I purchased some zipperback P220 magazines in .38 Super off GB. They do not lock into my pistol. They fit well enough to feed but do not engage the magazine catch and I can pull them out with a finger. My dovetail magazines lock in and work perfectly. The zipperbacks have one hole for the magazine catch, while the dovetails have two, one slightly above the other.

I was unaware that there was any variation in the P220's in .38 Super other than the heel release/button release. Is my pistol out of spec or is this something other folks have seen?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Best I can tell is that these would be altered/reproductions?

I am unaware that the zippers made production long enough to be available with the side release.

I've seen a few Sig .38 to 9mm factory conversions, Swiss and German parts with matching serials, etc...

There are a few Euro to American P220 conversions out there, but the grip screw bore axis is consistent with the European grips.

Is there any way that the previous owner tried to make the mag release work with these mags and then gave up on a failed attempt?

I dunno.

Let us know what you ultimately find.

I'm looking for indications that these were heel release and converted and can't find them. If they're counterfeits, they're amazing. Floorplates are identical to the dovetail ones. When I get the chance, I'll take pictures. I no longer have a P220 in .45, so I don't have any of those for comparison.

This intrigues me also, as an owner of a P220 .38super.

I have some heel catch mags that I need to convert to the 'american' mag catch to work with mine.

In the meantime, triple K makes some for us and many state that the P220 10mm mag works just fine for us.

Good luck with your mag issue. I'd be interested in pictures too.

Any chance it was for something else- like a .30luger version or something? I don't know why that would change the mag catch slot, but just thinking out of the box.


Oh, I've had good luck with the P226 9mm barrel in my upper as well, allowing me to swap ammo at the range.

I did change the slide spring to reduce throwing .38Super brass 25 feet or more. It is now dropping around 8 feet. Because of that I need to swap the same spring when shooting 9mm or it sometimes doesn't go back far enough, and only drops the brass about 2 feet away when it does eject properly.

Just sharing another fun option for mine. I think it should work the same for yours.

I had a chance to do a deep dive into this over the past week or so and I believe these to be heel release magazines that someone attempted to convert. Anyone have any ideas of someone that could do the conversion properly, just cutting the magazine catch holes on the one side of the magazine?

All you'll need is a steady hand and a Dremel.

I was given a few magazines that had been boogered up by a previous attempt.

With yours not engaging the catch as you describe, you should be able to slot these properly as the material is still there and has not been removed.

Disassemble the mag, take a few measurements, and remove material in small intervals until it engages the release mechanism.

Clean and lube the mag tube and reassemble.

Thanks. Any particular Dremel bit I should use?

I used the cutting disc that was about an inch and a half wide.

It allows the cut to be at 90 degrees to fully engage the mag release.

Thanks. I appreciate the assistance.