Sig .22 Slide - Aftermark Sight Review (SPDTool LLC)

[TheWombat 67]

I've been looking for some alternate sights for my Sig P226 .22 Conversion since my 9mm slide has a Dawson fiber optic front and Warren Tactical rear. Since I compete in IDPA with my Sig I was looking for a similar sight setup for the .22 slide, which by default comes with 3 dot sights. The challenge has been that on the Sig .22 slide the rear sights have a different style dovetail to the standard Sig P226 slides hence I've struggled to find any alternatives.

 

Sig P226 with 9mm slide (Dawson fiber optic front and Warren Tactical rear)

 

 

Sig P226 .22 Slide with original 3dot sights

 

 

SPDTools LLC

 

I came across an older post on the SigForum from Scott at SPDTool LLC so dropped him and email to see if he'd be open to trying to make me a new rear sight that could work with a spare Dawson front sight I had and also provide a similar sight picture to my 9mm setup.

 

Scott responded within a couple of hours stating he was willing to try and see what he could do based on a project he had started a while ago which was designed to work with the standard .22 slide front sight rather than the Dawson fiber optic sight which was a different height. He needed a couple of weeks to finish some existing work and then would contact me.

 

A couple of weeks later Scott contacted me, and we worked through what I was after, the POI/POA and sight picture I was after and the actual height of the front sight I was using. As I was acting as the guinea pig we agreed it would be easier for me to send in my .22 slide and spare Dawson fiber optic sight so he could ensure the POI/POA was zeroed in to my needs.

 

The round trip including the work,shipping time, hurricane Sandy and snowstorm Athena was just under 2 weeks and I had a chance to take the new slide to the range today. My current drills focus on drawing from the holster at the buzzer and shooting at a variety of size/color post it notes within a set time.

 

First magazine through the new setup is below - shots fired at 10 yards.

 

 

 

I am pleased to say the new SPDTools LLC rear sight worked well with the Dawson fiber optic. I found the sights noticeably easier to bring to target due to the solid rear and fiber front rather than 3 dots.

 

I've included a number of photos below:

 

Sig P226 9mm plus the .22 slide with new SPDTool LLC rear sight

 

You can see the sight radius is shorter due to the design of the .22 slide. While the SPDTool rear sight looks different in profile to the 9mm Warren Tactical, when you actually look through the sights they are similar enough to work well.

 

 

.22 Slide with SPDTool LLC rear sight and Dawson front sight

 

Fluff on slide and sights in the photo was from cleaning slide post range trip with some cotton patches.

 

 

 

9mm Warren Tactical rear sight and Dawson front sight

 

 

[TheWombat 67]

Miscellaneous Photos of SPDTool rear sight and .22 Slide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verdict

 

Overall I am very pleased with how the experiment has worked out. Scott was accommodating and the end result is one I will be keeping on the slide.

 

A big thank you to Scott at SPDTools LLC for being willing to take the time and see if he could make a rear sight that would work.

 

TheWombat