Finally! Swiss SIG P75

I've been trying to get hold of an example of this pistol for over 25 years now since first seeing one in a 1977 edition of "Small Arms of the World" and today I finally brought one home; and it's even an early version with the Type 1 slide! The problem is, because P75's are still current issue, they aren't available as surplus. The only avenue I'm aware of is through a retired Swiss serviceman who bought his issue sidearm upon leaving the service. That's a little hard being that I'm on another continent! Now, I could just buy an old P220 in 9mm and, in fact, I already own a couple Browning marked ones from 1977. But if you want a Swiss issue P75, none of those will scratch that itch. The crazy part is, the P75 isn't even actually made in Switzerland even though it' marked as if it were. No, the reality is that, for all intents and purposes, each and every "SIG" marked P75 issued was actually produced at J.P. Sauer & Sohn in Eckernförde Germany. The Swiss may have stamped and or assembled them (these is some controversy as to just how much of what was done where and by whom) but the Germans pretty much did all the production that mattered. So, the only really unique thing about owning a P75 versus a late 1970's 9mm Browning BDA or P220 marked "Made in W. Germany" is the Swiss markings. But to a guy like me who loves all things Swiss military, that's a big unique thing! Let's take a look!


Here's the left side in all it's worn in glory:

Notice the intricate curves and contours at the rear of the ejection port and the fine slide serrations. Nobody is sure exactly how many P75's were made but somewhere around the 12,000 serial number mark, they started simplifying the slide and it changed aesthetically but not mechanically but I'll get into that later in a separate thread. For now, just check out that cool "SIG" logo at the front of the slide. I get absolutely giddy looking at that!!


In fact, here's a close-up of that:

And check out the nice wear above the SIG mark. Yeah......that's good stuff!! My funky fingerprint seen at the muzzle and the fleck of funk ahead of the logo....that's not good stuff though. Oh well.


Here's the right side:

The serial number on this contract started at 1,000,000 so this is number 10, 423. It is stamped on the frame, slide and barrel. The "A" prefix stands for "Armee" so we know this is military issue, not police or some other service. At the bottom rear of the trigger guard is a "P" stamp. This essentially means "Privat" or "Private" indicating that it has been sold to the man it was issued to and is now no longer government property. Also visible are proof marks at the muzzle and on the barrel. Let's take a closer look at those.


Here are the two proof marks at the muzzle:

The one closest to the muzzle is the firing proof denoting that the pistol has been tested with an overpowered charge and passed. The rear mark is the military/government acceptance mark saying "yep, looks good, we'll take it!!"


The barrel has another firing proof mark behind the serial number:



Atop the rear of the slide is the Swiss property mark:

Yummy yummy good!!! I love me some Swiss property marks.


At the front of the slide, we see the neato humps only seen on Type 1 and Type 2 slides (I call them humpbacks):

The P75 is on bottom. Stacked on top is a Browning marked BDA dated 1977 for comparison. These slides are formed from stamped steel, NOT machined from a block.


Here's what those humps look like on the inside:



As an added bonus, it came with the proper holster:



The holster is dated 1977. If I'm interpreting the markings on the inside of the grips properly, they were made in May of 1977 which would be about right given the serial number so I have every confidence this was the holster that was originally issued with this particular pistol. Unfortunately, the troop tag is not present on the back of the grip but that's ok. I'll eventually get one that does have the tag.


This P75 shows some evidence of holster wear which I find to be most excellent! I like patina. In addition to the imbued History already present wear means I can also take it to the range without worrying about new scratches as they just tend to blend in. But internally, there is very little wear present so I expect this to be a wonderful shooter.

Well hecks!! I just lost connection to my picture service. I'll finish this up once it decides to work again! I'll be back.

Very sweet looking Sig. Congratulations on your persistence.

wow nice find

Knew nothing about them. Thanks for the education and congratulations!

Sehr gut!

Danke!


Yay! Service is back. As I was saying, it's clear this P75 saw a lot more holster time than firing time as the following pictures show.


Grips removed:





Notice how little wear there is on the steel locking block:



Right rail showing almost zero wear. Left side looks the same:




Exterior of barrel:


Notice that they omitted the "SIG-SAUER" script normally always present on the left side of the chamber.


Crown:





Rifling in general:




Breach:




If you're interested in buying one of these for yourself, check out Edelweiss Arms. As far as I know, these folks are the only place bringing in P75's and only at a trickle. I mean, how many Swiss dudes bought their P75 when they retired? And how many of those dudes are willing to let the one they bought go? Consider both of those factors and you most likely come up with a very small number. So, if you want one, grab it while you can. They won't be around forever. I don't get anything or this and Edelweiss doesn't even know I'm writing this but I have to say, in my experience, they have been excellent to deal with and they ship fast too. If you like Swiss firearms, you owe it to yourself to check 'em out.
Alrighty. That's it. I have another one of these on the way but it has a Type 2 slide. I'll probably do a short write-up comparing the two and throw the BDA's in there too for giggles. In fact, I'll probably just add it to this thread in the interest of efficiency. So, until then, I'll leave you with this thought. Never give up on that grail gun you've been wanting for forever.....you just might find one.....or even two! Thanks for your time!

That is so beautiful. Congrats.

I must say again you have one of the most comprehensive and unique firearm collection I’ve ever seen. On top of the in depth writing and pictures, you must have a hell of a job to pay for all these.

Beautiful gun. Congratulations!

Thanks guys. I don't do drugs and I don't have kids so I gotta blow my spare money on something! I do without a lot of other stuff to fund this addiction.

So was this the predecessor to the 226?


Q

Yes sir. It was the first of the 22x line and everything traces back to this "Type 1".

Cool, it is awesome that you can physically show the progression of firearms development and see the changes. The double hump prior to the flat/curved slide and other subtle changes. I always appreciate the history lesson from you and the other serious collectors.


Q

Thank you sir. That means a lot to me!

Congratulations. That is a mighty fine Sig you have managed to find. I really liked the pictures and the captions below. Thanks for sharing details of your new acquisition with us.

Cal68

I'm sure the 1911 folks will disagree but Sig makes the best looking firearm. This and the entire 2xx line up are the best looking handguns offered.

Very cool. Always enjoy your write ups and photos.

Once again Combloc you amaze me with your beautiful finds !! Thank you for sharing!!

Seeing this pic reminded me.
So that is the trigger bar spring that's in all(most) of the P series (as far as I know).

If not careful, some people can disconnect that spring when removing and replacing the grips. That's why it is important to put the correct model of aftermarket grips on these pistols, because the backside molding could interfere with it. No trigger bar spring, no shooty.

BUT, if you get "no trigger" when you press (meaning it's loose as cheese through a goose), you should still get 1 shot off.
Turn the pistol upside down, the bar falls into place and you can fire it once if under an emergency.
I learned this from carrying my 229 service pistol.

This is one beauty of a pistol. Barely shot.

When I was taking pictures for this write-up I took the grips off of an almost mint 1977 dated Browning BDA for comparison photos to be used later. In case you were unaware, Browning brought the P220 in commercially for a few years and marketed them as the BDA before SIG USA was set up in this country. I was a little surprised at all the grease someone slathered under the right grip and thought "why would someone do that??" I was just about to wipe it off when it occurred to me, that sure looks a lot like Automatenfett (the grease issued in the cleaning kits). So, before proceeding to clean it off, I took the grips off of a second as new 1977 and, sure enough, it had the same grease slathered under the right hand grip. I got out a can of the Automatenfett to compare and, yep, it was the same stuff. Based on these observations, I assume that SAUER in Germany used the same identical grease on export models as was specified by the Swiss for maintenance use in their pistols and rifles. I just inspected another P75 today and, sure enough, there are traces of the same grease under its right side grip as well. Minutia like this really interests me for some reason....I'm just weird I guess.

Anywho, here is a picture of the two 1977 "Browning BDA's" showing what I am talking about:

The crazy thing is, the 42 year old grease shown above is still as soft and slippery as the stuff I have sealed in an airtight factory can. Swiss made product Quality is legendary for a reason.