S.W.A.T. December 2007 - McKeesport Police Department

THE ARTICLE NAME
P-220 Combat handles quite well
and allows quick engagement of
multiple targets.
that Insight Technology and SureFire illuminators
would not readily slide onto
the rails. I decided to try these same illuminators
on the P-220 Combat rail. Once
again, I found the fit very tight, to the extent
that I was afraid of breaking the illuminators.
As with the Para-Ordnance,
I found that the Streamlight TLR-1 and
TLR-2 could be attached readily. The
difference is that the Streamlight illuminators
allow their rails to be pushed
apart for attachment then tightened via
a screw. It is my understanding that the
Insight Technology M6X—which also
uses a screw—works on these JCP rails,
but I have not had a chance to try one.
Once I had the Streamlight TLR-2 attached
to the P-220 Combat, I tried manipulating
the controls with either hand
and found that I could switch the illuminator
on and off easily.
To range test the P-220 Combat, I took
along various loads, including Sellier &
Bellot 230-grain FMC, Black Hills 230grain
JHP, CorBon 230-grain JHP, and
CorBon 185-grain DPX. I started off at
25 yards to check accuracy. I found the
same problem with the P-220 Combat
that I find with virtually every .45 ACP
handgun I receive from any factory—especially
with night sights. With 230grain
FMC ammo, the P-220 Combat
was shooting almost 8-10 inches low.
By the way, this problem is not just with
me, because I have tested guns with two
or three other shooters along and they
shot as low or lower. Since lighter, faster
ammo will usually shoot even lower, I
can’t imagine for what load manufacturers
regulate their .45 ACP pistols.
Groups were also a bit left, but that can
be corrected with a rear sight pusher.
Accuracy was good with all loads. My
friend Tim Mullin shot the best group at
25 yards with CorBon’s DPX (three shots
into about two inches), though it was, of
course, very low.
I didn’t take along my older P-220 for
comparison, but the grips on the P-220
Combat feel a bit thicker. Still, the gun
feels good in the hands. I wanted to try it
for various drills, so put up a Blackheart
terrorist target at 15 yards and using
Black Hills 230-grain JHP ammo fired
a triple tap with the first round double
action and the subsequent rounds single
action. I had to aim at the top of the
“Tango’s” head to get three hits in the
chin area, but all three were grouped into
about an inch and a half. Transition from
DA to SA was smooth. I must admit that
I’ve done a lot of shooting with SIG DA/
SA pistols, so I am used to switching
trigger pulls after the first shot. On the
other hand, for the last couple of years
most of my SIG shooting has been with a
DAK trigger P-226R.
I set up another Blackheart terrorist
target at 15 yards and fired two double
taps center of mass, first DA, second
SA, each time. Once again, I purposely
aimed high, but the shots were wellplaced.
I followed up with a “zipper”
of three shots moving from the chest to
the upper chest to the head. The first was
fired DA and the subsequent two SA. All
shots were good hits, but I had more
trouble than usual with this drill due to
the need to mentally calculate how high
to hold as I fired.
We put over 200 rounds through the
P-220 Combat, and it was utterly reliable.
I found it very fast handling for engaging
multiple plates and pepper poppers
at ranges between 10 and 35 yards. I
also did some shooting on flipper plates
at seven yards, but did not do as well as
I usually do because I had to estimate
how high to hold. As part of the reliability
testing, I fired rounds with the pistol
held sideways “Gangsta” style and upside
down. I also fired two or three mags
with my support hand only. The P-220
Combat performed without hesitation.
Overall, the shooting tests went well. To
be honest, I would have been surprised
if a SIG P-220 was not reliable and accurate.
The problem with shooting high
was annoying, but I will order a couple
of lower front sights from SIGARMS and
solve it with a sight pusher in a few minutes.
I fired some strings using the eightround
magazine and some using the
ten-round magazine. The spring on the
latter was quite stiff and, to get the tenth
round in, I had to use a Glock loader
76 S.W.A.T. » DECEMBER 2007 SWATMAG.COM