P226 Conversion

[JaeFern]

So I recently bought a P226 TacOps in .40 from a fellow CGer and pick it up on Sat.
The main reason is I like the Beaver tail frames and I know you can buy a 9mm barrel to fit in the .40 slide. My wife likes to shoot .40 so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone, or gun.
I talked to someone at Sig and found I could get an entire 9mm Elite Upper fitted to my frame at a discounted price.
So instead of fitting a 9mm barrel to my .40 slide, I could just have an entire 9mm Upper. This includes the slide, barrel, spring and rod. This would make changes between calibers a little quicker and easier.
I've read that the barrel conversion has issues. From what I've read, it's 50/50 getting it to work nicely and accurately.
I'm not asking if I should go with 9mm because I'm adding the 9mm option regardless of which direction I go.
What I'm asking is if I should get an aftermarket 9mm barrel fitted to my .40 upper or just have Sig fit an entire 9mm Elite Upper to my frame... thoughts?
The barrel is $220 + gunsmith fitting.
The conversion kit fitted by Sig to my frame shipped back to me is $370 OTD with a 10 day turn around.

-Jae
Sent from my Galaxy S4

[thegamettt]

save yourself some money and just get the barrel. As long as the conversion isn't for self defense, it should be fine.

[JaeFern]

save yourself some money and just get the barrel. As long as the conversion isn't for self defense, it should be fine.

You bring up a good point. The 9mm would be the primary Caliber for the weapon and the .40 would be the range caliber for my wife. So stay away from just the barrel then?

-Jae
Sent from my Galaxy S4

[Paperchasin]

P226 uses different recoil springs for the 9mm and the .40 s&w. I trust that there is a reason for that. If you plan on running 9mm as primary, id say get a complete slide with barrel... And 9mm magazines of course.

[Murmur]

Sig Caliber Xchange kits (complete uppers) are usually around $300 or less via Midway USA:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/710285/sig-sauer-p226-caliber-x-change-kit-sig-sauer-p226-9mm-luger-with-15-round-magazine?cm_vc=ProductFinding

9mm Xchange kits currently in stock. I would buy the whole upper, it's not much more than just the barrel. Rockwell Arms had the Caliber Xchange kits on sale last month for $275.

[JaeFern]

Thanks guys. I'm wondering if Midway will even separate the magazine from the kit.

-Jae
Sent from my Galaxy S4

[JaeFern]

Just got off the phone with Midway... they won't ship it to Cali and won't remove the magazine from the kit...

-Jae
Sent from my Galaxy S4

[QXSOUP]

What caliber are you going to shoot the most? Look at changing the ejector as well. The 9mm and 40 use a different ejector.

[JaeFern]

9mm. It's cheaper

-Jae
Sent from my Galaxy S4

[riderr]

Just got off the phone with Midway... they won't ship it to Cali and won't remove the magazine from the kit...

-Jae
Sent from my Galaxy S4

There is -10 model of the kit with 10rd mag. It's less popular for obvious reasons, but it's quite possible to find it.

[JaeFern]

There is -10 model of the kit with 10rd mag. It's less popular for obvious reasons, but it's quite possible to find it.

Ya I found one. .. But it was 400 plus shipping

-Jae
Sent from my Galaxy S4

[riderr]

Ya I found one. .. But it was 400 plus shipping

Should be at the same price or cheaper (due to the limited capacity mag).

http://www.tombstonetactical.com/catalog/sig-sauer/ - $330

I found mine locally in L.A.

[tjg]

I got the 9mm X-change kit for my .40 226 Elite. I put more than 1000 rnds through it and no problems at all. I got it from Osage County Arms and they put a 10rnd mag in there instead of a standard cap mag.Hope that info helps.

[CAGLS]

I got the 9mm X-change kit for my .40 226 Elite. I put more than 1000 rnds through it and no problems at all. I got it from Osage County Arms and they put a 10rnd mag in there instead of a standard cap mag.Hope that info helps.

Osage County Arms is gtg and will change the standard cap mags to 10rd ones. I've purchased two from them. The owner is active on Sigforum.com. He's even test fitted it onto the frames of the model I owned while waiting on the phone.

[psango]

look on Eba they usually have X-change kits, I've bought 2 in the last few months
and they came with 10 round mags. You may end up paying $20 to 25 more for it.