Still Great After All These Years: SIG SAUER’s P226 Mk25 9mm Pistol

“If I had my SIG instead of this POS, it would be a different story,” said my friend and teammate as we scored our qualification targets after shooting the US Navy Handgun Qualification Course. “Yeah, but you don’t.” I replied with a Cheshire Cat grin to my buddy, a retired US Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer. 

The “POS” to which the retired SEAL was referring was the Beretta M9 9x19mm pistol. You see, the training command, of which we and our fellow instructors were a part, issued the M4A1 (the full-auto version) and the M9 to our students and we, the instructor cadre, qualified with both…frequently. 

SEALs Love SIGS

I understand that many of you might have been in diapers or not even born yet when the US military finally got around to following NATO STANAG by adopting a 9x19mm NATO chambered service pistol. The funniest thing about the switch from the M1911A1 to the M9 Beretta was that the American gunwriter corps and the citizenry were far more concerned about it than those who were active duty military at the time. Yes, I was there, Gandalf. For my first two years of active duty in the Corps I carried the M1911A1. And then, when my unit got around to issuing the M9, I carried that for another two years. 

However, while the American gun press was making hay from the 1911 vs M9 and 9mm vs. .45 ACP debates, there was another battle being fought away from the public eye. The US Navy — specifically the SEAL teams — were fighting to not adopt the M9.

Rumors spread around the service that at least two SEALs had been killed when the slides on their M9 pistols failed catastrophically and the rear portion shot back into their faces, killing them. Of course, there was no internet at the time or any way to verify that rumor. In the last 40 years I have never been able to come up with confirmation that any SEAL was ever injured, much less killed by a Beretta M9 failure. 

Here’s an exact quote from an internet search on the matter . . .

While some sources suggest that there were reports of Navy SEALs experiencing slide cracks and catastrophic failures with the Beretta M9 pistol, leading to injuries, there is no evidence to suggest that two Navy SEALs died as a direct result of an M9 Beretta breaking. 

At the end of the day, the SEALs shot the Berettas to failure. Remember, they had unlimited M882 pistol ammunition which is essentially a “+P” hot load. The teams got their way and used their budget to purchase the P226 SIG SAUER 9mm pistols. My retired SEAL partner loved the SIG and seemed to have an almost irrational hatred for the M9.

SIG P226 

During the “bad old days” when we were still screwing around and wasting time with the .40 S&W cartridge, as well as the cute, but DOA .357 SIG round, the P226 came in multiple calibers. Today, .40 and .357 autos are about as popular as jock itch. SIG stopped pushing those calibers a while back. 

The issued Navy SEAL SIG  9x19mm pistols were officially dubbed the Mk25 Mod 0 because in the military all guns are either an “M” something or “Mk” something. “M” is standard US Army issue and “Mk” is US Navy issue. Due to the fact that the Army is in charge of procurement of small arms for all branches, firearms are rarely ever given the “Mk” (pronounced ‘mark’) prefix. And the “XM” prefix stands for experimental. 

Throughout the Cold War and up through the Global War on Terror, the SIG Mk25 pistols served honorably and reliably. Over on the law enforcement side, I witnessed the division of the old Smith & Wesson police handgun kingdom between GLOCK and SIG.

Let’s consider what made the SIG P226 so darned reliable, accurate, and what was unique about it. 

Back in the days when units and agencies were clamoring for DA/SA (double action/single action) pistols, the most common place to mount the decocker/manual safety was on the slide in a manner that required the user to push it forward with their thumb. Thankfully, the engineers at SIG SAUER thought that design was stupid — it was — and they mounted the decocking lever on the frame in a position that was out of the way, but when needed, the user pushed down with their right thumb. Those of a sinister bent can use their left index finger for that task.

The amount of rail space on the frame is considerable and the slide-to-frame fit is superb as you would expect from German engineering. On my personal P226, which was made in “W.Germany,” the DA trigger is long but smooth. The SA trigger isn’t as crisp as a tuned 1911, but still warrants a ‘very good’ rating.  

Back in the old days, 15-round magazines were pretty standard and that’s what SIG went with. Today there are aftermarket 18-round mags from Mec-Gar USA for the P226 that offer a flush fit and you can get 20-round extended models from SIG. Ten-round versions are available for those who choose to live in slave states.

As far as controls are concerned, apart from the trigger, you have a slide lock, a decocking lever, a takedown lever, and a magazine release button. All of the aforementioned are located on the left side of the frame. The manual of arms is naturally quite different from a G17 or even the M9, but mastering the P226 requires only dedicated training, something that serious students of the gun should be doing anyway.   

Making It Quiet

We know that the SEALs like to whack tangos quietly and have been doing so since they were swimming the rivers of Vietnam and stalking the jungles with the Mk22 “Hush Puppy.” It’s no surprise that the teams would want to have the option to shoot their new Mk25 pistols quietly. After all, the SEALs were big proponents of the MP5SD integrally suppressed submachine gun. 

Thankfully, modern manufacturing allows standard pistols to be turned into suppressor-ready guns by simply swapping out barrels. I procured a SIG factory threaded barrel for my P226. Of course, in true European fashion, the threading on the barrel is 13.5x1mm metric with a left-hand twist. Yes, it is “lefty tighty, righty loosey”. 

The weird metric, left-hand threads were only a minor inconvenience as I was able to secure an adapter for my 9mm can to mate with that configuration. My original AAC TiRant can was a perfect addition. 

Range Time

No, this was not my first range session with the P226. If anything, it was the 73rd or 85th or something like that. However, there was one new thing for me to try out while preparing this review for our illustrious editor.   

As I was sitting down to pen this article, Brown Santa pulled up and had a present for me. Inside of the cardboard box was 9x19mm ammo from SUPER Vel Ammunition, specifically, it was some of their “Hush Puppy” Subsonic variety. I had never tried out these particular loads; 147 grain FMJ and 158 grain FMJ, so that would be part of the fun. 

In addition to the 15 round factory magazines, I had a couple of the aforementioned Mec-Gar 18 round versions. Additional ammunition took the form of Black Hills 124 grain +P JHP and Federal 147 grain Hydra-Shok as well as an ammo can filled with a plethora of 9mm ball ammo.

Getting back into the saddle with the P226, I will admit it has been some years since I shot it, the experience was like riding a bike. By the second magazine, my trigger finger was back into the DA/SA rhythm. By the third magazine I remembered how much I loved this pistol.

When it was time for quiet shooting, I swabbed out the factory barrel for the threaded version on the tailgate of the truck. I fired one magazine of supersonic training ammunition which offers the “crack” but is still hearing safe. However, my focus was on the Hush Puppy loads. Both the 147 grain and 158 grain loads ran flawlessly and were as noiseless as you would expect. The clang of the steel target was much louder than the gunshot in this case. 

My son-in-law was with me and I let him try out the old-fashioned DA/SA gun. Like most modern shooters in their late 20s or early 30s, all of his pistol experience has been with polymer-framed, striker-fired guns. “Wow, that first pull is long,” he replied.  To which I simply smiled and said, “Yes, that is what we had to work with back in the day.” 

Parting Thoughts

Despite what is currently going on in our world; the memes, the internet gossip, the forum arguments, there was a time when the name SIG SAUER was an absolute guarantee of Hell-and-back reliability as well as inherent out-of-the-box accuracy. There was a good reason why Navy SEALs such as my previously mentioned teammate had such affection for these guns. 

 

Specifications: SIG SAUER P226 MK25

Caliber: 9mm Luger
Capacity: 15+1 (3 magazines included)
Action: DA/SA
Barrel Length: 4.4 in
Overall Length: 7.7 in
Overall Width: 1.5 in
Overall Height: 5.5 in
Weight (empty): 34 oz 
Sights: SIGLITE Night Sights

 

Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.