A ten year anniversary demands a 10mm celebration. P220

2019 marks two anniversaries for me. On Valentine’s Day, ten years ago, I had my last cigarette. Since that time I’ve saved exactly zero dollars, because I also bought my first handgun that year. And since handguns tend to breed like rabbits, well, you all get the picture.

About two years ago I purchased this gun, a Sig P220 DA/SA 10mm auto. I love the gun, plain and simple. It fits my hand really well and the all steel construction and 39 oz unloaded weight makes it a pleasure to shoot, even with really hot ammo.
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A little over one year ago I started loading my own ammo and given the cost of 10mm factory ammo, it was a logical cartridge to get into.

I’m impressed with the wide variety of bullet weights and velocities that can be achieved. It pretty much makes my 357 revolvers irrelevant. But they aren’t going anywhere.

Shortly before buying my P220 I handled a SAO all stainless version that I desperately wanted to buy, but did not have the funds. Then as usually happens with a distributor exclusive version, they disappeared from the store shelves and online market place. I figured I’d missed the boat and would probably spend several years watching for a used one to crop up, and end up paying too much for it.

Well apparently the demand was there because Lipsey’s put some more out there. I waited as long as I could to be sure I could work it into my budget. I brought her home yesterday.



The front sight is a night sight with an adjustable all black rear sight. The safety has a very positive and audible click to engage or disengage. The trigger has some light take up before breaking nice and crisply. In dry fire practice it seems exceedingly easy to keep the sights still and on target.

Aside from a fun play thing I anticipate using this gun as a woods walking gun. 9 rounds of full power 10mm ammo is plenty for any situation I might find myself in. Shooting a deer with this is certainly feasible also if I do choose.

If you’ve never shot one of these, and the opportunity presents itself, I really recommend you try it out. I’ve never enjoyed a pistol enough before to buy a second example in only a little different configuration, so that says something to me.

I know there are 10mm pistols that hold more ammo also, but this one just suits me. I’m content with the capacity.

I need to order up a nice field holster now and get to packing it on hikes.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share since guns are fun and I managed to bring home a gun I’ve wanted for some time. I need to clean the factory crud out, grease the rails, and hopefully shoot it next weekend. I anticipate the work week feeling very long.

Yesterday I made it to the range and put my SAO P220 through its paces. I shot 150 rounds of Sig brand FMJs first. They shot fine and I used them as a baseline to dial in the sights at 10 yards. Out of the box the gun was hitting a little low, but as this was the first time I shot it, it’s very likely I was adding to the issue.

After 50 rounds I bumped out to 12 yards, and then to 15 after another 50 rounds.

Then shot 200 of my own loads using Xtreme 180 gr plated bullets with CCI LPP and 13.3 gr of AA#9. These rounds were noticeably more consistent with their POI compared to the Sig ammo. But that’s really not a surprise. They clock in between 1225-1250 FPS from a 5” barrel.

I shot 100 of those at 18 yards and then the last 100 at 20 yards.

Once you get the feel of the trigger and sights where you like them, punching a fist sized hole through a paper plate size target at 20 yards is pretty repeatable, and I’m no accomplished marksman, and have pretty crappy eyes.

Bottom line is these are really fun guns to shoot. The recoil of 10mm ammo is heavily mitigated by the 39 oz unloaded weight. The front night sight combined with an all black adjustable rear sight means dialing it in and getting a clean sight picture is pretty easy.

The safety has a very positive and audible click to it, but you can deactivate it silently if you use a lot of care and plan to hunt with this gun. It is a bit too small though in my opinion to comfortably ride it like on a 1911, but that may just be my particular hands.

The trigger is nice. It’s not quite a 1911 trigger, but it’s pretty dang good in my opinion. There is take up, and a slight creep, but the break is clean.

If you want a good 10mm for hunting appropriately sized game, or an easy shooting 10mm for woods walking and angry critter defense, and you aren’t obsessed with capacity, I’d give these a look. IMO Sig got this offering right and they’re just plain fun.

If you want a competition gun, this isn’t it. Look at Tanfoglio, as they have much better options.

On a side note, I struck up a conversation with another shooter and he let me shoot his CZ 75 SP-01. That’s a nice gun! I see CZs in my future.

Yesterday was a good day. Powder burns are always a good sign, and I’ve come to like the remnant smell even more than Hoppe’s #9.

TN Outlaw said:

I'm crazy, I'd try the grips on the opposite gun and all kinds of odd ball stuff if I had sister guns like that.

I'm already wondering how it'd look on your guns so I know I would. Lol

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Actually you can’t swap them. One is DA/SA with a decocker and the other is SAO with a manual safety. Different cut grips.

Might try swapping the slides though.

sparkyv said:

350 rounds of 10mm in one range session? That's INSANE 460! You must have a high tolerance for recoil, what being a 460Shooter, and all. Wow

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Recoil and blast don’t bother me too much, but honestly this gun mitigates the recoil so well that I think most folks wouldn’t find what I did uncomfortable.

My first handgun was a 3 inch 357 magnum SP101 and my second was my 460 magnum. I think starting out that way desensitized me a bit too.

It’s definitely more the gun being well designed though, and I did decide to “save ” my last 100 rounds I had with me.

LRDGCO said:

Ok. That's it. Enough. I intend to complain quite vigorously to the Moderators!

These ruthless 10mm Pushers keep assaulting me with gun porn, trying to get me hooked on yet another caliber. It is utterly outrageous!

Bloody nice looking hand cannons you have there ;-)

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They are rather addicting.

Chamber is fully supported. I’m about to load some brass for the 4th time.

The DA/SA seems to dent up the sides of the cases. The resizing/decaping die on my press straightens then out though. The stainless one doesn’t dent them up.

Just a quick update. I like to hike and I prefer to carry openly when doing so. As a result of carrying a pack all day I like to keep my field pistols low and out of the way. This makes carrying a full size gun all day comfortable and convenient. These guns fill that role nicely for me, and especially now.

Yesterday I received a holster I ordered for these particular guns. It is the Alaskan Hunter holster with an added drop loop made by Diamond D Leather in Alaska.

https://www.diamonddcustomleather.com/collections/holsters

The leather work is very nice I think given the ruggedness and quality. It carries comfortably and accomplishes what I need. The nice part is that despite one gun being DA/SA, and the other SAO meant to be carried cocked and locked, this Holster works for both. It's less optimal for the SAO in my opinion because really you would want the retention strap to sit on the back of the slide, between the cocked hammer and firing pin, but since the safety has a very positive click to deactivate, and the trigger is completely covered it should be plenty safe.

Just thought I'd share. I've found this holster design to be an excellent way to carry a full sized gun in the field. The drop loop would make it impractical if getting in and out of a vehicle, but that's not why I bought it to begin with, and the loops that ride on the belt have snaps and the holster is easy to take on and off that way.

This is the second such holster I have purchased and I really like the design. Only took about 4 weeks to arrive.

bannockburn said:

460Shooter

Great looking holster! A first rate design and definitely has the look of being a solid, extremely well built holster! Excellent way to carry either of your two SIG 10mm.s!

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IMHO, if you hike and need to keep the gun low and out of the way of a pack, it’s the best option out there.