As direct descendants of the legendary Swiss P210 Military pistol, the new SIG Sauer P210 Carry and the P210 Target are now available. The SIG P210 is a 9mm pistol with eight-round magazines. But what it lacks in magazine capacity, it makes up for in accuracy. With their carefully fitted barrels, the P210 is the Swiss watch of handguns.
Carrying the P210
A remarkable piece of engineering is the SIG Sauer P210 Carry. Keeping true to the original P210 design, the P210 Carry has no railing or optics option and offers the reliability and accuracy of the full-sized P210 Target in a carry-friendly package. Designed to preserve life under the most dire conditions, it is superbly accurate and refined as a combat pistol.
A 9mm semi-automatic pistol by SIG, the P210 Carry has a single-action trigger that only releases the hammer via a sear. A single-action trigger does fewer physical movements than a double-action trigger, which must first cock the hammer before also releasing it. Like the legendary Colt 1911, the P210 is designed for carry cocked and locked with a round in the chamber.
According to my Wheeler Engineering Trigger Gauge, the trigger weight averaged 4 pounds, 9 ounces. It was very crisp, and the curved trigger fit the human finger contour very well, which made it easy to engage the trigger consistently. Despite looking small at rest, the hammer spur has a precision angle that allows it to easily engage and cock. The angle makes dry-fire practice convenient and enjoyable, since the slide doesn’t need to be constantly racked.
The P210 firing controls are prominent, particularly the thumb safety, which is curved with a contoured concave surface. The slide rails are inside of the frame and are shaped and contoured, preventing accidental disengagement. Based on Petter-Browning’s action, the slide rails are inside the frame rather than outside. The slide release is curved and contoured as well. A grooved oval magazine release button is perfectly sized and releases the magazine with ease. With this fine pistol, SIG Sauer includes two magazines, so new owners can immediately begin using it for defensive shooting.
Specifications
- Caliber: 9mm
- Magazine capacity: Eight rounds/two magazines included
- Sights: 3-dot Tritium SIGLITE Night Sights
- Barrel length: 4.1 inches (not threaded)
- Slide: Stainless steel/nitron-coated/front and rear cocking serrations
- Frame: Alloy/nitron-coated/no rails
- Trigger type: Single-action-only/curved trigger
- Weight: 29 ounces
- Height: 5.63 inches
- Width: 1.44 inches
- Overall length: 7.75 inches
- Grips: Black G10
- Price: Approximately $1,050
Firing the P210
At a local indoor range, I positioned a model B27 silhouette target 25 feet away from the P210 along with a few boxes of SIG Sauer Elite Performance 124-grain FMJ standard pressure practice ammo for the P210 with a muzzle velocity of 1,165 feet per second.
Aside from the fact that the slide cycles smoothly as a result of the frame cradling it and keeping it within bounds, the P210 Carry does everything extremely well as mentioned earlier. The trigger is also excellent and comfortable. Furthermore, the grips are well-shaped, textured, and checked. The fixed combat sights are very prominent and easy to see. Additionally, the grips are well-shaped, textured, and checkered.
It turned out that there was an issue with my eyeglasses. The first eight-shot group measured three inches by two inches, while the second eight-shot group measured three inches by two inches, respectively.
I sighted in on the orange center X-Ring and fired eight rounds two-handedly. Due to the fact that I was looking through a less-than-ideal portion of my trifocals, I was not able to get the best-sight picture.
In order to improve groups significantly, I turned my head to the left and sighted out of the right quarter of the right lens. Each group fired had multiple-round, same-hole clusters, properly reflecting the P210’s accuracy potential, whereas only two rounds of the first 16 rounds were touching. In the next group, measurements were 2 14″, 1 12″, 2″, and 1 34″, and no malfunctions occurred from the gun or ammo.
Should you buy the SIG Sauer P210 Carry?
As you can see from its specifications, the SIG Sauer P210 Carry is nicely sized for its intended purpose. It can be carried comfortably with a DeSantis M71 nylon inside-the-waistband holster, even though it is in the same size/weight range as the 17.8-ounce P365 Micro Compact.
This extra weight helps the P210 Carry absorb recoil better than the lighter 12-ounce P365, so it is a great choice for new shooters who wish to get acquainted with 9mm rounds. In person, the P210 Carry has a very elegant design that can only be appreciated in person.
