I'm in the process of returning my new Sig Sauer P226.

I hadn't got a blowback pistol in my (ever growing) collection, so I was looking forward to a weekend's play with it, but that was not to be...

As a rule I prefer to buy all metal construction rather than synthetic materials and mainly in .177 pellet version. I also tend to go for CO2 powered pistols.

First off it was a nightmare to open the hard plastic bubble it comes sealed in. I was trying to get it open without too much damage to the pistol, the case or myself. It must have taken me about 20 minutes to finally be able to get it released and I certainly used a few choice words whilst doing so. Apart from the cheap & nasty image these packs give, they are useless once opened for storage and are not even recyclable. They do not protect the contents from any rough handling they may receive in transport either! Even a cardboard box (like the Webley MK VI) is better than these hard plastic bubble packs.

Once open, I examined the pistol for damage and build quality. No obvious damage, but I was not impressed by the build quality. Certainly not comparable to either Umarex or Webley. The finish was poor and the pistol number was badly embossed and almost unreadable. The whole pistol rattled like a sock full of spanners!

I read through the multi language instruction sheet and loaded both ends of a magazine with pellets. Not impressed with the construction quality or cheap grade plastic of the magazine either. I really can't see it lasting very long. Then I attempted to load the CO2. I'd read up how to load it and had also seen it being done on You Tube. Sadly this didn't work for me. I inserted the new cylinder partly closed the handle and, when I felt slight resistance, gripped it fully and attempted the quick squeeze closure. I should be so lucky! A full CO2 cylinder sprayed its contents everywhere. I had met some resistance but I'm not sure what had stopped it fully loading. No obvious obstructions visible anywhere. I waited for the frost to clear and tried again with another cylinder (different make). Same problem. Something seems to be preventing the cylinders going fully "home" and another cylinder of CO2 wasted.
By this time I'm starting to get annoyed. I gave the pistol a gentle rattle and tried a third cylinder... Success! So, was the problem something to do with whatever was rattling... I don't know!

Still, job done and on to loading the magazine. That inserted, but failed to stay in place ejecting each time I tried. I noticed the eject button was partially in. It didn't want to go in or come out freely. Was this caused by the mystery rattle? After a bit of fiddling I got the button to move a little better and also managed to get the magazine to stay in place.

I could feel my blood pressure creeping up and up. I should have taken these "difficulties" as an omen of what was to come. Safety off, I cocked the breech and took aim, gently squeezing the trigger... and... a half-hearted bang. Something wasn't right and I didn't see anything leaving the barrel. Observing all the safety rules (which I wont bore you with) I checked the magazine. No empty chamber and one pellet had moved from central in the chamber to flat head level with leading edge of the magazine. Again I'll save you the saga of my next hour or so, during which I swapped pellet makes, magazines (I had bought extras), gas cylinder makes and out of what was probably 100+ "shots" I think about 5 actually left the end of the barrel but failed to appear anywhere on a target! That said, I even fired a fresh magazine, with fresh gas cylinder, at an A4 bubble pack envelope held at arms length and not a single hole appeared!

My weekend was ruined. I'd spent nearly £200 on a pistol that doesn't work, 2 extra packs of magazines (4 in total) and pellets and gas galore. I will NEVER purchase another Sig Sauer weapon as long as I live, and would advise anyone who asks NOT to do so either.

My pistol is being returned for full refund and I feel cheated and cross.