BDA/Sig 220
I recall when the gun was introduced as the BDA, but do not recall the year. For a long time I had an original copy of the "Guns & Ammo" that ran the premiere story. Seems like was Charles Askins who did the evaluation, and he was suitably impressed.
Forward thinking handgunners generally were, with a notable exception- Col. Jeff Cooper. Cooper saw it (and still does) as the answer to a question that does not exist. Anyone who has read three gun magazines knows that Cooper is perhaps the chief proponent of the 1911 Colt. For a couple of decades I sang this one-note song myself, and then I sort of rediscovered the design. I had shot a BDA ages ago, but they were rather expensive by contemporary standards, and scarce as hen's teeth where I grew up- which made them even more expensive. The glut of police trade-ins following the mass LE switch to the Glock solved this problem for me. They are now available for a shade over $400 from various sources, and I liked my first one so well that I made the mistake of letting my wife shoot it... well heck, anything that nice should be owned in pairs, and the second one should be here next week. We'll be "gettin' Siggy with it" big time after that. I've got about two 3-pound coffee cans of reloads ready for the exercise.
I corresponded with the good Col. a couple of years ago, and wrote that I felt the Sig enjoyed some advantages over the beloved Colt. He was unmoved, and his opinion remains unchanged. I believe he thought I was a dolt for even suggesting such a thing. I defer to his experience and wisdom, and I certainly would not suggest that he doesn't know his handguns. But the Sig works better for me, and I have used them both extensively.
Whoever actually conceived the design certainly has my respect and admiration. This is, in my opinion, the finest service .45 extant. Box-stock Sig 220's are superbly accurate, as good as all but the finest match-built 1911s you'll ever find. The difference between the 220 and the 1911 is that the 220 works with boring reliability, and needs virtually nothing in the way of bolt-on accessories. It is dead-simple to operate, and not prone to breakage. It has everything except nostalgia going for it.
JP Sauer & Sohn have been importing fine handguns for a good long time. In the 70's-80's I owned a half-dozen or so of their Hawes Marshall centerfire single-actions, and they were superbly-made and accurate revolvers. It certainly comes as no surprise to me that their autopistol design from that era would be just as good.
