Difference between Sig 220+ a 1911

[livnhel]

How does the Sig 220 .45 differ from a 1911 .45 besides the decocker?

[papercutter]

A 220 SIG is double action, one of the best .45s out of the box for accuracy , it has a longer & more slide rail contact , no barrel bushing, quicker to disassemble, aluminum alloy frame & steel slide, Than a stock 1911.

But less after market parts / kits / mods than a 1911. The SIG is a better grab and blast gun, No cocked & locked training needed, its lighter and a bit smaller than a 1911 .

The sig was a police & seal team weapon of choice before everyone needed 20 + rounds of 9mm or 40. , which is equal to 4 . 45 rounds in my humble opinion

[TMan]

I have a Wilson CQB 1911, which is indeed a wonderful gun, but then I bought the Sig 220 Sport. I've taken both to the range on several occasions to let other people shoot them. I first let them shoot two magazines in the 1911 and then 2 in the Sig. The comments vary, but the response has been consistent. They all prefered the Sig to the 1911. Now, keep in mind you asked about the 220 and I have the 220 Sport, which is compensated.

I watch peoples faces when they shoot. Everyone that shoots the Sig smiles. Some remarks that I can remember: "I've got to get one of these"; "Let me know when you are ready to sell this"; "It feels like you are shooting a .38 not a .45". "That is sweet".

Interesting, but there weren't any comments about the 1911. However, if I'd taken the Ruger P90 and the Wilson, I'm sure there would ahve been comments in favor of the 1911 - human nature. (I'm not saying anything negative about the Ruger either - I'm a big Ruger fan).

There are of course technical difference that you can read about, but using my trigger gauge I read 4.25 lbs for the Wilson and 3.5 for the Sig. (Interesting that I also read 3.5 for the Ruger, but I don't think that it was that good when it was new - there have been a lot of rounds through the P90.

Although I'm not too happy with the Germans politically I'd still have to recommend the Sig. (I also have an H&K Elite and I don't think it is as good as the Sig either).

["DoubleAction"]

The First thing that caught my eye with the Sig 220, verses that of the 1911, is the Sig's first round Double Action Trigger with no manual safety, and it's factory 4 1/2 lb. Single Action Trigger.

Other things about the Sig is it's barrel cam lock up, verses the link of the 1911.
The slide incorporated barrel bushing, verses the component bushing of the 1911.
The upper Barrel Block lock up, verses the locking lugs of the 1911.
The Ramped Chamber comes standard in .45 acp on the Sig, the 1911 is not.
On the Sig, the recoil of the slide comes to rest on the recoil spring; On the 1911 the slide's recoil comes to rest on the guide rod head and frame.
The grips screws on the Sig screw directly into the frame; The 1911 screws have bushings which mount into the frame, protecting the frame from cross threaded grip screws.
The Sigs have external extractors; The 1911 has internal extracters.
The 1911 is a more simple design, allowing for the ease of detailed disassembly using simple tools, if any. The Sig's disassembly is one requiring more tools, with a higher difficulty level.
These are just a few of the differences between these two designs; I like both for their differences.

["DoubleAction"]

One of the most noticable differences, when shooting both pistols, is the high rate of fire with the 1911. This can be attributed to the trigger, which can be modified to break very light, with almost zero take up and over travel, with a shorter reset than the Sig.

[TMan]

DoubleAction said:

...

Other things about the Sig is it's barrel cam lock up, verses the link of the 1911.
The slide incorporated barrel bushing, verses the component bushing of the 1911.
The upper Barrel Block lock up, verses the locking lugs of the 1911.
The Ramped Chamber comes standard in .45 acp on the Sig, the 1911 is not.
On the Sig, the recoil of the slide comes to rest on the recoil spring; On the 1911 the slide's recoil comes to rest on the guide rod head and frame. ...

Okay DA, as a techo-wienie, and you being my mentor, I'd really like to know the benefits of what you stated i.e. which engineering is better and why.

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; John Browning, Himself, knew the advantage of the barrel cam lockup ( Less moving parts with a solid lockup, from one shot to the next). With intergral feed ramp ( Ramped Barrel ), the bullets are fed into the chamber by the method of one smooth ramped surface, and followed up by being fully supported. With the throated chamber of the 1911, the bottom portion of the case is unsupported.
With the slide recoil coming to rest on the recoil spring on the Sig, verses that of slide to frame on the 1911, this is one primary reason why the recoils springs on the Sigs are built to be very strong. Nonetheless; Although the Sig frame is alloy, the breech block and cam locking block are of hardened steel, this relieves the stress on it's alloy frame.
I wrote more in regards to the Barrel Lockup today on another close thread.

DoubleAction said:

The Sigs are designed, with it's integral feed ramp, to digest just about any bullet. One thing important about the Sig is the external tilt barrel system, where the front of the barrel hood mates with the front of the ejection port; This reduces fouling build up and crud. The 1911 has the internal tilt barrel design where the locking lugs are internal; This can cause just the opposite to where fouling and crud will build up internally, where the external system will allow the cause of build up to expell from the action. Check the ejection port on a Sig, and compare it to a 1911.

All the Sig needs is a 1911 trigger, but then it wouldn't be a Sig would it? Then how about changing a few things on the 1911? That wouldn't seem right either, because it wouldn't be a 1911 anymore, would it? That is probably the reason why I have and enjoy owning both.