The Gun Digest Book of Sig-Sauer. Massad Ayoob
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While some of the subsequently introduced .40 pistols were simply rechambered 9mms, SIG’s research indicated that the high slide velocity and sharp pressure curve generated by the powerful new cartridge warranted a significant redesign before any new pistol should be chambered for it. SIG waited until their designers got it right. In 1992, when SIG introduced the P229 in that caliber, the wait was rewarded with a gun that worked.
The P229 is also available in .357 SIG (introduced in 1994) and 9mm Parabellum, but it has been overwhelmingly most popular in the .40 S&W chambering around which it was designed. Identical in height, length, and silhouette with the P228 9mm compact, the P229 is distinguished by a more rugged slide, which is slightly thicker and adds some weight to the pistol, which goes about an ounce and a half more on the scales than a P228. The 229’s slide has narrower slide grasping grooves than other SIG-Sauer pistols, blended in with what might be called the “reinforcing band” of added metal along the bottom edge of the slide, which gives the slide and the pistol the necessary added weight. On some pistols, notably the CZ75 style with strong recoil springs, as in the European American Armory (EAA) Witness 10mm model, these smaller slide grooves can make for tenuous grasping and set the stage for fumbles during handling. The shape of the slide grasping grooves on the P229 is such that this does not seem to happen with the SIG pistol.
The slide differed not just in size and shape but in construction. A friend of mine, gun expert Walt Rauch, explains: “The SIG P229 is one of the compact versions of the SIG P226 with one major change from its close relatives, the P225 and P228. The P229 slide is machined from a billet of stainless steel and then blackened to match the frame. The others use slides formed from stamped steel with a steel breechblock pinned into the frame. The all-steel slide came about with the introduction of the .40 S&W cartridge to better handle this high-intensity round and increased the gun’s weight by a little over an ounce.”(1)
An interesting depiction of the P229 put forth by SIGARMS when the gun was introduced. Note the absence of markings on the pistol.
The P229 met with instant success in the law enforcement community. With 12 rounds of .40 S&W or .357 SIG ammo in the magazine or13 rounds of 9mm, plus one more in the firing chamber, it more than doubled the cartridge capacity of the service revolvers it replaced. Like the P228, it was light and compact enough for plainclothes carry, making it a “gun for all seasons” suited to uniformed officer, detective, and off-duty policeman alike. It merely offered more power in the same size package. Indeed, the Vermont State Police swapped their 9mm P228s for .40 caliber P229 pistols.
The P229 in .357 SIG has proven to be an awesomely effective manstopper on the street.
The P229 has earned an excellent reputation in all three of the calibers in which it is offered. The gun stands up well in constant training fire. Let’s look at some major police departments that have adopted it in its various chamberings.
.40 S&W. The Sacramento County, California Sheriff’s Department has had good luck with its SIG pistols for many years. Up through the mid-1990s, deputies had the choice of the 16-shot 9mm P226 or the eight-or nine-shot (depending on the generation of the magazine) P220 .45, with the larger caliber SIG issued to the SWAT team. In the late 1990s, the department decided to split the difference and adopted the .40 caliber P229 as standard issue, though deputies are still allowed to carry the P226 or P220 if they prefer. The guns have worked out well. I was recently retained as an expert witness on behalf of two Sacramento County deputies who had shot a man who was wielding an edged weapon. Of the several shots fired, the great majority struck the target. SCSD’s excellent training held for them; they immediately decocked and safely holstered their weapons and offered what first aid they could to the neutralized subject. The suit against them was thrown out on a motion for summary judgment.
An LFI student hammers down falling plates, shooting from right to left, with his .40 caliber P229 during a StressFire class.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety did something very similar. They had long before traded in their S&W Model 15 Combat Masterpiece .38 Special revolvers for SIG pistols. Troopers and conservation officers were given their choice of the 9mm P226 or the P220 .45, with the overwhelming majority choosing the latter. There was pressure for uniformity, however, and again, the essential compromise nature of the .40 caliber round made itself felt. Like Sacramento County, Arizona DPS traded in both the P226 and the P220 for the P229 in .40, which became standard issue for all personnel. A 13-shot .40 caliber weapon split the difference between a 16-shot 9mm and an eight-or nine-shot .45.
Connecticut’s state troopers were the second in the country to get semiautomatics, choosing a popular high-capacity 9mm. When the Connecticut State Police decided to power up from the 9mm to the .40 S&W cartridge, they changed gunmakers, too. The pistol they chose was the SIG P229.
.357 SIG. The Delaware State Police had switched from revolvers to the compact Smith & Wesson 9mm auto, using the 147-grain subsonic hollow-point. They had loved the gun but hated the cartridge. When they decided to power up, an exhaustive test led DSP to the SIG P229 in caliber .357 SIG. It embodied the compactness and light weight the troopers had come to appreciate with their Smith & Wessons, with a .357 Magnum potency level. The Delaware troopers had just become the first major department to adopt the new pistol caliber. They would not be the last.
The Virginia State Police had, in the late 1980s, decided to follow the FBI’s lead and adopt the 10mm Auto cartridge in the Smith & Wesson Model 1076 pistol. As with the FBI, this proved to be a debacle. “Designed by committee,” the 1076 in many of its production runs lacked the durability and reliability of other third-generation S&W service automatics. VSP dumped those guns and bought SIG 9mm pistols for all the troopers, stoking them with the 147-grain subsonic hollow-points that FBI was strongly recommending for the 9mm cartridge. In an experience that mirrored Delaware’s, the troopers loved the reliable, accurate, easy-shooting guns, but learned from collected experience to distrust the cartridge. In a decision that also mirrored Delaware’s, after a lengthy test/evaluation period and extensive research, Virginia State Police adopted the P229 in .357 SIG.
In a bigger state than Delaware, the .357 SIG quickly had a chance to strut its stuff. At an ASLET conference years later in Virginia, I was able to talk with troopers of varying ranks about the SIG .357s, and their approval was unanimous. “We had been having to hose pit bulls with most of a magazine of 9mm subsonics before they’d go down,” said one source, “but with the P229 and the 125-grain Gold Dot .357 SIG rounds, one shot is usually enough now.” Said another, “What’s really most impressive is how many bad guys have gone down with a single, non-fatal hit,” said another. “We’re really impressed with the stopping power of the .357 SIG round.”
Federal law enforcement has gone to the P229 in .357 SIG in a big way. This gun in this caliber is standard issue for the United States Secret Service, and for the Air Marshals. Issue ammunition is the fast 125-grain hollow-point, Speer’s Gold Dot or Winchester’s Ranger Talon. Both rounds have been issued by both agencies. Air Marshals have had no shootings yet, but shootings reported by Secret Service indicate that the superb stopping power for which they chose these guns was delivered on the street. Secret Service and Air Marshals had already had the P228 9mm for many years before switching to the P229 in .357 SIG.
9mm Luger. The slightly greater weight of the P229’s slide reduces the recoil of the already light-kicking 9mm more than you might think. It’s as if you were shooting a steel-frame 9mm. This has made it one of the favorite guns of IDPA shooters in the Stock Service Pistol category.
The San Diego Police Department is one of the few major PDs still requiring the 9mm for duty. For many, many years officers were issued the Ruger