Only Ala Dan will care . . . German P220

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Doing my usual Friday afternoon gunshop snooping, I saw a P220 that had some unusual (to me) proof marks on the right side of the frame just above the front of the trigger guard, and three other proofmarks just forward of the frame on the bottom of the slide. I checked some of the other SIGs in the display case and didn't see the same marks. Also, instead of Exeter on the left side of the slide it says "Tysons Corner - VA"

Hmmmm....

Since I was looking for another P220 and this one was in great shape (sweet trigger!) for an excellent price I bought it and took it home.

Lo and behold when I check the internet for "SIG SAUER PROOF MARKS" I discovered that this is an actual German manufactured P220 that was proofed in 1986. :D

Life was good today. Think I'll celebrate Memorial Day at the range.
 
I'll post some pics tonight when I get back from Bible study . . . thing is three out of four of the husbands at the study are all SIG owners . . . wonder if I could write off this purchase as a church expense? :)

Will post a side-by-side comparison of a 2003 vs. 1986 manufactured P220 when I get back from the range on Monday.

Edited to add: Didn't mean anything by the "only Ala Dan will care" title, it's just that he gets so excited about the German-made SIGs I wanted to make sure that he knew his input had really had me out there looking for one.
 
Great pistol!
Is yours an American mag release, or the heel-release?

My first 220 was a spurred hammer heel-release that I stupidly sold.
Replaced it with a 1990-assembled 220 with older spurred hammer but American release. It is my standard winter CCW/summer briefcase CCW backup.
 
I have a West German P220 .45 with all the proof marks.
Very nice shooting pistol.
 
Pictures as promised. Remember, I'm not a photographer nor do I play one on TV.

It's German 002.JPG


It's German 001.JPG


As you can see, it has the American magazine release and the spurred hammer. I am still amazed at the smoothness of the slide, like it was moving on oiled glass. The trigger in SA is very light. Will get a scale on it one of these days. DA is obviously heavier but lighter than the newly manufactured P220.

Getting the piece refinished has crossed my mind but this is going to be a carry gun and on new guns I tend to baby them quite a bit . . . this one I think I can carry and not worry too much about holster wear or that inevitable scratch.

Can't wait to shoot her on Monday!
 
I had a German made 220. I loved it but since it never fit my hand as well as other guns, I had to send it down the road. If the trigger wasn't long, I would have kept it. It was one of the best production semi-autos I have ever owned. Sigs are fantastic guns that are worth the price. Best production gun IMHO. I wish the 220 fit my hand better.:( I see a 226 or a 228 in my future some day.:)
 
As promised, a Memorial Day Sig P220 (2003) vs. Sig P220 (1986) Range Report:

Sig P220 (2003) @ 25 yards – all shots rested from sandbags, no failures of any kind.
100-rounds of American Eagle ball – best 5-shot group = 2.5â€.
(That’s all I fired from this Sig ‘cause she’s in beautiful shape and I want to keep it that way – she’s a safe gun).

Sig P220 (1986) @ 25 yards – all shots rested from sandbags, no failures of any kind.
100-rounds of American Eagle ball – best 5-shoot group = 2.9â€.
200-rounds of Winchester White Box ball – best 5-shoot group = 3.5â€.
300-rounds of Wolf ball (Yeah, I know . . . Wolf :( but it’s what I had and Walmart had completely sold out of .45 ACP 100-round packs) – best 5-shoot group = 2.2â€.

So if my rest and hold were consistent, the 1986 P220 wins the contest and, amazingly, the Wolf was the preferred round. However, after about 200 rounds from the Wolf (and the other 300 from American Eagle and Winchester), the slide became a little sluggish and I was forced to do a quick at-the-bench cleaning to keep her running smoothly.

Other Guns Used Today:
My G17 passed the 2000-round mark and is still functionally flawless.
My Ruger PC9 chewed through 200-rounds of Winchester White Box and is consistent with 1†± “a wee bit†groups @ 25 yards.

There was also a nice young man present who had just today purchased a G27. I asked him if it was OK to watch him shoot it because I wanted to see the recoil. He handed it to me with a partially filled magazine and told me to have at it. It was nicely accurate and had far less recoil than I had anticipated. Out of the 7-rounds I fired, it printed about 4†@ 25 yards.

We also had my best friend’s 12-year old boy with us who had never fired any type of gun before. I started him off with a Ruger 22/45 (with which he did quite well over several hundred rounds), then he shot the G17, then the P220, and then another friend’s P228. It surprised me that all of his shots with the G17 were in the black (or bull) of a 25-yard slow-fire pistol target. When the day was done, he preferred shooting the G17 . . . go figure. It’s taken me quite some time to get good consistent groups with the G17 and he does it right off the bat.

I even got a discount on some new earplugs at Home Depot because I’m a vet! All-in-all, it was a great day.
 
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