Weaponology--The Sig 225/P6

What an awesome little pistol this thing is. It's like a tiny shrunken Sig 220, chambered for 9mm, and holding 8 rounds in the mag. Sig replaced it, sort of, with the 239. The 239 is much more top-heavy, about 1/2 inch shorter, and has a thinner grip frame.

What that amounts to me is a gun that I just didn't like very much. And I like Sigs. The 225 has been out of production for awhile. That's a shame, because all the knowledgable gun folks thought the 225 was the best pistol Sig ever made. It was one of my holy grails of pistols. I'd sort of given up on finding one.

Enter the surplus market for Sig 225's. The German police dumped all their surplus and retired 225's on the US. This is a good thing, because one can score themselves a P6 (German version of the 225) for $300 or under. They vary in condition, from new in the box to 70% condition (as the Blue Book grades such things). This is a good thing as well. It's about half the cost of a 239, and they have equal magazine capacity.

If one isn't scared of a little blueing being rubbed off, these guns are quite a bargain. I'm not. The pistols I've come across that are worn on the outside usually are perfect on the inside. Police and civilians don't usually shoot a gun enough to caue significant wearing, especially on a durable duty pistol like a Sig. Even the severely holster-worn ones that I've seen haven't been shot much, from what I could tell. The barrels appear in good shape, the recoil springs seem solid, and the internals are fine. The triggers seem to work well, though the double action is a bit heavy. The single action is wonderful. While I appreciate beautiful pistols, I also appreciate ugly ones that work well.

The 239 probably has it beat in terms of a smooth double-action, but that's the only place where it does. The 225 just feels right in my hands, better than the 239 ever did. The 225 points better, feels better, and just flat-out makes a better pistol for me. Spare magazine location has been an adventure, but I have two spares, so I'm not really all that short-supplied.

I'd imagine this gun is going to be my main winter carry piece. It's about as thin as a good 1911, about the same dimensions as a 239, and; as noted, just seems to point better for me.

Cheap Sig Sauers. What a deal.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

I shot the little beast this weekend. Not half bad. I put the rounds where they were supposed to go, and I'm not disappointed in the least. However, the Sig 239 recoils much less. That makes perfect sense, since the 225 is much lighter. It's not uncontrollable by any means, it's just a little flippy with hot ammunition. I had two failures to feed. They're explained by either weak mag springs, or me hitting the slide stop up while shooting. I'm leaning towards the latter. The slide stop sits pretty close to my thumb.

A good DA/SA trigger is hard to beat. I can handle it much better than the Glocks, to say the least.

My suspicions were correct. This is going to be a great little carry piece for the wintertime.

On the other hand, I also shot the Sig 229 in 9mm. I can honestly say it's the best-shooting 9mm that I've ever messed with. Nothing better, so far. It's a bit heavier than the 225, but you get so much more control with it. There's nothing like shooting water jugs, and being able to deliberately bounce them in the air with your rounds. I can do that with this pistol.

Just to reassure myself that I do shoot Sigs better than Glocks, I also ran a few rounds through a Glock 17. No comparison. The Sig works much better for me.

It makes me want to trade off every Glock I own.