Bought a Sig 220 Elite stainless

[retreaux]

Oh great, just bought this then I come on here and read that new Sigs are junk. I will withhold judgement until I shoot it, but it is disappointing to read about the decline of the company. I've been away from BS for a while and should have checked before buying.

 

[dwr461]

It seems like quality control issues plague them. If you got on that doesn't have any it should be fine. Did the Elite go through their custom gun shop?

 

[Sin-ster]

They're not junk by default. There's just a much higher chance of having problems than in their glory days.

Shoot it a lot and see if it works. Give it a good visual inspection. That's about the only way to know for sure.

 

[Spleen]

Yup, just shoot it and see.
Don't feel bad about it until you are given a real reason to.

If it isn't what you paid for, let the company make it right for you.
They should be willing to stand behind their product.

 

[dtd80]

I definitely agree with all the posts above. I have purchased sig products recently and didn't have any issues. This is a rifle 2 years ago, a p238 a year ago, and a friend just purchased a 226 this year. All with no mechanical issues. Miss my rifle though. If it weren't for the weight, I would've kept it. Have the itch to run a classic though......

 

[Sin-ster]

I'd feel comfortable saying the vast majority of them won't ever have a problem. And even fewer will be shot enough to choke, even if they would under extended (normal) use.

But there are small things. For instance, my 226R has the rainbow coloration on the interior of the slide-- although admittedly, it's not nearly as extensive or bright as I've seen on other Sigs. It has however eaten about 5k rounds to date without a problem, and remains the single most mechanically accurate gun I own.

 

[Cajun_arShooter]

Exactly

 

[retreaux]

No, it isn't a custom shop gun, bought it on a promotion instead of plunking down 1200 cash. I'll shoot it and hopefully I got a "good" one.

 

[VeedUp]

I have a dark elite that shoots perfect, not one hiccup. I'm not sure how old it is, but looks fairly new.

 

[thomjb]

I bet you will have NO issues.

 

[JBP55]

Clean, lubricate, shoot, repeat.

 

[Hardballing]

I'll bet you won't have any problems either. And I was the guy who asked the recent "why are Sigs crap" question.

The majority of the info that Steve was nice enough to repost dealt with his extensive experience in a large lot purchase with LSP. And other agencies experiences during that time frame. My original question turned out to be a gun made during that same span, but...I just handled a 226R X-5 that made me go into serious pistolust. If I had had the bucks, I'd have bought it that second, it was THAT good imo.

In short, it seems that Sig can be hit or miss with regards to their quality control these days, just like lots of other brands out there. If you handled the weapon, gave it a good examination before buying, can't think of anything that would be better as a way to decide. It's Earth after all, no guarantees for anything.

Good luck with your new Sig, let us know how it shoots.

 

[retreaux]

I have a dark elite that shoots perfect, not one hiccup. I'm not sure how old it is, but looks fairly new.

The elites have the beaver tail and SRT trigger and are the "new" Sigs. Hopefully mine will perform without any hiccups either. Thanks.

 

[Sin-ster]

I just handled a 226R X-5 that made me go into serious pistolust. If I had had the bucks, I'd have bought it that second, it was THAT good imo.

That IS a Custom Shop number.

If they didn't have to do it to get the Serial Numbers, the American employees wouldn't even get to touch that thing before it got to your hands.

And they are indeed nice. I've wanted one for a long time-- to the sick point of considering it for EDC. I've handled 3 and shot 1 in my brief period of lust-- and they are everything you'd expect.

 

[Hardballing]

That IS a Custom Shop number.

If they didn't have to do it to get the Serial Numbers, the American employees wouldn't even get to touch that thing before it got to your hands.

And they are indeed nice. I've wanted one for a long time-- to the sick point of considering it for EDC. I've handled 3 and shot 1 in my brief period of lust-- and they are everything you'd expect.

Heavy as a battleship anchor (even unloaded ) but...man did that sucker shoot. Truly a one hole gun and out to scary ranges too.

I tend to like heavier pistols even for EDC, just shoot them better, and that one still has me thinking..."I could sell this one, then trade off that one....".

 

[JWG223]

I have owned 2 Stainless Elite pistols (P226). One was a piece of junk. The TD lever broke, and it would FTExtract literally 30% of the time with anything like Ranger T or Gold Dot or anything with a nickel-plated case. The best I personally got out of it at 25 yards was about a 3.5" 5-shot group. Then, I am not the best shot, either. The barrel was fit to the slide on the recoil-lug area sloppier than my Glocks.

The other has been flawless and shoots 1" groups at 25 yards with Gold Dots. (well, 1.17" CTC 5-shots, if I must be completely accurate about the matter, shot by the people up at GGI in Spray, OR, who do a little work on Sig's from time to time.). The barrel recoil lug/slide fit is bank-vault tight and cannot be moved with the hand with the slide off, recoil rod/spring out, and the barrel pushed into lock-up. I can feel movement of around .002" based on my SRH cylinder-gap measurements. I feel no movement.

I think my latter pistol is an exception, based on GGI, as they state that it betters some X5's they work on in the accuracy dept. Tolerance-stacking works both ways...

Personally, I like a Glock. However, I wanted an all-metal hard-hitting semi-auto pistol. I went through a Les Baer TRS which was a total pile, and Wilson Combat Tactical Supergrade, which also was full of fail and ended up being refunded back to my dealer. I then bought my P226 Elite ST in 357SIG, sent it to GGI for Tennifer finish, some trigger smoothing, and a bit of other work, and it has been a WAY better pistol than my 1911's ever dreamed of being in every way except accuracy, where I would say it's a tie, and the trigger, which it betters the TRS with GGI's work, and the Supergrade edged it out.