5" Sig P220 Project

[John Hearne]

I posted this elsewhere and thought it might be appreciated here:

I've been shooting P220s for ten years now. I am on my third gun after a P220, an original P220ST, and now a P220ST with conventional rail. I've shot roughly 50,0000 rounds through my P220s in classes and competition. Some of the classes include Gunsite's 250, Thunder Ranch's Handgun 1, 2, and 3, Front Sight's Four-Day Handgun Course & Two-Day Tactical Handgun course, Scottie Reitz's Advanced SWAT Course, Randy Cain's Handgun 101, Jeff Gonzale's Combative Handgun, and Chuck Taylor's Advanced Tactical Handgun. I've won a few local three gun and IDPA matches, the Rangemaster Tactical Conference (including Match Champion, High Lawman, and 3rd place Staff), as well as being recognized as a top practitioner as the National Tactical Invitational (NTI). I've also carried P220s as my on-duty and off-duty weapon over these same years and taken numerous LE Firearms Instructor courses including the FBI's, FLETC's, and the NRA's Tactical Shooting course.

Over these years and through these rounds, I've developed some strong opinions about the P220 system. I've always been impressed with Sig's ability to improve the pistol over the years. I've always liked the ST version of the P220, finding the heft of the frame welcome when firing +P duty loads. The SRT trigger was another such improvement to the design and I immdediately had my P220ST upgraded when it became available. When Sig announced the Elite version, I saw this as another improvement, liking the front cocking serrations and potential of the beaver tail. Finally, when Sig released the 5" match version, I thought that perfection could be reached. 45's duty loads thrive in full-length barrels and I really like the enhanced accuracy they offered.

All that was needed was to combine these various improvements into one pistol. Unfortunately, Sig hasn't seen the widsom of assembling already existing parts into an ideal pistol. I've talked to several Sig LE reps, pleading my case but to no avail. Ultimately, I ended up buying a stainless P220 Elite and a 5" Match (with night sights) and combining the two.

Once the two were together, I found that I had a really good pistol. Very accurate, very reliable, and very easy to carry despite the whining of the weight conscious. The issue of holsters remained and I started on that problem. Currently, I have an A.E. Nelson level 2 that fits the pistol. I sawed off the bottom of my Comp-Tac belt holster and voila, the pistol fits though the barrel hangs out. I just picked up two current Safariland holsters and with a little heat gun application, the new pistol now fits. I'm still fine-tuning my holster tweaking but it is coming along nicely.

As already noted by some forum members, the SRT system has a lot of overtravel in the design. Sig appears to have changed the "timing" of the trigger, trading reset distance for overtravel. While there are various solutions for this problem, I opted for an easy one, the installation of a welded overtravel stop by a local gunsmith. The net result is very similar to the speed bump trigger that Ernest Langdon briefly offered. I just live fired the pistol a few days ago and the trigger is wonderful. The reset is now very short and incredibly quick. I haven't had the chance to put the new gun on the timer but it should be fast.

Many folks on this forum have questioned the need and design of the beavertail. While its probably bigger than it needs to be, I'll never buy another Sig without one. The beavertail does not interfere with carry, either on-duty or off-duty. It makes acquiring a firing grip very easy and fluid. I haven't had a chance to compare the P220ST with and without beavertails on the timer but I plan to soon.

The only major problem I've encountered is the sights. The original gun shot 2.5-3" low at 25 yards. I'm still working on this issue and would ultimately like to install a Warren rear sight after hearing of its advantages.

So what does this pistol look like:


A closeup of the overtravel stop:

[unclestevie45]

John I think that you came up with the 220ST that SIG should have put together.

Were you ever able to sell the other top end?

[ToddG]

I was playing with the Short Reset mechanism back in the prototype stage, and I firmly believe it's a must-have for anyone shooting a TDA SIG. It really transforms the gun. I never noticed a meaningful increase in overtravel, though.

It's possible that one reason you're getting bad targeting is due to some inherent difference in dimensional specs between the P220ST and P220 5" frames. They may look identical but sometimes small changes are made to deal with the different stroke, timing, and weight. Or it could simply be the result of putting different parts together in a configuration different from their factory test. SIG sells (or at least used to sell) many different height front and rear sights to handle it. The sights are numbered; every change up or down on the front corresponds to a 1" POI shift; each change to the rear sight is 2". These number are a little rough, they're based on the sight radius of the P220/P226.

As for the beavertail, personally I hated it. The two main problems in my hands were (1) it forced my grip lower then usual, with the obvious resulting increase in felt recoil and muzzle rise, and (2) it blocked me from placing my thumb on the hammer as I holstered, which is my standard safety check to make sure the gun is decocked and stays that way as I press into the holster.

I also found that, on the timer, I was shooting the P220R (aluminum frame) as fast as the P220ST (steel frame). That was using standard pressure 230gr FMJ and JHP loads, though, not +p's. Both guns had the stainless steel slide.

Does your takedown lever have a little dot/depression in it on the side opposite the lever itself? SIG makes a standard one and a heavy-duty one, the dot indicates the heavy-duty version. In my experience, the heavy-duty one is definitely a must have item. I've seen a number of P220's crack their takedown levers in the 15-25k round count range, and it completely shuts the gun down. I've never shot one with the heavy-duty lever past 5k rounds, though, so couldn't give you a real estimate of the difference.