SIG P210: Return of the King

For most of the last twenty or thirty years, the Sig P210 pistol had a mystique about it that bordered on the legendary. In no small part that was driven by near-unobtainium levels of scarcity.

While the pistol remained in desultory production into the early Aughties, it wasn’t often seen on this side of the pond. Along with its scarcity and high price tag, the reputation for outstanding mechanical accuracy kept the mystique alive enough that Sig Sauer relaunched a new version of the classic pistol, updated to retain as much of the qualities of the original as possible while still being compatible with modern manufacturing techniques, at SHOT 2017.

Available in both Standard and Target variants, reception has apparently been positive enough that Sig previewed a carry-oriented version at their Media Range Day here at SHOT 2020. Dubbed, as one might have predicted, the new P210 Carry features a slate of changes to make it more suitable to the job of concealed carry.

For starters, the barrel is chopped back to a more concealment-friendly length and the slide has been given more rounded, snag free corners. The frontstrap is checkered for a positive grip and the wraparound G10 grips on the preproduction guns had a well-textured backstrap area combined with only light texturing on the slide. This is to offer a good grip yet avoid being too abrasive to cover garments or the carrier’s skin.

The final concession to carry gun duty is a trigger that felt closer to four and a half or five pounds, as opposed to the light three-ish pound trigger on the Target and Standard models.

Back in the day, few gunsmiths were known for working on 210’s, but probably the best known was Bruce Gray, so it was pretty cool to find a spread of hot-rodded P210’s on the Grayguns table there at Media Range Day, ranging from mild to wild.

There was a lightly modified version with G10 grips and a sporty magwell, as well as one with the slide machined to run a Sig Romeo MRDS optic. The most radical one, though, was one that had actually been modified with an eye towards being a duty pistol, presumably for an officer with impeccable taste in blasters.

In addition to a magwell that was blended so artfully that it looked part of the frame, this one also sported a Picatinny-type accessory rail on the dust cover that looked like it came from the factory that way, and Bruce’s new and proprietary trigger work that shortened the trigger reset by half.

As an alternative to the high-end 9x19mm 1911s that are popping up like weeds these days, it will be interesting to see how the P210 line continues to develop.

SIG P210 Target $1,449.99 Cabelas.com

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