SIG P220: my favorite non-1911 .45 automatic

I like metal guns, and I like single stack .45 auto pistols.

My blued Colt 1911 is a fantastic pistol. However, it’s very heavy. I like all metal guns, and the SIG P220 is a great lighter weight alternative chambered in .45 auto. I like DA/SA with decocker.

Even though dimensionally it’s a large pistol, it’s quite light on the hip and in the hand.

This one is a newer example. I’m going to get wood grips eventually.

I like it. Are those E2 grips?

The 220 is a particular favorite of mine, even though I am a hardcore 1911 fan. They just feel "right" in your hand. I have one with a rail and one without, great shooting pistols.

In my experience I have found these 45s to be some of the most accurate handguns ever made. As well as very reliable and not too fussy about ammunition be fired through it.

Fabulous auto loaders.....

If I could keep only two, it would be a 1911 and a P220. I second the motion.

I have an older West German P220 with the flat spur hammer. It is an amazing pistol in all respects. My second one is a Stainless Match Elite with a 5" barrel. Also a great piece, but heavy. It tames recoil very well and has excellent target sights. After owning and shooting these guns, I gave up on my 1911's. I have to admit the 1911 triggers are MUCH better, but I've learned to live with the Sig's.

Ironically, what I love about the 220 is the initial double action pull that is amazingly revolver-like. Sure it’s no S&W pull, but it’s not that bad either. I practiced hundreds of rounds just doing the initial double action pull, then hundreds transitioning from double into the rest of the magazine in the single pull. I feel much more comfortable with the initial double action pull, if, God forbid, I was ever in a self-defense situation. I think because all I have ever done is shoot revolvers most of my life.

I love the 1911 and the beautiful single action trigger pull. But I have only shot them a few years.

Amen! The 220s are a favorite of mine. Another pistol that has served a similar role for me is the S&W Performance Center CQB. Both flawlessly reliable pistols.

My SIG P220 was the first handgun I ever purchased. Extremely accurate. Like an idiot I sold it! I have been looking for a nice SAO model for some time, preferably stainless.

I'm a die hard 1911 guy and I have a bunch of them in .45acp. I only own one DA/SA .45 and its a P220. Great pistol, I like it a lot. I added the Short Reset Trigger kit and now its even better.

Own two 220’s, a Da/SA and a SAO.....also own a 245. All of them are typical Sig quality. Accurate, good ergonomics and they shoot big fat 45’s, what’s not to like?

With all this love for the 220, where do you guys come down on the 227?

Ed

5-Shot said:

With all this love for the 220, where do you guys come down on the 227?

Ed

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It's a nice pistol. Feels very much like a P226. I don't feel compelled to buy one just for the increased mag capacity.

Nice...

I have a soft spot for the Smith 3rd Gen 45s. My 645 makes .45ACP rounds feel like glorified .22s and never misses a beat.

That said...

Sig makes a hell of a .45. I have a P245 (which is a more or less a compact P220). The gun has an uncanny knack for putting holes-on-holes. I mean, my 9mm Sigs are accurate... but the P245 just seems more dialed in, for some reason.

My favorite Sig is a P-6. Made in 1980.
I also acquired a like new SP220 in 40sw caliber.
I'll sell it at the next gunshow.

sodacan said:

I have an older West German P220 with the flat spur hammer.

I have to admit the 1911 triggers are MUCH better, but I've learned to live with the Sig's.

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I've owned several W.G. Sig's with the spur hammers.. and a BDA 9, best triggers on a Sig. The newer guns have a spongy, long pull nasty triggers compared to the older ones.

I've got a sweet spot for Sigs. I own two W German P228s and this W German P220 KC (1992) with original box and test target.



Others I owned at one time or another:



P220 SAS Carry:



P220 Dark Elite:



Told ya I have a sweet spot for them...

I wouldn't mind owning one of the ones imported by Browning that were chambered in .38 Super. Why? Just to be different.

I too am a fan of the SIG P22x family of firearms.

It all started back in 1977 when we were opening a new muffler shop in South Florida. My Father wanted something lighter weight than the Government models we were currently carrying. He also wanted that new fangled DA/SA action.

I bought the first gun (pictured in the lower right) and proceeded to put 500 rounds through it. That was all it took, I was sold. We bought two more and began carrying them. I added the Goncalvo Alves grips to mine shortly after acquiring it.
Over the years I have added other P220s including one in 9MM and another in 38 Super. I love the way 38 Super sound when shooting it

Then the MasterShop in Germany came out with the P220 Sport
What a magnificent shooter. It was like I could not miss that center ring. Then the P220 Sport Stock hit the market. A standard sized P220 with MasterShop hand fitting and adjustable sights. The Nills wood grips were a factory offered option
I like the look of the two tone pistols, so when the Ernst Langdon Specials came out, I added one of those.
Then we began dreaming about a 10MM Auto P220. WOW how great would that be to have a 10MM Auto P220 to carry when I had the MP5/10 with me.

The artisans at Gray's Guns made the 10MM P220 happen (many years before SIG added it). A 5" P220 with a rounded trigger guard chambered in 10MM Auto
Then the SIG MasterShop did it again. A P220 X6 (top)
A 6" Longslide P220 hand fitted by the Germans. Hard to beat.

Today I still carry the P220 that I acquired in the 1980s when I wanted night sights and chose not want to mill my original P220 from the 70s. It has gained new TFO night sights and the slide has been plated in CCRs CP-II. It still has the same Brazillion Rosewood grips that it is wearing in the upper left of the first image, age and sweat have darkened them a bit, but I can live with that
Now after decades of asking for it, SIG fianlly came out with the P227. They just came out with it two decades too late, Much of the 45ACP crowd has moved on.
The P227 is a great platform, especially for a P226 shooter that wants to get into 45ACP, the feeling is very similar. 11+1 rounds with the flush fit magazines and 15+1 with the extended magazines is not too bad. Now if they would just come out with a P227 chambered for 10MM Auto

I agree with everyone on the SIG P220. I have the P220 Stainless Elite and it is an awesome shooter. I also have a Colt Gold Cup, and like many others I believe the 1911 pistols are great. I have been fortunate to locate and purchase a S&W Model 845 Performance Center. The 845 puts them all to shame.