One of my very first firearm crushes was a Sig P220. This chonky single stack handgun has an interesting history behind it starting in 1975 when it was designed to replace the P210, in 9mm of all things. Over time it had been chambered for several different calibers but the most prolific by far in America was, unsurprisingly, the .45 ACP.
Over time the P220 could be found in 7.65x21mm, 9mm Steyr, and .38 Super as well as having a .22 LR conversion kit. There had been shorter concealed versions with six round mags, an older flush fit 7 round mag as the P220 originally had the magazine release at the bottom of the grip, and the current standard of 8 rounds in both .45 and 10mm.
Because of its age and having shifted manufacture from across the globe there are a dizzying amount of variations of the P220. German produced guns used stamped steel for both the frame and slide while Exeter made examples use milled stainless steel slides and either stainless or alloy lowers. They’ve had four different types of triggers over the years. There are versions with and without rails, heel and thumb mag releases, full size, compact size, carry size, combat size, all bare stainless models, a dedicated .22 version, and naturally a Legion model. Then there’s special editions, custom shop variants, limited runs, exclusive models…
Out of the relatively limited number of P220’s I’ve come across, no two have ever been the same. Life is like a box of Sigs, am I right?
If you’re at all familiar with metal framed Sigs prior to the P320 then you’ll be right at home with a P220 with the same options being available. Single action, double action, “double action Kellerman,” the usual suspects are all there. The most common is plain old double action which places a thumb activated decocker lever just in front of the slide catch so the hammer can safely be lowered.
Now then! Other than finding one of my holy grail guns, a P220 Sport with its amazing compensator or an ST model which is their all stainless designation, the plain old Elite model with its matte black Nitron finish is where it’s at for me. The Elite lands in a sweet spot between classic features and modern revisions without going all uber elite tacticool, from the extended beavertail which I think fully brings out the beauty in these guns to Sig’s Short Reset Trigger upgrade, plus some extra texturing and front slide serrations as an added bonus.
The Elite also comes standard with Sig’s one piece slim polymer grips called the E2 which do indeed slim down the 220, however the E2 grip accentuates the front to back length of the grip and creates two slightly sharp corners up front. Unless you need the thinnest grip possible I would recommend bumping it up to G10 grips, or even wood if you’re feeling fancy. Every P220 still has the holes drilled for grip screws beneath the E2 grips, something worth getting a close look at if buying used in case a previous owner might have stripped any of them out.
Shooting an alloy framed P220 in .45 for the first time did wonders to remind me there’s a lot more oomph to be had than a 9mm which I had been shooting almost exclusively for the last, oh, four years. Ammo went and got expensive, you know how it is. Taking my first shot slow and steady in double action left my grip a bit less than firm, and oh my word did I notice. One solid boom and fireball later and the sights were angling around seventy degrees skyward and my eyes were bugging out. WAHOO! Oh .45, how I have missed you.
Clamp down on the grip and dial back in and I was very quickly reminded of why I loved this gun from some twenty years ago. After five rounds completely obliterated the bullseye at thirty feet I was once again hooked. In .45 it’s a bit of a thumper though still far kinder to the hand than an all stainless 10mm with a longer barrel. Eight rounds come and go so fast and reloads are …actually not quite as smooth as most guns.
Something I’ve noticed with the 10mm version as well which I reviewed back in May of 2021, something about the single stack magazines like to catch on…well, the mag catch when inserting the mag. Sometimes it will slip right past and lock in, other times the mag catch will stop you from fully seating the mag and you have to give it some authoritative assistance to get it home. But hey, it’s a beefy .45 (or 10mm!) Rock it like you mean it.
Sadly, it seems the P220 (particularly in .45) is not doing so well. Rare is it to find examples for sale whether new or used and, no joke, most of the 220’s which I see are all the vastly newer 10mm variants. While an excellent firearm and a wonderful platform for the good ol’ Centimeter, what about the .45? Nearly every used example I find are the pre-Elite days, easily identified by lacking the extended upturned beavertail grip.
I even come across more of the “Exeter Shift” guns, to give them a label off the top of my head. These models are from when Sig was shifting manufacture from overseas to Exeter, New Hampshire and can readily be identified by a frame marked Exeter with the slide marked Germany. Since the slides and barrels aren’t what we consider the serialized component in this country it made sense to pick up all existing stock and bring it with to the new Exeter factory, thus leading to these classic hybrids.
Sig does seem to still make the P220 in .45 though options are quite slim. Of course there’s a Legion model with an optics cut slide, there’s the nitron Elite, and at the time of this writing there’s an Equinox version from the custom shop but I believe all of that stock has long since dried up. Compared to the dizzying array of P320s and P365s the P220 is largely forgotten, and one need not look at Sig’s website to see the trend. Go into any gunstore and look for .45 P220 magazines. Heck, look for 10mm P220 magazines while you’re at it. The shiny single stack mags you come across will likely be for Sig’s own 1911s which are not compatible with the P220.
So what might be going on here? The way I see it, the era of .45 and the era of single stack magazines are largely over, the 1911 being the main exception. Anyone still looking for a .45 is naturally going to gravitate toward, oh, any 1911 they can get their hands on. Same cartridge, same capacity, existing muscle memory may factor in, but it’s a timeless American design with far more potential for customization and with a single stage trigger which is arguably a global standard for handguns, all at around the same price point. Honestly, why would anyone go for the P220?
Unless you’re shooting a .45 for target or competition, I can think of at least one good reason. Some people do still carry a full size .45 for defensive use. To this I would start to question why a 1911 would be the superior choice between the two. Keeping it simple and overlooking all other variables, consider modern carry practices. Consider how many police agencies will put extra heavy triggers into their duty sidearms. Consider self defense situations and potential legal battles resulting from them. This is where I begin to question the wisdom of having a 4 pound or less trigger with a range of motion to rival the width of a piece of paper.
Simply put, what’s good for target shooting is bad for defensive use. A manual safety can be trained for in any platform, but having an ultra lightweight trigger when the adrenal rush hits seems like a dangerous combination. All other reasons aside (and you are more than welcome to draw your own conclusions here,) between a 1911 and a P220 for any sort of duty use I would have to go for the latter, every single time.
To each their own of course and I’m not knocking on anyone’s carry preference, though in trying to think in a strictly objective capacity it does seem like the Sig would be a better defensive choice. But I digress.
At one point it seemed that Sig tried to revitalize the platform with the P227, a double stack version which bumped the capacity up from 8 rounds to 10. The P227 had one of the shortest lifespans of any Sig pistol I’m aware of, lasting fewer years than the updated magazine held rounds. Having had a chance to hold one once with the E2 grips I could easily feel the extra width in the grip and hadn’t been a fan. Why give up great ergos for those extra two rounds of capacity? An extended P220 mag for the single stack will also get you up to 10 rounds if you need it. Of course this also meant the P227 also didn’t benefit from aftermarket grip options since the P220’s wouldn’t fit. The P227 had come and gone as but a whisper in the night. Good luck ever finding one of those.
As for the P220, it’s a matter of chambering and capacity. The double stack attempt didn’t get out the door. Why go back to a 9mm when the much more svelte P210 exists for target use? Shifting to the 10mm had to have made the most sense for Sig to keep the platform alive but now it’s out-classed in capacity by the P320 X-Ten and not as many people are looking for the more costly old-school metal framed handguns anymore. I’m afraid to say the P220 may be on life support and I don’t know if it will ever recover, which is a real damn shame given how utterly fantastic these guns are. This may only be speculation but from my own experiences these .45 chambered guns are already all but extinct.
If you’ve ever had your heart set on adding a P220 to your collection then you just might want to think about it sooner than later.
