Is there any difference, fit/function, between a sear from a '92 P220 and a sear from an '02 P220? I think my '92 vintage one needs a sear and I was wondering if I could take the one out of my '02 P220 and try it before buying a new part

I seriously doubt there is any difference between the two. I would also seriously doubt the sear in question is need of replacement.

What is the round count, approximately?

What is the issue you are having?

The P220 in question has a "hair trigger" in single action. I mean its almost like it will fire when your finger just gets near it lol. I got it as used and know nothing of its previous life. I had posted about it before and it was suggested I change the hammer spring to a new factory one which I did. No change. I have aeveral other P220s from '84-'02 vintage and the trigger on this one is definitely different. It has the potential to be a one ragged hole grouper but that trigger throws me off. Anyway I had the grips off today just looking at sear and hammer engagement with a magnifying glass and noticed it looks like the sear has been filed on. Thought I might swap sears out with another one to see if that made any difference. Was looking on numrich and they listed an 'old style' sear so I didnt know if there was any significant change. Im open to suggestions on how to get the single action pull back to spec.

More suggestions might come along soon. In the mean time, you can try switching out the sear and hammer to see how that works. If it solves the issue, I'd suggest a new hammer and sear. SIG used to recommend changing out both at the same time, if there was an issue, because they mated together during use.

Please post your results.

Swapped the sears and that did make a difference. Comparing the two sears, I would say somebody had filed on the older one. Looks like I need some new parts and a trip to the range.

Check out MGW, some of their parts are less expensive than Numrich.

If a close inspection doesn't reveal any obvious changes to the hammer and the pistol is for range use only, you may be able to just replace the sear. If the pistol is for carry or the hammer has been altered, you will need to replace both.

Thanks for the link. This one has the old style hammer in it. It doesnt look to have been worked on like the sear was. Im not a gunsmith so forgive me for asking a question that may be obvious to everyone else, but whats the deal if I just put in a new sear and leave in the old hammer? I read what you said about that being ok for range use but not for a carry piece. Is that gonna cause issues? For what $ Im into this one already, I dont really want to drop another $100 on a replacement hammer

Why not get P220 SRT kit? Be sure to get the kit that includes sear, safety lever and decocking lever. Sig store has them in stock. Replace your sear spring too.

Way back when I went to armorer's school, we were told that if you needed to replace a sear or hammer, you needed to replace both. The reason was that the surfaces that engage between the two mate together. If you only replace one part the surfaces won't engage correctly and could be an issue. It comes down to liability.

Maybe some other armorers can comment on what the current thinking is in this regard.

If it were my gun, I'd take the opportunity to swap in the SRT kit as well and change the sear spring like Greymann suggested. A new hammer can't hurt as added insurance.

These changes along with a 19lb mainspring should make for a great DA/SA trigger.

Keep track of which hammer came out of which pistol. Line the two up next to each other and you can make a good comparison that way to see if any of the engagement surfaces on the hammer in question appear off.

If the sear and hammer have to be replaced as a set, then how come the SRT kit doesn't come with a hammer?

quote:

Originally posted by RichN:
If the sear and hammer have to be replaced as a set, then how come the SRT kit doesn't come with a hammer?

Less than one half of the kits would be sold but there is another reason. The SRT Sear engages the hammer cut more than the standard sear or it is supposed to.

People change "just the sear" quite often. This is the case when adding SIG's SRT (short reset trigger) kit.

As you suspect, someone no doubt changed the angle of the sear engagement surface. As new it's positive. This means that in order to release the hammer, the sear must cam the hammer back slightly, further compressing the mainspring (you can often see this by watching the hammer from the side as you pull the trigger slowly during dry fire). This further compression of the mainspring is typically the biggest contributor to SA trigger pull weight.

To obtain a lighter trigger, gunsmiths will often reduce the positive angle by as much as half or so. On the Classic P, it's important to retain some positive angle for safety sake, as a negative angle would have the sear wanting to come out of the hammer notch.

Well I obtained a NOS sear and installing it did noticibly improve/increase the single action pull. Unfortunately upon inspection of the hammer it is apparant that it was filed, sanded or whatever on the arc that contacts the sear as the hammer goes back, cant tell if the sear notches are 'stock' or not. Havent tried it at the range like it is yet but I think I will feel better if I can find a replacement hammer too