By speedgem
Published: 18 November, 2003
I have always loved the way real steel Sig handguns looked ever since I saw them. The P226 has been my favorite. So I found this KWC P226 with the actual Sig Sauer trademarks. It has been a superb spring pistol.
Appearance
The KWC P226 is a little too much shine and a plasticy look to it. But this is to be expected from a gun that is sadly alomst all plastic. The licensed trademarks read "Sig Sauer Sig Arms Inc. Herndon-VA." It also has a serial number which is "21123626". I think the trademarks are a big plus on the looks factor. The finish on the gun is very good. It's smooth but a little too shiny. The grips are good. They have a checkered pattern so it will not slip out of your hand.
Features and Functions
This P226 does not have a slide lock, but it can be modded to have a slide lock(details will follow). It doesn't have an open ejection port. I don't like the fact that it doesn't have an open ejection port because it doesn't look right when you pull the slide back or when it is modded for the slide lock. It offers a functioning safety lever that works very well. The gun is also field strippable. This gun also has Hop Up as do most other KWC spring pistols. The magazine slides into the gun very easily and makes a nice "click" sound. The slide pull it short and smooth, very smooth. The trigger is nice and light with a relatively short trigger pull. It is not a very heavy pistol but it's very good for the $20-$30 price tag. The magazine is very well designed but it is lacking in one department, capacity. The magazine holds 12 rounds. It will hold 13 after you use the mag for a while because the spring gets weaker(I cant find another word for it). It is capable of holding 14 rounds, 13+1 in the chamber. It also has a quick load feature. Just pull the tab down and it locks in place, then you hold the top of the magazine down and pour in the bbs and push the "button" at the bottom on the side. If you were going to skirmish with this I'd suggest you get at least 2 extra magazines, then you might be untouchable. The sights on this gun are extremely good. The front sight has a white dot in the middle so target acquisition is quick and easy. The grip on this gun is very comfortable. It feels like the gun was molded to fit my hand. Maybe that is just me but it feels like it was custom made to fit my hand. The gun is easy to maneuver and carry around since it is not very heavy.
Accuracy, Range, and Power
I would not recommend using .12g bbs as they would go sky high after about 10 feet making them pretty much useless. Heavier .2g bbs are recommended for best accuracy results. The KWC P226 is a very powerful spring pistol. It will shoot a .2g bb right through one side of a coke can and make a big dent in the other side. The maximum range for hitting human sized targets is 70+ft with .2g bbs. As an estimate, I would say the KWC P226 shoots a .2g bb at 220-230 feet per second. These estimates may be wrong as I do not have a real chronograph to get the exact feet per second ratings, I used the coke can test to guess at the feet per second.
Skirmish Testing
I recently had a little backyard springer battle last Saturday with 6 people and I successfully took out 2 enemies from about 60 feet with the trusty KWC P226. After that I was gone. I got shot because the third guy behind a bush shot me from about 40 feet with a HFC M16A2 while I wasn't paying attention. I'll get him next Saturday
Comparison
I just went out today and did a little test between the KWC P226 and the HFC P226. The KWC obviously looks better because of the real Sig Sauer trademarks. The HFC is really heavy compared to the KWC. The HFC also has more features such as a working slide lock and the open ejection port. The HFC also has more metal parts, and more metal parts means its heavier. The KWC P226 easily beat out the HFC in power and accuracy. The HFC's Hop Up is calibrated for .12g light weight bbs while the KWC's Hop Up is set for .2g heavier bbs. Heavier bbs are more accurate because the are less likely to get thrown off target by wind and other factors. The HFC has more magazine capacity though. These two spring pistols have their good and bad points, they kind of bounce off each other though. The HFC holds more ammo, The KWC is more accurate but holds less ammo, The HFC has a working slide lock and open ejection port, and the KWC has real Sig Sauer markings. If these two pistols were crossed together it would be an awesome spring pistol. I like the KWC a little more than the HFC because of the real Sig trademarks.
Overall
This is a well built spring pistol. It is great for springer battles, if you have a few extra mags. For the $20-$30 price tag at most online retailers it's a very good buy. It should last for a long time if it is taken care of. It's made almost entirely out of plastic but I have dropped it a few times accidentally and it has been fine so far. I'd recommend this to someone just starting out, because it is such a reliable gun. Out of the thousands of rounds I've shot through it, not one has ever jammed. It is ultra reliable. I would recommend the HFC P226 just as much as the KWC but I've heard bad reports of HFC products. You could get a bad one and end up with a piece of junk. I’ve had many HFC guns and they have never took a dump on me in a skirmish. Every KWC spring gun I've owned has preformed beautifully. My KWC P226 has been great so far. I'd like a good P226 GBB, but the are more expensive and sometimes hard to find.
Slide Lock Details
Ok, heres how to make the awesome P226 have a slide lock. It doesn't work when the mag is empty though. You have to make it lock back yourself. All you need a a small file. Then you just file the "notch" in the slide back until you can pull the slide back and it lines up with the slide lock lever. Then pull the slide lock lever up and hold it there. This lever will fall out if you aren't careful. This slide lock is more for display or looks than functionality. Refer to my pics to get the idea about filing the notch back.
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