BehindBlueI's
Grandmaster
- Oct 3, 2012
- 25,955
- 113
As many of you likely recall, I recently purchased a P229 police trade in and did a review here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/376675-p229-review-police-trade.html
Due to some churning of the collection, I have now acquired a P229 SAS. As such, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two and to review the SAS version.
First up, the gun:
The SAS stands for Sig Anti Snag. In Sig's words, that means, "The pistol has gone through a radical dehorning process resulting in an ultra smooth, snag free profile that’s ideal for concealed carry." You also get the nickel controls, which I think look nice.
How much of a difference does this make? As far as I can tell, none. Cosmetically it is pleasing, but so is the standard Sig. The corners are smooth, but so are the standard Sigs. Coming from the holster I've yet to have either Sig "snag" on any surface that's subject to dehorning. In my mind, this is like a two tone pistol. If you like the cosmetics of it, go for it, but functionally do not expect any difference.
So, what else does the SAS get you over the standard Nitron.
Sights. Oh, those Trijicon sourced sights.
This photo makes them seem milky. They are not. The white paint surrounds to the tritium lamps POP. They are excellent sights, on par with my Trijicon HDs. I tend to like a bright front sight and dull rear sight. These sights make me reevaluate that a bit, as they are simply phenomenal in both speed and accuracy. MUCH better than the grungy burnt out sights on my police trade in. I had no trouble finding and following the front sight in sunlight, shadow, or transitioning between the two. I have not shot in the dark yet, but they are the standard 3 green glowing balls at night, so there shouldn't be any surprises there. Win to the SAS.
Trigger:
The SAS comes standard with the Short Reset Trigger (SRT). I have the SRT in my P220 as well, and I love it. Sig's DA/SA trigger is smooth and predictable, just a great trigger. The shortened reset makes it that much better. I'm so used to the reset point on the SRT, that I occasionally short stroke the standard Sig trigger now. Due to my own preferences and muscle memory, win to the SAS. I believe the SRT is worth the upgrade.
Sig has two "short triggers". Besides the reset length, the physical trigger itself is thinner to reduce the reach and is called the "short reach trigger". I find this confusing as both are "SRT" and wish Sig would have called it "reduced reach trigger" or something to differentiate it from the reset. Comparing the standard vs the short, from the backstrap where the web of your hand would go to the middle of the trigger:
Short reach trigger: 3.93"
Standard trigger: 4.05"
Is there any difference? I don't know. They feel pretty much same same to me. At least for my hand size, I think its a wash.
Now, how's it shoot? On another forum I was recently introduced to the concept of the 5x5x5 drill as a base level proficiency for any gun you intend to carry for self defense. This is 5 shots from 5 yards into a 5" circle within 5 seconds from the low ready. The validity of this is certainly open to debate and is beyond the scope of this review. I say that so that I can say this. Don't pay much attention to the times. I wasn't trying for the best split times I possibly could. I was trying to find the rhythm that would get me under the "par" for the 5x5x5 and intentionally tried to keep it around 4 seconds.
These targets are free to print from haleystragic's website. Each square is 1"x1". Times are per my Shotmaxx shot timer.
P229 9mm.
Times:
3.86
3.95
4.10 ( I forgot this wasn't a from a holster drill and was between holster and low ready when timer beeped, just decided to go with it.)
My first two 5x5 were very nice. The 3rd were I sort of confused myself on what the drill was about is the 5 strung a bit low and right.
3.25" at the widest point. 1.74" for the first two groups of 5 each.
****************
P229 .40 S&W.
Times:
4.52
4.75
5.24 (Short stroked the trigger)
2.93" at the widest point
While the 9mm target looks prettier and the times are better, statistically probably a wash. I say this because I started the drill with my P220, then the .40 P229, then the 9mm P229. I don't know how much is due to warming up and finding the rhythm and how much is due to the gun. Next Friday I intend to shoot them in the opposite order and see if the same holds true.
I will say the 9mm is a pleasure to shoot. It's not much work at all to keep it under control from recoil, the front sight stays very visible and when moving and shooting steels it seemed more effortless to keep on target. This translated into split times generally in the .02-.03 seconds faster range shooting at steels from 7-20 yards (torso sized or lollipop shaped with probably a 12" circle). I think I could widen that gap a bit if I practiced more with the 9mm.
No matter which way you go between these two I'd say you've got a solid gun that's easy to shoot well. Capacity is nearly a wash, with the 9mm having a one round advantage at 13+1 vs 12+1. As they stand right now, I'd say the SAS is the winner. Once I replace the grungy sights, drop in a SRT, and replace the gummy worn grips on the police trade in though...who knows? It may just come down to caliber preference...but we'll see what the numbers say.
Due to some churning of the collection, I have now acquired a P229 SAS. As such, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two and to review the SAS version.
First up, the gun:
The SAS stands for Sig Anti Snag. In Sig's words, that means, "The pistol has gone through a radical dehorning process resulting in an ultra smooth, snag free profile that’s ideal for concealed carry." You also get the nickel controls, which I think look nice.
How much of a difference does this make? As far as I can tell, none. Cosmetically it is pleasing, but so is the standard Sig. The corners are smooth, but so are the standard Sigs. Coming from the holster I've yet to have either Sig "snag" on any surface that's subject to dehorning. In my mind, this is like a two tone pistol. If you like the cosmetics of it, go for it, but functionally do not expect any difference.
So, what else does the SAS get you over the standard Nitron.
Sights. Oh, those Trijicon sourced sights.
This photo makes them seem milky. They are not. The white paint surrounds to the tritium lamps POP. They are excellent sights, on par with my Trijicon HDs. I tend to like a bright front sight and dull rear sight. These sights make me reevaluate that a bit, as they are simply phenomenal in both speed and accuracy. MUCH better than the grungy burnt out sights on my police trade in. I had no trouble finding and following the front sight in sunlight, shadow, or transitioning between the two. I have not shot in the dark yet, but they are the standard 3 green glowing balls at night, so there shouldn't be any surprises there. Win to the SAS.
Trigger:
The SAS comes standard with the Short Reset Trigger (SRT). I have the SRT in my P220 as well, and I love it. Sig's DA/SA trigger is smooth and predictable, just a great trigger. The shortened reset makes it that much better. I'm so used to the reset point on the SRT, that I occasionally short stroke the standard Sig trigger now. Due to my own preferences and muscle memory, win to the SAS. I believe the SRT is worth the upgrade.
Sig has two "short triggers". Besides the reset length, the physical trigger itself is thinner to reduce the reach and is called the "short reach trigger". I find this confusing as both are "SRT" and wish Sig would have called it "reduced reach trigger" or something to differentiate it from the reset. Comparing the standard vs the short, from the backstrap where the web of your hand would go to the middle of the trigger:
Short reach trigger: 3.93"
Standard trigger: 4.05"
Is there any difference? I don't know. They feel pretty much same same to me. At least for my hand size, I think its a wash.
Now, how's it shoot? On another forum I was recently introduced to the concept of the 5x5x5 drill as a base level proficiency for any gun you intend to carry for self defense. This is 5 shots from 5 yards into a 5" circle within 5 seconds from the low ready. The validity of this is certainly open to debate and is beyond the scope of this review. I say that so that I can say this. Don't pay much attention to the times. I wasn't trying for the best split times I possibly could. I was trying to find the rhythm that would get me under the "par" for the 5x5x5 and intentionally tried to keep it around 4 seconds.
These targets are free to print from haleystragic's website. Each square is 1"x1". Times are per my Shotmaxx shot timer.
P229 9mm.
Times:
3.86
3.95
4.10 ( I forgot this wasn't a from a holster drill and was between holster and low ready when timer beeped, just decided to go with it.)
My first two 5x5 were very nice. The 3rd were I sort of confused myself on what the drill was about is the 5 strung a bit low and right.
3.25" at the widest point. 1.74" for the first two groups of 5 each.
****************
P229 .40 S&W.
Times:
4.52
4.75
5.24 (Short stroked the trigger)
2.93" at the widest point
While the 9mm target looks prettier and the times are better, statistically probably a wash. I say this because I started the drill with my P220, then the .40 P229, then the 9mm P229. I don't know how much is due to warming up and finding the rhythm and how much is due to the gun. Next Friday I intend to shoot them in the opposite order and see if the same holds true.
I will say the 9mm is a pleasure to shoot. It's not much work at all to keep it under control from recoil, the front sight stays very visible and when moving and shooting steels it seemed more effortless to keep on target. This translated into split times generally in the .02-.03 seconds faster range shooting at steels from 7-20 yards (torso sized or lollipop shaped with probably a 12" circle). I think I could widen that gap a bit if I practiced more with the 9mm.
No matter which way you go between these two I'd say you've got a solid gun that's easy to shoot well. Capacity is nearly a wash, with the 9mm having a one round advantage at 13+1 vs 12+1. As they stand right now, I'd say the SAS is the winner. Once I replace the grungy sights, drop in a SRT, and replace the gummy worn grips on the police trade in though...who knows? It may just come down to caliber preference...but we'll see what the numbers say.
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