Introducing: Project Nemesis - P320 Roland Special

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Sitting at home dryfiring the trio a bit while thinking about a Recoil article I read earlier today. Take a peek: https://www.recoilweb.com/the-multi-caliber-glock-solution-for-ammo-panics-hail-hydra-167337.html

Given the difficulty everyone is still having sourcing 9milly these days, the article makes a persuading argument for having a gun that can be converted between 9mm and 40S&W/357Sig specifically for the purposes of having multiple caliber options when going ammo shopping and practicing. I’m thinking it wouldn’t be too difficult to find a Compact 357Sig top end assembly, get it milled for an optic, swap to a threaded/comped barrel and build up a few designated magazine assemblies for the caliber for RS320B. Wouldn’t have any intention of straying from the 9mm for carry use, but for range purposes having a gun that could shoot a more easily sourced round is mighty tempting these days...
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Went ahead and snagged about 650 rounds from a dealer at about $.50 per round today. Not great but not terrible and it’ll keep me supplied for a few range trips to come at least
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
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One thing I am moving forward on is getting a dedicated AIWB holster made for the EVO320. Reaching out to various custom kydex molders in Colorado to see if anyone can use the gun itself to make a holster from. I still have the hacked up Floodlight and it works...Kind of. It collapses too much under my belt when I draw to be able to reholster and it still scratches up the mount a bit each time. It’d be nice to get something that looks and functions like it was intended for the gun to begin with, rather than chopped up and made to fit
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Dedicated holster ordered up for the EVO320, courtesy of Off The Grid Concepts. The Floodlight worked as a good proof of concept, but this new bucket should be much more functional (and aesthetic) as it considers the optic mount from the ground up. Assuming the AIWB version is on point, I’ll also be ordering an OWB version with Safariland QLS bolt pattern. Onward we go!
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Apparently it’s shopping week for Project Nemesis. Confirmed an order for a Neomag clip to carry a spare magazine for the EVO320, to compliment the new holster. Went with the extended clip for one of my 23-round mags as a reload. It’ll take some time and drilling to get used to once I get it but looks like it’ll be worth the investment
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
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Initial re-up on NATO FMJ arrived today. Looking like I’ll be ordering up another case of 1,000 FMJ and several boxes of JHP a little later today though, so we’ll call this resupply part 1
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
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That should solve spare mag carry with the forthcoming new holster. Time to get some practice and new muscle memory in place
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
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Another thousand rounds of high-pressure pistol food arrived for resupply part 2. A new manufacturer but still 124gr NATO FMJ spec, so should be close enough to the Winchester stuff I’m used to in order for the guns to like it. Other than this I’ve got several boxes of Winchester’s new USA Ready Defense 124gr +P JHP ammo incoming, which is more or less a Ranger bullet (Ready Defense is derived from Winchester’s new LE-only 147gr Ranger One load) with a rigid polymer piece in the nose to prevent clogging like Hornady’s Critical Duty. I’ll of course have to run some through the guns to make sure they don’t choke on it, but assuming not I can add it to my list of acceptable 124gr +P JHP loads. I feel some additional range time coming on in the near future…More to come
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
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Trying something a little new from Winchester. As mentioned before, when looking for additional JHP I wasn’t able to find any Critical Duty in stock but this was available and seemed very similar. It’s a fairly new 124gr +P load from Winchester, but they tend to know their shit when it comes to JHPs so I’m not too worried. Got more than enough to see how my guns like it, so that’ll be included on my next range trip. Some bullet comparisons to follow - in all pics, Winchester on the left and Hornady on the right:

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rudukai13

Pro Internet User
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Got some time in at the range today with the EVO320 and the new ZQI and Winchester ammo. 400 rounds, absolutely zero malfunctions. In a multitude of testing that included the new JHP rounds, the old Hornady JHP rounds, and the FMJ NATO loads, everything functioned as it should. This included several tests of mixed magazine loads of all three rounds (Note: I do not load magazines this way for actual carry, only for reliability testing. Don’t mix ammo in your carry mags, it’s not a good idea). The recoil profiles feel identical, I couldn’t differentiate which round was being fired. At least out to 7 yards, the POI shift among all three seemed to be so negligible as to be irrelevant - currently the gun is zeroed for the Hornady JHP at 25 yards. I did notice the ZQI NATO loads seem to be a bit dirtier than the Winchester NATO, so the gun got pretty fouled up. It’ll be cleaning time a little later today. All in all a great time and extremely positive results!
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Meanwhile…

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While I was shooting my brother was picking up his newest acquisition, a Custom Works FCU. Once his other parts get here that’ll be five P320s between the two of us. We’ll call that “a good start”
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Have any of your P320s ever had issues with any ammunition?

The original RS320, when it still had a new recoil spring, had difficulty shooting frangible 65gr ammo out of the large mix of different bullet weight/gas pressure loads I originally purchased but that was expected. After the springs broke in they handled a +P version of the same ammo perfectly fine.

The EVO320 also requires +P ammo in order to function because of the larger compensator. The manufacturer of the comp specifically says it’s designed for +P or Major PF ammo though, so when it’s used within the intended operating envelope it doesn’t have any issues. Can’t blame the guns for trying to use them in the specific manner that the components weren’t designed for
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Other than those particular conditions, no. They don’t have any issues with minimal lubrication, severe fouling, etc.

To my knowledge my brother’s M18 has been the same
 

Stanislao

Regular Member
P320s seem generally tolerant of ammo, I very rarely hear anyone have issues with it. Your sample size is rather impressive, showing the extremes required to produce issues. 65gr frangible is a weird thing, and a big ass comp is a big ass comp. No surprises for either of those.

The only malfunction of any sort I've had with my M18 was a stovepipe on the very first round fired, 115gr WWB. Gun has happily chewed through a few hundred other WWB rounds, and several hundred more of whatever random stuff I find.
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
I’ve been extremely pleased with the reliability and function maintained by the pistols given the extent of the modifications I’ve done. Honestly as many rounds as I’ve put through the guns, it’s not nearly as much as I would’ve liked. I’m sure there are many members on the forum that go through orders of magnitude more ammo with their guns in the same amount of time. The biggest obstacles to that for me have just been finding time to go to the range and, more recently, ammo scarcity. It is nice though being secure in the fact that whenever I do get a bit of time in the shooting lane, I can count on the guns to do their job dependably and leave me to focus on improving my skill and ability
 
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