As all Sig pistols are, this P229 in drop dead sexy, and runs like a track star. This weapon came into my possession post long wait due to bad timing on my part. I happened to order it just after SHOT Show 2010 and had no idea the number of orders placed at SHOT pretty much kills being able to walk into a shop and order a special production pistol and have any chance of it arriving quickly. The orders sent to Sig caused a backlog on this particular weapon and it was about four months waiting time for them to catch up. I hit up all four of my local gun shop owners and they were all scrambling to get one in for me to no avail; their dealers were out as well, so it came from Sig directly.
When it did finally arrive on that joyous day I already had custom made holster in hand from High Noon Holster Co. in Florida. HNHCo's leather is perfection, I have used their Down Under inside the waistband holster before for a Colt Government .45 auto. Their IWB's are extremely well made and are thicker leather than some of the other holster maker's I own. I paired the Down Under with High Noon's 1 1/2" belt that is two layers of thick leather sewn on opposing sides of a polymer insert. This creates the stiffest gun belt I have ever used, which when carrying a concealed pistol is a major plus. I always advise those seeking council on concealed carry: "The belt is the key." You can carry using a cheap holster on a good belt, but even the best holster is crap on a low quality gun belt. Notice I typed "gun belt", carrying a pistol on a belt designed to just hold your pants up does not ever work. You must use a belt designed to carry a weapon and it absolutely must be a quality belt designed for gun carry. I laugh when I see someone purchase a top of the line pistol and then carry it in a junk holster on a - mart dress pants belt. That person will end up never carrying the pistol, it will be under the car seat or shoved in the glove box when they need it. Even with the best quality gear CC is an adjustment. Know that going into it, you will have to get used to the weight and limitations of concealed carry.
The pistol: Sig P229 SCT .40S&W, as I stated before is a custom shop piece. Take a stock P229 add fiber optic front sight, tritium night sight rear, forward cocking groves, and 4 - 14 round magazines. Standard 229's come with two 12 rounders. Like any Sig I have handled it is a mechanical whiz, 4-500 rounds through this one and not a bobble in reliability. I have owned two additional P229s and one P239 with not one malfunction in any of them. Sig's just plain work. I had heard quality stumbled for a while, but I haven't experienced any issues or heard of any problems from my friends personally. Possibly it was with the P250 series which are a different frame material and are considerably less expensive. I have no experience with the P250 model other than handling them in the shops and shows.
Review: The P229 is an exposed hammer double action first shot single action there after. The controls offer a decocker and slide stop lever just behind it. My SCT shoots point of aim for me and I can hit 16"X24" inch steel target plates out to 100 meters regularly standing using support hand hold. Close CQB work is easy and capable with the Sig, putting rounds on target center mass effortlessly. The green fiber optic front sight really shines in the daylight and is almost too much in low light shooting. I have found that tritium night sights can become a little hard to distinguish from front to back in very low light. Not so with fiber optic front and tritium rear, the glow is much more bright from the fiber than the radioactive inserts in the rear blade. Some manufactures use a different color in the front and rear which is good, but if all three tubes are the standard green I have difficulty aligning at speed due to the confusion. The front stands out in the SCT's setup. Magazine changes are quick with the Sig, the mag well is nicely beveled and the double column mag easily indexes on it. The 14 round magazine extends below the grip to accommodate the extra two .40 cartridges. This causes issue for me when carrying on my waist due to the extra mag length printing through my shirt or jacket. I carry a standard 12 round mag when using belt carry for this reason. When carrying in my Galco Miami Classic II shoulder rig it isn't a problem and I use the extended mag in the pistol and two under the off side arm to balance the weight.
Pro's: Sig quality, beauty, and reliability. Love the fiber optic front.
Con's: Some operator's find the double/single action difficult to master, others take solace in it's inherent safety level. I find neither good nor bad here, just another tool in the box. Sig's are chubby around the grip; harder to conceal than something slim like a full sized single stack magazine Government Model. Not cheap, but these day's what is?
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