The P6, like all modern SIG pistols, does not use barrel bushing. In that respect, it’s like the Browning Hi Power.

   Affordable and effective, the West German-built P6 continues to be a bargain worth hunting down

P6 Vs. P225

• P6 has a heavier 24-pound mainspring.
• Its roll marks are next to the ejection port and include the police department it was sold.
• The feed ramp on the original P6 was designed for FMJ ammunition.
• Notch on the hammer was designed to bend or break to avoid a discharge if the pistol was dropped.

   I did not expect to be drawn into a cult. But that’s what happened. In 2000, Germany’s police departments were dumping their P6 pistols on the surplus market. There were loads of surplus SIG SAUER P6 pistols suddenly available. Back then, a double-stack 9mm pistol was on everyone’s bucket list.

   Why would you want a 9mm that held only 8+1 rounds when 15+1 and 17+1 capacity pistols were available? Think girth. I have average-size hands and some double-stack 9mm pistols can be a chore to grasp comfortably. I’ve always preferred thin-gripped pistols for two reasons: I can grip the pistol better and I usually can shoot them better. When I saw a 9mm SIG SAUER P6 for about $350 I was interested. When I picked it up out of its bright blue plastic box and held it, I immediately knew the gun was going home with me.

The SIG P6 is a compact 9mm handgun that handles like a full-size pistol. The author carried it concealed until, due to fear of having to replace expensive parts, it was “retired” in favor of more modern choices.

   The grip was comfortable and easy to control. The P6 was compact yet felt like a full-size pistol. But then there was the trigger, a long stroke that tested finger muscles. It was not as heavy as the trigger pull of a surplus Polish P-64 but in the same neighborhood. I told myself springs were made to be replaced and left with the P6 under my arm. I would soon find out the P6 was an efficient single-stack nine, and little did I know I had just joined the tribe called SIG. I would soon learn why these fantastic pistols garner such a cult-like following. I had become a SIG initiate.

   The history of the P6 is like many firearms built for the military or law enforcement: There is a need to sharply cut the production cost of the weapon, yet ensure it is reliable, safe, accurate, and easy to operate. In the mid–1970s during the height of the Cold War, when Germany was divided into East and West Germany, the West German police force decided to replace its aging handguns and created a set of specifications for a new pistol. The German police were carrying a Walther PP chambered in .32 ACP. That pistol had been introduced in 1929. It was a good pistol but was dated and chambered an anemic cartridge. The German police wanted a similar-sized pistol, only chambered in 9mm.

Front grip-strap serrations provide a good hold on the P6. These features, coupled with its 9mm chambering, make it a very controllable handgun, and quite accurate.

   All the big players — Walther, SIG SAUER, and Heckler & Koch — ramped up to develop a new pistol that would meet the spec. Back then, steel stamping was a manufacturing method that greatly reduced material and labor costs. Walther offered up the P5, which was basically an updated World War II-era P38. Heckler & Koch overthought the German police specifications and created the P7. This was a compact 9mm with a squeeze cocker, and gas-delayed blowback locking action. The P7 would also become revered among semi-automatic pistol aficionados, but it turned out to be too expensive to build and the German police passed. SIG presented the P225, which was a slimmed-down version of its P220. The P225 used all the features of the P220 but in a more compact size. (The P225 is 6.9 inches long and has a 3.6-inch barrel while the P220 sports a 4.4-inch barrel.) At its widest point, the P225 measures 1.3 inches while the grip is 1.2 inches thick. Unloaded it weighs 30.5 ounces.

   The P220 was unique as it used a modified Browning link system, which has since been copied by numerous pistol manufacturers. The SIG system locks the barrel and slides together using an enlarged breech section on the inlet of the barrel lug. Upon firing, the barrel and slide move rearward together, then the barrel tilts as the slide continues rearward to eject the empty case and scrapes a fresh round from the magazine, loading it into the chamber. The P220 also uses a double-action/single-action (DA/SA) trigger system, where the first shot is fired double action and all subsequent shots are fired single action. What SIG added to the P220 was a decocking lever that allowed the right-handed user to decock the hammer and place the pistol in double-action mode.

   The P225 had all these features but the real innovation was the way the pistol was manufactured. The slide was made of stamped steel and welded together with a steel breechblock pinned into the slide. It was inexpensive to produce and that ultimately was one of the reasons the German police purchased it.