Grayguns is generously doing a lot of work on my older P220 in order to fit it with their ELS trigger. They are also replacing the hammer spring with a strut and a much shorter 19 lb spring.i should have it next week.

It’s part of an overall change in my defensive shooting. I’m also loading the weapon down with 185 grain bullets at around 1050 fps. I may also ultimately port the pistol. I’m doing all of this to make the draw, presentation and firing of a Mozambique pattern as fast as possible. It should be a fun adventure.

What should I expect from Grayguns? Is the ELS and the lighter spring going to blow my mind? Is it more subtle that just combines well with the other changes? Thanks.

Get their fat guide rod, too.

DCAVEN - you know the members here expect to see pictures with a full report! Please keep us informed when you get the P220 back. Thanks!

Yes! Can’t wait to see and hear about this!

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
Get their fat guide rod, too.

I was thinking about getting one for my 220. What's the advantage.

They're well made. They're sized to prevent spring-over malfunctions, or "spring jumping," when the spring may override itself when bunched during recoil (disabling the pistol). I've found that pistols feel smoother with the grayguns fat guid rod installed. On my P320's, it's quite noticeable. Perhaps not so much with the P220, but still a worthwhile investment.

Thanks. I'll try it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
Get their fat guide rod, too.

I was thinking about getting one for my 220. What's the advantage.

My goal is to make a smoother and therefore faster transition between the first double action shot and the single action shot. The travel will be less and the pull weight will be less. They are also installing a strut and a 19lb hammer spring. This will take care of the binding that happens with a spring and will also reduce pull weight of the double action trigger.

These mods are combined with modifications to my cartridges. I've gone to a 185 grain bullet that will be around 1000-1050 fps in order to reduce muzzle flip slightly. The goal is faster 3 shot Mozambique patterns from a holstered position. I'm going to get some instruction in both the DA/SA transition as well as in point shooting at close range. I want to reduce my total time from "not very good" to "holy shit!"

I eagerly await a report from you as well. I recently bought a used 220 from a member here and man do I love this gun. It fits my hand much better than my 226 which I have been carrying for years. I recently qualified at work with both and for some reason I am a much better shooter with the 220 than I am with the 226 which was the exact opposite of what I thought would happen. I replaced the hammer spring with a 19 lbs, spring and now I am wondering if I should replace the strut based on your post.

quote:

Originally posted by dcaven:
This will take care of the binding that happens with a spring and will also reduce pull weight of the double action trigger.

The spring jump to which I referred, and the reason for the fat guide rod is the recoil spring, not the hammer spring.

Grayguns will certianly smooth up the pistol.

The ability to transition between single action and double action, however, is a function of dry firing and feeling the reset. It's also aided greatly by pre-stating the double action shot as you present the pistol. Beyond that, it's all dry fire and live fire. It will feel smoother, but smooth doesn't make fast. Practice does that.

Grayguns will get you back the best possible pistol, however. After that, it's all you.

They do great things there. A few years ago Bruce did the necessary work on the slide to accomodate one of their fat guide rods on my 1984 mfg P220 and the turn around time was pretty quick.

To the OP, when did you send Grayguns your P220?

+1 on the fat guide rod. I had spring jump occur on my P226R; it was a PIA to fix. There is no way it could happen again with that new rod installed.

Ok, it’s next week....did you get it back yet?

bump for the OP...

You will really like the ELS trigger. I installed one on my 1988 West German P226 and it is a whole new gun. DA/SA pull dropped from 12#/6# to 9#/3#. It is very smooth and breaks right at a 90 degree angle from the barrel, providing a strait pull similar to the break of a 1911.

Hi! I'm looking forward to reading your impressions. Keith tells me we shipped your P220 a couple days ago. Thanks for the opportunity to help you.

I think you will be pleased. I have a GGI P226 with everything allowed by IDPA. It is a much improved shooter.
I don't mind the crunch-tick but the invisible slide stop defeated me. I put standard springs and hollow points in it for home defense.

My beloved but aged P220 returned from Grayguns yesterday afternoon. I have not yet fired it but will do so this afternoon. I can tell you the work seems flawless. A vendor mistakenly sold me a ELS trigger system that will not work in my model. Grayguns got involved and offered to do the fabricating and machining necessary for me to have the ELS trigger. At no cost to me! It took a little time as they are super busy and likely because of the pandemic situation. I think it turned out almost too pretty to shoot. I may just look at it. It dry fires very well. They put a 19 lb hammer spring in it that feels a little stiff. I'm sure it's partly because it is new and partly because it is a 20+ year old pistol that is well used. The original spring was long overdue for replacement. I think I may order a complete set of replacement springs from them as this has opened my mind to the idea maintenance like that is critical. Anyway, I will post its performance later. The pistol on the right is my new P226 Legion, the left is the P220 with the straight trigger. I definitely want to plug Grayguns. They absolutely do great work and are really pleasant to deal with. Beyond that, they went through the effort to make it work when they easily could have blown me off. I hope everyone who reads this gets online and buys something, anything from them. Great company.

The photo did not go through. I got the properties of the photo and copied the link on my machine and nothing happened. Help.