Finally!

[kkun]

A proud new owner of a Sig P226ST in .40S&W. It was a long 11 days. I just picked her up today then cleaned and lubricated. This is my first firearm ever (and not the last).

Why post?
I don't post much on here (I mostly lurk) but I would like to thank the helpful members here at CalGuns with their advice floating around on the forums. It's helped me understand the path to choosing, purchasing, owning, and maintaining a gun. I would like to give my thanks & a to Tom @ TopGunSupply for the quick shipping and great price & Don Gussler for the smooth and painless transfer.

Why P226?
I started shooting around a year ago and have taken the advice to shoot different guns to figure out what I wanted. It isn't in my plan at this time to purchase a large amount of guns so I wanted to choose the one gun that satisfied my criteria. Quality, comfort, reliability, price & presentation just to name a few. I like to keep a happy balance between all of them. I shot best with the 92fs, USP9, and p226. I chose the p226 because it felt the most comfortable shooting.

Why .40S&W?
I chose the .40 S&W after shooting the p229 and the difference in recoil for me was manageable/negligible. The p229 also didn't fit my hand comfortable for some reason. I also figured that since this would be an HD/SD/Range gun, I would like to get the most amount of metal down the barrel while maintaining the 10 round limit. If there was no 10 round limit, it would have been a much tougher call, and I think I would have stuck with a 9 for more bullets. Another plus was that i could easily downsize to a .357sig or 9mm if I wanted to. Another factor was that I chose the ST version which was a bit heavier and should mitigate the recoil.

I just bought a bunch of supplies for gun maintenance. Here's my list:

• Tipton carbon fiber rod
• Brass jag/slotted tip (hoppes/tipton)
• Brass/nylon cleaning brushes
• Hoppes 9 bronze brush
• Hoppes 9 solvent
• Hoppes cleaning patches
• Hoppes boresnake (for the quick bore cleaning)
• Hoppes silicone cloth

Help?
I do need to buy some lubrication. There are so many posts on it that I can't seem to make up my mind. Slideglide, TW25B, Shooter's choice red, Oil vs Grease? Still quite boggled on this one. Seems like a reasonable choice would be to use a combination of Grease & Oil.
If you guys would like to post any suggestions about the lube (for the stainless steel finish) or if I'm missing something from the list above, it'll be much appreciated. I would prefer to stay with firearm specific materials though. Better safe than sorry.

One thing I noticed when field stripping was that the guide rod was a plastic of some sort. This was a bit disappointing & I may replace this with a stainless steel version. Oh and it did come with 2 mags, it just isn't pictured below. It is unfortunate I can't participate in their new promotion here.
Next on my plate is a good shotgun and rifle to flesh out my options.

Sorry for the long post, I've made you wait long enough... pics!

[AMC]

great choice!

[JJ1911]

Congratulations, you got yourself a keeper! I also love .40 S&W I think its one of the best calibers around.

[Mason McDuffie]

Beautiful gun man. Sounds like you made the right decision. I'm sure your gonna enjoy alot of rounds down range with this puppy.

[AdamM]

Ive got a P226 in .40 also, its a great gun! You wont be dissapointed!

[Ventura_Yak'r]

Congrats on a nice gun! This is only the begining of the madness... I see you have a list - it will grow and change frequently!

[ontmark]

Great choice!
I also have a P226ST with Crimson Trace Laser Grips in 40S&W and a 357Sig barrel for it also,
If you are interested I have a Cleaning Guide written by a SIG Armorer from the SIG Forum I can email you.
It is very well written. Just pm me with your email and I will send it on its way
Enjoy it

[WokMaster1]

Good choice OP. 40 S&W is a great choice but I'm sure you've noticed that it is also more expensive than a 9mm but if you really look around, deals can be found here & there. You should also look at reloading for practice rounds. Ammo & reloading parts are really hard to come by nowadays with the buying frenzy.

Lubricants are mostly a matter of choice. Almost all of them on the market will work well if you use your 226 in a home defense/plinking piece. If you find yourself in a more hostile environment, then the choices get more interesting.
If you go to the Sig forum, you can get a lot of details about cleaning, lube choices & parts info.

I'd say to leave your 226 as is until you really break it in, 2-3K rounds. Get to know your gun in detail. Leave the guide rod alone because it works.

You can get a shotgun from Big 5. Mossberg 590 or a Remington 870 for under $400. Good solid basic pump guns.

Rifles, here are the basic groups
22 lr- Ruger 10/22 or Marlin 60
bolt action- get a Mosin Nagant, cheap for around $100 & ammo is still very affordable
semi- OLL Black rifles- AR type or AK type
SKS

I may have left out something but someone else will chime in. Welcome to the family.

[grahlaika]

Great-looking handgun. Good choice! I've been looking at Sigs to maybe replace my H&K USP .40 - they seem to have a better fit in my hand than the H&K, but I'd need to fire them side by side to make a good decision.

I agree with other posters - don't get crazy with making changes just yet. Sig is a high-end manufacturer, and the parts that came with your gun all have a purpose. Get to know it well, then decide what you might want to do. One option that you might want to consider is getting a .22 LR conversion slide if they make one for the Sig. It'll help you a LOT with your shooting practice, and makes it much more tolerable on the wallet.

As for your other guns, guess it depends on what you're looking to achieve. If you're just looking to shoot a bunch of different stuff for the experience, I'd suggest becoming a member at a local range and befriend some of the shooters there. Most are more than happy to let you fire a few rounds through their sticks if you ask them.

If you're building a gun collection for defensive purposes, then you want to do some research. You'll want to make sure you choose weapons that are effective for what they're designed to do, that are available and reliable, and for which ammo is readily available and reasonably cheap (no such things nowadays unfortunately). Perhaps a compact handgun for carry purposes, a shotgun for home defense, some sort of medium caliber semi-auto rifle for longer stand-off engagements. Beyond that, you're talking specialty stuff that may have limited usefulness to you.

[JTROKS]

That is a beautiful gun! Is the frame actually made from stainless or is it aluminum?

[SDRuger]

That sweet! I remember bringing my Ruger home the first day. It feels good. Now get her to a range and try it out already!!!!

[Alvin Tostig]

A proud new owner of a Sig P226ST in .40S&W. It was a long 11 days. I just picked her up today then cleaned and lubricated. This is my first firearm ever (and not the last).

11 days?
I've heard of shops making people wait an extra day.
What is the purpose of this?
240 hours is bad enough!

btw, that's a nice first gun.
I like the all-stainlessness of it!
My black SIGs seem so plain now...

[8200rpm]

11 days?

What is the purpose of this?

Because their shop employees can't tell time; therefore, they might release a gun at 239 hours. That would put them in hot water with DOJ.

Making you wait 11 days removes the retard factor.

[ontmark]

Can't go wrong with either Slideglide orTW25B.
SIG's like grease.
If it slides then grease it.
If it pivots then a little Rem Oil.

Good Videos here on cleaning it

http://www.sigsauer.com/CustomerService/MaintenanceGuides.aspx

[gimmejr]

My 226st in 9mm is my fav handgun.