Thread: Sig P220 keep or trade for 1911? Need opinions

I have a Sig P220 non rail pistol. It's a great gun, and i like it. But i like to modify my toys. And the 1911 seems to be the platform for that. So I want your opinions on whether I should trade it for a 1911 and if so how nice of a 1911 can i get for my 10 year old P220 with the full houge rubber grips, one 8 round mag and 4 seven round mags in the factory box.

Pluses on the 1911 for me
easily customized
narrower
can carry cocked and locked
Better trigger


Pluses for the P220 for me
I already have it
reliability(never had a misfeed of any kind)
fits my hand very well


I look forward to your help on this. Thanks


Here she is

The Sig 220 is a nice gun but I like my Springfield 1911 better. It fits my hand like a glove and it definitly shoots! Spare parts are much easier to find as well.

Just opinion now. I think the 220 was made as a police gun and the 1911 as a full blown military war gun. The controls of the gun kinda answer the question of why I think that way. Double action long pull is for takeing prisoners and not for that quick shot like full blown combat. Light triggers on police guns cause accidents. 1911s have really nice triggers.

1911s are to me the best gun and the way they are made today you don't have to buy exspensive customizing for them if you buy what you want to begin with. However it is fun to build something to fit yourself if you have the time and money to waste. Normally unless you have a name gunsmith do the work you lose what you put into a gun as an investment.

Just an opinion and I am sure others think different.
jj

To establish my 1911A1 bona fides:





That said, KEEP the P220. Your trade will only get you a down market or used 1911 of questionable pedigree. IMO, if you are going to buy or trade for a used 1911, you best have enough experience to tell whether it might have been monkeyed with by the previous home hot rodder. If you trade for new based on what you'll get for a 10 year old SIG, you're going to wind up with a Filipino 1911, or worse, a Series II Kimber with an external extractor.

A proper P220 disposal strategy is to try and get $500 or so for it and add your own $300.00 or so and try and at least get into a NEW SA Loaded or a NEW basic Colt.

That sounds like good advise above. There are some great 1911s out there to be sure. Get something someone has fiddled with in their garage and you could well be getting into a lot of problems (thinking safety here) and you wind up putting a lot of money into it just to bring it around. You can get a good 1911 worked on by a good gunsmith, but that takes money and probably won't add value to the piece. You can step up and get a pedigreed (from above and I like the word) gunsmith (think someone like Ted Yost et. al. here) that will cost a lot of money and add some value to your piece. In the end, how much better off are you than you were with the SiG P220? In the June 2008 issue of SWAT Magazine Ed Lawrence wrote a great article on Larry Vickers' 1911 Operator's Class and included some of Larry's thoughts on the 1911 and it's role in today's "Glock World."

Over the years I've owned a small pile of different 1911s and loved almost every one of them; couple even saved my bacon on more than one occasion. That said, I hate to carry them, especially CC. I'm left-handed, so that always means a trip to the smith for King's ambis and by that time I've been sold on a list of things I know I NEED. In the end, I come out with a spendy pistol I feel uncomfortable carrying, let alone getting dirty shooting. All that and I kick myself for selling my P220; carried that thing for years and nary a problem. Do what suits you, but be mindful of some of the pitfalls on the road to 1911 bliss.

Keep the P220 Save your pennies and get a 1911 downs the road.

The Sig is the best choice, by far...nothing wrong with the 1911 except that it is the same as it was in 1911. In the professional word people way their lives on a Sig. All Sig guns come with a match barrel, all parts function without fail for more rounds that you will ever shoot, more then likely. Nothing wrong with the 1911, but the Sig is the winner for out of the box ahnd guns. You have one, how does it shoot??

(IMO, of course) you'd be trading a known good quantity for something completely unknown. Most 1911s work fine out of the box. Some don't. That's pretty true of any new gun these days.

I own both. You're right, the 1911 is slimmer, by about .10", not a huge amount. It's also heavier, unless you get an aluminum framed one, some of which have their own problems. The P220 is more similar in size to a Commander sized gun (4.25" barrel). In fact, my P220-R is just about exactly the same size as my Dan Wesson CBOB. It even has a rounded butt.

I carry both in the same type of holster, though fitted to each gun. The 1911 holster has a thumb break. They really carry pretty much the same, but the Sig fits my hand better, and generally gets carried the more of the two.

You're right that the 1911 is more easily customized, in that there are a world of options for it out there. For that reason alone I will probably always have at least one. Sigs are classics in their own right, but are much harder for the average kitchen table gunsmith to even detail strip.

In fact, I recently picked up an RIA M1911-A2 hi-cap (review), just because I wanted it. These guns are quite a bargain, but may not be the best choice to "build up" something you might want to sell later. Secondhand buyers like big name brands. OTOH, you can get a RIA "Tactical" (better sights, beavertail, etc) for $450 or so on GB. Their guns are made to spec and accept all 1911 parts, etc (obviously not the hi-cap model, in all cases).

In short, I'd suggest hanging onto the P220 if at all possible until you can afford a 1911 to go along side it. If, however, you decide to sell it, give me a shout. PM or email is fine.

-- Sam

I would stick with the sig. Hard to match that out of the box accuracy for the money. The sig has the double action, a decocker and a nice light single action trigger pull after the first round is touched off.

I have the P-245 and several 1911's, most high quality Kimbers and Colts. Carrying cocked and locked always makes me nervous so my Sig 245 would be a first choice for carry. For home use I always have a 1911 loaded and ready as a defensive weapon.

Keep the Sig and save your money to add a 1911 at a later date. Maybe a Rock Island. They are good values for the bucks and will lend themselves to customizing if you choose to play with them.

Sig may not have as many parts that can be changed out but they have plenty to keep you busy.

polish feed ramp

short trigger

spring swaps

sight swaps

tons of different grips

swap out controls for polished aftermarket ones

my vote: keep the SIG

side note- they are not that hard to detail strip just pay attention when you take it apart and I hear that there are a few helpful videos on you tube if you get stuck

This is a Chevy vs Ford battle that really can't be won. Whichever one you like the best is which one you should go with.

Thant being said my vote goes for the Sig

I owned a 220, sold it to my buddy, & soon regretted it. every time he took it shooting I would grab it & wonder why I sold a gun that fit me so well, never jammed, ever, & out shot most of my other handguns. I ended up buying another, & this one I will die with. 1911s kick a$$. keep your 220 & save for your 1911. you will have no regrets. my $.02

I've owned both more times than i can remember lol.
that being said if you have the sig and it shoots good for you keep it.
45's are nice but not always dependable. like others have said once you get some so called gun smith changing out parts? your looking for trouble.
if you have to have a 1911 get one that is new or untouched as far as the parts.
your sig on the other hand can also be fixed up. wood grips,short reset triggers,refish you can start with dura kote. buy the sig disasembly cd and learn more about how they work and repair.

as far as parts? go to topgun sales they usually have anything you need.
i ended up buying a nice set of wood grips and picked up a barsto factory length barrel cheap. i'm thinking of getting my slide refinished in brushed hard chrome and installing night sights. but what ever gets you going.
sigs don't need much for tinkering that is a good thing in my opinion. most played with 1911's i see at the show can't even get the money back that was put into them.