They are finally available and I saw a couple at the gun show this past weekend at reasonable prices. So, I bought one.

I noticed something though, the trigger is quite a bit heavier than the P226 Legion SAO.

My 226 SAO is just a bit over 3 pounds, light and crisp with almost no overtravel and very short reset. It feels like the mainspring is lighter when cocking the hammer manually.

My new P220 SAO is more like 4-4.5 pounds, a little bit of camming of the hammer, but minimal overtravel and good reset. I checked the other one I saw, and it felt about the same. The mainspring definitely feels heavier on the P220 when cocking the hammer manually.

DA/SA P226 Legions definitely have heavier triggers in SA than on the SAO version. So is there a different mainspring being used on the SAO? And, is there a lighter P220 mainspring that can be substituted to drop the weight to similar to the P226 SAO?

quote:

So, I bought one.

I own two SAO P226s and a P220 Elite SAO. My experience is the same as yours. You can substitute any mainspring compatible with the mainspring base for a P220/P226, which I did. My understanding is that there are differences in the trigger mechanisms between the P220 and the P226 SAO pistols that make for a better pull on the P226.

I think it's the same mainspring. It's just on an SAO gun, there's nothing in the trigger guts to require it to cock the hammer and fire it. With fewer complications, the better the trigger pull.