crebralfix
member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2004
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Years ago, when I first started shooting handguns, I purchased a SIG Sauer P220. It was an excellent gun and I learned much about shooting and reloading. Over the years, guns have come and gone. Some were sold to get the "latest and greatest" gun heralded by the gun rags, and others were discarded as quickly as possible. Shooters can be fickle, and that fickleness landed me a SIG Sauer P220 Carry--a gun I had been eyeing in the store for a few months.
SIG Sauer P220 Carry
I liked this handgun because I have switched my carry method from strong side carry (behind the hip) to appendix carry. The long slide of the P220 can be problematic at times, especially while seated. The P220 Carry is a full half inch shorter than the standard P220. Hopefully, the gun would be a bit more comfortable to carry in front.
The P220 Carry offers many of the same features as the SIG P220. As stated before, the barrel is a half inch shorter for a total length of 3.9 inches. It is fully double action, with a long, heavy double action first shot. Subsequent shots are fired in single-action mode. My particular gun has a smooth double action trigger and a very nice single action trigger. The trigger reset is the same as a P220; it is short but has a bit of slack. This peculiarity does require some shooting time to get used to. The basic model that I have has SIG Sauer's standard "bar-dot" fixed sights that can easily be replaced with night sights. It does feature the new style SIG grips, which I do not like. All standard P220 magazines fit in the gun because the grip is identical to a P220.
Business end with integral rail
The P220 Carry uses the same lock up mechanism as the SIG P220
My first shots with the gun were promising and the gun functioned as expected. I am not a target shooter and therefore shoot with self-defense in mind. Four inch groups are perfectly acceptable at any distance; tighter groups are nice, but I'm really after "minute of man" accuracy. If I had bothered to shoot the gun from the bench rest position (or a Ransom Rest), I'm certain my groups would have been very tight. However, I don't have that much patience, so I just blasted away.
First shots all fired double action. Note the short trigger the previous owner installed.
Rapid fire at 15 feet produced this nice little group
Seven shots fired quickly using single-action.
The P220 Carry point shoots nicely. Groups will tighten up as I become familiar with it.
A nice group fired double action only.
In shooting this gun, the felt recoil was a bit more snappy than with a standard P220. The standard model tends to have a bit more roll than the P220 Carry. However, the gun was controllable and the full sized grip assisted with recoil management.
Double taps with the P220 Carry
The P220 Carry shoots well. I enjoyed the 120 rounds or so that I fired from it. Remington Golden Sabre (230 grain) and Federal Hydrashok (230 grain) ammunition fed well. I used 230 grain Winchester USA FMJ ammunition for the bulk of my testing. There were no jams. Both the old seven round magazines and the newer eight round magazines functioned well. I noticed no problems in feeding or ejection.
I believe the P220 Carry to be a very good defensive pistol. It is a bit more compact in overall length, but maintains the same dimensions in other respects as a standard P220. Accuracy was combat acceptable and I'm sure the gun is capable of more than I was willing to do. Function was flawless. If you're looking for a reliable pistol chambered in 45 ACP, I urge you to try the SIG Sauer P220 Carry.
SIG Sauer P220 Carry
I liked this handgun because I have switched my carry method from strong side carry (behind the hip) to appendix carry. The long slide of the P220 can be problematic at times, especially while seated. The P220 Carry is a full half inch shorter than the standard P220. Hopefully, the gun would be a bit more comfortable to carry in front.
The P220 Carry offers many of the same features as the SIG P220. As stated before, the barrel is a half inch shorter for a total length of 3.9 inches. It is fully double action, with a long, heavy double action first shot. Subsequent shots are fired in single-action mode. My particular gun has a smooth double action trigger and a very nice single action trigger. The trigger reset is the same as a P220; it is short but has a bit of slack. This peculiarity does require some shooting time to get used to. The basic model that I have has SIG Sauer's standard "bar-dot" fixed sights that can easily be replaced with night sights. It does feature the new style SIG grips, which I do not like. All standard P220 magazines fit in the gun because the grip is identical to a P220.
Business end with integral rail
The P220 Carry uses the same lock up mechanism as the SIG P220
My first shots with the gun were promising and the gun functioned as expected. I am not a target shooter and therefore shoot with self-defense in mind. Four inch groups are perfectly acceptable at any distance; tighter groups are nice, but I'm really after "minute of man" accuracy. If I had bothered to shoot the gun from the bench rest position (or a Ransom Rest), I'm certain my groups would have been very tight. However, I don't have that much patience, so I just blasted away.
First shots all fired double action. Note the short trigger the previous owner installed.
Rapid fire at 15 feet produced this nice little group
Seven shots fired quickly using single-action.
The P220 Carry point shoots nicely. Groups will tighten up as I become familiar with it.
A nice group fired double action only.
In shooting this gun, the felt recoil was a bit more snappy than with a standard P220. The standard model tends to have a bit more roll than the P220 Carry. However, the gun was controllable and the full sized grip assisted with recoil management.
Double taps with the P220 Carry
The P220 Carry shoots well. I enjoyed the 120 rounds or so that I fired from it. Remington Golden Sabre (230 grain) and Federal Hydrashok (230 grain) ammunition fed well. I used 230 grain Winchester USA FMJ ammunition for the bulk of my testing. There were no jams. Both the old seven round magazines and the newer eight round magazines functioned well. I noticed no problems in feeding or ejection.
I believe the P220 Carry to be a very good defensive pistol. It is a bit more compact in overall length, but maintains the same dimensions in other respects as a standard P220. Accuracy was combat acceptable and I'm sure the gun is capable of more than I was willing to do. Function was flawless. If you're looking for a reliable pistol chambered in 45 ACP, I urge you to try the SIG Sauer P220 Carry.