Sig Sauer P229R+Surefire X200b review

This is my first gun review post. I am a firearm enthusiast if you don’t know that yet. I’m not the best shooter out there and will never claim to be. I am however, very effective with my pistol and am comfortable with almost any weapon system that is in my hands. This comes from owning different types of firearms, shooting my friends’ and renting guns at gun ranges. Some of you will be surprised to the fact that most cops are not ‘gun people’. A lot of cops have one firearm- their department issued duty weapon. To many it is just a job. As long as they qualify, they’re good to go. To me, it is probably the most important tool on my duty belt for many reasons: 1. It is the only tool that can solve the most dire of situations, a deadly force incident. 2. It is a deadly weapon and it can be used against myself if it is taken away. 3. I am responsible for each and every round that I fire.
As you can see, it is a lot of responsibility to have carrying a gun. Training is always ongoing and having confidence in your ability to use your duty weapon will one day make a difference when it counts.
Onto my review: my current duty weapon is the Sig Sauer of Sig Arms P229R 9mm, equipped with a Surefire X200b.
Sig Sauer is a high end weapons manufacturer. They are a Swiss company that has all of their weapons built in Germany. They now have factories in the US. The handguns are expensive, with msrp starting out at $800 and up (for the classic full metal framed pistols) you definitely get what you pay for when it comes to firearms.
The P229R is considered a compact version of the P226R. Commander Steve McGarrett from Hawaii Five-0 (my wife and I love the remake) carries one of many versions of P226 throughout the show; with his SEAL background, it makes sense since the MK25 is the handgun of choice for the US Navy SEALs.

The P229 has a shorter barrel and grip. Why not carry a full-size P226? My P229 was my off-duty weapon and I decided to make it my duty weapon mainly because I already had it and didn’t want to buy a new gun with all of it’s accessories. If I had a P226 I’d be carrying it. The trigger system is DA/SA or Double Action/Single Action with a decocking lever. It has a passive firing pin safety and doesn’t have a physical safety switch. It can be safely carried in a holster with the hammer down or decocked. With the hammer down, the first DA trigger pull is heavy at 10 lbs. The following SA trigger is set at 4.4 lbs. It takes a lot to get used to a DA/SA trigger system. It requires a lot of practice to master the heavy DA trigger. This setup originates from European Law Enforcement, they deemed it safer for officers to carry a pistol that had a heavy first trigger pull to make sure that the first shot is deliberately pulled. Although I agree with that way of thinking; if you train correctly, your trigger finger never enters inside the trigger guard until you are on target and ready to shoot. It however, makes it very safe to carry.
Sig Sauer guns are known for their durability, reliability and accuracy. That is why the Navy SEALs carry them and many law enforcement agencies.
My P229R is probably the single pistol that I have the most experience shooting. I had my department armorer install Sig’s Short Reset Trigger (SRT). Before the SRT, there was no real positive reset, you’d have to totally disengage from the trigger to let it reset. With the new trigger, making faster, accurate follow up shots easier to accomplish. If you have a Sig Sauer pistol, I highly recommend this upgrade!
I have put thousands of rounds through it from qualifying, practicing and through training classes. Other than some rare magazine failures, the gun always fires. It has been drug through the dirt, while in a drop leg holster and it never stopped shooting.
Weapon Mounted Light (WML) in my opinion every duty weapon should be equipped with one. Doesn’t matter what your assignment is, or even if you’re law enforcement. You never know when you might find yourself in a low-light/no-light scenario. If you carry a gun, you better have at least a flashlight on your person. If you think shooting in a high stress environment is tough, (look at the shooting statistics of Officer Involved Shootings) try shooting one-handed with a flashlight in the other. If you train often, then that’s no problem. If you had a WML on your gun however, you can identify your target and shoot with a two-handed grip, allowing you to make (more) accurate shots. This is why I have one on my duty weapon. Surefire needs no introduction. They are also very expensive. Again, you get what you pay for. The X200b is a bit outdated with the 500 lumen X300U now available, but it still works fine and therefore doesn’t need to be replaced. The LED bulb puts out 80 lumens of light and is indestructible, never bothered by recoil.
Together, the P229R and the X200b makes a reliable and accurate duty weapon for me.
In the near future: I am waiting to pick up my Heckler and Koch VP9. That may one day be my duty weapon, we’ll see!
Please let me know what you think about my review and if you have any questions, I’ll answer them!