Articles and Other News
The cure for the plastic Sig Sauer guide rod
November 9, 2009 by Bruce Gray · 4 Comments
So, why do we consider the Grayguns rods the best? Our beautifully finished and tough FAT rods set the replacement standard for solid stainless-steel P-series Sig Sauer guide rods.
We’ve expanded our popular line to include both polished stainless and Super Black rods for the following pistols: P239, P220/226, P228/229, P6/225, SIG Pro, and P250 Compact 9mm/.40.
Here are three reasons why we think the Grayguns guide rods are the best available for your Sig Sauer pistol:
- Grayguns guide rods are turned from top-grade 17-4 stainless stock and carefully heat treated to our specifications to prevent damage, ringing or galling. We have over 30 years experience designing top quality guide rods.
- Grayguns FAT guide rods for P-series pistols are made to maximum diameter to properly support factory braided recoil springs for extended service life, and to fit aftermarket single strand springs reliably without risk of damage from coil-jumping. Our SIG Pro, P239 and P250 hard rods are also made to maximum diameter for reliable, smooth function.
- Like all Grayguns products, our rods are American made and guaranteed for life.
New low guide rod prices!
- Bright Polished Stainless Steel – $25
- Exclusive Grayguns Super Black Finished Stainless Steel – $30
Visit our online store (https://shop.grayguns.com) to order.
Our strong commitment to personal and friendly customer service, leading edge innovation and consistent, top quality work is a reflection of Bruce Gray's 35 year career as a highly regarded custom gunsmith, competitor and practical shooting authority. 
What are the issues with the factory installed plastic guide rod from Sig Sauer, that a metal guide rod from Grayguns are needed? If a metal rod is better, why did not Sig Sauer install one?
To answer Mike’s questions: The solid guide rod is infinitely more durable than the factory Sig guide rod. It is far less likely to break (actually, I can’t event conceive of a situation where a solid Gray Guns rod would break) than the original. It’s also heavier, adding a small amount of additional weight to the front of the gun, which is a good thing. As to why Sig doesn’t install them at the factory, I suspect it’s cost – Sig probably gets them for far less than a solid rod, and Sig (like all manufacturers) tries to keep costs to a minimum to protect the bottom line (and so they can hold down the MSRP to keep their guns competitively priced). I look at it the same as night sights – night sights are almost always superior to regular contrast sights, but they cost more to put on a gun; stock Sigs don’t usually come with night sights, and the models that do cost more.
I love my Sigs, but I love them more with the solid guide rods. I have them in both my P220 and P226, and they are flawless. And no, I don’t work for Gray Guns, I’m just a satisfied customer (as are a huge number of Sigforum members).
The first thing I did after buying a new p229DAK (40 S&W) was to replace the factory guide rod with a solid stainless steel guide rod .
The first advantage is more weight (it helped me with recoil management) .
The second advantage is I just didn’t like the idea of a hollowed out guide rod (more prone to damage than a solid one)
After about a year of using the solid rod I tried the Sig factory rod (shot 50 rounds) and to me there was a BIG difference.
I have retired the Factory rod and will only use the solid one.
Just sayin’