i own both and can describe the loaded chamber indicator for you, on the sigs, it isn't very obvious unless you know what you are looking at. loook at your sig's ejection port from the side, with your grip to the left and barrel tip to the right. at the bottom left corner on the ejection port, there is a horizontal rectangular peice of steel about 1/8" by 3/8". when you look down on the slide from the top, this peice is slightly recessed into the slide while the chamber is empty. when a round is in the tube, the rectangular piece with become slightly raised to the side, indicating a round is in the chamber. slightly lame, and i still manually check the chamber with sigs. my berettas have the same style, only more axaggerated and easier to 'read'. i personally keep all my handguns loaded unless i'm cleaning them so that i don't have to wonder if i have a round chambered or not.

also: it may depend on your exact model though, i also bought a new p220R about a month ago that doesn't have any type of chamber indicator.

Thanks, I would never rely on a indicator, it is just nice to have.

big dutchman- You always keep a full clip and loaded chamber???

As for the 220, i'm not that interested in a .45 yet. A 226 or 229 will be my first buy. Hopefully soon.

Thanks again

it's a nice feature to have, i just wish all pistols had the same type of indicator as the walther p99's. the walthers have a perfect indicator on the back side of the slide that allows you to easily read whether you have a round in the chamber or not, even in the dark. i like that feature. i personally always keep the chamber loaded and a full mag in my guns so that i don't have to wonder. however, once they go in the large safe, all my pistols are emptied in the chamber and all magazines are kept separate from the guns. the only guns that are 100% loaded 24/7 is the 12 gauge under the bed and the H&K 45 in the nightstand. i like the sig series of handguns alot, though they do cost a bit. i reccomend the 229 over the 226 only because it can conseal better and is still plenty accurate for target shooting.

Thanks for the info and advice. I was thinking about the 229, but I dont think I will be carrying it. I live in mass, and its real tough to get a class A unrestricted. I am waiting to hear back from local PD about my class B. They have no reason to deny me, but I figure once I have my class b for a while it will be easier to get the class A. I think I will like the 226 size better. If I get a class A I will buy another one.

Thanks

what caliber are you looking at?

I am looking at a .40. I dont want anything with too much pop. I want it primarily for HD but would like it to be good at the range.

don't rule out 9mm just because of the size. rounds are cheaper, allowing you to practice more often, which should lead to greater accuracy. the 9mm also allows you to carry more rounds, which never hurts. there are many decent hollowpoints in 9mm that are more than sufficient for home defense. i like the 40cal and really like the 357sig, but the 9mm is a good 'all around' round. try them both out at the range, it can't hurt.

I will shoot them all before I buy one. There is a range about 75mi from me that rents out everything. They might look at me funny when I ask them for a p220 and 3 different cal p226's. O well.

Thanks again for all the info.

no problem. it's worth the funny look to get what you really like when you spend the money on a sig. all are built beautufully, but some fit certain people better than others. good luck