Sig Continues: P210 Carry Custom Works
A new week, and another new Sig handgun. This week Sig Sauer has gone back to their Custom Works line to unveil its newest entry: the P210 Carry. The P210 is a bit of an anomaly—it is uniquely different than other current offerings from the company. While many manufacturers have modernized their handgun selection, Sig turned back the clock nearly 70 years when they brought back the P210. The P210 was first developed in 1947 and was accepted by the Swiss military in 1949—under the name M47/8. Its design is reminiscent of the legendary Browning Hi-Power (actually, when the 210 was developed, Browning had its offices in nearby Belgium, there was a lot of back-and-forth), but with one significant design change: the P210 is single stack—it only holds eight rounds. Why? Well, the Swiss valued marksmanship and ergonomics over volume of fire. It’s reported that the Swiss military required the handgun to shoot groups of two inches at 50 meters. That’s something most modern handguns struggle with at half the distance. From its very birth the P210 was a shooter and is perhaps the primary reason why it has withstood and is still available today.
So, with an already expensive and niche gun, what did Sig do to make it worthy of the Custom Works branding? They made it the quintessential “barbeque” gun. It’s that gun in a collection that doesn’t get shot much but is beautiful to the eye and represents the highest level of craftmanship. It is only brought out at special occasions where it can be envied by all onlookers. The only thing missing is a special edition aged whiskey of choice and a cigar. Those, however, are sold separately. For the Custom Works edition, Sig went with the Carry variant of the P210 rather than the Target model. This gives it some practicality as a defensive arm…well kind of. The P210 Cary Custom Works is a handsome gun, and Sig went with eye appeal and traditional trims to elevate it. To start, the gun has a high polished DLC coating on the slide and a black hard-coat anodized frame. This gives it a two-tone effect where the slide almost appears like a deep royal blue finish and the frame is a matte gray. To add pop, Sig went with some engraving on the slide. The Laser engraving appears very defined but is not too much as to appear gaudy. To add warmth, the gun is housed in slim Caribbean Rosewood Grips. They are fully checkered, and the curling of the wood is easily seen. Additionally, the trigger is e-nickel coated, adding more elegance. Rounding out the package, Sig added its Siglite Night sights and 3-eight round magazines. Overall, the package is pleasing to the eye and harkens back to a time of craftsmanship that has been supplanted by modern machining.
So, who is this gun for? At $1999.99 this is for the serious collector. Although, like previous releases, I don’t think this is just limited to Sig specific collectors. Its classic styling will catch the eyes of those that appreciate fine firearms and want to add that level of delicacy to their collection. The Sig Sauer P210 Carry Custom Works launches on May 4th (May the Fourth be with you), with shipping following in the coming weeks.
