Sig Sauer P220 vs Quality 1911
- Thread starter Joe_Pike
- Start date
My experience is during the mid 80s when I had the early imported Sig P220 with heel mag release, Colt Gold Cups (3) series 70 with the collet bushing and S&W 745.
The P220 was the most accurate 45auto I've ever owned. Changing the Bullseye powder charge changed only the vertical target impact using Speer 200 gr LSWC. I never use a rest with pistols.
The P220 has the most slide rail to frame contact and is touchy as to how well this area is lubed, lack of lube will cause it to jam/short-stroke. The grip has too much front to back width for my hands. Trigger out-of-the-box was fine.
The P220 was the most accurate 45auto I've ever owned. Changing the Bullseye powder charge changed only the vertical target impact using Speer 200 gr LSWC. I never use a rest with pistols.
The P220 has the most slide rail to frame contact and is touchy as to how well this area is lubed, lack of lube will cause it to jam/short-stroke. The grip has too much front to back width for my hands. Trigger out-of-the-box was fine.
Iron bottom
New member
I've never seen a P 220 that was anywhere near to being fitted up close enough to be very accurate out of the box. I think the P 220 has some potential, but there is not very much (parts wise) to work with.
Mine had the same problem as Master Blaster's. Bad extractor.
Mine had the same problem as Master Blaster's. Bad extractor.
Hello Joe_Pike, I consider myself to be a 1911 guy. That being said, I've owned several P220 variations over the last ~25 years and was a LE armorer for SIG and other manufactuer's firearms. One thing my P220s all had in common, was flawless reliability with any appropriate ammunition. Nothing ever broke, and accuracy was as least as good as, or better than, any other service style pistol I owned. Having used both P220s, and various manufactuer's 1911 type pistols, right out of the box I would trust the P220 more than a 1911 type to function as it should. Not something I heard on the internet, personal experience. BTW, the P220s were not designed to function with SWC bullets. I don't consider this to be a negative. Still have one P220, an older German manufactur 9MM. Goes bang every time, and doesn't suffer any deficiency in accuracy.
Some of the stainless slide/internal extractor guns were reported to have extraction problems. One of my coworkers started carrying a P220 after his Glock Ka-Boomed during training one night. It was one of those guns with an extraction issue. None of my SIGs, or those of my other coworkers, suffered extraction issues. But this one did. To my knowledge, Sig never admitted a problem, but current P220s utilize a different, external, extractor. I prefer the older generation of German guns, but consider the P220s whether German or American manufacture, to be very good pistols.
Some of the stainless slide/internal extractor guns were reported to have extraction problems. One of my coworkers started carrying a P220 after his Glock Ka-Boomed during training one night. It was one of those guns with an extraction issue. None of my SIGs, or those of my other coworkers, suffered extraction issues. But this one did. To my knowledge, Sig never admitted a problem, but current P220s utilize a different, external, extractor. I prefer the older generation of German guns, but consider the P220s whether German or American manufacture, to be very good pistols.
Model12Win
Moderator
I really like mine:
One topic I didn't see mentioned is trigger reach and hand size. The Sig P220 being a single stack has one of the shortest trigger reaches in their line of da/sa handguns. Having said that, the reach to the trigger is still longer than that on a 1911 with a long trigger. If you can hold the pistol, it would be a good idea to do so to make sure you have a good fit.
I used to have several Sigs, but sold them all and went with mostly single action pistols (i.e. 1911's, hi powers and cz's with manual safeties. I found to my dismay that I just could not master the da/sa transition when I shot pistols with other types of actions. To me, a SA pistol with manual safety works best.
I never had any malfunctions with any of my Sigs, they are quality handguns.
I used to have several Sigs, but sold them all and went with mostly single action pistols (i.e. 1911's, hi powers and cz's with manual safeties. I found to my dismay that I just could not master the da/sa transition when I shot pistols with other types of actions. To me, a SA pistol with manual safety works best.
I never had any malfunctions with any of my Sigs, they are quality handguns.
Both are great guns. Very different triggers. I own both and each has pros and cons. I always use my sigs for defense but only because that is what i have shot for 30 years. I plink, practice with a DA/SA. In a high stress situation you will resort to how you train.
Another reason i use Sigs is they need no work to be absolutly reliable. I will never modify, tinker or change anything on a defensive weapon except grips and sights for liability reasons.
If you want a defense weapon that is accurate and reliable right out of the box then go with the P220. Not many after market parts available but none is needed for a defense weapon. It just works. It is simple, very easy to field strip and clean, no safey to forget. The DA trigger is a 10 lb long pull but you will not accidentilly discharge. SA is 4 lb with a short reset. You can get the 220 in SAO if you do not like the DA/SA trigger.
If you like to tinker and upgrade your weapon then go with the 1911. They have great triggers and tons of aftermarket parts. With some work yourself or some extra money for quality 1911s they are very accurate and make great target guns. Great defense guns if you put in the practice with the safety (I have not). I have a Dan Wesson 1911 and is a beautiful gun and shoots like a dream. But is it fair to compair a $1700 1911 to a $800 sig.
I would trust both with my life but will personally choose the Sig every time for a defensive gun. But I love shooting my Dan Wesson.
Another reason i use Sigs is they need no work to be absolutly reliable. I will never modify, tinker or change anything on a defensive weapon except grips and sights for liability reasons.
If you want a defense weapon that is accurate and reliable right out of the box then go with the P220. Not many after market parts available but none is needed for a defense weapon. It just works. It is simple, very easy to field strip and clean, no safey to forget. The DA trigger is a 10 lb long pull but you will not accidentilly discharge. SA is 4 lb with a short reset. You can get the 220 in SAO if you do not like the DA/SA trigger.
If you like to tinker and upgrade your weapon then go with the 1911. They have great triggers and tons of aftermarket parts. With some work yourself or some extra money for quality 1911s they are very accurate and make great target guns. Great defense guns if you put in the practice with the safety (I have not). I have a Dan Wesson 1911 and is a beautiful gun and shoots like a dream. But is it fair to compair a $1700 1911 to a $800 sig.
I would trust both with my life but will personally choose the Sig every time for a defensive gun. But I love shooting my Dan Wesson.
I would take a P220 over any 1911. It's not even a close call. There is something in the way the 1911's grip is shaped that just feels wrong to me. On top of that, a trade in $4-500 P220 is probably going to be nicer than a new $4-500 1911. I paid $400 for mine, and it's almost in perfect condition.
Model12Win
Moderator
I agree. The one in post #28 is a trade in.
I've owned a couple of P220's over the years. One in 38 Super and one in 45 acp. Excellent guns by all measures. Really.
Get one or two. As a few years go by try the CZ97. The biggest issue with that excellent gun is the long reach to the trigger and that can be improved on.
tipoc
Get one or two. As a few years go by try the CZ97. The biggest issue with that excellent gun is the long reach to the trigger and that can be improved on.
tipoc
Right out of the box, I'd guess that you'd have a better chance of an accurate, well made gun by going to the Sig P220. I've owned 1911's for right at 50 years now, including a couple of Gold Cups from the 70's, and two Ruger SR 1911's in the last 5-6 years. But the Sig's, all six of them that I've owned in the last decade all came with superb fit and finish, and as accurate as my cherished 1911's.
If the operating system, grip feel, and trigger appeal to you, the Sig line makes sense. They're not cheap, but they are universally good out of the box and backed up by a great customer service dept.
As an alternate idea: Sig makes great 1911's too. I have a Sig 1911 RCS that's my hands down pick for CC use: alloy frame, Officer's model grip length, tritium night sights, 4" barrel and a match trigger & bbl. It's the best of my .45's and a daily companion here on the farm. Sig doesn't make them any more, but they're readily available on gunbroker.
HTH's Rod
If the operating system, grip feel, and trigger appeal to you, the Sig line makes sense. They're not cheap, but they are universally good out of the box and backed up by a great customer service dept.
As an alternate idea: Sig makes great 1911's too. I have a Sig 1911 RCS that's my hands down pick for CC use: alloy frame, Officer's model grip length, tritium night sights, 4" barrel and a match trigger & bbl. It's the best of my .45's and a daily companion here on the farm. Sig doesn't make them any more, but they're readily available on gunbroker.
HTH's Rod
bandanabandit1
New member
All comes down to preference, both pistols are absolutely capable. The sig has the fatter grip and the DA/SA trigger (most of the time) and the 1911 has the single action pull.
Get both.
Get both.
hemiram said:
Here's the problem: If you are of a certain background, the 1911 grip and trigger are wired into your brain as the paradigm for THE semi-auto pistol. Yes the Browning was around (also ergonomically excellent) but normal people shot a 1911.
I liked the 1911s I had, but it struck me as a maintenance intensive design. It was designed before most people had seen a car.
The P220 is objectively better, more accurate out of the box, more durable and runs longer without maintenance and tweeking. You can own and shoot one without having an excellent relationship with a gunsmith. Yet, I find it ergonomically inferior to a 1911.
The FIRST centerfire pistol I ever shot was my cousin's 1911 that he bought used on his 21st birthday in 1951. I was 8 years old, and it was exciting, but I was more interested in revolvers back then. I shot an old 32 S&W revolver a couple of years after that, and I liked it a lot. The first non-1911 semiauto I shot was a Beretta 92s when I was 21. THAT grip I really liked. I remember shooting some guy's 1911 at the range near my house at the time along with the 92s and a new 92 went home with me that day. I've had a couple of 92's since then, the last being a trade in 92FS that was in fantastic shape with a bunch of mags for $410. I don't have one now, but I'm getting the bug to buy one again. But of all the guns I have, my favorite, without a doubt, is my Tanfoglio "Mossad" CZ-75 clone. That's a perfect grip, IMHO. All steel, satin nickel. I have the one two tone too, and a compact. All are the same thing as the same era EAA Witness. All three of them cost about as much as a "decent" 1911, and I would bet my life on any of them over any 1911. Of my plastic guns, my favorite is my Sar CM9 Gen2. A fantastic gun at a price almost too cheap to believe. I paid $259 for mine, shipped with 2 mags. I've got 1000+ rounds through it without a hitch and I can't say one thing bad about it. I'm expecting that the SAR guns will be the next "XD", where they suddenly go up in price after people realize what great guns they are.
I have both (actually, I traded "up" for a Model 227 because it carries more ammunition than the Model 220 and I prefer the E2 grip configuration) and like them equally well-but they are a kind of an oranges to tangerine comparison.
I prefer the SIG for edc because I like the da/sa trigger format for self-defense and prefer the 1911 for target use due to its having a much superior trigger, best suited for the precision accuracy needed in venues like Bullseye competition.
Well, I shot mine today and wasn't all that excited about it. Within the first 25 rounds I had a failure to fire. That very well could have been the ammo, but on the round that didn't fire I tried to eject it and the slide was locked up. I had to give it a pretty good tug to get it free, but I reloaded the problem round and the rest of the 100 rounds were fired with out issue. Then I was going to run some Hornady American Gunner (reboxed Hornady Custom) through it and those will not even fit into the Sig magazines. The mouth of the hollow point is too wide or OAL is too long. Apparently Sigs will not feed everything. Anyway, kind of disappointed.
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If you keep having issues call SIG. That's one of the supposed advantages of a new pistol, a warranty. As for Hornady, that's not the first time I've read of issues of feeding Hornady 45ACP. I seem to remember HK45s have the same issue. As someone that never personally cared for Hornady it's not a big deal to me, but might be worth starting a new thread or doing a Google search.