Eric the (how does this guy have time to do any real work?) Hun:
The P228 is an excellent weapon. I agree that the .40 S&W is a better way to go nowadays for personal defense. However, one of the nice things about 9MM, like the .223, is that ammo is relatively cheap – so you can shoot it more!
Let me bore you with some Sig info:
You can tell the date your Sig was proofed, which should get you near the date it was made, by the markings on the bottom of the front part of the slide (near the hole for the recoil spring guide). I believe these marking are described in a FAQ in the Sig part of our Handgun forum. If not, they’re standard European proof markings and should be pretty easy to track down.
You can also get a general idea of its age by the city and state listed on the left side of the slide. IIRC, “Chantilly VA” is mid 80’s, “Herndon VA’ is late 80’s, and “Exeter NH” is about 1991 and on.
The sights are available with different heights for both front and rear. Look very closely and you should see very small numbers on your sights.
When reassembling, put the tight end of the recoil spring on the recoil spring guide first. Remember, “tight is right”.
The mag catch is reversible. It’s also easy to screw up reversing it.
A “short” trigger is available for folks with short fingers. However, IMO it makes the pull feel a bit heavier (I guess by changing the leverage angle a bit).
Sigs like to be “wet”, i.e., well lubricated. Normally, they are extremely reliable - but if they get totally dry, they will sometimes fail to go into slide lock with an empty mag.
You probably have one of two finishes. Either blued (actually a black oxide) or what Sig calls a “K-Kote”, which is a plastic finish. Unfortunately, neither finish is very good. It doesn’t take much for a Sig with either finish to start looking ratty.
The top of the rearward part of the barrel will get banged up a little from hitting the slide. This wear is visible through the ejection port when the slide is in battery – it appears maybe an inch from the rear end of the barrel. This is normal wear.
The underside of the right edge of the slide also gets banged up where the disconnector part of the drawbar strikes it. Sometimes this looks pretty bad - but again it is normal wear.
The hammer face will get quite worn on the top edge by the rail part of the breechblock. You can see the start of this wear in an almost new P228. After extensive firing, this wear can turn into a good-sized notch on the edge of the hammer. This is normal wear; however, I think it’s a good idea to keep the rail and hammer face well lubricated to minimize this wear.
Lost grip screws are a common problem – keep an eye on them. They also like to rust.
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