Dear All,

Please bear with me, I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to handguns.

I have a SIG P226 in 9mm Para. Is there any way I can convert that to .40 S&W?? E.g. replacement (aftermarket?) barrel plus new magazines??

I have seen such conversions seem to be possible with Glocks, but I have no clue whether that applies to SIGs as well...

The reason I wonder about this, is that I might want a handgun as a sidearm when looking for wounded wild boar in places too thick for the rifle to be used. The SIG P226 is my only handgun, and if an economical conversion to .40 S&W existed, that would probably be the cheapest way to get to what (in Europe) is considered an acceptable cartridge for the task.

If the SIG conversion does not pan out, other options (for more $$$ - sadly) might be a Glock 23 in .40 S&W or a small revolver (Ruger?) in .357 Mag. Size and weight is of importance (lest the handgun is left at home all the time), as is ease of shooting (recoil), carry and cheap ammo. I guess I'll need a penetrating bullet (hardcast?) with a wide meplat. Something like a semi-wadcutter, perhaps?? If used in a semi-auto, it needs to work 100% in whatever gun is at hand. Is such ammo available commercially??

- mike

Mike,

Drop in conversion is not possible since the case head diameter is not the same as the 9mm. I think the slide would have to be modified to accept the larger case diameter and depending on the existing tolerances it might not even be possible.

The Peters Stahl, which has double extractors and a multi-caliber breech face, do allow this in theory but the people I know who have them find they have to fiddle with them quite a bit to make them 100% reliable.

It's time for a second pistol (oh the horror). This is a good thing. Now you can try out one of the new super pistols like a Springfield XD or S&W M&P or a Glock 23 or even an old fashioned CZ75B (that's what I have in .40 S&W).

If you are primarily going to use it to kill a wounded boar (especially if it's got any fight left in it), I think you should leave recoil considerations as secondary and place performance as primary. 40 S&W seems too light to me for that job, even if slightly better than 9mm. If you want the one all-around pistol capable of being a light carry semi-auto weapon for personal defense with the ability to take on tough targets but with little recoil, well they don't exist in my opinion. Otherwise we would all own just one pistol. I think a 44 Mag revolver would be a better bet as a sidearm for a hunter.

I think this is the world's most underated pistol: the .40 S&W CZ75 Compact.

Thanks Wink, the CZ looks like a nice piece!

I'll just hi-jack my own thread a bit: what documentation do you need to carry a handgun when hunting in France, Wink?? I seem to be able to bring in my rifle (no mil calibers) from Switzerland if a I have a French hunting license, but I'm not at all sure if that covers a handgun as well??

- mike

No handgun hunting is allowed in France. You can only hunt with a category 5 weapon and handguns are 1st and 4th category.

Thanks Wink, so people don't carry sidearms when they go looking for wounded boars??
- mike

Not in France, at least not legally. You can only "carry" a pistol at a range. Apart from the police and military (gendarmes) I think even the special permits at one time issued to bank managers or other persons who had to transport significant amounts of money are not being renewed, or even being revoked. I believe armored car transporters like Brinks can still obtain the permits.

So I certainly wasn't referring to the French model when I spoke of a sidearm for hunters. I know a PH in Africa who carries a revolver in .500 S&W and that is fun to shoot if you like really big booms and flashes. A couple of guys at my little gun club have them. By the way, we put police issue kevlar vest at 7 meters and shot various calibers and bullet types into it. Only one bullet totally blew through the vest, a .50 AE from a Desert Eagle.

Hey Mike,

Another choice would be to trade the 9mm for a .357 Sig. Then all you would need to convert back and forth would be a barrel and probably a recoil spring. I think the magazines should even work.

The .357 Sig is basically a necked down .40 S&W. The internal capacities are different enough that you wouldn’t want to just neck down your .40 and load from ANY manual and go shooting. My point is the breach faces of both are the same and it would be a simple conversion.

Happy shooting,

Monty

A nice carry pistol would be a SIG P239 with both .357 SIG barrel and .40 S&W barrel. Please buy this and report back to us.

quote:

Originally posted by montycalhoun:
Hey Mike,

Another choice would be to trade the 9mm for a .357 Sig. Then all you would need to convert back and forth would be a barrel and probably a recoil spring. I think the magazines should even work.

The .357 Sig is basically a necked down .40 S&W. The internal capacities are different enough that you wouldn’t want to just neck down your .40 and load from ANY manual and go shooting. My point is the breach faces of both are the same and it would be a simple conversion.

Happy shooting,

Monty

That is correct. The magazines do interchange between the 357 Sig and the 40S&W and the only change that is needed is an additional barrel which could be obtained for around $135-150 last time I looked.

I have a 226 in a .40 and also have the 357 Sig Barrel and also have a 2340 in a .40. I have taken a small mule deer buck with my 226 in the .40 and find the gun to be incredibly accurate for a pistol. Good luck.

your better off spending the 200 dollars (at least) that you would spend converting and putting it down on a 357 or 10mm. you can find a nice one for 400 bucks. otherwise keep the 9mm. a 147 grain fp at 1100 fps or a 124 gr fp at 1250fps will penetrate any part of a boar ive shot a 175lb deer from 30yds with a 124gr xtp with 6.6gr of powerpistol. leaves my beretta m9 at just over 1250 fps. i just had to block my mag to hold only 8 rnds due to michigan laws. lots of people hunt with 9mm, 40cal, and 45acp, with equal results when shots are placed right and at a resonable distance. all have energy levels around 400 to 500lbs and im sure a shot to the head would turn the lights out on a boar no problems.