First and foremost, I need to give credit where it's due - I've had the general idea for years that adding certain components from Open division competition pistols to a duty pistol could have some potential performance benefits, but could never quite figure out the right combination of parts or base platform to build on (for a while there I was fairly set on saving up for a completely custom 2011 platform...Glad I ended up not doing that). It wasn't until I started to see pictures floating around the interwebz of a certain professional door-kicker's modded and comped G19 though that I really got serious about this project. So, Roland, for being just crazy enough to try to turn a joke into one of the most badass concepts for a fighting pistol I've ever seen, much gratitude is in order.
There was still one problem I had with the standard RS formula though; that damn Glock it was based on...I know, I know, I have nothing against Glocks or those who choose to shoot them. But I learned how to shoot pistols on a Sig 1911 - the ergonomics of a Glock and my brain were just two things that were never going to get along. So what to do? At first I kicked around the idea of basing my build on an M&P, but still being a bit brainwashed by my 1911 roots there was just something about a hammer-fired, all-metal pistol I couldn't look past...And then Sig won the MHS program. I had thought the P320 was a neat platform for a while, and with the prospect of the future aftermarket support destined for the new sidearm of our entire armed forces, it was finally the push I needed to get past the "but muh hammer and metal grip!" blockade.
View attachment 2410
So, a few months ago I ordered up an X-Carry. My particular example came with the Romeo1 sight already mounted and zeroed at the factory, which was fine by me considering that would've been the first thing I did to it anyway. Within minutes of getting the pistol home, I'd mounted up a X300U flashlight, torn the pistol apart and started to familiarize myself with the internals.
View attachment 2411
My next step was to find a source for magazine extensions (because MOAR), which brought me to Springer Precision. I ordered up a handful of their 140mm base pads along with some Grams Engineering follower and spring kits, and shortly my 17 round magazines could swallow up 23 rounds of shiny 9mm.
View attachment 2412
Of course, once you have extended magazines, everyone knows you need a nice magwell to help feed them into your hungry blaster. The nice thing about the X-Series line of P320s is that all of the X-Series grip modules are compatible with the magwell that comes on the X-Five model. Many competition shooters who purchase the X-Five quickly remove the magwell to make the pistol legal for Production and Carry Optics divisions; a bit of quick negotiating with one such X-Five owner, and suddenly I felt like I could toss a fresh magazine into the pistol from across a room and it'd seat properly.
View attachment 2413
Up next, I got to wondering and doing a bit of quick math in my head - If 23 rounds is good, more rounds will always be better, right...? So, I ordered up a couple of OEM Sig 21 round magazines, made another visit to Springer Precision for more base pads and some of the Grams 13 coil spring and follower kits, and before you know it I had a functioning "happy stick" that provides for 27 rounds reloadable. Now we're getting somewhere!
Of course, the whole point of this project was to get that "holy trinity" of the slide-mounted dot, X300U hanging under the barrel, and short compensator for the ultimate in tacticool. But you can't have a compensator without a threaded barrel...So, another visit to Springer and I shortly had in my possession a Bar-Sto stainless compact threaded barrel, with 1/2x28 threading, and one of Springer's "shorty" 9mm compensators with threading to match the new barrel.
Bar-Sto's barrels are "semi-drop-in", meaning a minority of the barrels will require some minor fitting to work in your particular pistol. I just so happened to be one of the shooters that drew the short straw and found my barrel will need some fitting, which means a trip to my gunsmith is in order.
View attachment 2414
And this is where the pistol currently sits - Ready to be taken to my gunsmith to have the barrel fitted properly, so that I may begin to enjoy the sweetness that is a compensated duty pistol. I had originally intended for this to be my carry gun, but have found the X-Carry grip module to be slightly too long to conceal well enough (especially with the addition of the magwell and extended base pads). I will likely soon purchase a Compact grip module, and use that in combination with the compensated top end as my carry setup. The fullsize X-Series grip with magwell will be dedicated for when the pistol is pulling duty as my nightstand gun, as well as the "go-to-war" setup where concealment isn't as much of a concern.
Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments. I'll update this thread once I get the gun back from my gunsmith and try to do a shooting review once it's all said and done