SIG Sauer P220: Швейцарский полуавтоматический пистолет.

Swiss German semi automatic pistol

The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi automatic pistol designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde. It is currently manufactured by both SIG Sauer companies: SIG Sauer GMBH, of Eckernförde, Germany; and SIG Sauer, Inc., of New Hampshire, United States.

Not to be confused with SIG P210 series, which licensed the Petter Browning system from SACM of France in 1938, the SIG Sauer P220 was developed for release in 1975 for the Swiss Army as a replacement for the SIG P210, which had been developed during World War II; in service it is known as "Pistole 75" (P75). For the commercial production and distribution of the P220, SIG partnered with J. P. Sauer & Sohn of Germany, thus, the P220 and all subsequent pistols from SIG and J. P. Sauer & Sohn are properly known as SIG Sauer pistols. In the United States this handgun was originally sold in a modified form as the Browning BDA from 1977 to 1980.

The P220 was developed in 1975 by SIG and produced and distributed by J. P. Sauer & Sohn. A new locking system which is known as the SIG Sauer system was introduced as well as a number of other innovations. This nomenclature is found on the Browning BDA version of the P220 sold from 1975. The SIG P210 (now manufactured as the SIG Sauer P210 in the United States) is a licensed copy of the French Model 1935 which is the Petter Browning design. Petter had removed the loose fitting barrel bushing and the tilting link of the John Browning M1907 design, but retained the grooves on the top of the barrel which engaged similar grooves in the interior of the slide. SIG licensed this design in 1947. The SIG Sauer design went further by having no grooves in the slide or barrel. Instead an enlargement of the chamber locks directly on the ejection port of the slide. The double action / single action (DA/SA) trigger design of the P220 is also a SIG Sauer innovation similar to the J. P. Sauer & Sohn 38H pistol. Further design refinements include a hammer decocking lever and positive firing pin block safety. Instead of the locking lugs and recesses milled into the barrel and slide of Browning derived weapons such as the Colt M1911A1, Browning Hi Power and CZ 75, the P220 variants (and many other modern pistols) lock the barrel and slide together using an enlarged breech section on the barrel locking into the ejection port. The SIG Sauer System (embossed on the side of the Browning BDA) is a refinement of the Petter Browning system. Despite these safety measures, the Sig Sauer P220 has been cited in accidental fatalities. One example is the case of Officer Jesse Paderez of the San Fernando Police Department, California. On 17 July 2002, he was "accidentally shot and killed when his Sig P 220, .45 caliber service weapon, fell to the ground and discharged, striking him in the head. He had gone to the police station to pickup a patrol car as he walked across the parking lot, his weapon, still in its holster, fell to the ground and discharged when the hammer struck the pavement."

The original 1975 SIG Sauer P220 had a 'heel mounted' magazine release lever located at the rear of the magazine well and a lanyard loop which was typical of handguns made for police and military purposes. Newer SIG P220s utilize a push button magazine release to the left side of the grip, behind the trigger and do not have lanyard loops. The P220 was then later modified with a redesigned slide, grips, and other minor changes to the frame. In 2007, a Picatinny rail was added to the frame under the barrel as standard on all models whose number ends in R. The major difference in slide design, between the older model SIG pistols and the current production, is that the older model slides were stamped whereas the current production models are milled on a CNC machine. The stamped models have an end piece at the muzzle end which is welded in place, to complete the slide. Additionally, the older stamped slides feature a removable breech block. This breech block is pinned to the slide with two hollow roll pins, one pressed inside the other, with their split ends opposed. The newer milled slides are a one piece unit and do not have a removable breech block. The SIG P220 also comes in P220R and P220ST versions. Also in 2019 a new variant is available called the P220R Hunter that is chambered in 10mm and factory coated with a KRYPTEC camo pattern. The base and R models have an aluminum alloy frame with a stainless steel slide (if made by SIG Sauer in the US; German made versions still use a blued, stamped steel slide); the ST model has a stainless steel frame and slide. The R and ST models also have a Picatinny rail, beneath the slide and barrel, allowing for fitting of accessories such as lights or laser sights. Originally, all SIG P220s were DA/SA and featured a decocking lever (and no external safety) just forward of the slide catch. This changed with the introduction of double action only (DAO), Double Action Kellerman (DAK), and single action (SA) models. The DAO and DAK models do not have a de cocking lever or safety, and the SA models only feature an M1911 style external safety. SIG has also introduced the SAS (SIG Anti Snag) model—which is dehorned, has no accessory rail, and is designed for concealed carry—and the Elite model, which includes the new short reset trigger, a beavertail grip, front strap grip checkering, and front slide cocking serrations. All modern P220 variants are available in .45 ACP and, as of January 2015, 10mm Auto.

The P220 was initially imported to the United States as the Browning Double Action (BDA) and then as the Sigarms P220. The P220s sold under the Browning Arms Company marque in the United States c. 1977–1980 had the heel mounted magazine release lever until Browning discontinued it from its product line in the early 1980s; the discontinuation from the Browning product lineup was due to its poor sales and its then 'space age' appearance (similar to the AR 15/M16). These particular P220s (or Browning BDAs) will have the stamping scroll which reads 'Browning Arms Company Morgan, Utah and Montreal PQ' on the left hand side of the slide and 'SIG Sauer System Made in W. Germany' on the right hand side with the serial number scrolled beneath. The Browning version has the sides of the slides polished and blued. The frame is aluminum. The handgrips have Browning on the right side only. On the right side of the slide is the serial number. The Browning BDA 45 shown in the photographs has a production series number starting with 395. The RP that follows shows that this particular handgun was manufactured in 1977. It was offered for sale in .45 ACP, 9 mm, .38 Super (a rare model) and 7.65mm Parabellum (an even rarer model). Some units were adopted by Huntington Beach Police.

The P220 Rail (or P220R) is effectively the same as the P220, but comes with an accessory rail located on the forward end of the frame of the firearm for accepting accessories such as a weapon light or laser. While the provided rail is similar to the Mil STD 1913 Picatinny rail design, as implemented by SIG for this gun it has a proprietary cross section form that conflicts with some early design Picatinny compatible equipment. The P220R with its rail became the standard configuration of most recent and current production P220s which are no longer differentiated by the "Rail" or "R" designation.

A P220 with a shortened barrel (3.9") and slide, but a full sized frame that accepted 8 round magazines. It was available in DA/SA, SA, and DAK variants. All models, with the exception of the SAS concealed carry version, came with an accessory rail. A Legion Series version was also offered. As of 2023 the P220 Carry is discontinued.

A P220 with shortened barrel and slide (3.9") and compact frame that accepts 6 round magazines. It is possible to use the 8 round magazines of the P220 and P220 Carry which give it an 8+1 capacity. Adapters are available to cover the portion of the magazine which protrudes from the bottom of the grip. It was offered in four versions: blued with beavertail, stainless (two tone) with beavertail, blued with rail (no beavertail) and stainless with rail (no beavertail). It served as a replacement for the discontinued P245 and addressed complaints about the P220 Carry's full size frame in a concealed carry pistol. The 220 Compact has since been discontinued.

The two "Combat" models, the P220 Combat and P220 Combat TB (Threaded Barrel), are available in DA/SA only. Their frames are colored "Flat Dark Earth" in compliance with the Combat Pistol program. The Combat model comes with night sights, a Nitron finished slide and barrel, phosphated internals, and a Picatinny rail. The TB model features an extra 0.6" on the barrel, and external threads to accept a suppressor. The P220 Combat is chambered only in .45 ACP, and is supplied with one 8 round magazine and one extended 10 round magazine.

A version of the SIG P220 handgun made by SIG Sauer with a reversible magazine release, stainless steel slide, and stainless steel frame. Changing to a stainless steel frame from the lighter alloy frame normally used is meant to reduce felt recoil. The ST models are typically bare stainless (all "silver"), though SIG Sauer has produced Nitron finished (all "black") ST versions for police department trial and evaluation (T&E) guns.

This model's primary purpose is as a practice or range pistol. The Classic 22 model replaces the typical stainless steel centerfire slide assembly with a lighter aluminum rimfire slide chambered in .22 LR. The Classic 22 also has a different barrel, guide rod, and recoil spring than the larger caliber models. It incorporates the same frame and operation as centerfire P220 models. The Classic 22 model is available as a stand alone firearm or as a conversion kit to an existing centerfire P220. Likewise, conversion kits (the SIG Sauer X Change Kits) exist to convert a .22 LR P220 into .45 ACP. The conversion can be accomplished by field stripping the firearm and replacing the slide assembly and magazine—a process that can be accomplished in minutes. The Classic 22 use a 10 round polymer magazine in lieu of the steel magazines used by the centerfire models and conversion kits. The P220 Classic 22 should not be confused with the SIG Sauer Mosquito .22 LR pistol. The Classic 22 is a full sized P220 while the Mosquito is modeled on the P226 but is 90% of the size. Another difference is that the Classic 22 is manufactured by SIG Sauer while the Mosquito is made under license by German Sport Guns GmbH. The size difference means that the Mosquito cannot be converted "up", and full size SIG Sauer pistols cannot use the Mosquito's slide assembly.

A variant offered in SIG's high end Legion Series, the P220 Legion features several improvements and upgrades over the base model including signature Legion gray PVD coating, G 10 grips with Legion medallion, low profile controls, X RAY3 sights, and an optics cut slide for mounting a red dot sight (in later production). The frame is modified from the base model with a reduced and contoured beaver tail, an undercut trigger guard, and front slide serrations. The P220 Legion is offered in DA/SA and SAO. Beginning in 2017, a 10mm version is also offered. A limited edition P220 Legion Carry SAO was released in 2020, but was only produced in small numbers before being discontinued.

The SIG P245 variant is chambered only in .45 ACP (hence the name) and was developed primarily for the US market as a civilian's concealed sidearm, or as a police backup weapon. The SIG P245 has a reversible magazine release giving the user the choice of operating it with their left or right thumb. It normally takes 6 round magazines, but can also accept the 7 , 8 , or 10 round magazines designed for the P220. A grip extender is available for use with these longer magazines. One of the major differences in construction between the P245 and the P220 Compact is that the P245 was only built using the older stamped steel slide design with a removable breech block, while some of the later P220 Compact variants were available with an extended grip tang. The P245 is no longer manufactured by SIG, having been replaced by the P220 Carry and the P220 Compact.