The SIG Sauer GT 20 is a brand new design. It takes a stainless steel framed P220 and turns it from the standard 45 ACP into a 10mm. The gun is further altered by making it single action only. Unknown to a lot of people, SIG does make some very high-end guns in single action only (like a 226 X-Five for about $2,700).
Tom Gresham of Gun Talk (GT) Radio specified the pistol for his radio show’s 20 year anniversary, hence the GT 20 name. He’s a huge fan of the 10mm round and a small firm, Gray Guns, has been changing the P220 from .45 ACP to 10mm for years. SIG just never picked up on the line. The time was perfect because SIG wanted to do a 10mm based on the P220, so the marketing was there and the demand was coming.
The pistol ended up looking beautiful. They are all labeled on the frame “1 of 300” but have a normal serial number. I was hoping for a special serial number or to have it printed on the gun someplace which gun of 300 I was actually handling. Was it a low number in the line or at the end of the line. The gun I used was one of the first to be released, so it’s on the low end.
Last week, I got my hands on one at the range. We put about 150 rounds through the gun and had a great time. We went to the local range (Lonestar Handgun) that has lots of steel to shoot.
It took us a while to sight in the gun. It has an adjustable rear sight that we ended up going 20 clicks down to get point of aim/point of impact at 25 yards. Unusual to play with a handgun that much to get it sighted in, but it was fun to work on. I think that might have to do with the wide variety of 10mm ammo on the market today. A lot of 10mm ammo is loaded down to what a 40 S&W does, but the 10mm can be loaded (safely) so much hotter. Double Tap Ammo makes 125gr. 10mm load listed at 1600 feet per second (fps). We were shooting Armscor, 180gr. 10mm listed at 1150 fps. Double tap also makes a 230gr. load listed at 1120 fps (that’s better than your 45 ACP, same weight bullets are pushing pressure limits in a 45 at 1000 fps). You can see that’s quite a spread of ammo weights and speeds. It would be hard to set sights that would work for all of them, so the adjustable sights are a nice touch.
The front sight is a green fiber optic with a tritium vial illuminating it after dark. A very nice touch, making target acquisition much easier and faster.
The single action trigger was nice. It felt like a nicely worn in SIG standard trigger fired in single action. If you have never felt a worn in SIG double-action, single-action trigger, you are missing out. After 5,000 or 6,000 rounds, the trigger really gets slick. This one was new right out of the box feeling like that, so I’m thinking it will only get better with time.
Gray Guns developed the P-SPIT trigger (you can read about it here: http://grayguns.com/products/p-series-sig-sauer-precision-intermediate-trigger/). SIG developed their own version of the P-SPIT trigger and installed it into the GT20. This trigger limits over travel and helps contribute to the short reset of the gun. (No, the SIG Short Reset Trigger is not an option in the SAO triggers!) Also, ambidextrous thumb safeties are installed on the gun, another nice touch. And, unlike a 1911, the slide can be racked when the thumb safeties are engaged.
When I shot it like a single action trigger the gun did anything I wanted it to. Accuracy was without problems as expected from a SIG pistol. I just had to do my job and the gun would put the round where I wanted it to go. Every time I shoot a SIG I want one!
The recoil on the ammo we where using was stiff compared to a 9mm or even a 45, but it wasn’t punishing. The recoil caused the gun to buck up. It didn’t hurt like a big bore revolver or sting like a little 40. It just pushed like a 45 straight back. It was enough to make follow up shots difficult, but not impossible. I think a shooter used to a heavier recoiling gun won’t have an issue, I’m just used to my 9mm now. I don’t know if that will change if you put some hot hunting loads in the gun, but it was nice to shoot with the mild stuff.
Looking at the gun, it has the GT 20 logo on the side and then the “1 of 300” and SIG Sauer P220 on the other. The only other markings are the serial number and caliber stamp on the barrel hood.
This all-stainless gun without many markings makes it look great. Too many manufactures are trying to dump tons of stuff onto the side of the pistol, the guns are starting to look like NASCARs.
Hogue created a custom GT20 design for the G-10 grips used on the gun, they really set off the look of the gun and, along with the checkering on the front strap of the frame, help you get a solid grip on the gun.
So where you can you get one? You can’t. This was a limited edition gun that was sold through Gun Talk and Dury’s Gun Shop here in San Antonio. All the guns were made to order by SIG and the ordering is closed. I haven’t seen one on gunbroker.com yet, but I’m sure someone will put one up soon. But, if you really want one, be prepared to pay for it dearly. It’s going to be a lot.
If you ever get a chance to shoot something unique, go for it. Even if the gun isn’t something you would normally go for, they are a lot of fun (but when isn’t shooting fun?).
Stay Safe,
Ben
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Underwood ammo and Parabellum ammo, make hot stuff for the 10mm (even hotter than DT, that seems to exagerate their numbers compared to what it chronos). And you can get 50 in a box for about the same as 20 from DT.
Cool Russ, Thanks for the information. I’ll look them up.