I've never used a DAO Third Gen., but I was saddled with a Sig P226DAK for three or four years. I despised it more than any gun I've ever been issued.Originally Posted by Lost River
I've never used a DAO Third Gen., but I was saddled with a Sig P226DAK for three or four years. I despised it more than any gun I've ever been issued.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
UGH!I can relate, at the end of the day I had some pretty nice leather for the 4566, and it would not fit with the rail, so I just removed it when I decided to keep the gun. That opened the possibility of actually carrying the thing, which is why I in turn feel guilty about the fact I never do
Then I found a nice used bargain priced Kramer IWB #3 with my preferred FBI cant for this one, with provision for the rail (but no light) and I felt even worse since.
Damned if you do, or if you don't. Love your gun though. I struggle mentally each time I look at mine if I should just say screw it and cut the rail off.
So if you were looking to pick up a TDA .45 just to have around as a fun gun and you didn’t already have a USP, would you go West German P220 or would the USP still be your choice?
Last edited by awp_101; 08-31-2020 at 12:54 PM.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
I'm not Lost River, but if you're not going to Get Both(tm), I'd go with the P220 first. Muuuuch sweeter trigger. Mags are a little cheaper. You can change the grips to whatever you like.
The folded slide on the P220 requires periodic maintenance. The USP will go many more rounds total service life and with much less maintenance along the way. But for a "just fun" gun, that probably won't matter.
I've sold my 1911s, but kept my P220s. In my mind, it's like a TDA 1911 Lightweight Commander. (I might have said that earlier in this thread...sorry if I repeat myself excessively.)
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Not another dime.
Conversely, I ended up selling my P220s and keeping my Gen 3 Glock G21...
Best, Jon
I realize it's in the "none of the above" category, but if you want a TDA 45 made recently...I highly recommend a CZ 97B/BD. I have a BD (decock only; the B model is thumb safety, no decocker) and it does not shoot like a 45. It's a big gun, bigger than a USP give or take, but it does not feel like it when you shoot it. It's 10+1 so it's not winning any capacity wars. Where it excels is how it shoots and it's accuracy...it's one of the few 45s you could shoot literally all day and not feel wore out when you're all done, IMO. And man are they just stupidly accurate.
Patrick Kelley here did a video review of a CZ custom job he got as a gift; it's a beautiful gun. And, being a CZ, you can apply all the standard CZ magic to it if you desire; spring kits, custom parts, the whole thing. I even have a threaded BarSto barrel for mine..cost half as much as the gunBut, if you want to put a can on it, there's not many options. With a can it's actually even more fun...not quite as reliable as the factory barrel, but it's still not terrible, and the factory (night) sights on mine alllllllllmost clear the top of the can; it's enough so you can allllmost use the sights as-is. Can in my case was a Dead Air Ghost.
The HK USP is built to withstand abuse on another level. That said, the action and particularly the double action trigger is not what I would consider nice. In fact the stock HK's DA trigger is at the bottom of the pile of DA/SA .45s I have used.
Ergonomics play into things as well to a degree. I really like SIG quality, and their actions are great. However in shooting them I have never been over impressed as compared to others. For some, they fit their hands well. Not for me. I can shoot them, but not as well as others. If they fit you and you shoot them well, then you are golden.
If given a choice of what TDA .45 to grab, I am going to grab a 4506, no question.
It is a rockstar.
Especially if it has been fitted with a decocker. Man what a sweetheart.
Now the HK with a different trigger, like an LEM that I was recently given the opportunity to play with, thats a different story. Mine will eventually be retrofitted with a match LEM. Right now it is carried cocked and locked.
I realize that that is not a direct "pick this" answer, but it really depends on how you interact with Sigs. For a casual shooter, I doubt you will ever wear out a P220, and they are superb guns, but I would attempt to try before you buy to make sure it is a good fit.
The 4506 on the other hand is never a wrong answer. Plus you can always smack someone pretty good with one when your inner Vic Mackey takes over.
I'll just pile on a little. Sig grips are changeable, and changing them makes a big difference. Fit is not locked in per the basic gun. The factory polymer grips are kind of a long oval with a smaller radius on the back strap. Hogue G10 grips are thinner at the maximum, but have flatter sides and a larger radius on the back strap. The factory rosewood grips have an even larger radius, but are quite a bit thicker (wider) than either of the above and lack checkering on the back strap. (Factory wood grips make a P226 too thick for me, but I find them pleasantly hand-filling - if slightly more so than necessary - on the single-stack P220.) My faves are G10 checkered. Also, the Hogue checkering points start out quite sharp. You can make them exactly as not-sharp as you want by gently dragging some 320 grit sandpaper across them a few light strokes at a time until they're perfect.
The main drawback for me is that the slide catch and decocker are backward from most other guns (decocker forward, slide catch to the rear). There's the issue with needing a strong-hand-thumb-out grip to keep from interrupting slide lock on an empty mag, but that can be learned and can be used with other pistols. I find the decocker to be the most ergonomic there is (although I'm getting used to the HK control lever that's a lot like a 1911 safety), and classic Sigs have the nice feature that rather than dropping the hammer, the hammer rides the decocker as the lever rises back to the rest position. But my thought is that having basic controls essentially backward from other pistols means one should seriously consider committing to the system for training, or just shoot it for giggles at the range occasionally.
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Not another dime.
I started with a 1911. Then I started testing to be a police officer. I bought a Glock 21 because I figured no local police department would let me carry a 1911 on duty. Then I bought a P220, a USP 45, and a very sweet used 4566. I really miss GI bill money. Then I got hired by a local department and was issued a Colt government model. I got serious about training and I sold off all my 45s to focus on the 1911. I wish I had kept the 4566 for my S&W revolver collection and the USP for the field.
Last edited by Poconnor; 09-02-2020 at 06:56 AM.
I regret not buying my issued 4566 almost as much as selling my two W. German P220s.
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