The Sig Sauer P229 is a compact firearm, often used for concealed carry purposes. The standard version features a DA/SA trigger, but it is also available with a DAO trigger.
The pistol has also been made available in a DAK (Double Action Kellerman) model, which is a DAO system with two trigger reset points, and a lighter, smoother pull than that of traditional DAO handguns.
Most of the above-mentioned factory variants of the P226 are also available for the Sig Sauer P229, including the Equinox option, Elite lineup, as well as a SAS GEN 2 model.
The Sig Sauer P229 differs from its cousin the P226 in several respects, and was originally introduced to supplement and then replace the P228 by adding the .357 Sig and .40 S&W as available chamberings. The P229 was the first production handgun introduced that could chamber the .357 Sig round. The P226 and P228 were originally manufactured using a stamped-steel slide on an aluminum alloy frame. The P229 consists of a CNC-milled stainless steel slide, typically colored black with a Nitron finish. The P229's milled steel slide was introduced to handle the higher slide velocities created by the .357 Sig and .40 S&W loads, which the stamped slide of the P228 could not handle without the use of a much stiffer recoil spring. This would have made manual slide-retraction much more difficult and the use of a milled stainless slide (coupled with the new milling and stainless production capabilities found in the U.S. factory) with a standard weight recoil spring made more sense. The Sig Sauer P229 is the standard issue duty weapon for Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as United States Secret Service agents and officers.
