How good does a p220 really shoot?

No offense intended but Jerry Miculek shot a steel plate 100 yards whilst holding his glock upside down, so maybe it's ergonomics or training? I don't think I can outshoot a single one of my guns.

A man made an extremely long shot in Texas with his Python, over 70 yards if I recall and I believe it was a one shot stop as well. Saved the officer's life with that shot. And to make it even more impressive, the perp had an AR-15. Yeah, that's right, he engaged a rifleman with his Python, and won. Governor Rick Perry himself came to honor him and gave him his own rifle so he'd never be outgunned again.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...later-vic-stacy-and-the-peach-house-shootout/

As to how good it shoots, I don't really know how to answer that because I don't full understand the question. I probably have some more accurate but I will say my P220 is my favorite semi to shoot.

My P220 is capable of far better accuracy than I can demonstrate.... and has eaten everything I've fed it without complaint....

Sig P220

Hey I agree with you. Get rid of that old, poorly accurate Sig. Because I am a nice guy I will take it off your hands. I will give you $ 100 and pay the FFL fees and shipping to me.

Just kidding. I have carried a P220 for years and with practice and finding the ammo it likes best it will be a great pistol....but if you change your mind my offer still stands

200 yards with a snubby 38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tied-t1fFsk

It's more likely what can you do with the gun. I suspect you shoot revolvers better than you shoot autos.

...p220 and only shot one once... DA/SA trigger weirded me out so I moved on.

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It's pretty similar to a revolver, the double actions are similar and the single actions are similar, so I don't know why it would weird you out.

GuyWithGun said:

I'm sure this will cause a bunch of unnecessary pain, but I'm going to ask anyway. Will start with why I'm asking.

Looking to thin the heard a little and get myself down to one defensive pistol. Thought was going to be an old large frame revolver of my grandfather's, but gonna take too much mechanical work... Just gonna keep it as a memory piece. One of the things that got me to that gun is that I know for a fact I can shoot 4" groups at 50yd with it. Not usual SD range, but never know what's going to happen and all you have is your pistol. I have a bunch of good autoloaders that I shoot well, but not that well. Think a great deal of it is just the guns won't shoot but so good. I inow that is a lot to ask of a mass produced handgun- heck, my Kimber 1911 won't even do it. I have been hearing for years about how good p220s shoot right out of the box, would it be equally unfair to expect a p220 to shoot that well or is that knd of "good" a reasonable expectation?

My fall back is to suck up the price and get a Les Baer that is guaranteed to shoot within that parameter- I win either way.

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For defensive .45ACP you want one of the following: S&W CS, XDs, G30s. The 220 is big pistol therefore a slow draw and poor choice for purely defensive weapon. It is service type offensive pistol just like Government Model Colt .45. Both are very suitable for drop holster commando type carry.

PabloJ said:

220 is big pistol therefore a slow draw and poor choice for purely defensive weapon.

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Many who use 1911s for defensive weapon would disagree, including me. And some of them carry 1911s.

For defensive .45ACP you want one of the following: S&W CS, XDs, G30s

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While I owned/carried Glock 30, I would disagree as I have used fullsize M&P45 and 1911 for nightstand guns. I have not owned a P220 but shot friends' P220s and would not hesitate to use one for defensive pistol. I have replaced G30 with PT145 with SA/DA trigger due to smaller size/grip and same capacity.

As to how the P220 shoots, I could best describe it as one step below a good 1911.

My opinion is based on owning two for a number of years. One German made and the other made in the States.

My 220 shoots as well as any 1911 I've ever shot. But then I haven't shot any of the target shooter 1911's. I know what I've done with my Sig. Probably the best example of how it can shoot is the day I went shooting with my brother. We were standing high on a river bank essentially shooting straight down to the water at leaves and such floating downstream. It was a perfectly safe location before anyone blasts me on that. The river was about 40 yards away from what I was shooting. After shooting a while and getting a good view of where my shots were hitting (because I was shooting into water) I started hitting those leaves floating down the river on a regular basis. I never missed any of them by more than an inch or two. But again I was standing there working on my accuracy for at least half an hour before I got to that point. I got my Sig so hot it cooked off a round that day if that tells you anything. I also shot at a butterfly flying down the river just above the water. I didn't miss it more than an inch. Even my brother was surprised by that and he's an excellent shooter.

Another example would be the day I took my Sig to the gun range. Some people were shooting steel targets at 7 yards. These were targets that were mounted at eye level on a base. I asked if they minded if I moved one of the targets back because to be honest 7 yards is a joke for that pistol. I moved it back to the 25 yard marker. They laughed at me. They didn't laugh long. I wore that target out that distance. It was about a 5" circle. I actually had a group gather around to watch me shoot that day. I don't think I can shoot any better than anyone else. I just have a lot of practice time in over the course of my life. They went after the range master who apparently was the resident accurate shooter. He brought a S&W 629 and was matching me hit for hit. I'd say we were both hitting about 90% but that was with no support or anything. I ran out of .45 ammo and went to the truck and got my own 629. The guy saw me coming with it and decided it was too late to keep shooting. He was the range master after all. No matter. I had just got that S&W and wasn't as proficient with it yet. But I have since discovered that gun will shoot a gallon jug at 175 yards consistently. That's with me shooting. And I'm no Jerry Miculek.

My Sig is one of the Made In W. Germany models. Some say they are more accurate than newer models but I can't say that. I haven't shot any newer models. But they are very accurate pistols. That's not to say they are more accurate than other pistols. I've seen some accurate stuff around. I have a Taurus .45 compact pistol that will shoot as accurate out to about 25 yards. But the short barrel makes a difference or something does. Maybe it's just me. My SA XDm .40 is not as accurate as either of those pistols but it is plenty accurate for SD work. And it holds a lot more ammo. I carried that Sig for many years and loved it. But progress has made me prefer high capacity pistols. As Clyde the one armed deputy in "Unforgiven" said, "I just don't want to get killed for lack of shooting back."

GuyWithGun said:

I have been reading a lot of Internet gossip for years that p220s regularly approach that 4"/50yds range, at least by default- see a lot of 2"/25yd claims.

- heck, my Kimber 1911 won't even do it.

My fall back is to suck up the price and get a Les Baer that is guaranteed to shoot within that parameter- I win either way.

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If you want a Sig, how about a Sig 1911? It will be much cheaper.

My factory stock railed Sig 1911 XO (TacPac) will shoot 2" at 25 yards (after 7000+ rounds) with hands resting on a small ice chest using my cheapest range ammo (200 gr 12 BHN MBC SWC Bullseye #1 with 4.0 gr Promo) - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9924922#post9924922

Is there anybody that is measuring these guns' groups objectively and, if so, are these numbers typical?

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Here's stock Gen3 Glock 22 with 2" groups at 25 yards using Herco/BE-86/RMR HM loads with hands on ice chest





Here's Gen3 Glock 22/KKM 40-9 conversion barrel with sub 2" groups at 25 yards using WST/BE-86/RMR HM loads

Glad I don't have to trim down to one defensive pistol.

My p220 is third and last in my CC rotation behind my LCP and Shield. Other than shooting at the 50,100 and 200 yard gong for the fun of it, I've never tried to shoot groups at distance. Actually I've never tried to shoot groups with it period, if I can hit plates out to 25yds that's fine with me.

I shot a golfball prone at 75 feet with my 220.

lol

it was accurate when it decided to worked.

it was accurate when it decided to worked.

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Did you have problems with a 220?

PabloJ said:

For defensive .45ACP you want one of the following: S&W CS, XDs, G30s. The 220 is big pistol therefore a slow draw and poor choice for purely defensive weapon. It is service type offensive pistol just like Government Model Colt .45. Both are very suitable for drop holster commando type carry.

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Jay Kay?

Never heard anyone claim that duty size pistols are inherently slow to draw.

They shoot pretty darn well. I don't know if they shot like an expensive 1911, but they are reliable.

They shoot pretty darn well. I don't know if they shot like an expensive 1911, but they are reliable.

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I think you nailed it. To get that extra accuracy they have to make the tolerances tighter on those expensive 1911's. They shoot great but they don't shoot as reliably. That's not a good thing for a carry pistol. And the Sig P220 is made to be a carry pistol. It seems to have just the right balance between the best accuracy available without losing reliability. I've heard lots of people say that anyway.

In Bullseye competition, the X ring is ~3 inches at 50 yards. Shooters spend a lot of money to make their regular 1911s shoot like that. But, and it's a big but, Bullseye shooters get alibis for malfunctions. So they emphasize accuracy over reliability. I have no in depth experience with a 220 (owned on briefly; didn't like the TDA). But they do work well. You would not expect them to shoot as well as a tight custom 1911, since they need to function like a service pistol. Super tight 1911s often need 500 rounds of break in to work properly.

Heck, there's a 220 for sale on a local board right now for five hundred bucks. I'm trying to convince myself i don't need a third one.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=577528
So as not to be redundent here is a thread I started in 2011 ref. to P220.

i can hit targets at 100 pretty regularly , I would think that with enough practice you could hit a watermelon size target 50 to 80 percent of the time with any handgun

They are top notch 45 auto pistols. I actually migrated to the DA/SA Sig after having shot mostly revolvers. They feel very similiar to me and I am very comfortable with the DA. I also find the design to be a very safe overall.

There are 4 (two DA/SA, two SA only) in the family and they have all been very reliable and far more accurate than we can shoot them.

Overall, I am very pleased with the 220. Its a solid choice.