Love my 10mm. I was introduced to 10mm when the chief of my agency made the Glock 20, 10mm, the issue weapon of the department immediately after the FBI endorsed it, before they wimped out. I was drafted to assist the armorer transition our agency 120+ sworn personel to the Glock and to 10mm. That said I have run through a few thousand rounds of 10mm. I like it.

After I retired I got away from shooting for a while, then after a few years really got to wanting another 1911. I was in my local gun store checking out the various 1911 .45acp in the display when I spotted a stainless steel model, with rubber grips and a red delta symbol on those grips. My mind was made up when I saw it was a 10mm, Delta Elite. It has been a most frequent carry gun ever since.

I got more and more into shooting again and not being a real Glock lover, wanting to add a gun to supplement my FN Browning HP, I stumbled across a Sig Sauer P226 Elite. It not only felt good, it looked really good. It still does when I pull it out. A while later I saw a similar Sig in the gun store. It was a Sig P220...That was an immediate sale, Elite version (stainless steel w/ rosewood grips). It too felt and looked great.

I put a few hundred rounds, mainly Federal and Seller Bellot ball through the p 220. It performed flawlessly. As someone said, it is not a discrete carry weapon, but I've carried all steel weapons all my career, so I didn't mind that.

The problem arose when I attempted to load heavier S&B 180 JHP into a magazine. It wouldn't work. 180 gr ball was no problem, but the JHP simply would not feed into the magazine. I had 5 magazines, all Sig Sauer manufacture. I tried other brands of ammo, including Sig Sauer 180gr JHP, none would feed into the magazine. The next step was to contact Sig Sauer direct. I spoke with a rep and explained the problem. He claimed to have never heard of such a problem, but was willing to set up me returning my pistol to Sig, along with the magazines for their engineers to check it. Before I did that I decided to do some more online checking. I found a board where this very same problem was being discussed, loading heavier JHPs into Sig P 220 magazines. The thread was several years old. I found that several had encountered the same problem. One gent had fallen for the return to Sig, where the pistol sat for 6 months with no response, until he finally demanded it back. It seems the tollerances in the magazine design are so tight that a heavier JHP (180 gr) is too nose wide to fit. The extra weight of the projectile has to so somewhere, so the bullet is fatterfarther towards the nose than the lighter loads. The lighter weight JHPs would feed all day long with no problems.

After all my research I was no longer happy with the weapon or with Sig Sauer. This old man does not like being lied to as the representative did. The simple truth from the rep might have been different. After the pandemic started to wind down and things were opening up, and dealers were getting desperate for guns to sell, I offered to sell my P220 back to Bud's. They asked how much I wanted and I quoted them what I had paid for it. There was no haggling, they sent me the shipping information immediately.

I still have and carry that Delta Elite. Should I decide I have to have another 10mm for some reason, Ruger and Springfield both make good 1911 style 10mm pistols.

 

I don't buy that explanation.
I'm loading 220 grain bullets to the same 1.26" OAL as every other bullet I've used, from 135 grains, and when loaded, I can't tell how much the bullet weighs unless I look at how deeply the base of the bullet is seated in the case.
"Tolerances are too tight" to accept popular factory ammo?

 

I don't buy that explanation.
I'm loading 220 grain bullets to the same 1.26" OAL as every other bullet I've used, from 135 grains, and when loaded, I can't tell how much the bullet weighs unless I look at how deeply the base of the bullet is seated in the case.
"Tolerances are too tight" to accept popular factory ammo?

I agree 100%, have loaded 10 mm with bullet weights up to 200 also to the listed COL and they function in my RIA and Ed Brown 10 mm magazines. The ogive on the bullets causing problems in your Sig magazines should be checked. The magazines may need to be “ adjusted”?

 

I've got a Delta Elite that I bought new in 1986 and still love it. I had a Videcki trigger put in and the action tuned up then. Since then I've had Novak sights installed and that's it. The new ones have the enhanced slide. That's a plus.The Sig is probably great also but I like a 1911 platform.

 

Let me clear up some confusion here.

First, the OP did not ask for a comparison of 1911 to the Sig 220. He specifically asked about the Delta Elite and the Sig LEGION 220. Huge difference!

The “regular” Sig 220 is an alloy frame gun weighing in at 1 pound 12 ounces.

The SiG Legion is an all steel gun at 2 pounds 10 ounces, almost a pound heavier! It is a beast!

Both guns weighed without mags.

This Legion is meant to shoot hot loads all day everyday. The Delta does not give me that warm and fuzzy feeling in spite of me being a 1911 fanboy.

My apologies for not stating these facts in my original response. I just answered the question. I should have known there may be some confusion since we are talking about a ‘“220”.

 

You’re right. The single action only P220 Elite just feels and shoots like a 1911.
I stand corrected

 

I’ve got both a Ruger SR1911 and SIG P220 Elite SAO in 10mm. Both are excellent but the SIG handles recoil better and seems slightly more accurate (in my hands at least). If I could only have one, it would be the SIG.

 

For 10mm the Sig, built like a tank.

 

My P220 is a .45, but If I was getting a 10mm, I would get a P220.

 

Glockenspiel does my talking. Then the Colt DE, but ultimately the mighty S&W 1006. Never fails, ever.

 

The thumb safety on the P220 SAO models is terrible. It is too stiff, too narrow, and incorrectly placed for shooting with your thumb on it like you would with a 1911.

 

I'm still looking for a (new/like-new) Colt Delta Elite as a 1911 10mm with a rail, but I was able to find a new Dan Wesson Specialist as my railed 1911 10mm shooter. My 10mm Kimber Rapide 1911 is great and handles 10mm just as well, but the rail w/ wml give a 10mm 1911 some added "heft" for handling hot "1cm" loads. As previously mentioned, the SIG P220 Legion in 10mm w/ it's 5" barrel and all metal build is a beast. I was fortunate to purchase one of the very first models released that have the factory optics ready slide, and it is a real toss-up in terms of accuracy, handling, and minimized recoil impulse with any 10mm round when compared to my D.Wesson. All of my other SIG Legions are SAO for my shooting preference with metal/steel pistols, like this P220, and it does not disappoint. If the OP or anybody else is looking for a good all metal 10mm shooter that is not a 1911, the SIG P220 in 10mm (Legion, if possible) is the way. I'd still like to purchase my own Colt Delta Elite w/ Rail, so the search continues...

Here are some updated pr0n pics between the SIG and D.Wesson ...

 

My favorite 10mm is still the S&W 1006