Bang Time ~ Eagle vs Sig 9MM

[Flieger]

There are too many people out there that don't know about the Baby Eagle and maybe it's to our benefit, my keep the prices reasonable.

Because if they ever caught on, the public would find out what they have been missing. Although heavy for some, with the exception of a Walther P22 (my wife's toy), I don't own a single plastic gun out of 30 I currently own.

But with Hogue finger groove grips, and this may crack you up, I added a rubber checkered backstrap from an old pair of Pachmayr Hi-Powers and boy does it feel great. It's really hard to say which one is my favorite, but the Eagle feels about the best I have in hand.

And so I took an opportunity to shoot two that were very similar in features, my Sig P226R and my full steel Eagle..w/rail, both in 9MM.

First is magazine capacity and since I don't use the stock magazines for either the Sig or Eagle, I use MecGar anti-frictions. The Sig has an 18 round count and the Eagle 17. The balance without any doubt goes to the Eagle as for me, a natural feeling pointer in hand.

There is also the subjective statement that the Eagle is a better looking gun and while the Eagle angles a bit like a Luger in your hand, the Sig is simply square. My Sig has a beautiful barrel popular tilt lock up, but my Eagle is Browning style locking lugs on the barrel. Superior in my humble opinion.

But what goes missed in action, while the Sig has the typical "lands & grooves", the Eagle is blessed with polygonal rifling. With the teaching I had with my early H&K's, poygonal rifling is the far superior. By keeping all the gasses trapped behind the bullet, you get performance that L's&G's could only dream of. At 50 feet, I am at the very least an inch tighter on my groups with the Eagle.

Bottom line while I own 9 Sig Sauers, I will soon have a mint conditioned P226R "Texas Commemorative" with 4 magazines, that comes with a beautiful set of Sig wood grips with a single "Star" and extra set of Hogue grips for sale as soon as I get the chance.
Being that I own two P226's, the funds will be used to purchase another Baby Eagle in .40 S&W.

5 stars for the Baby Eagle in 9mm.

[Flieger]

Not a single response.

That's what I'm so very happy about. The secret is still intact. $499 for a NIB .40 Baby Eagle is resting in the nest.

[Bawanna]

It is rather odd isn't it. I'm not familiar with either platform very much so I was kind of watching from the sidelines.

I think we need to some pictures to get this thread moving ya know.

[Flieger]

Yeh Bawanna,
I have Photobucket, I'm just lazy at this point. Sorry, I will try.
This is one of the many CZ 75 clones, but in my opinion, the best of the breed.

One other feature that makes it different than other handguns is the slide rails ride inside the frame as opposed to, like my Sig P226, ride on the outside or sit on the frame. This certainly makes it slimmer, but in my opinion, it's stronger as well.

In the 80's, H&K's big selling feature for their P9s and P7's were their Polygonal rifling. It's one of the BIG reasons to buy a Kahr.

It's simply a great gun that is overlooked.

[totesmagotes]

I recently purchased a compact model and have been pretty pleased. The DA trigger will take some getting used to but the quality of the gun is awesome.

http://midwestguntrader.com/cl_upload/0114/15211838791.jpg

[downtownv]

I have a sig 229 .40 cal, that is among my most accurate shooters.Hard to argue the BE Price, although, I never seen or shot one.

[b4uqzme]

That's what I'm so very happy about. The secret is still intact. $499 for a NIB .40 Baby Eagle is resting in the nest.

very underrated and lesser known (good) pistol. I was looking at one of these closely but found a used K40 instead. I'm sure I would have been happy with either pistol.

But you are right -- the secret is mostly a secret right now. Thanks for talking it up.

[Flieger]

I just bought one in .45 acp.

That's how much I respect it.

Now that doesn't mean I would sell my Sig P226 either.

[Daniel71]

I bought a Baby Eagle 9mm compact (short slide) several months ago to replace a Sig P239 that I gave to my daughter to replace the S&W 640 she gave to her mother who recently decided she wanted to learn to shoot and get a handgun for self-defense - too bad she hadn't decided to do that years ago when prices were lower. I liked the Sig and my daughter loves it, but I'm very happy with the Baby Eagle. I'd like to find a steel frame sup-compact in 9mm but I have not seen any at the gun shows since I started looking. I haven't seen any at any of the online gun dealers either. (Also, I would like to buy a .45 caliber Baby Eagle someday, but that will have to wait.)

[pineappleshooter]

I went to the website to check out the Baby Eagles and all the specs come up as conventional rifling.

[O'Dell]

I've owned a bunch of SIGs in the last thirty years, but have had no experience with the Baby Eagle. I find it hard to fault the SIGs, but in the last twelve years have converted to HK. As far as polygonal rifling is concerned, I've had both it and conventional, and have noted little difference if any.

[Daniel71]

The IWI web site says pistols can be delivered with either types rifling, but Magnum Research must be importing the conventional rifling now. Years ago I am sure I saw Baby Eagles at gun shows with polygonal rifling.

[warbird1]

I've had a Jericho 941 compact that had the polygonal rifling and a full size Baby Eagle in 40 that I bought last year that had the conventional rifling. Well made either way. There are a lot of fine CZ clones out there with the most recent coming from Canik 55 out of Turkey.

[Fuzzball]

I recently bought a baby eagle 9mm with the 3.64 in barrel. Destined to be my carry gun. Had to have the trigger group polished because the DA pull had so much grit. Also about 12 lbs or more pull. Now the DA is a reasonable 6 lbs. Had the end of the curved trigger cut back slightly as it was pinching the finger after 4-5 shots. Good feel to it. Still looking into the background of this re-introduction of the Baby Eagle name. Bottom line is that I have a pistol that I really like.

Fuzzball

[Daniel71]

I haven't been able to find any of the sub-compact Baby Eagles for sale around here - not even online. I'll be going to a local gun show next weekend and will be looking for either a compact or subcompact 9mm (polymer frame). I'd like to find both so I can compare them. I'm not sure there is enough difference in the size and weight to be worth the extra strong recoil spring that is probably associated with the subcompact. Anyone out there have an opinion on these options? (If I found a steel frame subcompact I might consider it - I like the looks of the steel version more than I do the polymer.)

[jeepster09]

I have seen quite a few different versions on Armslist.

http://www.armslist.com/posts/3175821/tucson-arizona-handguns-for-sale--magnum-research-baby-eagle-ii-semi-compact-9mm-


http://www.armslist.com/classifieds/search?location=usa&category=all&tag=magnum-research&tag=9mm-luger

[Daniel71]

I looked at the web site and found it interesting; however, there is a lot of confusion there as to what is officially (according to IWI) a compact and what is a semi-compact. I saw some called a compact but listed as having a 3.9 inch barrel (although, the picture did show a compact).


I'll be going to the gun show this next weekend a see what I find there. If I don't find anything, I may go back to Armslist and sort through the listing more carefully.


In any case, thanks for the information.

[Daniel71]

I went to the gun show yesterday and saw 5 Baby Eagles there. One dealer had the polymer version of both the semi-compact and compact so I was able to handle both. For me, the semi-compact felt better. The compact grip seemed to be a little wider and the trigger reach seemed longer. I placed one gun on the other and it seems they didn't cut the bottom off the grip but removed a section from the center and raised the bump at the heal of the grip. This seems to result in the bump hitting more in the center of my palm instead of at the bottom. Also, the weight difference seemed legible. Therefore, I've decided to buy the semi-compact, but the prices at this dealer were high. I found another dealer who had both the steel and polymer semi-compact, and the price of the compact was much lower than for the steel. I was ready to buy it when I realized it was 40 caliber, and I want 9mm. Therefore, I'll check out the link jeepster sent and buy it online. Someone else as selling a full-size polymer, but I like the semi-compact more than that. (There were plenty of CZs and the other clones and the prices were not much lower than for the Baby Eagle - I don't understand why the BE is not more popular.)

[TheTman]

My brother has a .40 Baby Eagle. I'm not something that I think I would buy, I'd probably go with the one of the CZ 75 models. There is nothing wrong with it, other than the prior owner put some target sights on it, and my brother couldn't get it sighted in so had me do it. I don't know what it is about it that I don't like, just the general feel of it I guess. Once I got it sighted in, it's pretty accurate, and didn't have any problems with it. I guess I don't like the way the frame is shaped under the barrel. That keeps it from fitting quite a few holsters.

[Daniel71]

I like the CZ as well. Back in 1995 I was considering the CZ-75 and a version of the Jericho with a frame-mounted safety and no decocker. (Eventually I bought a CZ-83 for a number of reasons and I still think it's a great pistol for a large 380 caliber.) I liked the way the grips of both felt, but they were very different. The CZ-75 reminds me of a Colt SA army revolver because it has sort of a hump. It's comfortable, but it seems to extend the trigger reach. I found I could not quite reach the trigger when the pistol was in double-action mode without shifting my grip and then having to shift back for SA mode. The grip of the Jericho allows me to reach the trigger better in both DA and SA modes.


Last year at the gun show the CZ was selling for as much as $100 less than the Jericho, but this year they are about the same. Also CZ now has so many models I can't tell which has which feature without looking on their web site. They seem to have adopted the Kimber and now Sig Sauer business model of having a version of each pistol for every individual gun buyer in America. I've also heard mixed reviews about CZ's new Omega trigger - it's great or it's junk (I don't have any personal experience with it, but the trigger was always said to be the strongest point in favor of the CZ and its clones). Also, the finish of the new CZ-75 models looks like some kid spray painted it with black enamel. As to the other CZ-75 clones, I like the Jericho and the Bul Cherokee and possibly Tagfolio, but I have no interest in any of the others. The ones from Turkey may be OK but the price difference in only about $100 and that's for a pistol for a very unknown manufacturer and the ones from Switzerland cost a fortune and haven't gotten very good review - they look expensive, but I don't know whether they are worth the money.


For my use, the Jericho is the best; although, I may someday but a gently used but very old CZ-75 for my collection (although for real use I like having a decocker).

[warbird1]

I'm a big fan of the CZ75 design. Currently I have a CZ75 B, a CZ75 Phantom and a CZ75 B clone in the TriStar L-120. Really looking at adding a Jericho 941 compact to the collection. My LGS just happens to have one.

[Daniel71]

Which version are you interested in buying?

[warbird1]

The compact all steel w/12 rd mags.

[marshal kane]

I didn't get much from your review of the Eagle vs Sig 9mm. Most of your review, I found, is subjective so while I can appreciate your liking the Eagle, others may be just as subjective in selecting the SIG. Perhaps your review would have been more meaningful, at least to me, had you been more objective when compared your Eagle to the P226R SIG, e.g. magazine capacity, lockup, and polygonal/conventional rifling of both pistols was meaningful. When you get into the subjective, e.g. looks, feel, balance, polygonal rifling is better than conventional, and shooting results, that opens the door to disagreement from the readers. Just my two cents, YMMV but I'm glad you found a gun that you like.

[warbird1]

It took me a while but the Jericho 941 compact (steel) is now in my safe. Sold the TriStar.