New P220 Range Report...

V

vyper005

New member
Me & a friend went to the range today...I brought my new 220...kept my other new 229 home and my friend brought my old 229 in .357sig w/the extra 40 barrel that I sold him...I put 3 boxes of ammo thru the gun...1 Winchester white box...1 PMC & 1 Speer Lawman...all 230gr stuff.I had one failure to feed...If I can remember,it was with the PMC ammo which was the 2nd box of ammo I tried...maybe the 75th round...I think I was holding the gun rather loosely at the time...after that,no problems whatsoever...Accuracy was a little dissapointing to me...As usual,I was shooting from a distance of 7 to 10 yards...I was aiming dead center but most of my shots were not "POA" but off to the left...a sure sign of flinching I thought...Anyway...My friend was in the lane next to me & doing very well with the .357sig & the 40 ammo...He asked me if I wanted to try my old gun and I said what the hell...We switched guns & I noticed that I was much more accurate with my old gun in both .357 & 40 and my friend was less accurate with mine...What gives I thought...I came to the conclusion that I've never owned 3 dot "Siglites" & they were kinda hard to see at the range...I've had Mepro's on a couple of Glocks in the past & I believe they gave a better sight picture because of the outer white rings...I must have shot the old 229 better because I picked up the standard Sig "Dot the I" sights better...My friend even said he couldnt make out the sights on the 220...I guess I could swap out the "Siglites" for the regular ones but would it be worth it ?? Who knows...Maybe I just need to shoot more...Any ideas ??
 
vyper,
I have a 226 with the Siglites on it and I dislike them also. I hate that the outer rings are silver color, I find it difficult to see. I much prefer the Mepros I have on my 229. I have been thinking of getting white model paint and coloring in the rings with a toothpick on the Siglite sights. If that doesn't work I will swap the sites between the 226 and 229, the 226 is my duty gun so I would prefer the sites that I am most comfortable with. If you decide to try coloring the site before I get to it let me know how it turned out.
 
I've owned two P220's and both shot low left from POA. Needless to say, they are both gone and in their place is a basic Kimber Custom Classic 1911A1 that is incredible. I've owned three Sigs and would never buy another one. IMO, they are the most over-rated/over-priced guns on the market. Never again...
 
Is your new P220 a brand new gun or used? When I first took out my newly bought P220 last year, I too had a very disappointing result. I figured that the gun was brand new and not very smooth yet, esp the trigger pull, since it has not been broken in yet. Another dilemma for me was that I was not really used to shooting .45's that much, since most of the time, I shoot 9mm's and .40 cal's. I also had the same result with hitting the target at low/left. After shooting about 900 rounds out of the P220, I have only had one jam and that too was my fault, cause I was playing Clint Eastwood at the time, hehehe. Don't ask what I was doing, lol? But after a few hundred rounds, the gun was breaking in nicely and was alot more accurate. I was getting used to the recoil of the .45 and was more able to tame it down. I actually had a dramatic difference in accuracy results on my second range trial. I think that this gun outshoots most people, esp new .45 owners and non LEO's who don't shoot guns too often as they do. I totally agree with you guys about the sights. The indoor range I go to is not very well lit and I have a hard time aiming. My non 20/20 vision doesn't help either. Sometimes it is hard to sight in on the target and sometimes my vision even blurs.
 
Bedeviler,
The gun is a brand new Two-Tone model...My range is also very dim...kinda sucks if you ask me...I really think mrat hit the nail on the head about those silver rings on the Siglites...They are just plain hard to see in the daytime..
 
vyperoo5,

I sure agree on those siglites. My buddy has those siglites on two of his Sigs, P226 and P228, and though he likes them, I don't. Especially if the gun is two tone and not black in color. The contrast or lighting in a way interrupts your sighting. And yeah just like you or most indoor ranges, the lighting is not the greatest and becomes even harder to see. Anyways, good luck with your P220. I'm sure it will improve alot for you like it did for me. I think that breaking it in and getting used to it makes the difference. It did for me. I think that the P220 outshoots most of its owners anyway.
 
I picked up a slighty used Sig P220 a few months ago. It is a two-tone model, with Trijicon night sights. When I first shot it, it too shot low left. It was a combination of me, and having to drift the sight a tad. Now it shoots excellent. I'm a firearms instructor for my dept......and recently shot a 296/300 with my Sig. I dropped the 4 points from the 25 yard line, weak hand barricade. So far the Sig is right up there with my Beretta 92FS...which I love dearly because in the 10+ years I have owned it, it (the Beretta) has proven to be unfalable. However, that being said...after shooting and carrying the P220 for a month or so, it is fast becoming my number one pistol.


Apples and oranges.....I'd probably never buy a Kimber...way over priced.
 
If you shoot right-handed, you are right about the flinch...

Strictly anecdotal, but...

I handload for the 45 and I decided to load up some +P+ 230gr 1000fps target rounds to simulate my self-defense ammo. Normally I fore a ~750fps 230gr. Although the recoil didnt HURT, I did notice that my accuracy went to heck with nearly all of the rounds hitting low and to the left; larger spread too.

So I took a couple of my empty dummy rounds (no primer, no powder) and while not looking at them loaded two of them mixed in with the high-power target ammo into a 10 round clip. Sure enough, when I dropped the hammer on a dummy round DOWN went the gun. WIERD!!!! I have never flinched on any handgun before, not even a 38sp +P form a titanium 2" snubby...

So I began shooting regularly wiht hte dummy rounds and trained out the flinch. Just like Bedeviler, after a few boxes those groups tightened right up.

The Sig 220 is an EXCELLENT platform. I shot it extensively when buying my .45 (an HK USP) and many of the more respected members of this board either carry them for service or concealed on a regular basis. Don't sell it short until you get some experience with the .45acp for a while.

I really do think you will be very pleased after you have gotten accustomed to the cartrige.

JT

as usual, IMHO, YMMV, FWIW, and all that...
 
Good Point JT...It was just weird cause I shot my old 229 in both 40 & .357sig better & they also have some decent kick...I'm definitely going to shoot it a bunch more before I change sights if necessary..
 
This is kinda ironic but, today with all this P220 talk, I decided to go out to the range with my fiancee and shot off about 500 rounds thru my P220 and then some on my other guns. Here's the thing. The common shots of going to the lower/left was obvious when I first started with the first 7 rounds or so. I always seem to start like this as I warm up, hehe. Anyway, so I tried different ways of holding and trigger pulling. I found that using more of the left ball or main muscle of the left thumb to assist and cradle my right thumb as my right thumb wraps around the grip very helpful in control. Of course the left index finger is on the trigger guard for more control. I also tried to loosen my hold of the gun a bit. The gun recoiled more nicely straight back rather than a bit sideways or oblique as it sometimes do. The accuracy was much better and I was able to get 24 of 27 straight rounds grouped nicely in a 6 inch diameter target at 40-50 feet. Then I watched my fiancee shoot and she had a hard time. I noticed that her shots all went left/low also. I watched how the gun tilt and move as she is about to pull the trigger. The nose of the gunmoved before the shot went off. This was the problem. I had her aim at the target and dry fire practice and she slowly lost the bad habit. I also taught her not to squeeze the gun, but just hold it firmly, while nice and relaxed. I also let the gun recoil on it's own and not try too hard to control it. As I said above, I had much better results. She was getting used to the trigger pull and she watched the gun as she shot it to see where and if it moves or tilts. I think it was part anxiety of her anticipating the recoil. But she did well for the most part and her accuracy was much better. After I played around and tried out different styles of holding, gripping, trigger pulling, and what have you, I guess the lesson I learned is not to try too hard to tame down the recoil and let it go. As long as the trigger pull and hold is good, it doesn't matter how much recoil it does. It will hit its target! Also glad to report having "0" problems or jams with all 500 rounds. And I also used my extended 10 round Pro Mag magazine. That's about 600 rounds fired thru that Pro Mag alone with no jams or problems. I guess I really got lucky with htis one!
 
I completely agree with Bedeviler...

Just relax and let the gun do what it's going to do. The recoil in a standard .45acp load in a 220 is not sever and wont make you drop the gun or hit yourself in the head. Just let that sucker recoil straight back how it wants to.

A little Zen-like approach was what worked for me and now I fire ALL my guns better.

JT
 
Pilot,
Yes...Thats where I go most of the time...The lighting in that place really sucks...Ive talked to the workers about it & they just shrug their shoulders...Do you go there ??
 
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