Sig p220

[megasupermagnum]

I just wanted to pass along how amazed I have been with my P220. I will always prefer revolvers, but for years I could never find a semi-auto I could even tolerate. As a left handed person, I always hated how semi-auto handguns are nearly impossible to operate quickly. I have to say, the P220 (or variant in other calibers) might just be the perfect semi-auto handgun, it definitely beats out the 1911 in my book. That last statement should stir the pot good.

One of my biggest problems as a left hander was that the safety's of any handgun are never right where they need to be. They are either too far to reach without shifting my grip, or so close I accidentally turn them on when shooting. The P220 got it right, there is no safety. Of course there's plenty of striker fired, DAO, and DA/SA guns out there the same. To be able to just drawn and shoot, yet have the option of cocking the hammer for an accurate first shot is huge. So many other DA/SA guns have bobbed hammers which don't allow this.

This brings me to the trigger. SA is nothing special, it's light enough to shoot well. The DA is great, very revolver like. The best part is the transition from first to second shot is seamless. It seems on so many other DA/SA guns that the first and second shots are dramatic. You can hardly even tell if you don't think about it on the P220, and it seems it may be due to the trigger having a lot of take up. It's normally a bad thing, but it works well here.

The sights are the one weak spot on the standard P220. I hate 3 dot. I bought a set of used adjustable sights, and they are a thousand times better. I painted the rear flat black, and the front bright orange. That is the best sight combo for me. I got my P220 used for a great price, but if I were to buy new, I'd look for one with adjustable sights. They must make a hunter model, it looks like it may only be in 10mm auto.

Ergonomics for the left handed are awesome. With no safety, all you need to worry about is the mag release. I can hit it no problem, it might even be easier left handed. For the slide release, I either use my right hand, or just pull the slide back to release it. You can use the decocker if you want. I don't, I use it just like a revolver. There's nothing else to it, this gun is bare bones elegant.

Accuracy is fantastic. You can make just about anything shoot good with enough money, and it seems a large number of semi-auto shooters only care about what they can put on target at 7 yards in 3 seconds. I'm talking rested groups here, but the gun is very ergonomic. I can shoot this as good as my revolvers offhand quickly. My gun is as it came off the factory floor, no modifications. My best yet is 4.5 grains american select, Federal 150 primer, Lee 200 gr SWC sized .452" and two coats of Lee Alox, with an OAL 1.25". I shot my standard five 5-shot groups, for an average of 1.9" at 25 yards. I've never shot another semi-auto this accurate. This was with unsorted brass, not trimmed, only checked for max length and chamfered, and powder thrown straight from the measure. I shot a 15 shot string over the chrony; average 741 FPS, SD 14 FPS.

Reliability is out of this world, I'm continually amazed by this gun. I never did any smoothing of anything, and mine will feed empty cases. Just now i put 5 fired empties in a magazine, and it fed all 5. Try that with your 1911. It will feed any SWC, even the Lee 452-252-SWC. How cool would a 38 special SIG be?

[ShooterAZ]

I have a P220, and love it also. It's accurate and dependable, no complaints with it at all. My favorite load for it is the RCBS 201 SWC with 4.8 grains of Bullseye. I use Federal 150 primers in it though. I noticed that say that you are using Federal 210, is that a typo? The F210 is a large rifle primer.

[megasupermagnum]

Good catch. Fixed. No idea why 210 was on the brain.

[gray wolf]

The P220 got it right,

Sounds like they did---for you.
To bad you had to talk down the 1911, not a slam on you, just don't see the need for it to be done.

[roysha]

Sounds like they did---for you.
To bad you had to talk down the 1911, not a slam on you, just don't see the need for it to be done.

I don't see how you figure he down talked the 1911. He just stated that for him it was a much better option. I TOTALLY AGREE with him. While I can shoot the 1911 platform I have to absolutely pay attention to each shot. There is nothing instinctive about it for me whatsoever. That does not make it a bad gun, just one I don't shoot as well as either of my P220s, one 45ACP and the other 9mm with the American magazine release.

[megasupermagnum]

Its hard to hate a gun thats been loved for 107 years. A 1911 is the closest comparison i know of. They dont work for me. The only so called slam was on their reliability. You will spend twice as much on a 1911, just to get what a P220 has out of the box. Part of that could be the vast number of brands that make a 1911. Still, it seems so many dont even feed a jacketed hollow point without work to the gun.

[Texas by God]

From when I first shot a .45 Browning BDA I was in love with the P220. True they will eat it all out of the box. My last P220 had the DAK trigger which I did not like. My Ruger P97 .45 fills the role with less panache but the same accuracy nowadays. I love the 1911 but the Sig P220 is iconic as well IMO.

[birch]

I agree on the 1911 shootability factor. One of the guns I am most proud of owning happens to be a 1911. However, if a feller shoots that gun incorrectly, it will let you know quickly. There are some who can shoot a 1911 and there are others who can make one hole every time. The folks who can do that regularly are few and far between and also have thousands of hours behind the trigger.

I happen to think the 1911 is one of the hardest handguns on the planet to shoot correctly......but I am a hopeless addict as well. What a strange sickness we have.

I stupidly sold my German 220 in a heat of passion. I will have another one someday......fine mass produced firearm.

[Rick Hodges]

I am left handed and carried the Sig P220 as my duty weapon for 8 years before my department mandated Glocks in 40S&W. I also carried a 1911 Gov't model with Armand Swensen ambi safety and Novak high profile sights while working plain clothes. My department mandated double action semi-auto's after a ND involving a 1911 so I switched to the Sig. My Sig, (Circa 1985?) had a two dot sight system or more accurately a white square with a single white dot that you balanced atop of. I preferred it to the 3 dot, but either work reasonably well for me.

My preference was the 1911. The Sig was the best of the available double action auto's but for me was a distant second to my Colt. My Colt Series 70 was $195 new out of the box, I paid full manufacturers suggested retail price. The Sig was $470 some 10years later (and that was a discounted price).

[megasupermagnum]

I am left handed and carried the Sig P220 as my duty weapon for 8 years before my department mandated Glocks in 40S&W. I also carried a 1911 Gov't model with Armand Swensen ambi safety and Novak high profile sights while working plain clothes. My department mandated double action semi-auto's after a ND involving a 1911 so I switched to the Sig. My Sig, (Circa 1985?) had a two dot sight system or more accurately a white square with a single white dot that you balanced atop of. I preferred it to the 3 dot, but either work reasonably well for me.

My preference was the 1911. The Sig was the best of the available double action auto's but for me was a distant second to my Colt.

Were the Glocks required to have a safety? I'm not sure if that even exists, but I never liked striker fire for a host of reasons. Safety was one.

I can shoot 1911's well enough, I wouldn't say their off hand shooting ergonomics are a problem.

A couple things I forgot to mention about the P220, the case is fully supported in the barrel. I never could understand how somebody could think a barrel that doesn't cover a case to at least the top of the case web is ok. The resulting bulges are not comforting, or fun to resize. I don't think I've noticed this problem in a 1911. The other I have noticed on some 1911's, there is just a very short throat if at all. The P220 has a generous throat with gentle leade. I can seat bullets way out before they touch the lands.

Now if somebody could invent a semi-auto that drops empty cases into my hand or pocket, they might have something on a revolver. I need a bigger tarp.

[osteodoc08]

My P220 Hunter in 10mm is a sweet heart. I love to shoot it and with it’s all steel construction, recoil is minimal.

[lotech]

I like my 1911-type Colt .45 autos, but my Sig 220 is more accurate than the Colts. I use only cast bullets in all these guns.

[Rick Hodges]

Were the Glocks required to have a safety? I'm not sure if that even exists, but I never liked striker fire for a host of reasons. Safety was one.

I can shoot 1911's well enough, I wouldn't say their off hand shooting ergonomics are a problem.

A couple things I forgot to mention about the P220, the case is fully supported in the barrel. I never could understand how somebody could think a barrel that doesn't cover a case to at least the top of the case web is ok. The resulting bulges are not comforting, or fun to resize. I don't think I've noticed this problem in a 1911. The other I have noticed on some 1911's, there is just a very short throat if at all. The P220 has a generous throat with gentle leade. I can seat bullets way out before they touch the lands.

Now if somebody could invent a semi-auto that drops empty cases into my hand or pocket, they might have something on a revolver. I need a bigger tarp.

Nope just standard Glock striker fire.....trying to explain how they work to desk bound day Lords who have received all sorts of "incentives" to adopt the new pistol was futile.

[Wag]

My P220 is one of my favorite shooting pistols, hands down. I've shot a lot of 1911's over the years but my familiarity with my P220 keeps it at the top of my list. I've had it for about 25 years, give or take and shoot it every chance I get.

--Wag--

[Petrol & Powder]

The SIG P220 was a revolutionary pistol that very few people realize was revolutionary :-o

Prior to the SIG P220 [AKA Swiss Model 1975], most pistols that used the Browning short recoil system utilized a pair of lugs on the barrel and corresponding cuts inside the slide to handle the barrel to slide locking. The SIG 220 used a new style squared off ejection port and a square barrel profile near the breach to handle the barrel to slide locking function.
That SIG style locking system has since been copied by countless other pistol makers. Glock, H&K, Ruger and many other designs now use that simplified locking system pioneered by SIG. It's easier to produce and fit the SIG style system, it's far less expensive to produce and it's very reliable.

When the Swiss were seeking to replace the P210 [AKA Model 49], SIG developed what became the P220 [model 1975] and that pistol incorporated several innovations. The square off ejection port barrel locking, the formed steel shell slide with a separate breach block, a new de-cocking system and separate removable steel locking block in the alloy frame. The P220 was originally designed as a 9mm pistol and the 45 ACP chambering was added later. The P220 has an excellent double action pull and still has one of the better DA to SA transitions.

When West Germany was seeking new police pistols the P220 became the basis for the shorter P6 (similar to a P225) pistol that was widely accepted by several West German states.

So the P220 is more than just a great DA/SA pistol chambered in 45 ACP, it was a significant milestone in handgun development.

[too many things]

what ever works for the owner. I have a gold cup. had about $800 of "work" done. That makes about $2000 Invested.
I have a 226 that has taken 2 deer. I run into a 220. old WG its not a show piece. I did change the sights. shot it and was amazed. the colt is cleaned and back in box. will never shoot it again

[JimB..]

I have a DAO P220 and it is the bane of my existence. I went so far as to buy a new barrel because the accuracy was so poor, new barrel was not materially better. I need to have a better shooter give it a try, but for now I assume that it’s me.

Been thinking about converting it to da/sa but don’t want to spend the money yet.

I very much prefer the 1911, but I have 10,000+ rounds on that platform and <1,000 on the P220. Hard to spend much time on it, it requires a lot of trigger finger strength.

[35remington]

I will note a 1911 was never designed to feed empty cases, and to try to tweak it to do so, given that it can be done, is to display a fundamental misunderstanding of how the 1911 was designed to feed. Whether it feeds an empty case or not is vastly less important than how well it feeds ammo suited to it that goes bang when you pull the trigger. Discovering its bullet shape and overall cartridge length preferences is not rocket science.

I teach handgun shooting, and it is my observation the majority I have taught shoot the 1911 better than the “modern” types of autoloaders. Including striker and DA/SA.

But in this world one finds what one likes and goes with that.

[megasupermagnum]

No doubt feeding empty cases is pointless, but it is amazing to me anyway. I guess the point I was trying to make is the P220 will feed ANYTHING that will fit in a magazine, and I mean anything. I even thought about trying some full wadcutters, until I realized how well my SWC's shot.

[LUBEDUDE]

I will note a 1911...............................

I teach handgun shooting, and it is my observation the majority I have taught shoot the 1911 better than the “modern” types of autoloaders. Including striker and DA/SA.

But in..............

My first experience with a 1911 was 40 years ago. My college roommate let me shoot his plain Jane Colt with crappy sights. I wasn’t impressed and written off ever buying one.

10 years later I had accumulated about 20+ pistols/revolvers and a friend convinced me to try his Gold Cup. Wow! I saw the light!! I felt invincible with that gun, so bought one later that day.

A few years later, I shot a Wilson Combat. That gun made a monkey out of my Colt. I was now totally hooked on 1911s. I still enjoy other pistols, but not as much as a good 1911.

I bought into all of Sig 220 hype about 20 years ago and was thoroughly disappointed. I mean they are ok. Then I bought a production custom 220 thinking that would help. No. Looks like I’m just another old guy that likes an antique weapon.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181105/7de65ffbdf9b76e12e0c323f0e8b6fc3.jpg

I don’t care if this is what I look like, the 1911 works for me!

If a SigGlockCZM&PXD work for you, Great!

[buckwheatpaul]

Had a Sig 220 shortly after they came out. Loved it yet sold it when the L.E. organization refused to let us carry them......I love the 1911's and have shot them since early 1960's yet I expanded into the tuperware group and trying to learn a Glock g30SF.....it is shooting well....so name your poison.....kind of like the Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota argument......Paul