HK P9s 9mm or SIG P220 .45 ACP

[rs525]

Time for another this or that: If you had to own one of two pistols, would it rather be an HK P9s in 9mm or a SIG P220 (preferrably a West German made one) in .45 ACP?

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Never shot a P9, but I have 2 West German P220s and have found them to be flawlessly reliable, smooth, and accurate. They did have problems with the first US-made one-piece slides with internal extractors, but otherwise you can't go wrong.

 

[Hookeye]

Pops had two 220s and offered me one.
226 or 220.....I can do OK with em, but not great.
Dunno why either.
So passed on the free 220.

Have never shot a P9S.
Am interested in a VP9 though.

 

[PzGren]

I have owned several Heckler & Koch P9S in 9mm and those pistols are not only very well made but also very accurate and sturdy. They will last past the 60,000 round mark. The SIG Sauer P200 in .45ACP is a nice and accurate gun but the built quality is not fully up to the old HK. One friend of mine agreed with me and he signed the targets on the early SIG Sauers when he was one of the guys testing them. He also shot the HK P9S in the GSG9.
In .45 ACP the P9S is a little snappy but with handloads and lead bullets the P9S Sport had dominated the German .45 ACP DSB competition for a couple of decades.

 

[LaneP]

I have a German carbon steel slide P220 with pinned breechblock and internal extractor. Likewise as others, I have found it to be ultra reliable, comfortable to shoot and very accurate. I also do like DA/SA hammer fired, at least as executed by Sig.

 

[trackskippy]

I had both in the past, a P9s and a couple of different P220's. Liked both, sold both. No regrets, but wouldnt mind having one of each back.

The P9's are cool guns, feel good in the hand, and are reliable and accurate shooters. I had a P7M13 at the same time and just found that one to be more interesting, so the P9 kind of got a bit neglected. I had a bunch of HK's over the years and all were, well, HK's. Its almost like they were in control when you were shooting, so you wouldn't mess up and ruin their rep.

If its going to be a shooter, the P220 would probably be the better choice. Mags and parts for the HK could be a bit sketchy. The same for the SIG shouldn't be a problem, but still tend to be a bit salty.

I had both W. German and US P220's. Both worked and shot well, but the older steel slide WG guns just seem to have a more svelte look and better feel in the hand. They tend to rust though if youre not paying attention.

 

[Maver1ck]

Voted for the P9, but you can't really gone with either.

 

[bannockburn]

I have had both and would go with the SIG P220 (aka Browning BDA .45). The P9S I had was also a .45 and the BDA in comparison was easier to shoot, super reliable, and very accurate. When I had the BDA I also owned a Colt Gold Cup and the BDA could match shot for shot with the Gold Cup!

I never felt as comfortable shooting the P9S as it seemed a little awkward in my hand (smaller size) and it was a bit of a reach to get to the trigger. Same with the slide mounted safety, though I rarely used it. The sights were okay but accuracy was just a little above average, with factory loads or handloads.

Overall I felt the P9S was an innovative design and featured some unique technology for it's time, like it's polymer trigger guard, polygonal rifling, decocker, and it's roller delayed blowback method of operation.

An interesting gun, it just wasn't a good fit for me.

 

[5-SHOTS]

In my opinion the Heckler & Koch P9S is a much more interesting pistol than the SIG-Sauer P220. However, due to its particular characteristics, the P9S needs more knowledge and attention to use and maintain it at its best. The P220 is a much simpler and more practical gun to use and maintain. If you buy the P9S you will need to make sure that the synthetic recoil buffer located in the front of the frame is in good condition, otherwise you will have to replace it. If you buy the P220 it will probably be ready to go. In spite of everything I would prefer to have the P9S in my collection.

 

[Dragonfly]

I like SIG’s P22x pistols a lot, but between those two I’d go for the P9S. The P220 is a great pistol, and would likely make a better “general purpose” pistol, but I like the unique design of the P9S. I currently own a Target model in .45ACP, and previously owned a standard model in 9mm.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

The P220 is a nice handgun but I'd take a P9s over it. The P9s is a nice shooter with it's roller delayed blowback and is mechanically interesting. I don't think a more complex service handgun exists and they were used by the Navy SEALs in between the MK22 and the MK23 when they needed a suppressed handgun.

 

[bannockburn]

While not a service pistol, I think the Benelli B76 would certainly give the HK P9S a good run for the money in terms of being overly complex in it's operational design.

 

[rs525]

Thanks everyone. I would like to request this thread closed.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Thanks everyone. I would like to request this thread closed.

As asked, let it be so