SIG Sauer Pro series

SIG Pro
SIG Pro SP 2009 of the Gendarmerie of Vaud, on display at Morges castle museum.
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Switzerland  Germany
Service history
Used by	See Users
Production history
Designer	SIG, Sauer & Sohn
Designed	1998
Manufacturer	Swiss Arms AG, Sauer & Sohn
Produced	1999–present
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	765 g (27.0 oz) (SP 2340 .40 S&W) 775 g (27.3 oz) (SP 2340 .357 SIG, SP 2022 .40 S&W, SP 2022 .357 SIG) 715 g (25.2 oz) (SP 2009, SP 2022 9x19mm Parabellum) 700 g (25 oz) (SPC 2009) 715 g (25.2 oz) (SP 2022 9x19mm Parabellum) 715 g (25.2 oz)
Length	187 mm (7.4 in) (SP 2340, SP 2009, SP 2022) 180 mm (7.1 in) (SPC 2009)
Barrel length	98 mm (3.9 in) (SP 2340, SP 2009, SP 2022) 91 mm (3.6 in) (SPC 2009)
Width	34 mm (1.3 in)
Height	144 mm (5.7 in) (SP 2340, SP 2009, SP 2022) 134 mm (5.3 in) (SPC 2009)
Cartridge	.40 S&W .357 SIG 9x19mm Parabellum
Action	Short recoil operated, locked breech
Effective range	50 m
Feed system	12-round detachable box magazine (models chambered in .40 S&W and .357 SIG) 15-round magazine (9x19mm Parabellum models)
Sights	Fixed iron sights, front—blade, rear—notch

The SIG Pro is a series of semi-automatic pistols developed and manufactured jointly by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) and J. P. Sauer & Sohn. It was the first polymer-frame handgun from either company and one of the first pistols to feature a built-in universal accessory rail and interchangeable grips.^[1]

The SIG Pro was marketed as a lightweight and compact alternative to the "legacy" SIG-Sauer handguns in an increasingly competitive and budget-oriented law enforcement market. The pistol is the result of continued collaboration between two famous European arms makers: SIG (now Swiss Arms AG) of Neuhausen, Switzerland and Sauer & Sohn of Germany. As with other joint ventures between the two companies, these pistols are sometimes referred to as "SIG-Sauer". It was originally developed as a .40 S&W-caliber service pistol and introduced in June 1998 with the SP 2340 model, followed shortly by a version in .357 SIG (which retained the same model designation). About one year later, a 9x19mm Parabellum variant, the SP 2009, was introduced and entered production in response to demand for the type.^[1]

[edit] Design details

The SIG Pro is a short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol. It uses a traditional Browning cam-operated locking system. The barrel locks into the slide via enlarged ejection port.

The frame is made from polymer, with detachable grip panels. Grip panels can be easily replaced and are available in several different sizes and shapes.

The overall design is slightly different from earlier SIG-Sauer pistols such as P220 or P226, as there is no separate disassembly lever on the frame and the slide stop lever looks quite different.

The standard SIG Pro does not have a manual safety but it does incorporate a decocking lever (lowers the hammer without striking the firing pin), trigger-bar disconnect (disconnects the trigger when the slide is out of battery), automatic firing pin lock (does not free the firing pin until the trigger is depressed) and a hammer safety intercept notch (prevents the hammer from striking the rear of the firing pin until the trigger is depressed).

[edit] Variants

Royal Malaysian Police officer firing the SIG Pro 2022 with casing ejected out to the right side.

The Sig Pro comes standard as a double-action/single action pistol with 10 lb and 4.5 lb trigger pulls, respectively. Double-action only conversion kits are also available from SIG.

• SP 2340: The original pistol introduced in 1998. It has a rounded trigger guard and is chambered for .40 S&W and .357 SIG.
• SP 2009: 9x19mm Parabellum version announced in 1999.
• SPC 2009: A shorter version of the SP 2009 with a 3.58" barrel length and only available in 9 mm. It is equipped with the SIG accessory rail system and the trigger guard is rounded. This is the basis for the SPC 2022
• SP2009-9-BMS: A variant of the standard SP 2009 with a slide-mounted manual safety and short trigger. These were offered for a short time to the U.S. civilian market.^[2]
• SP 2022: A modified version of the SP 2009/2340. It entered service with the French Police and Gendarmerie in 2002 for a planned service life of 20 years, hence the name. 460,000 rounds have been used for testing it before adoption by a sampling of future users and modifications of the SIG Pro followed to produce the 2022. It is available in 9x19mm, .40 S&W and .357 SIG. The pistol is fitted with an integral Picatinny rail instead of the proprietary rail of the other models and the front trigger guard is shaped differently to allow a finger hold. It can also be equipped with a threaded barrel and detachable suppressor and the fixed open sights are dovetailed into the slide.
• SPC 2022: A more compact version of the SP 2022 that is only available in 9x19mm. The SPC 2022 has a slightly shorter barrel and slide, as well as flat magazine base plates which make its grip shorter by 7 mm. It is equipped with a Picatinny rail and a finger groove trigger guard.^[3]

[edit] Users

A SP 2022 issued to the French National Police. The words "PROPRIETE DE L'ETAT" ("Property of the State") are apparent on the front of the slide, on the right side (bottom).

•  Colombia: The Colombian National Police purchased several thousand SP2009 pistols. A quantity of 55,890 SP2022 pistols was also purchased recently.^[4]
•  France: In 2003, French law enforcement and internal security agencies (including the Gendarmerie Nationale, National Police and French Customs) adopted the model SP 2022 in 9x19mm Parabellum to replace the PAMAS and several other pistols in service. Over 250,000 of the SP 2022 were acquired in what would be the largest single order for service handguns since World War II.^[5]
•  Switzerland: The SIG Pro is used by the Swiss Military Police (as the Pistole 03).^[6]
•  Portugal: SIG Pro SP 2022 are used in Republican National Guard and Public Security Police.^[7]
•  United States: The SIG Pro is used by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: SIG Pro

• J. P. Sauer & Sohn—official site
• SIG Pro SP 2340/SP 2009/SPC 2009 instruction manual
• SIG-Sauer Pro SP 2022 instruction manual
• SIG Sauer.com
• Ken Lunde's SIG Pro FAQ
• Modern Firearms