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Anyways, the only difference we could find was the 226's slide was about 1/2" longer. Grip looked identical, in length anyway. I was amazed and was wondering why make a gun so close in size? Seem to be very similar guns to me.
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The P226 is also 0.10" higher, probably all in the grip, than the P229. The P226 was originally designed to shoot 9mm and compete in the U.S. Military 1911-replacement trials in the mid-'80s. The P229 was originally designed in the early '90s specifically to shoot .40 S&W and was the first SIG with a milled stainless steel slide to handle the higher pressures. The P228 (which is basically the same size as the P229) was already out by then so I guess SIG chose the size of the P228 over the slightly larger P226 on which to base the P229.
The real question is why did SIG come out with the P228 the size that it is because it came before the P229 and is suppose to be the "compact" version of the P226?