I was a glock guy for decades. Then hk. I bought my first Sig a couple years ago, red box 320. I really didn't like it. Sold it and wrote off sigs. Then at the range I shot a 365 bought one shortly after. So yesterday I'm at the range and shot a 229. Now I want one. I have a few questions. Is the 226 the same as a 229 just longer slide. Like g17 and g19. Do they make new ones in357sig. It looks like if I find one in 40 they sell a 357 barrel. Are there any other parts required to swap40 to 357.

40/357 is just a barrel change.  Same magazines, extractor, etc.   You can also buy an aftermarket barrel and get 9mm out of it.

Yes, I think a 226 is just a longer 229.  I don't thing magazines are different, but someone correct me.

Other than the barrel there are no other parts required to go from .40 to .357 Sig and vise versa. You can also do a 9mm conversion with a 9mm conversion barrel. You should also get 9mm mags as well.

The P226 mags will work in the P229.

I totally forgot I own one of these!  I never shoot this anymore since I got a P228.

My P229 will work with P226 mags.  I started reloading for 9mm so I don't carry my 357 SIG guns that much anymore except my duty weapon (gen4 Glock 31)

Mine is an older one that I had refinished.




eta-
I think SIG still makes the Legion P229 in 357?

Great shooting pistols.

Barrel swap .357 to .40.

Will not go wrong with them.

229 is different than the 226 is several ways, but many parts are interchangeable.

The grip in the 226 is different than the 229 in that the 226 has a more pronounced hump that fills my hands better.
229 doesnt quite have the same hump.
229 can take 226 mags, but 226 cannot take 229 mags.

New 229's/226's (long extractor or E2 slide) are based off the 40 cal frame. Sig got smart and decided to standardize on the 40 frame, and began to make all their guns in the 40 frames.
This will allow you to "convert" 9mm guns to 40 cal/357 Sig.
You can convert an older 40 cal to a new 9mm slide, (magwells are the same), but you cannot convert an older 9mm to 40 cal because the older guns, (legacy slide) were narrower frames in the 9mm than the 40 cal.
To convert from 40 to 357 Sig you will need a new barrel and I believe a new recoil spring.

Sig just did a run of 226's in 40 cal, I dont know if they did a run of 229's in 40 cal. Sig had stated they were no longer going to doing 226's in 40 cal,  but my father just bought one that was made in May of 2021. Best guess is Sig decided to use up remaining parts they had in stock.

I'd heard that, and bought a P226 magazine for my P229 but it didn't work.

I have the P229 Legion in .357 I picked up shortly after they came out.  It slips into the carry rotation from time to time because it's a great pistol.  

I've had both, often at the same time.  Yeah, you can put a 226 mag in a 228/229 and it works fine (like a Glock 17 mag in a Glock 19).

Wonder if it only works for older non railed P229s?

As far as 9mm goes, a 9mm P226 mag should work in the P226, P228, P229 (pre-1), and P229-1 frame. To the best of my knowledge, 40/357 sig should work the same as well, i just haven't had a chance to try it.

Can you explain more on what did not work?

Every 226 mag I have will fit in every 228/229 I have. The 226 mag sticks out, and there is some wiggle with them in the .40 229 frames, but they work.

Edit- the more I think about it, not sure if I’ve tried the .40/.357 226 mag in a 228 or a 9mm 226. Guess I will have to test that now.

There is fairly good chance about 1000 .40 226 police trade in guns will hit the market after the first of the year. Most of these are currently only a year old and will have less than 500 rounds through them.

Define "work"

They fit  and lock in the gun just fine, and like you said will wiggle a bit. But the one I had, a Sig extended magazine from the Sig store, would not feed a round properly.  The .357 is typically a reliable feeder, but the P226 magazine did not feed my P229 at all.

Interesting. Wonder if it has something to do with extended mag. But I’ve not tried using .40 226 mags in a 229, I’ve only done it with 9mm mags witch I had no issue with. I will have to try out using the .40 226 mags in a 229.

Here’s a real head scratcher for ya.

I bought P226 Sig mags that are dual stamped Sig oem and also stamped MecGar. They are 40 cal mags per the locations of the holes and the round count numbers. Yet when checked with a caliper the feed lips are the same as my 9mm 226/229 mag lip width. They work perfectly with 9mm as well as with 40SW. 13 rds of 40 18 rds of 9mm. I bought 5 of them. After testing them after realizing they were odd… I bought 20 more because they work perfectly. They fit in my P229’s and my P226’s (with a gap on the grip for the P226). I have also used 9mm P226 mags in a 40. The mag bodies are the same width on all the P226’ versus being different on the P229 vs P229A1 frame. Maybe someone here can post a photo of the 229 mag differences for the weird swell on the 40 vs 9mm mags in the pre A1.

Mecgar makes the magazines for sig

Well. They make some of them. Some are now made by CMI as well as a third contractor. I’ve never seen any mag till I got those few that are dual stamped MecGar And the oem Sig logo

Yep, the dual stamp was pretty common with the Mec-Gar OEM mags. That is correct that the mag bodies on the 9mm and 40 S&W P226s were the same width. They never had the need to change them. They are also the same width as the P228 mags and the P229 (pre -1) mags. Sig finally standardized on the 40S&W going forward, which is where the P229-1 sprouted from. The P229-1 as well as P229 40S&W/357 (pre-1) mags open up more towards the bottom of the mag. This gives them two tapers from the base to the feed lips compared to the single taper from the older mags. I have a comparison picture somewhere around here that I can dig up and post.

Last I heard, CMI is the OEM for all the P320 mags and Mec-Gar still does everything else. Granted, i haven't asked them in a couple years, so it is possible that this has changed.

Just remember, you will always pay more for the Sig branded mag, so just get the Mec-Gar

CMI is made in USA. My Sig P320 mags are marked Italy if I remember correctly.

I have a few oem P226 mags that are their CMI mfj USA stamped as well. I got them with new guns purchased about 5 years ago. P226 Stainless elites.

As for the always getting MecGar. That’s why I have tons of MecGar mags. Except for the P320. I have piles of the ACT mags that are an equal to oem land MecGar in nearly every way for quality. Just a different finish and one less coil on the magazine spring. (If you ever put a p320 mag extension on a ACT make sure you upgrade the spring.  Not really needed for the +3 on an oem mag. Definitely want on the ACT.

I know it sounds weird but for as many years I’ve been on here and from my time working in a LGS I had never seen a dual marked mag. It would be nice if they had widened the mag well on the 226 like the 229. The wider mag well would easily ad another 2 rounds to the P226 40/357 variant.

I’ve used multiple 226 mags in multiple 229’s without issue.
Feeding was not a problem as long as calibers were the same...IE not trying to use a 9mm mag in a 40 and vice versa.

I had a 229 in .40 caliber and I never shot it, was my only .40 pistol....I sold it along with 14 Sig mags....great pistol but now have a 226's in my collection and one MK11 which is just a great pistol, no light rail and I like it that way.  

You cant go wrong with Sigs....