SIG P220: my favorite non-1911 .45 automatic

Old Wheel Man said:

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.

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The 845 is a GREAT pistol, a true Heir to the Model 52s performance andd trigger
However comparing the 845 to the SIG P220, even the Elite or the Gold Cup is unfair. The SIGs and Gold Cups are production guns while the 845 is a hand fitted pistol from the Performance Center

For a true comparison between the manufactures you would need one of the P220s that was built in the SIG Master Shop. An older P220 Sport or the newer X6
In terms of groups, all three pistols fall into the same category. The 845s trigger is hard to beat, but the SIG P220 Sport offers a DA/SA trigger that would allow it to be carried

I know you are going to say no one would carry these types of target pistols, however, Texas Ranger Sgt. Aaron Dwayne Williams did carry a P229 Sport as his duty sidearm. I know it is the exception, not the rule but I have a cool picture of a Texas Ranger BTW, the P229 Sport in 357SIG shoots like a laser, truly awesome

Coming back to the P220, I feel it is one of the finest combat handguns that has ever been produced. There may be guns that shoot tighter groups or guns with better triggers or guns with nicer sights, but as a Combat Handgun, very little outclasses the 45 ACP P220

My W. German P220 is a fantastic shooter. I carried it for many years before we got higher capacity, striker fired pistols.

I have a couple of P220 stories I like to tell. One is about when I took my P220 to the gun range along with several other guns just to get in some practice. When I got there several groups of people were shooting at the steel targets at the range. The targets were on stands up about 5 feet and were about 8" wide and circle shaped. Everyone there was shooting at their target at 7 yards. One group of guys had two targets so I asked them if they minded if I moved one of the targets back. They agreed to that.

When I got out to about 12 yards I could hear the muffled laughs coming from those guys. When I got to 20 yards they were laughing out loud. When I got to 25 yards they were openly making fun of me.

I looked back at them wondering why on earth they thought it was so funny. It was only 25 yards.

They stopped laughing when I dinged the target 8 times in a row to start. By the time I went through another mag with just one miss they were speechless. After 3 mags they sent someone to get their other friends to come and watch. I guess some people are easily entertained. It didn't seem like that big of a deal to me. Lots of people can shoot well with a P220.

Then someone went after the range master. He came back with a S&W 629 with the 8 3/8" barrel. He set another target at the same distance and showed me he could hit it pretty much every shot too. That set off a competition between us that lasted about half an hour. We both hit about 90% of our shots at that distance when didn't seem that great to me either but it was good enough that we had a large crowd watching us.

It was getting a little late in the day when I ran out of .45 ammo. I told the guy to wait a second for me to get my other gun I had with me which was also a 629 with the long barrel. When he saw me bringing that gun around the building suddenly it was "too dark" to shoot. The club people had been complaining about using the lights too much. Yeah right. That club has so much cash they have bought up all the property around the range for a mile in every direction almost. They've built all sorts of stuff and have big dinners etc. etc. etc.. They were always spending more money on something. The idea that the range had to be shut down because they couldn't run the lights was laughable. And laugh I did because I had just bought that 629 and had almost no practice with it at that point. He would have beat the snot out of me with me shooting that gun at that time. But he didn't know that. He thought I'd be even better. So he shut things down right before he could have finally come out ahead. I thought that was funny.

I love that 629 too but the Sig shoots as accurate as any pistol I've ever seen out to about 50 yards. It won't compete at longer distances with that 629 of course. Longer barrels do make a difference.

I carried the Sig for about 10 years or so. I carried it in a shoulder rig mainly because I was riding an ATV much of the time and a should holster is much better in that situation. I had that gun with me a couple of times when I was really glad of it. But thankfully I never had to use it. Still I had a lot of confidence in that pistol and I still do. I've put about 15,000 rounds through it and I bought it used. It appeared to be a duty gun so who know how many total rounds have been through it. I'm sure it's due for a tune up even though it still works perfectly. I did have to replace the recoil spring about 2,000 rounds ago. Other than that it has been flawless.

In complete agreement and in awe of Mark's (Colt_SAA) collection of Sigs, some of which I have seen and fired.

Of the pittance of a few, I have, I have the Browning / Sig P220 in, 45 ACP in 95% condition (in box).
Then a Browning / Sig P220 in 9mm and the one I search for for near ever ... the Browning / Sig P220 in .38 Super (ANIB both).

The oldest is a Hawes Early Import / Sig P220, in 45 ACP, that is well used and just as accurate and reliable as the first time I shot it. It has never malfunctioned. AND it feeds and functions with ANYTHING I put through it from my light target loads to the factory packed ANYTHING 45 ACP.

American1776 said:

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

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I love the P220, but as soon as they came out with an E2 grip kit for them I put one on my W German two tone. The E2 is by far the most comfortable grip for the P220, and though I generally prefer wood grips, I think they make the P220 feel too wide.

I own a few .45s. A 645, a 745, a 4567, several 1911s. I can carry any of them on duty as long as I qualify with them. The one I carry everyday in uniform? Sig P220. Nothing against the others that I own, I've carried the 4567 as a duty gun, but I trust the Sig with my life.

Transitioned from the 1911 to a Sig 220 in the mid- 80s...... didn't like carrying cocked and locked ..... the W. German 220 DA/SA had a light alloy frame, and decocker

In the right hands it could/can shoot 3 round cloverleafs at 50'

Added a couple of compact Sig 245 for winter concealed carry in the 90s and a Ernest Langdon steel 220 in the early years of this Century.

Also have a Sig 229 with both .40S&W and .357 Sig barrels..... my only gun in those calibers...................

Like S&Ws older is better when you're looking at Sig.