New female handgunner needs help

Hello all.


My ex-husband had a Sig P220 I remembered shooting and loving. It was all stainless steel looking. My girlfriend who shoots with me ( she let's me shoot her guns) has let me take her Glock 19 home, for long peroids of time. She is a Glock fanatic, and swears by them owning several. She knows I live alone and scare easily. Anyway, I found out that I like the 9mm caliber over the .45. I can shoot it better ( More control) I guess the official term is.
The the Glock is sooo light. [I] I like solid steel guns.[/I] Remembering the P220, I liked the weight and feel of the grip. So I decided to order a Sig model P226 9mm. Not the stainless, but the regular black one with some kind of rail. My first gun! Was $850.00 a good price?
I could have gotten two Glock 19's!

Anyway, here are my questions. One thing I noticed about the Glock 19, was that it had a plastic guide rod. How cheap is that! Does the new P226 have a metal guide rod? No one is open today, and I forgot to ask. I Imagine I'll be asking you guys a lot of stuff in the future. Which is why I decided to join this internet site. So, a plastic guide rod or metal one?

Also, I use Remington oil on the Glock she let me use. I see it in my local gun store, and even at Wall Mart. I'm returning the Glock to Sara this week. Is this the oil I should use on the P226 also?


Thanks,
New member, SigDoubleTap ( Jannet )

Welcome to HGF!

You made a great choice in your first handgun, IMO. Don't worry about the plastic guide rod. It hasn't given me any trouble at all. However, you can buy a metal rod if it really bothers you.

I don't like to use Rem oil because it is so thin. There are TONS of oils on the market to choose from. I use grease in my Sig and just oil the barrel with Hoppes (available at Wally World). Any thicker oil will work great.

Welcome to the forum!

All members are required to be familiar with the Forum Guidelines , so please take a few minutes to review them if you have not done so already.

The Sig is a great choice. Just remember to strip it and clean it completely before you shoot it, including disassembling the magazines and cleaning them out as well. Sigs come packed in so much grease it's almost disgusting and it will have negative effects on your trip to the range if you don't clean it out. Also know that Sigs like to run a bit wet so you'll want to use more oil than you have with the Glocks you've used in the past. Not tons more, but a more. As far as brand, IMO they don't make much of a difference. Hell, I've been using Mobil 1 Synthetic for a few years now based on the idea that both guns and engines are hot, moving metal on metal and haven't had any sort of issues yet; and when comparing by volume car oil is a fraction of the cost of gun oil.

I believe the P226 does have a plastic guide rod. Pretty common on most modern semi-autos. Great pistol by the way. Is this strictly a range gun and home defense or do you plan on CCW?

I want to know what others think, but I like the idea of using a very heavy weight synthetic
car oil, for a gun lube. Sounds economical and practical. I'll also look into other products you advise me of.

Not sure if you've had a P226 in your hands before. The first thing you should notice is that the grip is thicker than what you will remember the P220 to have been. The primary reason for this is that the magazine in the P220 was a "single stack". Meaning each round rides directly on top of the one below it. In the P226 the magazine is designed to be a "double stack" configuration. Tthe rounds are staggered or offset from being directly on top of the one below it to being shifted slightly to one side. This allows for more capacity and since the magazine is designed that way, it is wider.

I'm not saying that this will or won't be a problem for you, just likely the first thing you will notice as a difference between the two models. If you think it will be a problem for you (grip thickness wise) you may want to consider some of the "single stack" 9mm models currently available. In current production is the P239, a compact model not as long or tall (top of rear sight to the bottom of the frip) as the P220 or P226. If not being "brand new" doesn't bother you, there are some Police Turn-In models available from several vendors like the Zurich Polizei P225 and Swiss P6 models.

The terms "Turn-In" and CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) are synonimous with SiG's. What it means is that when Police Departments reach a predetermined point in the service life of their issued firearms, they get replaced. Those that were bought (and sometimes not ever issued) get turned in to the factory/manufacturer they were purchased from. Depending on the overall condition of the batch (and they are generally well taken care of for good reason) it is sometimes decided that they can be sold commercially to the civilian market. Once that decision is made ALL of the guns go through a complete inspection where they are completely disassembled and each part is examined for wear and tear and replaced as needed. After which, they are boxed and packaged for shipment out to distributors. They in turn sell them to vendors/dealer like TopGunSupply.com and such as well as local gun shops across the country. They may not look pristine "pretty" but will function properly and very likely with a shorter "break-in" period than anything brand spankin' new by comparison. They usually come with a 1 year warranty compared to the Limited Lifetime one that comes with a brand new one, but that is also part of the price difference.

$850 is about average for a brand new P226. Not a great deal, but not a bad one by any means. Some of the Tunr-Ins are going for less than $400 depending on the dealer/vendor. Best to ask and shop around if you are interested. Then again, if the grip thing isn't an issue, enjoy your new P226 :smt023

Welcome to the forum, BTW :mrgreen:

I'm a Havoline kinda guy.

Thanks for the welcome guys!


Yes. I have handled the 226,and I like the solid feel, and it allows me to use my thumbs forward grip that was taught to me. I also know about the turn ins. I see the handle wrapped guns. You know women...we like things that are shiny and new! I already ordered the gun anyway, and don't want to piss off the owner changing my mind. Him thinking " Another chick that doesn't know what she wants..."


Not this girl. Six days and waiting...

My 226 Equinox has a metal guide rod and my Sig 2022 came with a plastic guide rod which I promptly replaced with a Steve Bedair stainless guide rod---looks cool too and gives a little more weight to the Sig Pro polymer.....I am not sure the metal vs plastic guide rods debate has been resolved but for personal preference I prefer the metal!!FWIW

The first gun I owned was way back in college, a little .25, a gift from a boyfriend. The manual said to clean it with "A light weight mineral oil". So I used Johnson's Baby Oil! It worked very well and made my little gun smell nice too! When I tell people this they usually roll their eyes...but it worked!

About the "Pre-Owned" Sigs, does anyone own one? I've always been worried about second hand guns, but if they are factory refurbished, it gives creedence. Any advice on owning one? (I was looking at the .45's)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Watertiger

The first gun I owned was way back in college, a little .25, a gift from a boyfriend. The manual said to clean it with "A light weight mineral oil". So I used Johnson's Baby Oil! It worked very well and made my little gun smell nice too! When I tell people this they usually roll their eyes...but it worked!

About the "Pre-Owned" Sigs, does anyone own one? I've always been worried about second hand guns, but if they are factory refurbished, it gives creedence. Any advice on owning one? (I was looking at the .45's)

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There are great deals on used Sigs. I would not hesitate to buy one from a reputable dealer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Watertiger

The manual said to clean it with "A light weight mineral oil"

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For cleaning that may be fine. For lubrication I would use something that is designed to fight friction. If you hang around here long enough, you will start to like the smell of Hoppes. Just don't use it on your baby.:mrgreen:

The smell of Hoppes is something that turns on old childhood memories:smt023

Welcome to the forum from North Central Texas.

:smt1099

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SigDoubleTap

I want to know what others think, but I like the idea of using a very heavy weight synthetic
car oil, for a gun lube. Sounds economical and practical. I'll also look into other products you advise me of.

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Some I know use motor oils...but stay with a proper gun oil. You can buy it cheap enough at gun shows..etc..etc.....and its not like you are doing a 5 qt change every 2 weeks or anything like that.

I prefer FP-10 for lubrication and a product called Clenz-Oil for "preserving" ( applying to the outside) A small bottle of FP-10 last a LONG time...because you only use "drops" of it at each point.

http://www.clenzoilfieldrange.com/about/