SIG P210A
Working the US-made SIG P210A models. by Brian R Smith This isn’t your Swiss police or German borderguard P210. The American-made P210A in Standard, Target, and Carry is different in design details, much improved ergonomically, and is every bit as accurate as its Swissmade predecessor.
Chick Blood (RIP, I really miss his contributions and sense of humor) did apiece on the originalstyle P210-6 several years ago ("Disassembly and Reassembly of the Sigarms P210-6", August 2005) but it is vastly different from the current P210A models designed and built by SIG Sauer in the United States.
This article covers primarily the Standard and Carry models, touches on the Target model’s features, contrasts the differences between the original P210 and the P210A, and includes detailed takedown instructions and assembly tips. Here’s how I came to work on one. "Something’s missing," the customer said, handing me a box with the slide and frame with which to assemble a SIG Sauer P210A Standard, except one. "I can’t get it back together." He was correct.
The recoil spring on the Americanmade P210 is a captured assembly together with the guide rod, and both components were in the box but disassembled. The rear of the guide rod has along loop that surrounds the slide stop shaft. Looking at the front of the guide rod it was clear that the screw normally holding the bushing and spring fast to the guide rod was indeed not present. In fact, the small-diameter screw shaft had fractured.
A quick attempt to reinstall the guide rod and recoil spring into the slide failed because the inside diameter of the bushing at the front The controls are 1911-like and have generous lever surfaces. Take down is extremely simple, and the slide stop spring is no longer riveted to the frame. of the guide rod is a close fit to the outside diameter of the guide rod and the inside diameter of the recess in the slide beneath the barrel port at the muzzle.
With recoil spring force holding it in place in its recess in the front of the slide, the spring and guide rod did not allow enough off-axis flex for the guide rod to enter the bushing so that the guide rod loop could be inserted in the barrel lug.
Omitting the bushing, the guide rod and flat wire spring could be wrangled into place using three hands, but then the clearance between the outside diameter of the guide rod and the inside diameter of the guide rod clearance hole in the front of the slide was excessive, not unlike a broomstick in a bathtub. No way I’d fire the P210A with the guide rod banging around inside its hole in the slide with each shot.
Fortunately, the customer was the original purchaser and the The slide is held to the rear by about 1/4" for the notches to align. SIG warranty covers defects in materials or workmanship to the original owner. It was time to see if SIG would walk the fine print and they did; less then two weeks after contacting SIG Sauer Customer Service a warranty-replacement recoil spring and guide rod for the Standard model was delivered (part number 3600126R).
Those two weeks presented the opportunity to do a complete tear down (with the customer’s permission) of his SIG P210A Standard. History The P210 model has evolved since its invention by Swiss-born Charles
Gabriel Petter when he was working for Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) in the late 1940s. The pistol is based on Petter’s earlier invention, the French M1935A produced by Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (Alsatian Corporation of Mechanical Engineering, or SACM) while he was director of that firm prior to World War II. The SIG pistol was adopted by the Swiss military as the P49, replacing the Swiss pattern Luger as its sidearm.
The Swiss police adopted it shortly thereafter as the P210, as did the Danish police and West German Border Police. The various original P210 models were identified by numerical suffixes throughout production until the line was shut down in the mid-2000s. The original P210 has always been synonymous with dependability and phenomenal accuracy. The requirement was that the P210 must exhibit accuracy of 50 mm groups (2 inches) at 50 meters (164 ft).
That may seem outside the capability of most handgunners, but the pistols delivered. P210s were also synonymous with high prices. Current sale prices for original P210 models, be they Swiss, Danish, or German range from the high $2,000 to over $5,000 for scarce, rare, or unique variants. SIG Sauer, the American arm of the firm, saw an opportunity and decided to modify the German-made SIG P210 Super Target to create the SIG Sauer P210A in Standard, Target, and more recently, Carry models.
The Standard and Target were introduced in 2016 to generally favorable reception, but of course some claimed that SIG Sauer ruined the original P210. Personally, I don’t share that critical opinion. While at first glance the P210A Standard superficially appears to be identical to original P210 of the late 1940s, it is not. A closer look shows that the P210 Standard’s safety lever is located at the rear Far of the receiver not unlike that of a 1911.
The original P210’s safety is at the upper left of the left grip panel, at the location of and resembling the de-cocker lever on a SIG P220, P225, P226, P228, etc. The P210 Standard employs an "American" magazine release button located near the trigger guard, in contrast to the original’s heel-located magazine release. The slide stop is in the usual location, but both the slide stop and safety levers are extended for increased leverage and ease of actuation.
They are reminiscent of custom aftermarket 1911 controls and make for excellent thumb support while shooting. The P210A Standard and Target model grips are checkered walnut and are held in place by a bevel in the forward edge of the grip panels engaging a beveled forward edge in the magazine well window and by a T15 drive screw from the left Far Conveniently, all use a T15 driver bit.
panel engaging a threaded bushing in the right. The P210A omits the characteristic lanyard loop at the lower rear of the original P210’s left grip panel. The P210A Standard magazine floor plate is angled to ensure support for the little finger on the shooter’s strong hand.
The P210 Standard’s magazine is the same as that used in the P210 Carry model, and the magazine body and internals are the same as those used in the P210A Target, but the Target magazine has a longer, more rectangular plastic floorplate to extend below the longer Target grips.
Internally, there are many details that differ between the original and the P210A; the significant ones include: The original P210’s barrel and receiver were lugged in the manner of a 1911, but the P210A makes use of the barrel’s chamber block mating with the ejection port like that of classic SIG P-series pistols, Glocks, and other modern handguns. The original P210 uses a straight slide stop spring that’s riveted to the frame and is not readily serviceable.
The P210A’s slide stop spring resembles a paper clip and can be "flicked" out of its channel in maybe 2-3 seconds. Both the original and the P210A employ "en bloc" fire control group housings which are similar but not interchangeable. Disassembly An exploded diagram of the P210A’s parts is not in the owner’s manual and SIG Sauer was not amenable to providing one when contacted, so I regret that such diagram does not accompany this article.
However, take down is essentially like that of a Browning High Power or a 1911, and I have attempted to use generic and long-accepted terms for parts. First and as always, remove the magazine and rack the slide to verify that no round is in the chamber. Using the "Glock grasp," pull the slide to the rear about 1/4" so that the cutout in the slide aligns with the upper tip of the slide stop.
Push on the slide stop shaft from the right side to start it out, then Far It is retained by a small P-shaped wire spring that rests in a groove in the center of the pin. That spring co-retained in the top of the trigger by the trigger axis pin, so be mindful of it during disassembly. grasp the slide stop lever with fingers to withdraw it. The slide can be pushed forward and off the frame at this point.
As previously mentioned, the recoil spring and guide rod is a unitized assembly and removed by dislodging the looped head of the guide rod from the front of the barrel lug, tilting down, and withdrawing it to the rear. The barrel’s chamber block is lifted out of mesh with the ejection port in the slide and removed from the slide as with any other tilting-barrel handgun.
The firing pin is removed by locating the firing pin safety assembly which at first glance appears to Far The black oval wireform at left is the slide stop spring, which is removed by levering it out of its slot in the frame by using a thin tool. Shown at right is a Universal Gunsmithing Tool, a.k.a. an unfolded small paper clip. Depressing the retainer and holding it depressed unhooks the retainer from the frame and allows the button and retainer to be removed to the left out of the frame.
Mind the retainer coil spring and control the retainer when removing the punch to prevent a launch.
be a oval-shaped firing pin block on the right underside of the slide. There’s a tiny lever in the firing pin safety that must be pushed to the rear in order to move the firing pin itself forward using a punch in order to remove the slide plate. Once the slide plate is removed, restrain the firing pin and lift out the firing pin safety assembly with forceps or large tweezers. Release the firing pin and its spring in a controlled manner to prevent its launch.
The extractor is of the external type, pivoting about a vertical pin in the frame and driven with force applied by a coil spring seated crosswise in the slide and acting on the extractor’s rear end. Control the extractor and drive out its pivot pin to remove extractor and spring. The front and rear sights are removable by drifting them to the right in their respective dovetails, if necessary.
Restrain the hammer and pull the trigger while allowing the hammer to gently pivot forward and unloading the hammer spring in the process. Remove the grips using the T15 drive bit, then tilt the grip panels out at the back, using their forward edges as "hinges" where they clip under the front edge of the mag well windows on each side. Next, use the T15 bit to remove the screw under the beavertail so that the Tokarev TT33-like fire control assembly can be lifted out from the top of the slide.
Once more using the T15 driver, remove the flat headed screw that’s immediately beneath the safety lever. The sole purpose of this screw is to limit downward travel of the safety lever. Then lift out the slide lever to the left. Locate and drive out the trigger pin from the frame to either the left or right. Beware of a tiny open P-shaped wire spring in the top of the trigger; its job is to retain the trigger axis pin just removed, similar to the setup for an AR-15 hammer and its axis pin.
The SIG P210 Standard’s trigger axis pin retaining spring is not captive, so it Far This makes it easy to count the revolutions of the nut while removing or installing it on the hammer strut. Regarding the article guns, the P210 Standard’s nut was screwed on seven turns, and the Carry model’s nut was on ten turns. may fall out of its slot in the top of the trigger. Reassembly tip: Use a dab of grease to retain this spring in the trigger.
The short end of the spring points to the left and resides in the slot at the top of the trigger. With awareness of this spring, the trigger assembly can be withdrawn in a slanted direction up and to the rear and out of the frame. The trigger stirrup is held to the trigger by a pin; if the work demands it, drive out this pin to separate the components.
Be mindful of the coil trigger reset spring that’s housed in Far The rear end of the upper spring seat rests on an FCG housing crossmember, and the hooks at the front end rest on a crosspin. If you try to pull the hammer up and out of the FCG housing, the threaded portion of the hammer strut catches on the slot in the upper hammer spring seat. Pushing the hammer and strut back into the FCG housing generally dislodges the upper spring seat for removal. Then remove the hammer and strut.
The sear lever is removed by drifting out the sear axis pin.
Far The long leg of the tiny spring ends in a 90 degree bend, which is seated in the square slot at the top of the trigger when correctly installed. The ~ 45 degree bend in the long leg seats in the groove in the trigger axis pin, and is just visible at the 7-8 o’clock position in the trigger axis pin hole through the trigger itself. During reassembly retain the spring with a dab of grease.
Use thread or a string from a tag to hold the trigger and stirrup in the position shown, with an imaginary tangent line at the bottom edge of the trigger approximately in line with the bottom edge of the stirrup as shown. This keeps the tab on the stirrup in proper engagement with the end of the trigger reset spring during assembly, otherwise the tab on the stirrup will crush into the side of the reset spring.
Once installed in the frame, unwrap the string from the sear engagement block at the rear of the stirrup and pull it out. the upper part of the trigger. This reset spring works against a tab projecting at the forward end of the stirrup, and if the stirrup is rotated down and toward the trigger that tab will crush into the side of the trigger reset spring, a consideration for reassembly which is dealt with later in this article.
If it is necessary to remove the magazine release, use a small punch to depress a spring-loaded plunger in the forward-facing area of the mag release button while pulling the button forward and out of the frame. The frame itself is now stripped. To disassemble the fire control assembly, first clean off one end of the cylindrical hammer spring nut with acetone or another such solvent degreaser and apply a dab of paint to provide indication of the number of rotations as you unscrew the nut.
As a point of reference, on my customer’s P210 the nut was screwed on seven full turns. The nut on another customer’s P210 Carry was on ten full turns; YMMV. The trigger pull and hammer force on the firing pin can be adjusted within a narrow range by The flats and notch at the rear of the firing pin must be aligned with the firing pin safety assembly in order for the firing pin and spring to be reinstalled. increasing or decreasing the number of turns the nut is screwed on.
If the nut is screwed on too far, the hammer spring will be compressed coil-to-coil before the sear surfaces engage. If the hammer spring is not compressed sufficiently, the blow struck by the hammer on the firing pin will be insufficient to set off primers, and there may be insufficient force to keep the sear surfaces engaged when the pistol is cocked, and it may unsafely discharge if bumped, jarred, or as the safety is moved to the "fire" position.
It is recommended to perform a basic safety and fire control group (FCG) function check upon re-assembly of the pistol. Once the cylindrical nut is off the threaded hammer strut, remove the hammer spring. Drive out the hammer pin from right to left. The hammer and strut can be lifted upward and out of the fire control group housing, but the larger-diameter threaded lower section of the hammer strut will catch on the slot in the upper hammer spring seat.
Pushing back down on the hammer and strut usually loosens the upper hammer spring seat from the The cap-like screw head was missing from the customer’s P210 Standard. The recoil assembly is part number 3600126R.
The Carry uses a non-captured flat wire spring and the rectangular rear end of the guide rod abuts the front of the barrel lug. A circular flange on the guide rod supports the rear end of the recoil spring. The Standard and Target models employ the captured flat wire spring discussed in the article. The two recoil assemblies are not interchangeable. bottom of the FCG housing where it can be slid forward and off the hammer strut. Now remove the hammer and strut upward and out of the FCG housing.
To remove the sear lever, drive out the sear pin from right to left and remove the sear lever and its coil spring from the rear of the FCG housing. There are two other pins in the FCG housing that serve to hold the two housing side plates in an assembly (much like the pins in a Marlin 60 or Sterling Mk IV submachine gun fire control group) and these are not removed. The P210A is now fully disassembled. P210 Differences Some notes on the differences between the P210 Standard, Target, and Carry models.
All three models use the same frame. The Standard and Target models feature different grips, the Target model’s slide has forward serrations, and the Target model has the adjustable rear sight. The sights on the Standard are white three-dot, and the Carry sight are tritium three-dot night sights. The Carry model has a shorter slide which provides the Carry with almost identical overall dimensions as those of a Commander-style 1911.
The Carry uses a flat wire spring separate from the guide rod, which itself does not have the long loop of the Standard and Target models that inserts into the barrel lug. Rather, the Carry’s guide rod ends in a rectangular block that abuts the front face of the barrel lug. Consequently, the lug of the Carry model’s barrel differs from that of the Standard and Target model barrels.
The magazines are the same for the Standard and Carry, but the Target model magazines have longer floorplate extensions with less taper to fit the contour of the extended Target grips. The take away: The Carry model’s slide, barrel, and recoil assembly does not interchange with those of the Standard or Target. Reassembly For reassembly, there are a few key points of which to be aware. Remember to screw the hammer strut nut back on the same number of turns as it required to remove the nut.
The hammer spring is not so stiff that it can’t be partially compressed and held with the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand. Clamping the FCG housing between protected jaws of a small bench vise is helpful as a "third hand" for reassembly.
As mentioned previously, the trigger reset spring in the upper body of the trigger acts on a short The P210 Standard and Target grips are retained by a T15 Torx screw that threads into a standard serrated-OD threaded bushing pressed into the wood. projection at the front of the trigger stirrup. The reset spring must be pre-compressed with a punch or small screwdriver before the stirrup is swung up into position, or else the projection crushes the reset spring at its center.
I used the thin string from a string-type price tag looped around the trigger surface and back, wrapping around the sear trip at the rear of the stirrup. The tag string was sufficiently thin that it did not bind between trigger assembly and the slot in the frame during reassembly, but sewing thread can also be used. You have to adjust the string or thread so that the trigger is tilted up at the lower end slightly in order for the trigger to line up with the slot in the frame (see photo).
Also previously mentioned, remember to use a dab of grease to retain the trigger pin retaining spring in the top of the trigger when reassembling. The safety lever must be in place in the frame prior to re-insertion of the FCG housing, which retains the safety lever. The oval firing pin safety assembly must be reinstalled in the slide before the firing pin and with the tiny lever toward the rear of the slide.
The rear of the firing pin has flats machined for the firing pin safety assembly, and these must be rotationally aligned with the firing pin safety assembly during re-installation. The tiny lever in the firing pin safety must be pushed to the rear to allow the firing pin to
enter the slide and clear the firing pin safety. Once the firing pin in is the slide, use a small diameter punch to push it forward to allow the slide plate to be reinstalled, just as if reassembling a Browning High Power or 1911. When lining up the slide and frame for insertion of the slide stop shaft through the barrel lug (and guide rod loop in the Standard and Target models), it helps to eyeball the hole in the frame and the barrel lug to ensure their alignment.
Insert the slide stop shaft partially and taking care that the lug on the inside rear of the slide stop lever clears the outside wall of the frame, rotate the slide stop lever up and into position and then push it toward the frame and into its slots in both frame and slide. This avoids putting an "idiot scratch" arcshaped mark in the slide finish.
SIG Sauer is very much like Ruger in that they want firearms returned to the factory for most service, presumably for both liability and revenue-generation reasons, the latter when warranty claims are not indicated. You may still see these new P210 models land on your entry countertop.
Although the SIG P210A in its three incarnations is a superbly accurate and reliable pistol out of the box, it’s not to say that polishing the usual surfaces wouldn’t hurt things and some customer may want something fluffed and buffed. Also, it helps to know one’s way around these handguns in the event one shows up in bits in a cardboard box.
While awaiting the P210 Standard’s replacement recoil spring and guide rod assembly from SIG Sauer, the P210 Carry seen in the accompanying photos that found it’s way to my bench had a problem of sorts in that the slide hung up as the barrel block would cam up into the ejection port in the slide. That its owner was a "slide rider" and not a "sling shotter" was the larger part of the problem, because the Carry model’s slide went right into battery when I "sling shot" the slide every time.
When I rode the slide closed, it did encounter resistance when the barrel started camming up into the ejection port; this was not present in the P210 Standard. Regardless, the customer either read a review article or watched a video on a SIG P210 Carry someplace on the Interwebez where the writer/presenter mentioned the slide not going into battery without a "bump" if gently moved forward, instead of allowing the slide to snap into battery under recoil spring force.
My customer took that to mean that the slide on his Carry was to be gently let forward when chambering around or simply putting the slide into battery (those darned Interwebz gun "experts"). Since the P210 Standard did not exhibit this same resistance, I went ahead with adjustments to the Carry. Applying some indicator fluid and cycling the slide (minus the recoil spring assembly) quickly put light on the surfaces responsible for the Carry model’s slide being tight while going into battery.
I broke out the fine ceramic stones for that work and literally made one pass at a time on the surfaces on the barrel "block" over the chamber, reassembling the slide to frame with a partially-inserted slide stop shaft between passes of the ceramic stone. The Carry slide was left with the briefest of hesitations before snapping fully home if I rode the slide forward, telling the customer that he didn’t want the pistol worn out following his shooting only one box of 50 rounds and my light adjustments.
He was happy; his fears of the slide failing to go shut in a crisis moment were averted, and he was set straight on slingshotting the slide. "After all," I told him, "the slide is snapping forward and into battery using full compressed recoil spring force when being fired, innit?" He had a blank stare at first, but you could see the LED light up as he realized what I was getting at.
Having both the Standard and Carry models allowed me the opportunity to test drive both, and I put a couple-few magazines full of 115 grain generic 9mm Luger ammo through each. Seldom have I fired handguns that delivered one-inch groups at 50 feet off a sandbag rest out of the box, but both of the P210As did.
The creepless two-stage light trigger pulls in the 3.5 (Standard) to 4.2 (Carry) pound range plus the ball-bearing-like full-rail slide to frame fit and self-lubricious nitride finish no doubt contribute much to the phenomenal accuracy of these fine pistols. Some may complain that the magazine capacity is comparatively small at eight rounds when compared to other modern pistols, but with the inherent accuracy of the P210A the extra rounds may not be required.
The late Colonel Townsend Whelen is known for stating, "Only accurate rifles are interesting." Extending that philosophy to handguns, the SIG Sauer P210A in its incarnations are very interesting handguns indeed. AG
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