If you have a Serial Number it may help narrow things down. For a small fee SiG will give you the history of a specific firearm, you will need the Serial number. If it's a P226 the general specs are readily available on the internet as well as SigArms.com. Do you know what caliber was purchased for the OSHP contract? The P226 is onluy manufactured in 3: 9mm, .357SIG and .40S&W.

If they are Department turn ins, they will be CPO (Certified Pre Owned). Returned to the Sig Sauer factory in Exeter, NH. Fully disassembled and inspected, any parts requiring replacement are and the gun is returned to the commercial market as CPO. Generally 30-40% less than NIB for the same model. They come with a 1 year warranty instead of the Limited Lifetime one a NIB comes with. In some cases, there will be some guns purchased that never get issued or have very low round counts.

What "specs" specifically are you trying to find?

All I know right now is it's a 4 year old p226 .40 caliber - highway patrol issue. I'm mostly wondering what this gun looks like. Is the 06 model like the early production? With the no ridges on the bottom of the barrel. Or is it like the later ones with the ridges? Thank you for helping me out!!!

Not sure what you mean by "ridges". Unless you mean the "rails" where a light or laser or other accessory may be mounted. Early production for the P226 would be in the late 80's. I believe that it will likely have rails on it as most departments prefer to allow for the flexibility of that option. I do not recall off hand when the rail became "standard" in the production process. BTW, it's actually milled in the frame and not the barrel or slide assembly.

I bought mine NIB while stationed in Germany. It's a 1990 manufacture/production date. Has been 100% reliable and has digested everything I have fed it. Over ~25K rounds and it still gets range time when I go (I don't own any "safe queens").

Pictures can be found of all current production models at the Sigarms site I linked above.

Sorry for my terminology... - I'm actually talking about the notches on the frame under the rail - heh It seems kind of silly that I'm worried about something like that but its the small things that makes me love the newer p226.


see here in the early production the frame is clean under the barrel


then the newer has the notches under the rail


I know that early production pistol is from the 90's but i'm not sure when they started adding the rail and notches..... :/

I just found a post where someone said they had just bought a new p226r in april of 2006.... but was the p226 without a rail offered in 06 as well?

It is possible as small batches of older (rail-less) frames pop up from time to time, usually from Germany when they clean out a section of or complete warehouse. There are also a few that get mixed in during the CPO process and get exchanged as replacement parts. If you are seeking a rail-less frame, I would suggest asking your local dealer to make a specific inquiry when ordering from SiG. If you want one of those OHSP turn ins specifically, you may be stuck with a rail whether you want it or not. Those grooves are part of the milling operation for the (Picatiny) rail. The "style" is an industry standard and serves the purpose for some accessories that require a longer bolt to secure to the rail by means of 'pinch plates'. Those grooves or channels allow the accessory to be a little less bulky if the bolt can pass through to the opposite side without the mounting base of the accessory to be that extra bit thicker.

Actually I'm hoping for one with a rail.