.40 Barrel not working properly

[Guest NoBling]

The P229 I got came with a .40 barrel as well. But the slide won't move smoothly, like it doesn't fit right. I was told it was fine it just needed to be "fit" to the gun. Anyone have any ideas. To get the slide back you have to pull it pretty hard.

[Guest HogMan]

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/slide-glide.html

Don't know if this will help you but its A thought. I've used it before and it sure

loosens the slide up.

[TGO David]

The P229 I got came with a .40 barrel as well. But the slide won't move smoothly, like it doesn't fit right. I was told it was fine it just needed to be "fit" to the gun. Anyone have any ideas. To get the slide back you have to pull it pretty hard.

You'll need to have the barrel fit to the gun. Fit being a verb in this case. It's going to take a gunsmith to do it, so I'd start hunting around for one.

[The Rabbi]

I'd start by comparing the .40 S&W barrel you have with the .357SIG barrel you have and see where they differ. Esp in the areas underneath where the lug is.

[Marswolf]

Fitting a barrel isn't as mystic as it seems. A little filing hear and there. But you do have to know where to file and remember that you can't add metal back on.

I'd take it to a gunsmith.

[The Rabbi]

On some reflection I am going to add:

A SIG is not a 1911. A SIG is a quality firearm that is designed to work 100% right out of the box. A barrel should not need to be "fitted", if it is factory. The only exception I could see might be a burr somewhere on it left over from manufacture. That should be easy to spot on comparison with the factory barrel.

Without pics the thread is useless.....

On some investigation I will ask a stupid question: In earlier posts No-Bling says he got a SIG P226 in .357SIG that came with an extra .40 barrel. This thread says he has a .40 barrel for his SIG P229 that wont fit.

Let's start by making sure whether the gun is a 226 or a 229, whether the barrels are made for the 226 or the 229. Sounds obvious I know, but you'd be surprised.

[TGO David]

Chances are it's a Bar-Sto, Wolf or other 3rd party barrel.

[Guest triggertime]

If its a genuine Sig Sauer barrel, then it shouldn't need to be fitted. If its a Barsto or a Jarvis, then it needs to have some material removed from the top of barrel hood.

[Marswolf]

I don't know about SIG.

But if I was a betting man..I'd bet that in some point in manufacturing their handguns that someone takes a look at the barrel, slide and frame and decides if custom fitting is needed. Fir a top brand, I'd think that virtually all of their gun assemblies were fitted. But that's just a guess.

I know that H&K does not sell replacement barrels in a different caliber. That is, they do not authorize such conversions. That is not to say that this isn't done every day.

[Guest triggertime]

Then why does SIG sell replacement barrels that do not need to be fitted? That's why they're called 'drop in replacement barrels'.....because they...uh....drop right in.

[Guest price g]

For what it is worth, my factory sig .40 barrel was a drop in for my 229.No fitting required.

[The Rabbi]

But if I was a betting man..I'd bet that in some point in manufacturing their handguns that someone takes a look at the barrel, slide and frame and decides if custom fitting is needed. Fir a top brand, I'd think that virtually all of their gun assemblies were fitted. But that's just a guess.

I would take that bet. And win.

If the barrel/slide/frame do not fit it is called a reject and weeded out by QC. Unlike the 1911 the SIG was not designed to be hand assembled by trained workmen. Assembly/disassembly is pretty easy. Every part for the individual model will fit every other gun of that model. That was one of the Army's tests when they went to the 9mm. They took 20 or so guns, thoroughly disassembled them, sorted the parts into buckets and then re-assembled them as complete guns, taking parts at random. If all the guns worked,they passed the test.

The only 2 to pass, iirc, were the Beretta 92 and the SIG P226.

[Guest NoBling]

For starters, I was told it was a 226 and for some reason every time I saw "9" on the gun I read "6". Stupid I know, but I can be at times.

I talked to the guy who owned the gun before the guy traded me and he ordered the barrel off ebay.

I'm beginning to get the "I got hosed" feeling.

[Guest Mugster]

Well, even a "drop in" barrel from a company like bar-sto may need some emory paper to get it to go. A custom fit barrel requires alot of work to get it to go, and you really should let a gunsmith do it. A gunsmith that knows what they are doing, I might add.

It doesn't matter if its a sig or a 1911. Fitting a barrel is pretty much fitting a barrel. I'd guess a "drop-in" from the factory would be about the same thing.

[Marswolf]

I would take that bet. And win.

If the barrel/slide/frame do not fit it is called a reject and weeded out by QC. Unlike the 1911 the SIG was not designed to be hand assembled by trained workmen. Assembly/disassembly is pretty easy. Every part for the individual model will fit every other gun of that model. That was one of the Army's tests when they went to the 9mm. They took 20 or so guns, thoroughly disassembled them, sorted the parts into buckets and then re-assembled them as complete guns, taking parts at random. If all the guns worked,they passed the test.

The only 2 to pass, iirc, were the Beretta 92 and the SIG P226.

Well, I'm never too old to learn something new. What I know about barrel fitting is indeed on the 1911.

I owe you a ham sandwich, Rabbi.

[Guest Disney]

Look what I found!!! Glad I didn't see this thread last night before I fixed it!

I had to slightly file down teh front side of the block. It was just ever so slightly tight in there. I measured 8 dimensions between the .40 and the .357 barrels and find the front side of the block to be .002" too long.

The feed ramp was dinged up too, I assume from people trying to force the slide shut with the barrel not fitting in there. I fixed the metal there and polished the feed ramp as well.

It now cycles as quickly as you can pull the trigger. I put 100 rounds of WWB through it, not a single glitch.

Here's the front of the block:

And the cleaned up and polished ramp: You can see my reflection in the bottom part of the ramp!!