7 Round Flush Magazines for Sig P220 Availability?

May 26, 2017, 09:30 PM

Cousin Vinnie

I remember when Sig only offered flush fit, 45 ACP 7 round magazines for the P220, than they went to an 8 round magazine, but they were no longer flush, but stuck out 3/8" or so.
Does anyone know of flush fitting 7 round magazines for the P220?

May 26, 2017, 10:52 PM

Twist18

In the older 220's, the 8 rounders were still flush fit, they simply changed the follower to allow them to hold 8 rounds. The newer ones have a "bumper pad", if you will, and that's why they stick out a bit.

May 27, 2017, 06:13 AM

remsig

They are still around, but scarce. I recently acquired 3 stainless ones off of eBay. There are a few listings on there still.

May 27, 2017, 07:22 AM

sigfreund

quote:
Originally posted by Twist18:
In the older 220's, the 8 rounders were still flush fit, they simply changed the follower to allow them to hold 8 rounds.

And they didn’t work very well which was why that “solution” was around for only a short time and why now 8-round mags have the extended floor plates.

May 27, 2017, 11:38 PM

Twist18

quote:
Originally posted by sigfreund:
quote:
Originally posted by Twist18:
In the older 220's, the 8 rounders were still flush fit, they simply changed the follower to allow them to hold 8 rounds.

And they didn’t work very well which was why that “solution” was around for only a short time and why now 8-round mags have the extended floor plates.

Mine have been reliable, although I can't say I've shot a ton of rounds through them. Will the newer 8 rounders work in my older German 220 reliably?

May 28, 2017, 06:45 AM

sigfreund

quote:
Originally posted by Twist18:
Will the newer 8 rounders work in my older German 220 reliably?

Yes, I have every confidence that they will. I’ve never known their failing to be reliable in any P220.

In my experience the problem with the modified followers that permits loading eight rounds in a seven round magazine tube is that the eighth round is a very tight fit—even tighter than eight rounds in the current magazines (if we can believe it). Like almost any other problematic issue with a firearm, the modified followers worked most of the time. We have a tendency to think about these issues in black and white terms, but a manufacturer isn’t going to market a product that is totally unreliable; that would be obvious in the most limited development testing:
“Hey, boss, this thing doesn’t ever function properly.” “Well, get it out there anyway; maybe no one will notice.”

Other than the tight cartridge fit, I don’t really know what causes problems with the modified follower, but I suspect that was it. It’s possible SIG would have abandoned that solution to getting eight rounds in a P220 magazine and developed the modified floor plate anyway, but the floorplate mod worked and the follower mod is mostly an historical curiosity these days.

May 28, 2017, 02:28 PM

Twist18

quote:
Originally posted by sigfreund:
quote:
Originally posted by Twist18:
Will the newer 8 rounders work in my older German 220 reliably?

Yes, I have every confidence that they will. I’ve never known their failing to be reliable in any P220.

In my experience the problem with the modified followers that permits loading eight rounds in a seven round magazine tube is that the eighth round is a very tight fit—even tighter than eight rounds in the current magazines (if we can believe it). Like almost any other problematic issue with a firearm, the modified followers worked most of the time. We have a tendency to think about these issues in black and white terms, but a manufacturer isn’t going to market a product that is totally unreliable; that would be obvious in the most limited development testing:
“Hey, boss, this thing doesn’t ever function properly.” “Well, get it out there anyway; maybe no one will notice.”

Other than the tight cartridge fit, I don’t really know what causes problems with the modified follower, but I suspect that was it. It’s possible SIG would have abandoned that solution to getting eight rounds in a P220 magazine and developed the modified floor plate anyway, but the floorplate mod worked and the follower mod is mostly an historical curiosity these days.

Thanks for the info, maybe I'll buy a couple of new magazines and try them out. Can the new floor plates be installed on the old mag bodies, or are they secured in a different way? The spring secures the floor plate on my mags.