Sidearms & Scatterguns Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

[c1steve]

I purchased a new P226 fairly recently in 357 Sig. I shot it somewhat with the 357 Sig, and it seemed to shoot high.

I recently installed a Bar-Sto barrel in 9mm. At the range today I carefully shot while resting hands on the bench, and found that it is definitely shooting high 5" - 6".

Does this happen when changing barrels, or would Sig have installed sights that were too low? The numbers on the sights are MH3 AK, both front and rear. According to a Sig online sight PDF, these are very low numbers in their sight catalog:
http://www.sigsauer.com/upFiles/CmsContent/documents/OwnerManual/UniversalSightPusher.pdf

I would like to call Sig on Monday. However not having done a accurate test with the 357 Sig barrel, I am not sure that I should call them just yet. Any suggestions?

-Steve

 

[3oh8er]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

What range are you shooting at? Is the firing pin strike off center? My current thinking is that the front sight is too short or that the barrel is not fit properly, incomplete lock-up.

 

[Texgal_338]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

fixed pistol sights are designed for a specific load; unless you are using the same load, POI is gonna be different

 

[c1steve]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

I am shooting at 25 yards. I have some more 357 Sig ammo coming in a few days. Looks like I should fully test the OEM barrel before I call Sig for possible warranty work.

I will look at spent brass next time at the range. the barrel feels like it goes all the way up, but perhaps not quite. The 9mm barrel is a Bar-Sto, and did have to go back for hand fitting. Thanks for the advice, I will "measure twice, cut once".

I have not fitted a pistol barrel before, but I understand that it is not that complicated. Use smoke or blue dykem to color it, then check for rub marks.


-Steve

 

[Ghogs Nightmare]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

As you noted the #3 is what it is designed to be used with. With that goes the barrel that is in the gun.
.
Although given the calibers shouldnt be that big of difference. What weight loads are you shooting. I'd say its most likely a fit issue.
.
Up to you if you call sig but might be a bit of a warranty issue should you need something in the future using a non-sig barrel. Also I know some manufacturers don't recommend a 9mm barrel in gun designed for 40/357.
.
Good luck....

 

[-Nick-]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

Even in the 250 system when you swap out caliber's you're swapping out the entire slide with different sights...

 

[c1steve]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

I am going back to the range on Friday, and will accurately test the 357 Sig barrel.

Buying a new slide, I had not thought of that...That would be one way to keep the package accurate.

-Steve

 

[warpig602]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

357 sig and and 9mm use the same sights so impact should not be affected. Sig uses 8/8 for fornt and rear on all 9mm and 357 sig. .40 and 45 get 6/8.

 

[warpig602]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

I also have 2 357 Sig 226's and use a Barsto 9mm conversion for both. I have had no issues wioth either of mine:

 

[corey4]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 3oh8er</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What range are you shooting at? <span style="color: #FF0000">Is the firing pin strike off center?</span> My current thinking is that the front sight is too short or that the barrel is not fit properly, incomplete lock-up. </div></div>

why does that matter?

 

[tomahawk84]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

DID THE BAR STO BARRLES DROP IN? I AM THINKING ABOUT GETTING ONE FOR MY P229.

 

[c1steve]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

Last week I returned to the range, and double checked the POI of barrels. The Bar-Sto barrel is definitely shooting 5" high at 25 yards. The Sig barrel's impact exactly matches the sights.

I forgot to look at the brass, and note the striker marks. Bar-Sto also asked about this, as they say if the barrel was not fitting correctly, that the striker mark difference would be very obvious.

I called Bar-Sto, and they suspect that there is a problem with the Sig slide or barrel. I called Sig, and they are sure it is a Bar-Sto barrel problem...

Therefore I just sent back to Bar-Sto the slide and both barrels. They should be able to determine what is causing the POI discrepancy.

This was a semi-fit barrel that I purchased from Top Gun Supply. The barrel was tight in the slide, and originally I had sent it to Bar-Sto for fitting. After 6 weeks, it was returned. I will say that the accuracy of the Bar-Sto barrel was extremely good, and I was impressed.

Once this matter is resolved, I plan to buy another Bar-Sto barrel in 357 Sig. I like stainless, and the accuracy improvement was obvious (from what I could tell). Also, I installed the SRT kit, which was easy. I changed Ergo grips for these Hogue grips. The Ergo grip was somewhat small for my hands, and I did not like needing a special tool to remove them.

 

[bdcmh]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

MH3 means that they are Meprolite tritium night sights, AK is the date code. The size is stamped into the steel. The size looks to be stamped just under the printing on the rear sight and it can be on the top flat of the dovetail for the front sight.

 

[c1steve]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bdcmh</div><div class="ubbcode-body">MH3 means that they are Meprolite tritium night sights, AK is the date code. The size is stamped into the steel. The size looks to be stamped just under the printing on the rear sight and it can be on the top flat of the dovetail for the front sight. </div></div>

Thanks for the info on the sight numbers. The parts are at Bar-Sto right now, so I cannot look at the actual part. I do have a better quality image of the rear sight, will post below.

 

[c1steve]

Re: Sig P226 shooting high, prob. after barrel change

I just spoke to Irv Stone from Bar-Sto. He found that the factory sights were an unusual combination of heights that allowed a non-typical barrel to be aligned with the sights.

He said typically 48 of 50 barrels would not have this problem, but that a 2 out of 50 might.

So, the Sig barrel was the problem after all. He is going to install a different front sight to fix the problem. I plan on purchasing a Bar-Sto 357 barrel to replace the problematic OEM barrel from Sig.

Thanks Bar-Sto!!!