When the final votes were in, the winner of the XM9 trial and the next U.S. There is a decocking lever on the left side of the pistol that allows the pistol to be safely decocked. The first shot has a long and heavy approximately 10 pound trigger pull and after that the pistol has a lighter approximately 4.4 pound trigger pull. The frame of the P226 is manufactured from aluminum and has no manual safety. The pistol fires from a Browning-type design of a locked breech short recoil operating system. Shown is a line drawing of the mechanics of the SIG P226. Unlike the M1911/M1911A1, which would discharge if dropped on the muzzle from 5 feet, the P226 could be thrown against a wall and it would not discharge. The P226 slide incorporates an internal firing pin block that is not disengaged until the trigger is pulled all the way to the rear making this pistol perfectly safe to carry loaded with a round in the chamber. This eliminated the shortcomings of the original design and made the pistol that much better than it already was. It was from then on manufactured from a single piece of stainless steel. In 1996, the manufacturing of the slide was completely redone. The breech block was not heat treated and the pin was prone to breakage. The breech block was a machined insert attached to the slide by brazing and a heavy roll pin. On the original pistol, the slide was manufactured from a heavy gauge, mill finished sheet metal stamping with a welded on nose section that had an internal barrel bushing. Designated the P226, the pistol had a 4.4 inch barrel and weighs about 34 oz. This was to be a full size duty combat pistol. Based on the P225 and P220, the new pistol would be chambered in 9x19mm and have a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. For their entry in the XM9 program they would design a new pistol to enter. SIG Sauer had been in the pistol game for many years. After the testing was done and the reports were in, there were only two left standing: the Beretta 92F and the SIG Sauer P226. This would be entered by several manufacturers including Smith & Wesson, Colt, FN, H&K, Star, Beretta and SIG Sauer. With the new NATO standardization, the new pistol would be chambered in the 9x19mm NATO cartridge: hence the beginning of the XM9 program. Army for a new pistol that would replace the legendary but well aged M1911 pistol. In the early 1980s a requirement came down from the U.S.

Sauer 1913 serial numbers