REVIEW: Sig Sauer P226 Air Pistol
Now you can train with the CO2 replica of the pistol preferred by elite military forces around the world. Chambered in .177 pellet or steel BB, this CO2 powered, next-generation air pistol has been engineered specifically to closely measure up to the most popular SIG original model platforms in weight and handling as well as standards of performance. Features include 16-round 8x2 rotary magazine, built-in picatinny rail mount, rifled steel barrel and white dot sights. Perfected for practice with every advantage built in, these airguns are the economic, authentic answer to training more often, more effectively. Tested at the Sig academy, the Sig Sauer P226 air pistol is a fantastic reproduction with realistic weight and controls, giving you the ability to practice your shooting skills without having to make a trip to the range.
A unique and perhaps the finest feature of any air pistol on the market is the SIG cam lever loading system for the CO2 cartridge. No more tools, no nuts to tighten and no more wasted gas. Simply open the handle-chamber, in the cartridge, close the chamber and you are done. Finally, someone made it simple.
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Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Very impressive, just a couple minor complaints
By I.D. (Indiana Dan) & Tricia
I have the real gun but saw this officially licensed authentic 100% accurate Airsoft version with blowback and bought it for training. This is much cheaper and I can actually shoot it in my back yard. Perfect weight of the real gun. Allows me to keep in condition since my P226 is a home defense weapon and doesnot get used that much. I only have 3 minor gripes, one, the trigger has about 3mm of pull before the hammer moves which creates a sudden jerk on the trigger midway thru the pull cycle. Two, the gun rattles which im not sure if something is loose inside or just built that way but takes away from the authentic feel. Three, the magazine is plastic and does not carry the excellent weight and feel of the gun, does not seem like it belongs and has a habit of falling out on its own without hitting the release. Plus holds 8 + 8 rounds instead of a straight 16. Accuracy is decent but velocity drastically falls away after about 10-15 rounds. I know the blowback action takes away from FPS but it definitely slows down after about 10-15 rounds plus the blowback action slows too. I have a green Crimson Trace CMR-206 Rail Laser on my real P226 but I can’t justify another $150 for a BB gun. Overall I am 90% pleased and will hang on to it for practice and fun.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Feels like the real thing.
By wsw
I love Sig's so thought I'd try this out. I also liked the fact that the back of the handle (grip) is where the co2 cartridge goes. You insert and fold up the trap door. But, what I didn't take into account is just how hard the trap door is to close once a new cartridge is in. You need a bit of power behind to close this door. I have bad arthritis in my thumbs, I'm 126 lbs, and female and found this hard to close. Having to ask a male friend takes all the fun out. But other than that it's accurate, a fun plinker and it's good practice lifting, weight wise, this gun to shoot.
Also the gun is heavy. I'd compare it to a p226, or p239 Sig in weight.
The only reason it didn't get 5 stars was the co2 issue. Maybe with time, the co2's will be easier to load or the trap door will loosen up a bit.
44 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
SIG Sauer P226 MK-25 Pellet Pistol
By SJK
This new SIG P226 MK-25 pellet pistol had been on backorder for weeks everywhere I looked, including here at Amazon, but I finally found it in stock at Cabela's, in both the Dark Earth and Black colors, so purchased it there. This is an actual SIG Sauer product and is being manufactured in Japan. For a CO2 pistol it's pretty powerful and the blowback is quite heavy. The package says it is rated for up to 510-FPS, but doesnt specify what ammo is used to achieve that number, so I'll just have to assume it is with alloy pellets. Accuracy seems very good at about 5 to 6-meters with the RWS Superdome, Beeman Hollow point, Gamo Rocket and Crosman Premier 10.5 Gr Domed pellets that I've used it with so far, however this pistol is kind of a beast and actually requires some getting used to in addition to a proper two-hand grip to maintain accuracy and compensate for the blowback. With a right handed shooter, if a proper two-hand grip is not used, the pistol will consistently shoot low and left due to the forward kick from the slide returning.The front and rear sights are fixed and both have white dots. Other than the grip and 16-round rotary pellet clip, which are both plastic, this pistol is all metal and weighs in at 2.8 lbs with a CO2 cartridge and loaded clip in place. The self-piercing CO2 cartridge loading system works very well. You just press the release button to open the access door on the back of the handle, slide the 12g cartridge in place and snap the cover closed. I'm averaging about 50 solid rounds per cartridge. The user instructions recommend replacing the cartridge at 64 rounds, but I haven't got near that number yet. You can either rack the slide for single action on the first round or just pull the trigger and the first round will be double action and then the slide cocks the hammer back for single action on each of the remaining seven rounds. Speaking of the trigger, it is very smooth and predictable on this pistol. SIG did a very good job of lubing all of the internal moving parts in this pistol, which is something a lot of manufactures seem to forget. The knurled metal cap on the tip of the 11.5mm X 1.0 threaded barrel is removable. I'm guessing this is so a compensator or barrel extension can be installed, but not sure. The take-down button and slide lock buttons are not functional and the slide also does not lock back when the clip is empty. However, the decocking button is functional. It releases the hammer and also acts as the safety. Overall, the build quality on this pellet-only pistol is excellent and even more impressive when considering what it cost.
History behind the firearm that inspired the Sig Sauer P226 Air Pistol
Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) is a Swiss company, now known as Swiss Arms. In 1975, SIG entered into an agreement with German gun manufacturer J.P. Sauer & Sohn to develop and market a new handgun which became the P220. The P220 was the first SIG Sauer handgun sold in the USA. It was marketed initially by Browning as the Browning BDA. The SIG Sauer P220 is a refinement of the Petter-Browning design used in the SIG P210. The locked breech design is very different and was pioneered by SIG Sauer.
Developed to replace the M1911A1
The P226 was developed for entry into the XM9 Service Pistol Trials (see also Joint Service Small Arms Program) that were held by the US Army in 1984 on behalf of the US armed forces to find a replacement for the M1911A1 and 24 other makes of handgun in US military service. Only the Beretta 92SBF and the SIG 226 satisfactorily completed the trials. According to a GAO report, Beretta was awarded the M9 contract for the 92F due to a lower total package price. The P226 cost less per pistol than the 92F, but SIG's package price with magazines and spare parts was higher than Beretta's.
The Navy SEALs, however, later chose to adopt the P226 as the P226 MK25 with special corrosion protection. Click Here for More information.
Design and Development
Detail of the controls and parts: 1. Ejection port/locking lug, 2. Rear sights, 3. Hammer, 4. Takedown lever, 5. Decocker, 6. Slide stop, 7. Trigger, 8. Magazine release.
The P226, like the other members of the SIG Classic family, operates by the locked breech short-recoil method pioneered by John Browning. On firing, the slide and barrel are locked together for a few millimetres of rearward movement, after which the barrel is cammed down at the rear. By this time the bullet has left the barrel and the pressure has dropped to safe levels, whereupon the slide completes the rearward stroke, ejecting the spent cartridge. The recoil spring then propels the slide forward, stripping a round from the magazine and in the last few millimetres of forward movement the barrel is cammed upwards, locking the slide and barrel together again.
Instead of the locking lugs and recesses milled into the barrel and slide of other Browning-type weapons (such as the Colt M1911A1, Browning Hi-Power and CZ 75), the P226 locks the barrel and slide together using an enlarged breech section of the barrel locking into the ejection port. This modified system, which was devised by SIG based on Charles Petter's 1935A pistol and their own SIG P210, has no functional disadvantages compared to the original system, and has since been copied by numerous firearm manufacturers.
The slide of the pre-1996 P226 was a heavy gauge, mill finished sheet metal stamping with a welded on nose section incorporating an internal barrel bushing. The breech block portion was a machined insert attached to the slide by means of brazing and a roll pin visible from either side. Since 1996, production has shifted to CNC machining and the slide is now milled from a single piece of stainless steel. Therefore, the current standard P226 has a Nitron coated, stainless steel slide. This resulted in a stronger slide, which was necessary to chamber the more powerful .40 S&W and .357 SIG cartridges. The frame of most models is made from hard anodized aluminum alloy.
The standard SIG 226 incorporates a decocking lever on the left side of the frame above the magazine release button, which first appeared on the Sauer 38H prior to World War II, which allows the hammer to be dropped safely. In chambering or firing a round, the actuation of the slide automatically cocks the hammer. By using the decocking lever, the hammer can be de-cocked without actuating the firing pin block, making it impossible to accidentally fire the weapon by using the decocking lever.
Furthermore, using the decocking lever makes the weapon "drop safe", which means the firing pin will be blocked from striking a loaded round unless the trigger is pulled. Pulling the trigger and slowly lowering the hammer does not make the weapon "drop safe", and can result in an accidental discharge if sufficient force is applied to the hammer.
Properly decocked, the pistol can be holstered safely and can be fired in double action mode by simply pulling the trigger. The SIG 226 has no manual safety. Double action trigger pressure is approximately 44 N (9.9 lbf). Subsequent shots are fired in single action mode with a lighter trigger pressure of approximately 20 N (4.5 lbf). As with other DA/SA pistols such as the HK USP and Beretta 92F, some training is required to minimize the difference in point of aim caused by the different trigger pressure between a first double action shot and subsequent single action shots. The hammer may also be manually cocked at any time by the user to fire in single action mode.