p226 22LR range report

[82SC]

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/430601935/m/2200040092

just FYI

For those of you thinking about the p226 22LR here's my experience

1) first time out; minimal Sig care
CCI Blazer 1235fps 40gr Bulk ammo $0.04/rd
~300 rounds
probably 50%+ failure to feed
Once or twice I would get 8 rounds in a row without problems

2) Second go; full break down, lube/grease, 100's of cycles done manually while watching TV. All ammo bought at Walmart

Remington Subsonic hollow point 1050fps 38gr $0.07/rd
50 rounds 1FTF

CCI Blazer 1235fps 40gr Bulk ammo $0.04/rd
10 rounds 3FTF

Remington Thunderbolt 1255fps 40gr $0.04/rd
50rds 1FTF (next round jammed the cartridge in the chamber. needed to do a full break down and pull cart. out with needlenose pliers)

CCI Mini-mag 22LR HP 1260fps 36gr $0.07/rd
30rds 0FTF

Winchester Super X 1300fps 40gr $0.07/rd
40rds 11FTF + 2 last round was chambered but did not fire

CCI Stinger 50rds 1640fps 32gr $0.13/rd
50rds 0FTF holy cow. Fun round to shoot. brass kept flinging in my face and one went in my collar and left a blister right on my collarbone...ow


looking at my list I don't know if fps or grain is the real issue here. I think the issue is that the ejector spring doesn't grab the spent round. maybe some of the manufacturer's brass are a little different? The CCI "looks" a tad thicker then the others...don't have calipers to measure. well looks like I'll be shooting thunderbolt for a while until I feel like it's broken in. Will try bulk ammo each time and report how many rounds until it's broken-in.

~530rds so far

[gorenut]

Great thorough report.
When I owned P226s, I decided to sell my 22LR kit because CCI Minimags were the only ones I could reliably feed down mine. I've tried pretty much the same ammo you have on your list and couldn't find any others that had a satisfactory result. At the time, CCI Minimags were scarce and Wal-Mart barely had them so I had to pay even more to get my hands on some. Eventually I figured the conversion kit defeated the whole purpose of me getting one since the 22s I was getting wasn't that much cheaper than reloaded 9mm.

Hopefully you'll have better experience than I had with it.

[9mmepiphany]

looking at my list I don't know if fps or grain is the real issue here.

Thanks for the tracking and the review...very interesting

What I take from it is that the factory knew what they were talking about when they recommended CCI MiniMags for reliable function. That is what I use for the upper on my 226ST...without feed problems

I use it as a teaching pistol and the last thing I need is a platform issue when working with a client

[MA2]

My results are on par with yours on my picky ammo semi-auto .22lr.

Surprised on the Super X Super Speed-40gr 1300fps, I only ran 1 box of 100 rounds, and was flawless like the mini-mags.
It's pricier that mini-mags, so I will probably not buy them again.

I find the Federal bulk to be the best value, and the new Winchester M22 (40gr @ 1255fps) is working great.
These 2 are my preferred choice for bulk brick/box of 22's

I just use the CCI Blazers (cheapest of the bulk) for my 10/22 rifle.

[cwin]

Nice report. Have been thinking of picking one of these up.

[82SC]

yeah I bought this knowing about the initial problems so I am pretty happy with the gun overall

I think it's a good lesson for me to get used to FTF and how to clear them. Also to help me dial in my muscle memory about how the gun lines up. obviously the recoil is nothing like the 9mm x-change I also use. although the stingers are pretty impressive.

Other reports on the web say after about 2000 rounds the gun can handle bulk ammo.

yeah surprised about the Super X...I have the rest of the box so I'll prob try again...

the 22LR can be had for about 500 online if you shop around. the 9mm X-change is about 270. so you can have both for the price of the basic p226 9mm. confirmed with many sources (including Sig) that there is no difference in the frames. the 22LR comes with the E2 grips and the 9mm X-change comes with night sights. Also there is a 10rd and a 15rd X-change kit so just be sure which you order (obviously 10 for CA). I came across all these issues when researching for myself.

[akjunkie]

I picked up a 22LR conversion kit for my 226R from a fellow calgunner few weeks ago. New/unfired. Cleaned and oiled before hitting the range. Went to Angeles and after shooting some 40s, I installed the 22LR kit. Shot about 70 rounds of cheap Federal 525 bulk pack ammo. ZERO failures of any type. Would've shot some more but got tired of reloading that 10rd mag.

[82SC]

hmmm that is interesting...I wonder if that has to do with a well worn in frame.

all interesting info. will continue to update this thread with my experience

[Bw511]

Just out of curiosity, was the gun NIB before your first trip? That protectant grease that ships on the gun is sticky as all hell.

[82SC]

yeah...I guess I should have clarified that. I picked it up from my FFL and couldn't resist...went to the range and had to have a taste. But the bulk ammo shot about the smae, maybe a tad better with a good clean and grease

Interesting some people have had great results from the beginning. looking at the failures I've had, after I fire, the slide goes back without ejecting the cartridge and then strips the next round resulting in a jammed slide. So my specific FTF seems to be related to the ability of the ejector to catch the brass. when I run it on the bench I can run thru a mag with no problems ejecting all different ammo...hmmmm

MJ

[jyo]

I find 22s and 22 conversion kits to be somewhat picky about the ammo they will run with---and even different batchs of the "same" ammo. My 22 conversion kit for my older SIG P210-2 will only run with Remington Golden bullets (old production) or CCI Mini-Mags---everything else just doesn't work---good thing I have a bunch of this stuff on hand---and yes, my 10-22s eat everything!

[ljgrasso]

I just installed the conversion kit on my 226 Navy Saturday. I went through a bulk pack of CCI Blazer (525 rounds) and ran into 11 FTF's. All in all very happy with the conversion so far. In the next few weeks I will try a box of the Federal bulk.

[82SC]

Range Update

Thunderbolt 40rds 1 FTF

It had ejected the spent shell but the next one got jammed on the ramp...think this one is mag related.

loading my magazines I looked into slot along the side and noticed that the rounds don't sit nice and staggered. some are on the same side. the lowest round was at a different angle then the rest...kinda lame...

didn't try other ammo or the bulk stuff...I was too busy playing with my new (used) HK45!!!

still like the 22LR. 39 smooth rounds was alot of fun. good warmup to the 9 and 45. and as I've said before knowing what to do with a FTF is a good thing in my opinion.

[82SC]

oh and I posted a thread at Sigforum...maybe useful for people looking at a 22LR

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/430601935/m/5900031192

It's about my slide being fussy during reassembly

MJ

[SDmtnbkr]

Hi there, so I've been really thinking of getting a P229, but if I do i'm just gonna spring for the .22 conversion right away anyway.... so i've been looking to do what you did, buy the .22rl pistol outright, then convert later.

Looks like everyone is saying the slide/frame is the same, but in the pictures that i've seen, it looks like the triggers are different. In the .22RL pics the trigger looks plastic/polymer with light weight cut outs, and the reg P229/P226 looks like a standard trigger. Can you confirm this on your gun?

Also, my one other concern is resale. Like most, i hope to have the gun forever, but you just never know. What does everyone think about resale... do you think a real P226/9 would have better resale than the .22rl with conversion?