Disassembly and Reassembly Of the Sigarms P210-6

Back in the good old days, when I had time, I used to do a lot of target shooting in U. S. Revolver Association postal matches. These were and are three-month-long competitions among clubs nationwide, and the word "revolver" in the sponsoring organization’s name is somewhat misleading. It’s true there were specific courses of fire limited to wheelguns, but most rounds came out of the barrels of .22 LR and .45 ACP self-loaders.

Each week, the official targets would be fired, scored, attested by the clubs’ USRA official, and mailed to the associations’ headquarters. There, all targets received would be examined, total team scores entered on bulletins published on a monthly basis, and the bulletins returned to participating clubs for all to view.

It was both interesting and challenging to see how our teams were doing against all the other club teams entered in the competition and, often, how much better our scores would have to be to capture top-gun distinction in the various National Match Course and Slow Fire matches. We burned a slew of ammunition, but it was great indoor practice at 50 meters for the outdoor 25- and 50yard NRA-approved 2700 matches that came with warmer weather.

The bulls on the 50-meter targets are small in comparison to the longer-range black circles and, in the opinion of most that drew down on them, tougher to hit. I must have participated in at least 20 USRA postals and I never saw a 9mm pistol on the line for any centerfire competition. There were uncountable numbers of accurized M1911s and a few S&W Model 52s, but nary one "wondernine." Perhaps we all overlooked something.

That something had its beginnings with a patent awarded to Charles Petter, a Swede, in 1934 that evolved into the French Army’s MAS-35. The pistol design was a variation on the Browning swing-link system, with its firing mechanism housed as a separate, removable unit. A fine handgun, it was seriously handicapped by a terrible cartridge—the 7.65mm Longue. (Look up its performance. It displayed a 5-shot group measuring less than 1-1/2-inch overall with three shots grouping inside 1/2 inch. And it’s a 9mm!

An 87-grain bullet staggering out a muzzle at slightly over 1000 fps is hardly an effective battlefield weapon.) Realizing this, a little late I’d say since the light failed to dawn until after WWII, the French Army insisted on a more respectable caliber. The pistol was redesigned to accept the 9mm Parabellum and renamed the MAS 1950, or MAC 1950, depending on its place of manufacture.

Step back to 1937 for a minute. In that year, Sigarms of Switzerland acquired rights to the Petter patent and began improving upon the basic design. Finally satisfied with their redevelopment in 1948, Sig introduced the modified Petter as the SP47/8. It locked and unlocked via the familiar Browning camming method; the somewhat overhauled firing mechanism remained housed in a removable module; but the slide rails rode inside the frame rails for greater support, improved accuracy, and longer service.

Almost immediately, the Swiss Army adopted the SP47/8. It was purchased in large numbers by the West German Border Police and the Danish Army, although it was considered too expensive by most other armed forces. Today, as the P210-6, it is considered to be the finest automatic pistol available. The glitch is that it costs, conservatively speaking, roughly $2500. The recoil-spring assembly cannot be further disassembled, but is available for replacement purposes as a unit.

If judged in comparison to the price of a fully accurized M1911 these days, that price is right in the ball park—at least, it’s not completely out of it. And unlike other, immensely more economical 9mm pistols, you can’t improve the trigger on the Sig P210. It’s a smooth-as-silk two-stage that breaks oh-so-cleanly at just under 3 pounds. I’ll get to why this happens and why you can’t rework it later on.

After firing a box of 115-grain full metal jacket 9mm When the pistol is so equipped, the magazine safety pushes the trigger bar down when the magazine (#3) is removed to disconnect the sear (#4), and the hammer (#5) cannot be released. In the event of incomplete lock-up, the slide (#6) pushes the trigger bar down, thereby interrupting any trigger action, until the slide is completely in battery. If the hammer slips during manual cocking, it will be prevented from fully falling by its safety notch.

On the M1911, this is called the "halfcock notch." ammo through it, though, I wouldn’t want to change a thing. Before moving into field stripping, brush up on your arithmetic. All linear dimensions given here are in millimeters. One millimeter (mm) equals .03937 inch. Consequently, millimeters x .0393 = inches. (There will be a quiz on your newly acquired math skills in a moment.) Field Stripping Remove the magazine, check the chamber, and put on your eye protection.

Pull the slide back about 5 mm, push in on the slide stop from the right, and remove it to the left. The

Sigarms P210-6 9mm Semi-Auto Pistol (Specifications subject to change without notice) 1 Slide 18 Stirrup Pin 33 Magazine Catch 49 Floor Plate Insert 2 Firing Pin 19 Stirrup Head 34 Pin for Magazine Catch 50 Feeder Button (.22 LR) 3 Firing Pin Plate 20 Lock Nut 35 Magazine Safety 51 Rear Sight 4 Stop Pin for Firing Pin (.22 only) 21 Main Spring 36 Magazine Safety Screw 52 Detent Ball 5 Firing Pin Spring 22 Double-Pull Lever 37 Right Hand Grip 53 Blade 6 Extractor (caliber specific) 23 Pin for Pull Lever and Sear 38 Left Hand Grip 54 Windage Screw 8 Extractor Pin 24 Sear 39 Grip Screw 55 Sight Base 9 Extractor Spring 25 Sear Spring 40 Slide Stop Spring 56 Elevation Screw 10 Rear Sight (standard) 26 Frame 41 Slide Stop 57 Rear Sight Pin 11 Front Sight (standard) 27 Trigger Bar 42 Action Casing Screw 58 Windage Spring 12 Barrel 28 Trigger Bar Pin 43 Trigger Stop Screw 59 Elevation Spring 13 Recoil Spring 29 Trigger 44 Safety Pin for Trigger Stop (front-sight assembly 14 Action Casing 30 Safety Lever 45 Magazine Casing not applicable to M210-6) 15 Hammer 31 Trigger Pin 46 Magazine Floor Plate 16 Hammer Pin 32 Trigger Spring 47 Feeder (follower) 17 Stirrup 48 Magazine Spring slide assembly is taken off to the front.

Get hold of the recoil-spring assembly at its rear and pull it out. This element cannot be further disassembled and is sold as a complete unit only. Lift the rear of the barrel, push it forward, then slide it back and out. The grips are held on by a single screw (#39) and are dovetailed into the front of the grip frame. After removing the screw, don’t attempt to dislodge the grips from their front ends; you’ll break them.

Once you get the screw out, place the frame upright on your bench and carefully swing each panel individually toward the front. Think of it as opening two doors’one to the left and the other to the right. Ready for your math test? The overall length of the P210-6 is 215 mm, Its barrel length is 120 mm, rifling length is 250 mm, and trigger travel is 1.8 to 2.0 mm. Go ahead and convert all those dimensions to inches, please, before reading any further.

Detailed Disassembly The slide takes down like an M1911 with two exceptions: It has no firing pin safety; it has an extractor pin (#8). The pin is flared, driven downward to release the extractor (#6) and the extractor spring (#9), and should be restaked when reinstalled. A

.22-caliber conversion of the P210 is available for training purposes. It includes a slide, barrel, magazine, firing-pin stop (#4), and will fit any P201 frame. But we’re not concerned with said conversion here. Nor are we concerned with the target-length barrel (#12) other than the rear, target-sight assembly (#51 through #59). Like all P210 rear sights, the base drifts in from the right and out to the left. However, the target-sight configuration calls for other measures.

Its elevation screw must first be backed all the way out, its rearblade assembly pivoted forward on the base pin, and the detent ball and spring removed and set aside. All this reveals the sight base. Then and only then can you drift the sight from its dovetail. In which direction? (A gold star if you answered "left to right.") Not so fast, class. When reinstalled, the target sight must be centered exactly. It left the factory in that condition.

So put an index mark on the sight base before you move it and a less conspicuous, easily removed index mark on the slide. Align the two marks when drifting the base back in and you’ll be assured it is centered. From which direction does the drifting occur? (Another gold star if you answered "right to left.") Frame Disassembly The schematic here shows a European-style magazine-release system of the type activated at the bottom of the grip frame.

The P210-6, a more current version of the pistol, carries a button-type release. It’s similar to the release on a M1911, and can be approached in the same manner for part replacement or detailed cleaning. It wears a thin slotted head; using a properly fitting screwdriver is mandatory. Under the hammer, which should be fully forward now, at the rear end of the frame is a screw (#42). It retains all action components (#14 through #24), and they’ll come out as a unit once the screw is removed.

The safety lever (#30) comes out very easily. Turn it down past "F" on the left side of the frame and lift it off. (I have a rule: "Never defeat the safety system or systems on any firearm." The policy has kept me free of litigations and will do the same for you.) The trigger pin (#31) is pushed out to free the trigger (#29), trigger bar (#27), and trigger spring (#32) as a unit. Pin #28 on the schematic isn’t present on the P210-6. I assume it appears on older models and wasn’t omitted in the drawing.

Not omitted is the slide-stop spring (#40). Don’t Any attempt to remove it will result in frame damage that can only be repaired in Switzerland. attempt to remove the spring; it’s a riveted/press fit, and damage is sure to result—in which case the pistol will have to go back to Switzerland to have the inner frame reground. What remains now is the action assembly. The only reason to take it apart is the rarest of happenings— breakage.

With that sole purpose in mind, then, undo the stirrup head (#18) and stirrup nut (#20) from the stirrup (#17). Drift the hammer pin (#16) to the right. There are two pins (#23). The upper one retains the sear (#24). The lower one retains the double-pull lever (#22). About that lever. Combined with the cross-ground sear/hammer engagement, which is considerable, it delivers the amazingly smooth, crisply breaking trigger pull mentioned earlier.

During the first stage, the sear moves along the lever to its disengagement point with the hammer. You can’t possibly duplicate those engagement surfaces by hand. They can only be created in a secret corner of a Sigarms facility on computer-controlled, ultra-precise machine tools. Ah, you question, what if the action assembly becomes sinfully filthy? Well, after several thousands of rounds it might.

Leave it intact, spray its insides with brake drum or carburetor cleaner, follow that with a light shot of lubrication, and put it back in the pistol. Now, for next Christmas, I ask only for three things: anew Sig P210-6, a few thousand rounds of 9mm FMJ, and a lot more time to shoot. ■