Are older Sig 220s better than newer ones?

[Fatelvis]

I bought what I expect to be an older Sig 220, and was looking at spring kits for it, and noticed there is differences between newer and older Sigs. (Different kits for newer/older). Is one better than the other? Also, there is no proof marks on my pistol, (read about the letter codes to determine year), but can someone tell me when it was made by the serial#? It's serial# is G2727XX. Thanks!

 

[rbernie]

The newer P220s use a plastic base for the hammer spring instead of the older metal retainer. The newer design is easier to get on/off (and is common with the P226 and probably allows for spring commonality with the P229), but I wouldn't say that one is 'better' than the other.

272XXX is a fairly late model; less than fifteen years old, I'd say. I have a 178XXX that predates German reunification (earlier than '91) and a 370XXX (I think - I sold that one) that was bought NIB last year. My 278XXX dates to about '97 or so, best I can tell. I've never cared enought to call Sig @ (603) 772-2302 and ask them, but supposedly they'll be more than happy to give you a Born-On date.

 

[hksw]

I have an earlier P220 G177___ bought in '91 and a later one bought in '00 or '01 (too lazy to dig it out of the safe). IMO, the grips of the newer gun has a better contour with a more rounded backstrap but the gun's hammer has a little bit more of creep in single action mode as compared to nearly none for the earlier gun.