Sig P226, BHP + .40s&w

[JIH]

I have a friend who is looking to buy his first handgun, and after sitting him down and explaining the various calibers and letting him shoot a few guns, he's decided he wants a .40 S&W. He doesn't want a Glock (he sorta ADed the Glock range gun we rented... it was pointed down-range, but he didn't have a good grip when he put his finger on the trigger and he managed to fire the gun. We then decided, after I kindly asked him to keep his finger out of the trigger guard, that maybe the Glock wasn't for him), and he likes the feel of the BHPs and SIG P226s. I tried to sell him on a CZ, but he said that he can shoot CZs when he goes shooting with me... he wants something different.

My dad's owned a BHP for awhile (along with FEGs) and he likes it, and I like shooting it, but it's a 9mm. While I've never owned a P226, I've shot them several times, again in 9mm. So, wanted to ask...

1. How do they hold up -- long term -- to the higher pressure round vs a 9mm?

2. How is the accuracy compared to the 9mm versions?

3. How is the accuracy compared to other .40 pistols?

[croyance]

The trigger safety didn't prevent an ND?:eek:
A higher slide velocity will always translate into more wear. The right springs will reduce frame battering though. Comparing wear to the 9 mm versions is not really that fair.

[JIH]

The trigger safety didn't prevent an ND?
Apparently not. I don't really know how he did it, as I wasn't watching. I'm going off his account. Either way, it went off before he was expecting.

A higher slide velocity will always translate into more wear.
Some companies have been good about rechambering their 9mms to .40s and their pistols hold up, and some companies haven't.

[MK11]

Both the Sig and BHP are significantly beefed up compared to the 9mm versions. I don't have any numbers but I'd imagine your friend would have to be pretty trigger happy to wear either one out.

I've never been a big fan of the .40 but my P226 shoots it as well as anything else, including .357 Sig (I haven't had the same luck with other .40s I've tried). I've got a Browning 9mm that's astonishingly accurate (once I got used to the crappy trigger), and I imagine the .40 version would be the same way. But hasn't Browning phased out their .40 model completely? I have heard the handling of the .40 BHP is not quite as nice as the 9mm version.

[JIH]

I've never been a big fan of the .40 but my P226 shoots it as well as anything else
Neither am I... but he's convinced after reading the gun rags and seeing that all local LEOs have converted to .40s that he needs to have a .40, despite my arguments that the 9mm and .45 have killed a whole hell of a lot of people just fine... anyway, don't want to start a caliber war.

But hasn't Browning phased out their .40 model completely?
The shop near my house still had one last time I went.

I think he's gonna get the SIG.

[Jack19]

I have no experience with the P226 specifically.

The Browning HP in .40 is a fantastic weapon. I shot mine during a Gunsite class when it was within 50-100 rounds of being new. It never missed a beat. Very accurate, reliable, and well built. Remember the slide is thicker than the 9mm version, holsters do not interchange.

Although I'm not a fan of the .40, I've owned a few; the BHP is the most accurate of the bunch. It's held up very well over time (since 1995); Browning did the job right when they beefed up the HP.