stressed enough. The USP is a great gun but it feels awkward in my hand so no USP for me. Many people feel this way about Glocks, SIGs, 1911s, Berettas, etc. You name the make and there are poeple who don't like the ergos. As they say, selecting a handgun is a very personal decision.
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For a while, Sig had stopped selling P228’s on the civilian market. Supposedly they did this because of all the military/LEO contracts. I’ve always suspected that, in reality, they were trying to streamline their retail line by getting people to buy 9MM P229s instead. My guess is that there was so much demand for genuine P228’s that Sig ultimately relented and re-introduced it. Nowadays, new P228’s are readily available here in VA. It’s an accurate and incredibly reliable handgun. However, the double action triggerpull is a bit of a challenge. |
Check out CDNN's catalog. I bought my SIG 229 in .40S&W for $409 shipped and it came with Trijicon night sights and Hogue grip. They are trade ins, but in excellent condition and mine has performed flawlessly. |
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Thanks for all the help guys... Bought the 228 today - handled both the 228 and 226. The 228 felt very good in my grip as did the 226 so it came down to lighter weight, and 1/2 inch less barrel.. Does anybody know where I can get a couple of the magazine "X clips" mentioned above? I am ordering a couple 226 15 rd mags very soon. Thanks again for all the expert++ advice SamC |
The 228 is a sheet metal slide, the 229 is forged to help support the extra pressure of .40 short and weak and .357 sig. I think that you can get a 229 in 9mm, also. I love my 228. It is beat to hell and has never had a hiccup of any kind. |
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Quoted: Thanks for all the help guys... Bought the 228 today - handled both the 228 and 226. The 228 felt very good in my grip as did the 226 so it came down to lighter weight, and 1/2 inch less barrel.. Does anybody know where I can get a couple of the magazine "X clips" mentioned above? I am ordering a couple 226 15 rd mags very soon. /quote] Congrats ,I know you will love it. Brownells.com should have them. If not call SIG and they'll give you the mfrs name and phone # |
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Thanks JB One last question: I noticed that the 228 slide is engraved "Made in Germany" and the 226 did not have that marking. I was under the impression that Sigs were German - are there some being made here and the 228 is still made in Germany? This didn't play into my desision at all but it did catch my attention.... Thoughts? |
I think the 226/228s are a bit more accurate than the 229. My thinking is that is easier to fold a peice of sheet metal to closer tolerances rather than to machine one. Also the roll-pin in the 226/228, it is possible to break it under extreme shooting conditions are a rental gun on a shooting range. My local indoor range broke the roll-pin holding the locking block in several times, on the 3rd time the range owner had their local gunsmith fit a solid pin, the slide in this gun cracked. Maybe the hollow roll pin has some cushioning properties. The 229 uses a solid pin. |
I have a 228. I believe it has the 2003 date stamp, not sure. It has both the Germany and New Hampshire markings on opposite sides of the slide. Perhaps produced in Germany and assembled in NH? I knew the answer at one point but had to dump some of that knowledge when I started looking at 1911's. IIRC the majority of the parts for both models are made in Germany and some are just put together over here but that may have changed in the last couple of years.    Anyone know if those mag adapters will fit on a 17 round MecGar magazine like in the picture above? IIRC it's really just a 15 with a short follower but can't remember. |
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Believe it or not - I was looking over the factory mags that came with the 228 last night and they have in microscopic engraving "made in Italy MecGar industries" The gun shop guru told me that when he was trying to sell me additional mags and I didn't believe him. Very surprised but not really surprised that a company today would sub out magazine production. Sooooo....I'm guessing there is no difference between the MecGar by MecGar and the Sig mags by MecGar....Just a guess though |
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I have a P-228, and love the hell out of it. In the year I've owned it, I have fired over 6,000 rounds, jam free, through it. Nationwide, if you wanna meet at a local range, you can shoot mine. These "X-Grips" are made by Freeds Designs. They also make an X-Grip for the P-245, so you can use P-220 mags. You can find X-Grips at Brownells. They just lowered the price a bit. I have 3 of these X-Grips, and I use the Mec-Gar 17-round mags made for the P-226. My P-228 has 17+1 rounds of 127gr. Ranger SXT T-Series in a fairly compact, incredibly reliable package. |