I have had a couple of Sig P220s over the years. I had always experienced an unpleasant recoil pulse in the meat of my hand, below my thumb, when shooting them and traded them away.

Being happy with the S&W 3rd Gen 4566 and 4563, I sort of forgot and bypassed the P220 over the last decade or so. Till last week. While working at the range, I decided to clean some of the filthy rental guns. A P220 among them. Mid to late 90s production, rail free, Siglite night sights and the "P220" embossed OEM grips.

When I was through cleaning, the shift manager told me to load up a couple of mags and go test fire one of the guns I'd cleaned. Being the P220 was the only one that wasn't plastic and striker fired, I chose it. Loaded two 8-round mags with Federal 230 ball and went out on the range.

I put a 6 inch pistol target at the 7 yard line and fired a sub 2 inch group. The 220 was VERY accurate! I then shot a drill we have been doing, with mixed results, for the last month. It is a "hostage rescue" drill. Shot on a IDPA type target, with the "hostage" silouette 1 inch to the right of the 3x5 inch target box, you go from low ready to shot on target on the buzzer. One shot. Done at 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 25 yards. Buzzer to shot in under 2 seconds. Not one of us has shot it clean. For me, the wheels came off the cart at 15 and 25 yards. I would hit the hostage in the ear or cheek. But being the hostage was a defense attorney, no worries.

So, I loaded up the 220 and shot the drill. CLEAN! All A hits. One ragged hole in the 3x5 box and all sub 2 seconds. I was very surprised. That 220 shot better than the Performance Center 5 inch 945 I have shot. And no unpleasant recoil pulse either.

Now I am eyeing that coffee can of cash I have been stuffing to save up enough money to buy my own 945. With whats in it already, I could get a clean P220, rail free. And a little bit of ammo too! Hmmm........ Regards 18DAI

With out question, that would be my choice! I shoot lights out with mine and I'm too old to be able to do that.

I have a P220 SSE, that has been worked on by the Sig Armorer. Granted, mine has a little more weight being railed, tailed, and stainless, but, it is the most accurate pistol I have ever shot. Friends who have shot it also agree. A fantastic pistol!

Congrats on shooting a clean on your drill!

Now, go get a P220 again.

Works a lot smoother if one can be found that isn't a 45 Auto (or 10mm).

quote:

But being the hostage was a defense attorney, no worries.

!

That's some fine shooting, and I agree, the P220 is an excellent platform. I got to shoot my P245 some yesterday, and every time I shoot it I just can't get over how much I like that gun. Great egonomics...just enough grip length to fill my hand with nothing left over. Smooth DA pull, trigger breaks at just the right distance (unlike my Beretta, which even with the LTT trigger bar has to be pulled well past the point of comfort before it breaks), and with the SRT kit installed, just an absolutely perfect tactile reset.

I'm not normally one to take up safe space with redundant firearms, but I've honestly considered buying another P245 as a spare, because they're not making them anymore and I never want to be without one. It's that good.

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but I've honestly considered buying another P245 as a spare, because they're not making them anymore and I never want to be without one.

That’s just crazy talk. What kind of an idiot would do something so ridiculous as buy the same gun more then once???? Which is exactly what went through my head the first time. Now it doesn’t even hurt a little bit when I do that.

Lol, it's new territory for me...I'm kind of afraid to go down that road because of where it might lead (same reason I haven't bought a suppressor...it's not the cost of the suppressor that's the problem...it's the cost of all the other ones that come after, and threaded barrels for everything I own!)...but hey, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!

Like I have said for years.

One day, everyone will own a P-220, or wish they did.

For me it works very, very well.

The P220 is scarily accurate. A hand-held drill-press.

I finally took mine out (same configuration as you stated, OP), and I concur that they’re tack drivers. The shooter, on the other hand, needs some work, haha. I hadn’t shot anything DA/SA in quite some time, so I was RUSTY. But when I took my time, the pistol would produce surprisingly small groups. I did most of my shooting at 7 yards on this trip, and I managed almost one ragged hole a few times before I blew it with a dropped shot. But it’s definitely more accurate than I am, and it was a pleasure to shoot!

I will be picking up another P220 in the near future. I have begun looking for a mid to late 90s variant, identical to the one in our rental case. I will be keeping an eye out for a clean LE trade in.

Those OEM grips made it easy to shoot. And the pistol has held up well to years of shooting and general neglect. I like those Siglite night sights as well. Thanks all! Regards 18DAI

Is a P220 in 45ACP more accurate than any of the other P22X legacy guns?

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Originally posted by iron chef:
Is a P220 in 45ACP more accurate than any of the other P22X legacy guns?

I have wondered the same. I don't shoot them often, but I have an SAO Compact 220 in 45 that is eerie accurate.
Is it just that the bigger holes are more likely to touch and look better? It seems more than that.
And how much is it that the 220 is more accurate and how much is it that 45 is more accurate than 9?
For people who have a 220 and other 22X's in 9mm, is the 220 more accurate than your 226, 229, 228, 225? If so, I wonder why.

Comparing against my 228 at the time, which is no slouch in the accuracy department either. I had to work a little harder to attain maximum accuracy with the 228. The 220 was effortlessly accurate.

I always wondered if it was the size of the bigger gun. More inertial mass to offset recoil, as well as larger dimensions for longer moment arms.

If you are a Sig enthusiast, you own a P220.
If you are a serious Sig enthusiast, you own a Browning BDA 45.
And if you are a Sig enthusiast who is really enthusiastic, you own BDAs in both 9mm and 7.65mm.
I am merely enthusiastic at this point in time.

Damn, now I want to shoot my P220 at our steel challenge this month!

If you are a Sig enthusiast? Yes, a P220 has to be had.
If you are a P220 enthusiast, a P220 in 9mm Steyr is to be had.

The I've been able to get some tight groups with the 7.65. P220 as of late.

I have yet to see how they rank with my P226.

My personal P220 was purchased in 92, and has had tens of thousands of rounds thru it. Our department armorer inspected it every 5,000 rounds as a favor, and replaced springs prn. I was shooting Service Auto class in VA PPC and doing very well, plus carrying the gun as my EDC in cooler weather months. I still carry it, but haven't shot competition for years. I love the gun. Accurate, a joy to shoot, and dead smooth.

Honestly that would be my choice

If possible I would buy the P220 SAO, Stainless Steel.