.357 sig barrel question

Post by **justang1997** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 7:37 pm

So can i buy a P226 in 9mm and swap in a .357 barrel and maybe a spring or does it have to be a .40 P226 in order to swap the barrel? If its a .40 the recoil spring should be fine?

Post by **WLJ** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 7:55 pm

Can't speak on the 226 but most 9mm frames are too small to accept the wider 40/357sig barrel. You can usually convert a 40 and/or 357sig to a 9 but not 9 to 40 and/or 357sig.

feralghoul · Post by **feralghoul** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:01 pm

I too am not familiar with the P226 but the Glocks allow for the 40sw to drop in a 357 barrel and thats it. The 9mm usually is just a conversion barrel and new mags. I dont think you could go from 9 to 40 however.

Post by **justang1997** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:06 pm

k thanks. So say a glock 40 with a conversion 9mm barrel is going to have a 9mm barrel that wouldn't fit a regular glock 9mm because its thicker?

Post by **Jff24Gordn** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:26 pm

here is your answer

Post by **Dave1965** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:26 pm

They make a Sig .22 that is made to swap with other calibers. I haven't seen too many of them but a little bigger than mosquito and makes a good platform to trade out on. You can then buy all the other calibers and have a very versatile gun. One of the local lexy shops had one and I almost bought it. Officially its a sig p226 in .22 but it cost 600+ new and then the conversions were like 270 each. its called the X-change kit.

Here is a discussion about it

http://sigtalk.com/sig-sauer-pistols/44 ... e-kit.html

Post by **justang1997** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:43 pm

Jff24Gordn wrote:here is your answer

If i wanted to do that I wouldn't be a member of this gun forum. Id simply read other forums where people have asked similar but not exactly the same questions as me and try and piece together an answer after reading 37 posts on 3 separate gun forums.

Post by **Dave1965** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:58 pm

There are a few of the SIG P226 22 guns on gunbroker, as cheap as 525...then you just have to buy the 9 or 40 kit (or both) for around 260 each and for 1000 you have a very versatile gun.

Post by **justang1997** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 9:02 pm

Thanks dave. I spent like 2 hours reading about all of the various p226 models listed on the sig site but never even thought at looking at the p226 classic .22

Post by **Dave1965** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 9:06 pm

FWIW, when you do a search on GB, do it for sig p226 22

just like that for best results, found a pretty cheap one I was even thinking about buying.

Post by **justang1997** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 9:07 pm

I'm really only trying to decide between .357 and 9mm. I was debating the longer threaded barrel (4.9 inches) in 9mm loads vs going with .357sig 9mm+p loads are close to .357 and in a 5 inch barrel they are even closer.

Post by **justang1997** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 9:09 pm

The 22 kit sounds good but is the x change kit a whole new slide? because if i could get a .357 sig p226 with night sights and just swap a barrel to 9mm that would be cheaper than buying the .22 p226 and buying 9mm and .357 kits and adding night sights to them.

Post by **Dave1965** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 9:27 pm

yeah the kits are new slides too.
I don't know the capability of just a .357 barrel to 9mm barrel swap though.

Post by **WLJ** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:07 pm

justang1997 wrote:k thanks. So say a glock 40 with a conversion 9mm barrel is going to have a 9mm barrel that wouldn't fit a regular glock 9mm because its thicker?

yep.
If it wasn't you would have to change out the slide as well which raises the cost some-what.
Also most 40 mags will work with 357sig and vice-versa, since 357sig is a basically a 40 that is necked down to 9mm, but not with 9mm, so going to 9mm in a 40/457sig requires you to purchase new mags as well.

Post by **Toddinlou** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:55 am

If you want to shoot 357 sig you need to start off with a 40 or 357 pistol. From that point you just change the barrel between 40 and 357. Most 40/357 have the option to shoot 9mm with what's referred to as a conversion barrel. Long story short the breech face is the same size in 40/357 and smaller in 9mm thus usually necessitating a conversion barrel for reliability. This is also why if you start with 9mm you can't use a 40/357 barrel. Hope this makes sense

Post by **justang1997** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:25 am

Thanks for replys. After further reading it seems the sig xchange kits can be had for any 226 fame and not just the P226 .22 classic. They can also be had with night sights already attached. I will probably shop around for a new or very gently used p226 in either caliber and buy the xchange kit rather than just a barrel for the peace of mind of having all sig parts.

Post by **Toddinlou** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:26 pm

Justang, you can buy just the SIG barrel. Give SIG a call and they will tell you just the barrel is all you will need to go from 40 to 357 is a barrel swap

Post by **Dave1965** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:50 pm

Toddinlou wrote:Justang, you can buy just the SIG barrel. Give SIG a call and they will tell you just the barrel is all you will need to go from 40 to 357 is a barrel swap

I thought a big part of the question was the ability to go from .40 to 9mm

Post by **justang1997** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:43 pm

The question is can I have a 9mm and swap in a .357 or can I have a .357 and swap in a 9mm.

Everyone does .40 to .357 but I'm not interested in .40

Post by **WLJ** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:53 pm

justang1997 wrote:The question is can I have a 9mm and swap in a .357 or can I have a .357 and swap in a 9mm.

Everyone does .40 to .357 but I'm not interested in .40

When talking about this 357sig & 40 might as well be the same thing as the barrels have the same outside dia, have the same slide (except for markings on many) and they use the same mags. So what applies to one applies to the other barrel swapping wise.

* 9mm to 40/357sig - no, slide is too small to accept the larger 40 & 357sig barrel outer dia.
* 40/357sig to 9mm - yes, 9mm conversion barrels will have the outside dia of a 40 and/or 357sig to fit the larger slide.

Better to start with a 40/357sig and convert it to 9mm than trying to convert a 9mm.

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