Sig Sauer P226-XCARRY Legion: CCW Workhorse

Sig Sauer’s P226 SAO has been a workhorse for me over the years. Carrying single-action 1911s for years, they remain the most familiar. My pistol is still used regularly after thousands of rounds of hard use. A Sig Sauer Pro slide has been added, as well as a Romeo Pro X RDS and Grey Guns flat trigger, making it pretty close to a Legion X. It remains a favorite, but a shorter barrel would be nice for concealed carry. Sig Sauer took care of that with the new P226-XCARRY Legion SAO.

Sig Sauer P226-XCARRY Legion

Legion X Series firearms are Sig Sauer’s flagship pistols in general, especially the Legacy series. They represent years of development and evolution. Attention to detail and quality has more in common with custom pistols than anything off the shelf.

Sights are their excellent X-RAY3, featuring a high-visibility front and a subdued rear sight with tritium inserts. The slide is designed for use with their SIGLOC Pro RDS, which is the equivalent of their military-issue version. Mounting from the bottom, it provides one of the most secure and lowest mounting RDSs on the market, co-witnessing with standard-height sights.

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The grips are custom G-10 with an ergonomic fit and useful checkering. The SAO uses a flat adjustable trigger with little take-up, short reset, and a crisp 4 pounds. Sig’s X series lowers include a high cut, checkering, a flared magwell, and Legion X-style slide treatment. It ships with three flush-fit 18-round Mec-Gar magazines.

The full-size has a 4.4-inch barrel; the XCarry is the barrel-length model, which shortens it to 3.8 inches. Flush-fit magazines don’t require an extended funnel, but one can be added. Both the flush-fit and extended X magazines work fine.

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Concealed Carry

Carry pistols these days can certainly be smaller, but there has been a pretty significant uptick in larger pistols. Sig Sauer’s P365 is a perfect example. It started out pretty small, but the latest is more like what I carried on duty for years. Specifically, a 4-inch-barreled pistol with a higher capacity.

The XCARRY fits perfectly into that market with its 3.8-inch barrel and 18+1 capacity. Basically, a shorter P226, it brings all of those advantages with a shorter tube. One of my favorite carry pistols is a Wilson Combat of a similar size and the same capacity. My preferred method of carry is OWB at three o’clock using a high-quality leather rig.

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Mitch Rosen’s Custom holster for the Legion was picked up from Sig Sauer’s website. There is no better leather on the market; their custom grade is thick, strong, and provides an incredibly precise fit. Precise enough that a break-in is required.

With a tad of their “leather lighting” and several days of dry fire, it has proven to be fast and incredibly comfortable. Currently, my primary carry pistol, it has been easy to conceal and plenty comfortable for long periods.

Shooting the P226-XCARRY Legion

Shooting from off-hand at 25 yards, everything tested was under 2 inches, with a few closer to 1.5 inches. Given the lack of a bench or bench rest, in the real world, this is my preference.

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This is the fourth Legion tested over the years, and all are more capable than most humans holding them. Previous tests using the hood of my truck as a rest result in clustered groups at 25 yards and fist-sized at 50 yards.

All my carry gun practice starts with a single shot on 8-inch steel at 50 yards from the holster. This is followed by a 25-yard shot on a 6” steel. Barnes 115 grain +P TAC-XPD was the most consistently accurate at every range.

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My final drill for the day consisted of a failure drill at 15 yards. This was followed by two on steel at 25, 50, and on a silhouette at 100 yards. It confirms my zero and builds confidence if needed. Misses are rare with my old SAO. Nothing changed with the XCARRY. It’s as accurate as most humans can shoot it.

The Reliable P226 Platform

The P226 remains one of the most reliable pistols ever created, after over 27 years of use. Federal agencies, military units, and protective details have been using these for years. Often, with round counts near 100,000 rounds, they are retired or rebuilt. Most still work after that; many get turned into Simunitions pistols.

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Over the course of testing, the only ammunition to suffer a stoppage was some 135-grain Berry’s in my IPSC load. It is a very light practice load. My full-size will run these with a lighter recoil spring, so it was not unexpected. Another practice round used was Wilson Combats 115-grain HAP practice load, and it ran perfectly. Other than those, there were zero stoppages. It ran like every P226, flawlessly.

Unlike a typical single-action, there is no grip safety, and the slide can be manipulated with the safety on. I find this feature helpful when teaching. Running it with the safety up cramps your grasp a bit, but it’s a nice feature. The safety is ambidextrous, with placement slightly different than my SAO.

Spacing between the slide stop and safety is wider, allowing better access to release the slide with my thumb. Checkering is more aggressive and is flatter to the slide. It can be used as a release, and you can access it with your off-hand or primary hand thumb. With practice, magazine changes are incredibly fast.

My only issue was the clearly stronger return spring pressure. It was just not possible to release the slide, requiring my normal slide release process. A lighter spring will probably take care of that; it’s just not a priority for me. Hot loads were much softer, making it an asset with plus P loads.

Other Considerations

These X-series pistols fit my large hands perfectly and remain the most comfortable ever used. A few are very close, but this is incredibly intuitive for me to shoot. That translates into a low recoil impulse, making multiples fast and accurate and long sessions less taxing.

The trigger is a really nice match between accuracy, reliability, and control. My 2011 pistols are clearly lighter, but can be a tad light. This is about perfect for duty. Adjustable for over travel, it can be set up to suit the shooter. Mine are adjusted to facilitate movement back and forth between other single actions with little transition time.

The safety is large and rides in the same spot as my 1911/2011 pistols. Very crisp, positive, tactile, and audible.

This is my third or fourth Romeo X Pro RDS, and it will likely not be my last. In every configuration, they have proven rugged, reliable, and easy to use and see. One of my Pro X open emitter dots survived a 5K-round test, half of which took place during a Gunsite 350 pistol class, with zero issues.

They don’t shoot loose, sit low to the sights, and are very easy to pick up. Mounted to a Wilson Combat D77 Project 1, it has survived some very hard use and significant round counts. They sit on all my Sig Sauers as they remain one of my favorites.

The Sig Sauer P226-XCARRY Legion Didn’t Disappoint

Clearly, I am a Sig Sauer Legion fan. It would have been rather unexpected if this P226 were somehow disappointing. Everything I test gets the same treatment, and this pistol really shone. Quality, attention to detail, and the feature set are as good as it gets.

The going rate for the pistol alone is around $1,400.00. Add the RDS, and it’s closer to $1800.00. That seems like a bit, but it’s a solid grand less than many high-capacity 2011s and can be about half the cost.

For me, this is one of those rare occasions where nothing would be changed. The sights are good, it fits my hand, is accurate, soft shooting, and fits in numerous holsters. Likewise, it runs everything thrown at it with a clean, crisp, and carry-capable single-action trigger. It even comes with three magazines, allowing you to complete most school or agency qualifications.

It may not be perfect for everyone, but it is about as close as it gets for me. Hopefully, Sig Saur was not expecting to get it back.

Sig Sauer P226-XCARRY Legion SAO Specs

Performance

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