Sig P220 Match Elite in 45acp

[L. Boscoe]

I got this gun during the early days of Covid, and have become
fond of it when I shoot iron sights, it is the first one I pick up. I had my local master gunsmith do a trigger job on it and it is pretty
close to a 1911 break, as much as you can get on a non 1911.
Sig quit making it, and I have never seen one on offer for sale, although I have no need for another.
Just curious-anybody else have this pistol? Is a beast, about 40 oz,
so not a carry item, has decocker, and is really well made.

[44 AMP]

40oz is the same as a standard 5" Govt model. Its not a beast. To me, anyway...

[JustJake]

Just curious - anybody else have this pistol? Is a beast, about 40 oz,
so not a carry item, has decocker, and is really well made.

I have the 10mm P220 Match Elite. This is the DA/SA two-tone model, with the fixed Sig night sights. The P220 Match Elites are very well made pistols, maybe Sig’s best DA/SAs ever.

Loaded-weight, which the only practical measurement that counts if you actually plan to carry it, or at least to shoot it often enough, is not 40-ounces.

The 10mm P220 has a thick railed-frame, and a full load out of 10mm BadBoyz (i.e., 200grn FMJ-FPs @ 1200+fps) = 1 in the chamber + 8 in the mag. Or 9-rds total.

Measured on a calibrated scale, this gun’s loaded weight = 50 ounces. … For those afflicted by “conversion deficit,” that’s 3.1 pounds.

Your typical non-railed 5” 1911 Gov’t Model hardly compares. So clearly, if size and heft matter, the P220 ME is a manly-man beast of firepower. The type of pistol conspicuously avoided by the ManBun crowd.

Especially the 10mm variant.

[44 AMP]

Everybody has their own personal standards, but I don't consider a pistol to be a "beast" until to tops 50oz EMPTY and is in the .44 Mag or above power class.

But, that's just me...

[JustJake]

* * * I don't consider a pistol to be a "beast" until to tops 50oz EMPTY and is in the .44 Mag or above power class.

In a semi-auto, the only gun that might fit that description is a .44Mag or 50-cal Desert Eagle.

[44 AMP]

In a semi-auto, the only gun that might fit that description is a .44Mag or 50-cal Desert Eagle.

.44 Auto Mag, .44 Mag Desert Eagle, .45 Win mag Wildey, and .45 Win Mag LAR GRIZZLY are the ones I have. There are others, including the .50s....but I never bothered with any pistols over .45 caliber...

[L. Boscoe]

The "beast" designation has stirred up some private feelings I see- for the record, the "beast" came from a deputy sherrif I showed the Sig to who pronounced it "a Beast", but evidently he knows nothing about beasts.

[44 AMP]

Everybody who isn't an entusiast, (and even some that are) has their own rules about applying various names and terms.

In one of the James Bond books, the .38 special (snubnose) carried by a CIA guy and loaned to Bond was called "a cannon!"...

People have called some of my big bore pistols "cannons" as well, but they really aren't. Going by the definition the US Army taught me, cannons can fire exploding shells. If it can't do that it's not a "Cannon'.

I will modify my definition of "beast" slightly, because the weight/power limit I gave isn't an absolute, to me. a gun's behavior with a lesser weight can also put it in the "beast" category. Small guns in large calibers can also be "beasts" and, particularly vicious ones, at that. Few semis make it in that respect, simply because few small semis can take large powerful cartridges.

On the other hand, small/short barrel revolvers in calibers .357 Mag and up are fairly common, and those ARE beasts to shoot. Some of them WILL "bite the hand that feeds them", and can even cause permanent damage to the shooter, if shot too much.

[L. Boscoe]

agreed, AMP, I had a SW N frame 44mag that I shot almost two boxes of
factory HP through one day- took a week for the swelling to go down.

[44 AMP]

I find it interesting that you have a SIG P220 that weighs 40oz and I have one that goes 29oz (according to my old books) a Browning BDA .45

The SIG P220 is a good service class handgun, probably the best .45ACP that isn't a 1911 pattern pistol.

[trophyrider]

I find it interesting that you have a SIG P220 that weighs 40oz and I have one that goes 29oz (according to my old books) a Browning BDA .45

According to Sig's website, The P220 full size in 10mm is 40oz and in .45 ACP in full size is 30 0z. The 10mm is a little bigger with about a 1/2" longer barrel. Holding a full size Government Model in one hand and the Sig 10mm in the other, I don't notice much difference in weight, but it definitely balances in the hand differently. The Sig feels a little more muzzle heavy, but it is really a tame shooter with full power 10mm loads.

[smee78]

I have a Sig P220 Match pistol and it shoots great. I bought it as a factory refurb pistol in a red case years ago, I haven't taken it out in a while but it's about due for some range time. I don't know the difference between the match and the match elite but mine has the stainless slide and the Alu black frame.

[bamaranger]

The standard P220 with stamped steel slide and alloy frame always had a distinctly different feel in the hand and in recoil to me than a full size 1911- gov't model. I agree with a previous statement made that the SIG had a very muzzle heavy feel, especially when empty......for whatever that's worth.

In recoil, the SIG alloy/steel P220 seemed to have a bit more muzzle rise, rotating in the hand a bit more than an all steel 1911.

I have no idea about the Match and Match Elite series or how they are constructed. There was a trend with SIG and the P-series switching to milled slides, which in the limited model to model comparisons I did, the milled guns were a bit heavier and had a slightly different balance. But I did not encounter any milled P220's. P226's existed in 9mm stamped and .40 milled. Also the P228 stamped and the P229 milled. Seems I read that the P228 got a milled slide before they discontinued it (?). I dunno.

[Jim Watson]

29 oz = aluminum frame, 40 oz = steel frame.

I once got to shoot a P226 SAO Elite, which I take to be the forerunner of the Legion guns. It had a pronounced beavertail unlike my CPO. So maybe that distinction applies to the P220 Elite.