SIG Model P226R DAK

SIGARMS (Dept. ST, 18 Industrial Dr., Exeter, NH 03833; 603-772-2302; www.sigarms.com) is having a very good year. It started last June when the Rhode Island state police completed its transition to the SIG P226R in .357 SIG as its standard duty firearm and reported that since November 2003 approximately 100,000 rounds had been fired through 200 duty pistols with no mechanical failures.

This was important because Rhode Island was the first agency in the country to adopt the new SIG DAKtm trigger system--a double action only (DAO) mechanism designed to provide a safe and reliable 6.5-pound trigger pull, which is much lighter than conventional DAO triggers. It was also important because it meant that four out of six New England state police forces are now carrying SIG pistols (the others are Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), joining other such major SIG-equipped state police departments as New Jersey, Virginia, and the Texas Rangers.

Then in August 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded SIG a five-year contract for up to 65,000 9mm and .40 S&W pistols. The contract is for full-size P226R and mid-size P229R rail pistols with the DAK trigger system and 12-round magazine capacity and the compact P239 seven-round single-stack with conventional DAO.

The selection process included pistols manufactured by several companies and involved the most extensive governmental testing and evaluation process since the historic military trials of the 1980s that resulted in the replacement of the Model 1911 .45 by the Beretta 9mm as the U.S. Armed Forces standard sidearm. The recent tests were in fact much more advanced and sophisticated than those earlier tests. Throughout the entire DHS testing the SIG pistols earned the highest scores possible.

SPECIFICATIONS - P226R DAK Manufacturer: SIGARMS Model: P226R DAK Operation: Recoil-operated autoloader Caliber: .40 S&W Barrel length: 4.4 in. Overall length: 7.7 in. Weight, empty: 34 oz. Safety: Firing pin lock, decocking lever, safety intercept notch, trigger bar disconnector Sights: 3-dot tritium night sights Stocks: Wraparound textured rubber Magazine capacity: 12 rounds Finish: Black stainless steel Price: $915

Following on the heels of the DHS announcement, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded a contract to SIGARMS for the P229R DAK in .40 S&W, basing its decision on the performance of the SIG guns in the DHS tests. The Coast Guard pistols are in addition to those ordered for the DHS Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Coast Guard will be replacing its current Beretta 9mm pistols with the SIGs.

And if that wasn't enough, on December 22, 2004, the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command at the Rock Island Arsenal awarded SIGARMS a contract for 5000 9mm SP2022 pistols. The SP2022 is a polymer-framed SIG featuring an M1913 Picatinny rail with a stainless-steel slide and cold hammer-forged barrel.

That's three major federal law-enforcement and military contracts for SIGARMS in less than four months, in the midst of ongoing sales to a growing list of state police agencies and major municipal departments.

I think it's fair to say that SIG is on a roll and is mounting a major challenge to other pistol companies that have been dominant in the U.S. police and military markets in recent decades. Up until now, SIG pistols primarily have been the choice of elite-unit federal agencies that can afford the more premium-level prices that SIG commands. The introduction of the new DAK trigger system for the P226 and P229 models seems to be changing that, and SIG is preparing for increased demand.

SIG Model P229R DAK

In 2003 it expanded operations at its Exeter, New Hampshire, facility with the addition of several new state-of-the-art CNC machines, increasing production capacity by over 25 percent. And in 2004 SIGARMS received certification as an ISO 9001: 2000 company.

SPECIFICATIONS - SIG P229R DAK Manufacturer: SIGARMS Model: P229R DAK Operation: Recoil-operated autoloader Caliber: .40 S&W Barrel length: 3.8 in. Overall length: 7.1 in. Weight, empty: 32.4 oz. Safety: Firing pin lock, decocking lever, safety intercept notch, trigger bar disconnector Sights: 3-dot tritium night sights Stocks: Wraparound textured rubber Magazine capacity: 12 rounds Finish: Black stainless steel Price: $915

The DAK Advantage
So what is this DAK thing? And why are people making such a big deal about it? In bare-bones description, the DAK mechanism provides a hammer-fired full-length double-action trigger pull, with complete repeat-strike capability, that is notably lighter than other full-length DAO pull mechanisms. Here's why this is important.

There are three factors at work in deciding what type, and "feel," of trigger action an agency (or an individual) wants once they have made the increasingly prevalent basic decision to use a DAO (i.e., noncockable) pistol instead of a conventional double-action design. One is length of trigger pull. Another is weight of trigger pull. And the third is whether or not you can re-pull the trigger in the event of a misfire without needing to manually cycle the slide. Assuming equal reliability/durability/accuracy among prospective designs, how those three factors are weighed and ranked in importance will determine what particular pistol's action a prospective purchaser/user will like best. Among well-known brands of DAO mechanisms the choices are extensive and confusing.

For example, the ubiquitous "safe action" Glock and the similar S&W Sigma are striker-fired and have very short trigger pulls (with an imbedded safety) that are lighter than the DAK trigger pull, but in the event of a misfire these designs require a manual rearward movement of the slide to "preload" the striker-fired mechanism before the trigger can be pulled again. Other DAO examples like the original S&W Third Generation auto pistols were hammer fired and had full-length trigger pulls in the 9- to 11-pound range but also required a manual rearward motion of the slide to partially cock the hammer and reset the trigger mechanism following a misfire (or dry-fire). Other designs like Taurus's compact Millennium and full-size 24/7 models are striker-fired, have an 8- to 10-pound full-stroke trigger pull, and have complete repeat-strike capability. In the event of a misfire, you can keep on pulling the trigger until the round goes bang or you decide to manually clear the action and try a fresh one.