Sig Sauer P226 MK25

[Narragansett]

Anybody have any history with these?

Comments, good or bad

TX

 

[shamuscull]

I own one. It is a nice shooter. Sig makes a few different levels of the 226. I do not know which are superior or inferior as far as finish, trigger, sights and which are worth the extra $$$$ or not. No complaints with mine.

 

[rockquarry]

I'm not familiar with the MK 25. Is it unlike the plain P226? Perhaps not what you're looking for, but I bought a new P226 in 1989. It remains straight-out-of-the-box, unmolested with no modifications, "upgrades" or add-ons. Plenty accurate, reliable and will feed just about anything. I usually shoot only 150 grain round nose cast bullets in mine, but it does just as well with jacketed ammo. Like the P220, these are very fine pistols.

 

[Baxter6551]

I believe it is the same as a stock 226 rail with the Navy anchor on the slide and a QR code. The Navy Seals adopted them and Sig took advantage of the marketing. Below is a link which should work. I carried an issued 226 on duty for over 10 years on a 125 man department. They replaced our issued model 65s. They were German guns in the cardboard boxes with stamped steel slides that had Sigs coating on them.
We qualified 2 to 3 times a year always shooting a mix of duty hydra shocks and range ammo. 60 plus rounds. We had an open range day once a month where you could go shoot and they provided as much ammo as you wanted.
We had no internal / function issues that I knew about not even going around an initial 8 years with no full armorer strip down. They finally sent some of us to armorers school and Sig told us duty guns should be armorer stripped once a year with spring replacements etc. When we finally did it those were some dirty guns!!! Lots of crud under the grip panels. There was rusting of grip screws and sights due to marine environment.
The department went on to issue a second generation in 9mm and them a third in .40 I never heard about any issues.

https://www.sigsauer.com/p226-mk25-full-size.html

 

[BAM-BAM]

I believe it is the same as a stock 226 rail with the Navy anchor on the slide and a QR code. The Navy Seals adopted them and Sig took advantage of the marketing.

I remember seeing these guns advertised.

I had a 226 for awhile in the 90s ...... no issues but I settled on Beretta 92s [Compacts now 15+1 and Centurions 18+1] as my hi-cap 9mm ...... still have my W. German 220 .45s from 1988 and a couple of 245 for concealed carry .45s.

 

[swagmeister]

Not familiar with the current one's quality but I had an early Herndon, VA. P226 many years ago that I bought used with no idea how many rounds had been shot thru it. I sent it to Nitex in Dallas, TX and had their hard chrome finish put on it. I qualified with it and carried it on duty for many years. I lost count after approximately 15000 rounds thru it with ZERO issues. Wish I still had it.

 

[rockquarry]

No drawbacks whatsoever to these traditional double-action guns; well made, very safe, reliable, and accurate.

 

[Wyo]

I had one a few years back. It got away from me and am thinking I should probably buy another. Like most SIG’s it was dead nuts reliable. One thing, though, the rail size is slightly different than that of the standard railed 226. Holsters that fit the railed 226 won’t fit the MK25 - its rail is slightly larger - so I had some difficulty finding holsters for it. I imagine the situation is better now. All in all, it’s a great gun that works every time.

 

[Dump1567]

I've had them come and go over the years. Good enough for the SEAL's and something about that anchor drew me to them.

I'm not sure what the current variation is these days? They've evolved over time. When they first came out, they came with a certificate and donated some of the purchase funds to a SEAL charity (IIRC). And I know at one time they were offered with the maritime corrosion resistant finished parts and mags (mags had a green finish to them). These were supposably the same gun the SEALs were issued.

The 226 tied the Beretta during the Military trials and could have been our Military's sidearm. So, you can't really go wrong with the 226 design.

If I was looking to get into a 226 in 9mm, I'd choose the MK25 over a standard 226.

 

[S&W Fan]

I had one when they first came out I got through a multi-item trade. It didn’t shoot any better than the standard 226 & 228 I had at the time. If I was into military commemoratives then perhaps I’d grab one but I leave those for who served in a particular unit to honor their service.

My older son has a Para P14 they did up from his first deployment and an Sig M17 Sig did up with special markings from his last. They are very special to him. And yes he has fired them.

 

[Mark8]

SIG produced so many P226 variants, it's quite hard to tell what's a "standard" P226 nowadays. Some characteristics of the Mk25:

• True 1913 picatinny rail
• Anti-corrosion coated internals
• Chrome lined barrel (not the latest production)
• Anchor on slide
• Short extractor
• Night sights
• Standard trigger (more robust than short reset trigger)

Bold = exclusive to the Mk25

 

[G32shooter]

IMO i don't think there's anything special about them I believe the Anchor markings etc. is just a gimmick for the fanboys to inflate the price on them. MAC (Military Arms Channel) did a torture test on the 226s and the ARX Zero which is the copy of the 226 and survived his tests with flying colors vs the Sig which was very shocking and surprisingly that the P226 failed halfway into his torture tests. They're beautiful guns if were under the $650 bracket but not worth the inflation of what the market has brought them up too.

 

[rockquarry]

I don't see how you could improve on the standard P226, but I guess some have a need or want for a rail, chrome lined bore, and night sights.

Someone mentioned the Beretta as well. I bought a 92F in 1988, a few months before I bought a P226. I've fired both these guns extensively for over thirty years and what can be said for one can be said for the other except for the slightly clunky feel of the Beretta, but that's a very small point.

 

[Rock185]

I've had earlier MK25, for about 10 years now, IIRC. No complaints, never a malfunction. I do prefer the 1913 type rail as opposed to SIG's proprietary rail. I installed the short trigger and SRT in mine. Just a couple personal preference items..

 

[inspcalahan]

Easily one of the top 5 pistols you'd want if you were going to war and betting your life on it. Reliable, built strong, accurate.....

 

[Racer X]

I purchased 2 P226s in 40, and gifted one to my buddy who was Navy SWCC. He operated with a MK 25 in the sandbox. The only real difference is that the Mark 25 has a stainless barrel, hard chromed inside, and phospated outside. Yes, other minor differences, but the barrel is the obvious one. Regular production barrels are nitrided stainless, so not sure how much a hard chromed bore, and exterior phosphate is a significant improvement.

I also have 2 P229s.

The same slide is used for 9, 40 and .357 SIG fwiw.

 

[Mark8]

MAC (Military Arms Channel) did a torture test on the 226s and the ARX Zero which is the copy of the 226 and survived his tests with flying colors vs the Sig which was very shocking and surprisingly that the P226 failed halfway into his torture tests.

MAC's torture tests were not just for entertainment, they do have some value, but you need to understand what they actually test. A high-end precision gun will fail miserably, while a super loose piece of junk will look good. He pretty much tests how tight the tolerances are. Does that mean that the high-end race guns are pointless? Of course not. They will shoot a lot faster and actually hit targets, and that may be worth more than being able to fire after being put in sand, mud and water. How many self-defense videos have you seen where the gun of the defender was first put in sand, mud and water? If you're going undercover for a couple of months in a jungle or desert, you may want to take the gun that will handle sand, mud and water best (which will be a USP45), but for most other situations, including LEO, other qualities may be much more important.

 

[Claymore33]

Pete, I own many. I worked with SEAL TEAM 5 , SBU 26( PANAMA) and SEAL UNIT 3 ( BAHRAIN) . The Mark 25( Sig 226) has special coating to protect from salt water corrosion. It was picked as the TEAMS rejected the Barretta M9 that was picked by the US ARMY. The teams evaluated 6-7 other 9MM pistols before deciding on Sig 226. They shot 6 thousand rounds per week in all of them and the SIG came out on top. That was 1987, so now you have track record for 30+ years from the most elite combat force in the world. What else do you want to know ???

 

[ladder13]

Pete

I have had this W German 9mm for 35 years.

This is a NCHP P226 in 357 Sig

 

[Nick B]

IMO i don't think there's anything special about them I believe the Anchor markings etc. is just a gimmick for the fanboys to inflate the price on them. MAC (Military Arms Channel) did a torture test on the 226s and the ARX Zero which is the copy of the 226 and survived his tests with flying colors vs the Sig which was very shocking and surprisingly that the P226 failed halfway into his torture tests. They're beautiful guns if were under the $650 bracket but not worth the inflation of what the market has brought them up too.

The anchor marking was not a sales gimmick. It was on the later MK25’s that NSW was using . I saw an arms room pic of racks of them and you could clearly see the anchor . I must say that the guns in the pic were very well worn finish wise .