Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	SIG SAUER GmbH & Co. KG More Info

About the Gun

The base P226 is a full-size double-stack pistol offered in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .357 SIG. It uses a stainless steel slide on a black hard-coat anodized aluminum alloy frame with the short-recoil locked-breech operating system and DA/SA trigger a with decock lever. Early production featured stamped carbon steel slides, while slides manufactured from 1996 onward were CNC-machined from a single piece of stainless steel. Variants include versions with and without an accessory rail, along with a .40 S&W Equinox two-tone model.

Production

Production ran from 1984 through the mid-2010s.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $900–$1,150. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $700–$900.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	9 mm Luger
Alias:	9 mm Parabellum
More Info

Analysis

The base P226 variants formed the core of SIG Sauer’s double-stack P-series lineup and became one of the most widely adopted service pistols in the world. Designed for the U.S. Army XM9 trials and later adopted by U.S. Navy SEALs as the Mk25, the P226 earned a strong reputation for reliability and accuracy. Offered in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .357 SIG, the models with accessory rails (P226R) addressed the growing demand for weapon-mounted lights, while non-railed versions remained popular for traditional duty and civilian use. The .40 S&W Equinox provided a distinctive two-tone aesthetic with contrasting controls. Early models used stamped carbon steel slides, but production shifted in 1996 to CNC-machined stainless steel slides to better handle the higher pressures of the .40 S&W and .357 SIG cartridges.