rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Keeping in mind the USPSA Production handgun approved list: 1. Which models are both steel frames and slides? 2. Stock or MecGar mags are the preferred ones, for function not price? 3. On the 266 Legion, it seems the slide release and mag release are much closer to the frame. Can you install "normal" 226 parts in place of the low profile ones? 4. How difficult is it to find things like an x5 all around, 226 uspa and so on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eboadway Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) I can only help with #3, as I have a 229 Legion (and 2 320X5 Legions). The stock slide release is far too close to the frame for competition use. You may replace both the slide release and mag release with regular parts.. [Edit] I also have a P226 MK 25. The mag release appears to be the same size on the P229 Legion, with the Legion having more aggressive checkering. Edited May 3, 2020 by eboadway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, eboadway said: I can only help with #3, as I have a 229 Legion (and 2 320X5 Legions). The stock slide release is far too close to the frame for competition use. You may replace both the slide release and mag release with regular parts.. [Edit] I also have a P226 MK 25. The mag release appears to be the same size on the P229 Legion, with the Legion having more aggressive checkering. Thank you! Looking at parts diagrams it appeared so but who knows... Trying to do some research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eboadway Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 I was close to replacing the slide release on my P229 Legion, but I rarely carry it. I may use it in IDPA once or twice a year, but I'm loving the X5 Legion/Romeo 3XL combo in CO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 I like my three P320 X5 Legion guns just fine. But...…. I find myself missing a metal framed, hammer fired gun. Just so much time on the CZ guns in my past. But I still want to do something different..... Thus the P226 research. I see there is the P226 Legion that can be had for $1,1000 bucks or so and it seems to have a lot going for it vs the other 226 models if you think about competition. Just change the controls and sight for initial stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eboadway Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Yup, I put a narrow FO front sight on my P226 MK 25, but can't change the Legion sights. Way too big and "combat aimed", but classic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) Just looking at gb and other sites it seems finding a uspsa, x5 all around or a stainless/stainless elite isn't just a click away. Well at least right now..... If I got a regular 226 for around 900 and the Legion is $1,200 by the time I added the stuff I'd be at Legion price.... So I'm thinking 226 Legion $1,200, Warren sights $50, Sig Armorer or Gray Guns strut system $70, 3 more mags $140 and 6 basepads $130 and recoil springs to tune for load $20. That's around $1,600 to be "all in" as it were...…. OH and the two small parts in mag release and slide release $16 and $25 respectively. Edited May 3, 2020 by rowdyb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnVacation Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 All 10 of my mags are mecgar, all have extended base pads. The legion parts are sig parts bin pieces. The decocker and slide release are from a P224. Normal p226 parts will fit, not sure if you'll need to clearance the grips. The sport models, x5, and some other are steel. They show up sometimes, but they're expensive. You used to be able to get much better magwell from TRT, but I think they went out of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 Thank you. I wonder how the Cylinder and Slide hammer kit works with what is already in the Legion 226.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnVacation Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 10 minutes ago, rowdyb said: Thank you. I wonder how the Cylinder and Slide hammer kit works with what is already in the Legion 226.... I went with the armorycraft hammer, and it's really nice. Grayguns new geometry trigger bar is nice. I also recommend the armorycraft aluminum mainspring housing. Much nicer than the factory plastic piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, OnVacation said: I went with the armorycraft hammer, and it's really nice. Grayguns new geometry trigger bar is nice. I also recommend the armorycraft aluminum mainspring housing. Much nicer than the factory plastic piece. So if you had a 226 Legion what all would you do to it? For the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnVacation Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, rowdyb said: So if you had a 226 Legion what all would you do to it? For the games. I actually bought mine as a .40S&W police trade. lightened the slide, had a magwell welded on, barsto conversion barrel for 9mm, short reset kit, grayguns trigger and trigger bar (their new reduced weight kit), polished sear, fat guide rod, DAK sear spring (lighter than the DA/SA spring), lighter mainspring (I forget what weight), armorycraft hammer, hogue grips. and dawson sights. definitely the dawson sights. I had the truglo TFX for a while, and while great combat sights, they just weren't fine enough. If I was getting a legion I'd swap sights, run a heavy guide rod, and throw on a magwell. the legion is actually setup to receive a magwell, unlike the normal DA/SA that don't have the magwell rails on the bottom of the grip. I wouldn't mill the slide because mine is no longer legal for IDPA or production. same with welding on the frame. Also, the mainspring housing. It's cheap, and I think it made the trigger feel more consistent, but that could just be a mind game I was playing on myself. The real benefit of the legion is it comes with a better sear, lower profile controls (I don't use them, so it kept me from decocking the gun on accident... which had happened), nicer trigger, better grips, shorter reset, etc. its a better starting point. what division you want to run matters as well... I ran in limited, but I was handicapped on my first round, every time. Edited May 3, 2020 by OnVacation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 3 minutes ago, OnVacation said: what division you want to run matters as wel I'd be shooting a 9mm gun in Production or SSP occasionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 5 minutes ago, OnVacation said: efinitely the dawson sights. I have crap eyes now. I don't like how the serrations on the dawson sights now don't go completely edge to edge. Thus why I'd go Warren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKnoch Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 I used to shoot a 226 enhanced elite before legions were a thing. I installed the Grayguns intermediate mag release , or you can find X5 mag release. I searched for an All Around for a while and never saw one. They used to be around for like 1500 before they stopped producing them, when I first got into Sig’s. I used a 19# hammer spring in my 226, fiber optic front sight, E2 grips (since the frame is wide and bulky), Mecgar mags (I think I used the 18 rounders). I got all of the same brand and capacity mags because I discovered that the henning basepads for CZ’s (I believe it was) worked with them. Unfortunately those basepads didn’t seem to work with other brand or capacity mags. It’s been several years since I’ve shot or owned that 226, but that’s most of what I remember about it. I used the factory hammer, trigger bar, etc. Gun was reliable and pretty good, but I moved on to 320’s when they first got released. Now I no longer shoot sigs, prefer CZ’s and Tanfos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 8 hours ago, DKnoch said: prefer CZ’s and Tanfos They are definitely the more acceptable choice. If I only cared about how I shot in Prod I'd buy a shadow 2 orange and be done w it. I have a few 320X5 legions already. Just fine but not really my thing or "interesting:" After years if trying to be good I now just want to goof off. Not that my gun will be an excuse but more I just want something different after 6 years of shooting a CZ only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Watson Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 In the pre-Legion era, I had a CPO P226 tuned up and campaigned it at SSP. It did most things well except for the invisible slide stop. IDPA slide lock reload was a chore. Rather than go to yanking the slide, I retired the gun to home defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 3 hours ago, Jim Watson said: IDPA slide lock reload was a chore True, as I research what most call a "silly idea" of shooting a 226 in matches I tell them "If I only cared about Production then yeah, I'd buy a Shadow 2 Orange and be done. But I want a gun I can shoot in more sports. And I've held a CZ in my hands almost every day for at least 5 years. So I want something different. I like my X5L guns just fine but I do miss a metal framed, hammer fired gun." By the time I took a SP01 Shadow and did everything to it I had on those in the past it would cost the same as a worked over P226 and I'd have a gun I already had 5 or 6 of. Sorry, off topic rant. Yeah, I really need to borrow one from someone and just try the knob-ology/manual of arms with it and see how it feels. I can see myself de-cocking it a few times vs actually dropping the slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2011BLDR Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 USPSA Added P226 LDC on 12/2/19... and I see them around now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 28 minutes ago, 2011BLDR said: USPSA Added P226 LDC on 12/2/19... and I see them around now Yep I saw 2 looking online. Very interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) I shot an allrounder for a couple of years and it was a great gun. There are some extractor issues with them but if you can tune a 1911 extractor you can tune a allrounder extractor Parts are interchangeable Lot of factory mags are MecGar and they all run fine Sig uspsa model is all stainless (but discontinued) One of the elite models is all stainless but not sure which one. Honestly I could always get better triggers on Tanfos' than I could on my Sig's and FWIW I'm a cert. Sig armorer The wife loves hers all stainless uspsa gun and she has tried lots of other guns but sticks with the 226uspsa Edited May 3, 2020 by jcc7x7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 4, 2020 Author Share Posted May 4, 2020 Thank you. Looking more and more like I'll just get a new 226 legion rather than try and find a discontinued gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavagai Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 I don't have much to add, but I put 8000 rounds through a 226 with zero malfunctions and it was mind numbingly accurate. Jut a bad fit for my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 4, 2020 Author Share Posted May 4, 2020 5 hours ago, gavagai said: a bad fit for my hands I'm finding a slide lock reload impossible with the low profile legion slide catch. Other than that it is all doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 4, 2020 Author Share Posted May 4, 2020 So I bought a 226 legion today and a ton of stuff for it. Ton. Maybe some x5 legion stuff to sell to offset this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now