My New German Sig P220

[Dionysusigma]

I made the score of the decade yesterday by finding a local-ish listing (http://shop.soonerstatepawn.com/Item/Details/SIG-SAUER-Pistol-P220-45acp/c14585b37d7349e6946de69d88610914) that I couldn't pass up. Normally whenever I make it over to the store, their listings are weeks out of date, but seeing how recent this one was made, I figured I'd give it a shot (no pun intended). The instant it was taken from the display case and handed to me, I knew it was destiny. There was a little grit to it, and the corners were a little scuffed, but still I nearly broke Mach getting my wallet out. No case, aftermarket grips (Hogue rubber, which I honestly would've swapped over to anyway), and only one flush 7-rd magazine, but no problem here.

It was after I got home that the true miracle became apparent: having become a Sig owner back when P6s were cheap, trading it out for a P220R, then selling the P220R to make rent, I'd forgotten how much I like them. In no time at all I had it completely detail-stripped (I thought I'd forgotten how), and I couldn't believe what I saw: zero internal wear. The gummy packing grease that manufacturers often use for shipping/storage throughout. The bore was perfect. Breech face spotless. And, to my initial dismay, a few pockets of orangeish brown.

I began cleaning and found that the gritty feeling I'd experienced in the store was due to three things: one, the un-worn phosphated internals; two, the inadequacy of the packing oil for lubricant; and three, the orangeish brown residue, which disappeared from each piece after a quick scrub with a toothbrush - it was merely Oklahoma red dust! A thorough degreasing and TW-25B lubing later, it was back together: a stamped (not milled) "Made in Germany" P220 with internal extractor and proper stamped slide (I think so anyway, because there's what looks like a milled block holding the extractor and firing pin mechanism), the "way a real Sig should be." Everything was smooth as silk, and I think my VP9 might have become a bit jealous...

The only things I'm wondering about are:

1) Is this a workhorse, or bordering on collector piece?

2) With a S/N of "G 313 XXX," can anyone possibly tell me the date on this one? Closest I can figure is 2001, which is almost a war crime for letting such a fantastic pistol go so long with so little use.

3) If I wanted to use factory plastic grips, I've heard that Sig at some point in recent history changed the grips and grip profile on their entire P22X lineup - are OEMs that fit still available anywhere?

4) Are 8-round magazines the closest I'll be able to find for this one? Midway lists the 7-rounders as "discontinued..."

[El Pistolero]

Congratulations! Pics of this fine pistol? Are there two letters stamped on the slide under the muzzle?

[Dionysusigma]

There's a pic of the exact pistol in the link above, and the pistol's a bit too recent for anything on the muzzle end, unfortunately.

Hope these help, though (I think I got a bit carried away with the TW-25B):

From the original listing:
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=37052&d=1452737243

Quick 'n' dirty non-pro snap of the right side:
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=37049&d=1452737059

Closeup of the shallowly-stamped (not engraved like nowadays) model name:
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=37050&d=1452737060

Breech face that looks like it can separate from the rest of the slide, like my old P6:
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=37051&d=1452737061

[DBZ220]

Excellent vintage of P220. I have several from 1992 to current and they all have been flawless.

[Dionysusigma]

Another thing that's come to mind - I remember Sig triggers being physically... well, wider, front to back, with a hollowed-out area on the backside almost the entire length of the trigger. This one isn't; in fact, it's also serrated, something I've never seen before on a Sig. Any idea what gives?

[DBZ220]

Another thing that's come to mind - I remember Sig triggers being physically... well, wider, front to back, with a hollowed-out area on the backside almost the entire length of the trigger. This one isn't; in fact, it's also serrated, something I've never seen before on a Sig. Any idea what gives?

It's how the P220 was made for a long time. The P220 had its own trigger back then, different from the P226/228/229. Current production SIGs essentially all standardized on the P226 style trigger. New triggers generally won't fit the original version of the P220.

[GregP220]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oJ6PgEbb_xE/VaunCwdcZrI/AAAAAAAAC2s/0b7i1M8ulko/s912-Ic42/DSC_0041.JPG

I'm GregP220 and I approve of that pistol.

[Vegas]

Had the chance to pick up an Elite Tactical the other day for less than 800. Financially the timing was way off but the listing sat there for days torturing me, lol. Would have been a great pairing to my P245.

[SCSU74]

There's a thread on Sig forum with all the date ranges based on s/n

[Ernst]

I had a German made P220 for a while and like an idiot...sold it. Congrats.

[Arik]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160116/b3590a64f35dfbff0119c0df8582d559.jpg

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[m4brian]

You guys need to be banned - you are giving me even more SIGlust.

[Gary1911A1]

The Sig 220 is my favorite DA/SA .45 due mostly to the accuracy, reliability, and good trigger out of the box. The HKs' may be more durable, but are just not as easy to shoot for me. Have a few like your 220. If I ever moved away from the 1911 platform I'd likely go Sig all the way.

[SkiDevil]

OP, to find OEM grips is tough because there are several variations of the 220.

I would place an AD in one of the SIG forums, many owners replace the grips and may sell you a matching set. Also, call SIG and see if they have pair lying around. A more costly option is wood (not as durable as plastic) or the VZ grips.

I had a spare set but gave them away.

As for mags, the best made were the Stainless SIG marked mags made in Italy by Meg-Car. The magazine is pictured in Greg220's post. The original black zipper-back mags developed problems with the welds. Other alternatives are Novak's and ACT mags.

Personally, I preferred the 7-shot Stainless magazine.

Check-out Calguns, because I have seen 220 mags posted for sale there many times.

The SIG 220 in 45 ACP is a solid gun.

http://www.topgunsupply.com/magazines/sig-sauer-magazines/p220.html

[Halln]

My first pistol was a 1990 German 220 that I bought in 95. It was used back then and used and abused up till the present. 20 years later with an unknown round count and beat up cosmetic appearance it still brings a smile to my face with its reliability and accuracy. You got yourself a gem. Enjoy!

[Freethought]

Another thing that's come to mind - I remember Sig triggers being physically... well, wider, front to back, with a hollowed-out area on the backside almost the entire length of the trigger. This one isn't; in fact, it's also serrated, something I've never seen before on a Sig. Any idea what gives?



The triggers on all of my West German and German P220s are of the grooved variety you refer to. All of the ones from those eras that I've owned and seen have that trigger. My newer one all have the smooth trigger.

You'll be able to find the 7 round mags on Gunbroker used , the 8 rounders are still available from Sig as are the 10 round extended mags.

Yes if it's got the block and internal extractor it's the stamped and folded slide. I seem to prefer the German and West German 220s myself , out of the seven that I own only 2 are the more modern version , though one of those is fairly modified and rather a FrankenSig for daily carry ( i.e. late model railed from , external extractor SAS slide and myriad internals from GrayGuns.)

[Caeser25]

My 2nd gun was a P245. Great handling gun, wish I never got rid of it.

[soulezoo]

37564I have a P226. The slide says "Made in W. Germany"

[GrumpyM4]

So the story goes, I traded a complete Stag AR lower for one of those cheap P6 imports. I later put it up for sale on the Sig forums and was contacted by an old guy in a wheel chair that wanted something smaller then what he was using and offered a straight across trade. I agreed.

I mailed mine, he mailed his, and when I went to the FFL for pickup, I found a JK stamped, "Made in W. Germany" marked Sig P226 that had been refinished in Birdsong Black T, sitting in an original yellow-ish box with red velvet liner. It had the original manual and two zipper back magazines in great condition.

Only problem was that the guide rod had been replaced with some crappy, expensive after market recoil reducing type (snake oil) rod and spring that made the cycle gritty as hell. Thankfully the original parts were in the box and a quick swap out fixed the issue.

After doing a little research and finding that there was no collector value going on, I took it to the shop, did a minor melt down on the slide, re-parkerized and then sent nearly all of the steel parts off to H&M Metal processing for QPQ nitriding.

put in a few LBs. lighter hammer spring, added G10 scale grip panels, and it is pretty much my favorite gun. Accurate as hell, every time I pick it up it feels like I'm meeting an old friend again. And it just works.

I do love my other guns, don't get me wrong, yet this gun never stops, verily oozes class, sophistication and style, is more accurate then I am, and doesn't rust no matter what I put it through.

Well worth the approx. $650 total I spent on trade, refinish, and extra parts.

[Dionysusigma]

Well, I've had it out to the range a couple times now, and as GrumpyM4 said, it was like meeting an old friend again. Going back to DA/SA after having exclusively striker-fired pistols the past few years meant that it took a little longer than expected to get the accuracy and precision I used to have back, but the potential is definitely there. Guess that means that (oh no!) I have to shoot it more. :p

I've aimlessly browsed a few sites, looking at things like lighter mainsprings to ease up the trigger pull, G10 grips, adjustable sights, 10rd magazines, and so on... but honestly, this thing is so smooth and comfortable as-is that all I've bought is more magazines (8-rd) and ammo. For defensive purposes, I've got a box or two of Hornady Critical Duty 220gr +P that seems like a good match (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI_fOpndtdY).

The only thing that kinda nags at me is how... flush the magazine release is. Apparently IDP made an extended version, but aren't available anymore. Oh well! Might go for finger-grooved Hogue grips, but even if I don't this thing is pretty much exactly what a full-sized .45 should be, and I'm definitely not complaining.

[GregP220]

FWIW my 220 is a freaking laser with 230 gr. Speer Gold Dots.

Anything outside of the ragged hole is my fault.

[brickboy240]

Nice find!

I have a 1977 made Browning BDA 45, which is basically a SIG P220 with the heel mag release.

People will tell you that the P220 is the problem child of the old W. German P-Series guns, but honestly, mine has shot 100% reliable since I bought it used back about 8 years ago. I have also found the old P220 to be pretty accurate and easy to carry.

Enjoy it...I love the old German and Swiss P-Seried SIGS. These are the guns that BUILT SIG's reputation if you ask me.

[Dionysusigma]

I think they're just trying to drive the asking price down because they sold theirs off after someone else told them the same thing... :D

[brickboy240]

People SAY that their P220 was troublesome and I don't doubt them. However, I have found my P220 to be as reliable as my P228 and P225. Boring. Load, shoot, repeat.

Since it is relatively flat and light, I always found the P220 to be a very easy pistol to carry for a full size 45.

[awdxtc]

I own a JJ date code ( 1988 ) P220...the quality is outstanding.

[signal4l]

Make sure to change your recoil spring often. I have seen broken locking inserts, broken take down levers on the 220s. My departmental armorer was not very diligent. Our guns experienced many failures because of this.

[Dionysusigma]

A year (!) later...

I've changed out every spring (save for the magazine release button spring and magazine release retainer spring) and swapped the Hogues for original Sig Slim grips - and it's essentially a new gun. Over 2016 I re-standardized on Glock 9mms, but have kept the P220 as a safe queen. And, since it didn't come with its original box, I decided to do something about that:

A Pelican iM2050 case - a little larger than most use, but more on that later:
http://i.imgur.com/0l6mLoq.jpg?1

... with the "pick and pluck" (more like tweeze and X-Acto) foam topside cut to fit the P220, three extra 8rd magazines all loaded with Federal HST 230gr +P, and the +1 for the chamber :D ...
http://i.imgur.com/DOFri9W.jpg

... and the underside cut to fit two more boxes of HST, and a complete set of replacement springs and pins.
http://i.imgur.com/K002KoX.jpg

It's essentially an "In Case of {X}" kit, and couldn't be happier. The only other thing I've thought about doing is installing an SRT kit, but it's not a priority.

[awdxtc]

Very nice. I'm thinking of sending mine to Robar to have the slide, controls and internals done in np3 plus and the frame done in roguard.

[nutnless220]

Obviously I approve of your new acquisition. I have a P220 Combat TB and a P220 Carry SAS.
I run Hogue's on both. Congrats on a fine purchase.