Sig P320 thoughts
- Thread starter Cody m
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KCBRUIN
Amateur
I have a P320 compact in 9mm. From day one it had piss poor ejection. I'm left handed and would get casings bouncing off my support hand. The weak ejection then turned into failures to extract. This was with 300 crappy blazer brass 115gr rounds. I haven't contacted Sig, but I will eventually.
Sample of one, YMMV, and all that jazz.
I will say that I love the way it feels in my hand, love the trigger, and I shoot it extremely well.
Sample of one, YMMV, and all that jazz.
I will say that I love the way it feels in my hand, love the trigger, and I shoot it extremely well.
Badge251
Newbie
That's disappointing with what the post above describes - definitely get ahold of Sig and have them make it right.
In my experience I have found the P320 (in 9mm) to be an excellent duty and competition pistol. So much so that I have the entire family to Lego between two trigger modules (see image- Full, Compact, Compact-Carry, and Sub-Compact sized frames/slides). Like the OP mentioned the modularity of the system is a BIG plus. One downside regarding servicing though, as a 320 armorer I can tell you the pistol is more complex a design than a Glock - but that being said most pistols are!
In my experience I have found the P320 (in 9mm) to be an excellent duty and competition pistol. So much so that I have the entire family to Lego between two trigger modules (see image- Full, Compact, Compact-Carry, and Sub-Compact sized frames/slides). Like the OP mentioned the modularity of the system is a BIG plus. One downside regarding servicing though, as a 320 armorer I can tell you the pistol is more complex a design than a Glock - but that being said most pistols are!
SCSU74
Regular Member
Here's a portion of a longer post I made on pistol-forum, didnt want to re-type it all. Imho for conus le use the 320 would be my #1 choice for a striker.
This may get a little long winded, but.. I started my career with a 226 and it is what I learned to shoot on so I may be bias. My first department had a very open weapon policy (Pretty much any caliber from major manufacturer HK/Sig/Glock/Smith 9/40/45/357) so when all my buddies were going plastic I thought that I was missing the train and jumped on myself. I went to a G21 and then a G17 and carried that for several years until my current department that at the time only allowed M&P's. The M&P is a whole other thread, but suffice to say it wasn't for me. My PD recently approved the 320 and 226/220, but only if you attended a striker to hammer conversion course, if you currently carried striker (M&P) you could switch to the 320 which I did the day after the policy came out (switch was more about getting away from the M&P than switching to the 320. Would have switched to Glock if that was the only other option)
To back track a bit, I've always had issues with strikers shooting left (all my glocks and M&P) not a ton, but enough to irritate me (hitting the 9 instead of x at 10 yds). I initially had the same problem with the 320 until I switched to the large size module. With the large module I'm dead on like with my 226's. I put around 5K through my full size 320 and can't recall a single malfunction (all factory ammo, either AE or WWB). The only negative I can mention about the pistol is lack of back end support. Ordering spare/replacement parts is very difficult as they are somewhat new. I have had 0 issues with finding holsters and Safariland offers both the 6360 and 6378 so covered there. For me, it came down to it being so new with not enough track record or part availability. I am not aware of any issues from officers at our PD and many are switching over. Glocks were also recently approved and the 320 is still the popular choice. If you like strikers and aren't bothered by the lack of spare parts I'd say go for it. I was 100% confident carrying it on duty. Side note, my preference is for the carry size and if that is an option I would go that way. The compact slide has a dual recoil spring and for me tracks flatter and transitions easier.
This may get a little long winded, but.. I started my career with a 226 and it is what I learned to shoot on so I may be bias. My first department had a very open weapon policy (Pretty much any caliber from major manufacturer HK/Sig/Glock/Smith 9/40/45/357) so when all my buddies were going plastic I thought that I was missing the train and jumped on myself. I went to a G21 and then a G17 and carried that for several years until my current department that at the time only allowed M&P's. The M&P is a whole other thread, but suffice to say it wasn't for me. My PD recently approved the 320 and 226/220, but only if you attended a striker to hammer conversion course, if you currently carried striker (M&P) you could switch to the 320 which I did the day after the policy came out (switch was more about getting away from the M&P than switching to the 320. Would have switched to Glock if that was the only other option)
To back track a bit, I've always had issues with strikers shooting left (all my glocks and M&P) not a ton, but enough to irritate me (hitting the 9 instead of x at 10 yds). I initially had the same problem with the 320 until I switched to the large size module. With the large module I'm dead on like with my 226's. I put around 5K through my full size 320 and can't recall a single malfunction (all factory ammo, either AE or WWB). The only negative I can mention about the pistol is lack of back end support. Ordering spare/replacement parts is very difficult as they are somewhat new. I have had 0 issues with finding holsters and Safariland offers both the 6360 and 6378 so covered there. For me, it came down to it being so new with not enough track record or part availability. I am not aware of any issues from officers at our PD and many are switching over. Glocks were also recently approved and the 320 is still the popular choice. If you like strikers and aren't bothered by the lack of spare parts I'd say go for it. I was 100% confident carrying it on duty. Side note, my preference is for the carry size and if that is an option I would go that way. The compact slide has a dual recoil spring and for me tracks flatter and transitions easier.
SCSU74
Regular Member
Forgot to add, I can shoot faster with tighter groups using the 320 compared to my gen 4 17. Here are photos from 7 yds as fast as I could pull the trigger with reloads (3 mags of 4 iirc).
The 320 also wins out for me based on the following: comes with a grip angle I prefer (no adding gfa), comes with front cocking serrations, factory frame texture doesn't require stippling or undercut of trigger guard. I also found mag changes to be faster and the ejection of empty mags to be more forceful (not sure how to describe it, mag shoots out easier/faster when pushing release).
The 320 also wins out for me based on the following: comes with a grip angle I prefer (no adding gfa), comes with front cocking serrations, factory frame texture doesn't require stippling or undercut of trigger guard. I also found mag changes to be faster and the ejection of empty mags to be more forceful (not sure how to describe it, mag shoots out easier/faster when pushing release).
SCSU74
Regular Member
May be worth contacting Bruce Gray, I know he is heavily involved in the r&d. He was addressing problems and fixing them on SIG forum and the 320 Facebook group.
Joe _K
Established
http://www.military.com/daily-news/...-m9-service-pistol.html#.WIFPLtrHxog.facebook
Velocitas, Opprimere,
Violentia Operandi
Velocitas, Opprimere,
Violentia Operandi
KCBRUIN
Amateur
I think it should run anything I feed it, but I need to get it out and feed it some hotter/higher quality ammo before I send it in so I can see how it performs.
SCSU74
Regular Member
Agreed, I know he was sending out different extractor springs. Seemed to be a common issue with the compact slide. I haven't had any issues with mine through a few thousand rounds of cheap 115.
siva.williams
Newbie
Jury is still out for concealed carry and self defense. However, the P320 is now a combat pistol. Take that for what it is worth.
CK837
Amateur
My department switched to the Sig 320 full size in .40 S&W in 2015. I like it better than the P229's we had before that. 4 or 5 of us have been having failures to feed. I suspect there are more problems, but few of our officers shoot enough to notice. I have recently replaced the magazine springs to try and fix the problem. It's too early to tell if that has worked though. Otherwise, it has a good trigger out of the box and seems to fit well. I can't speak to any other sizes or calibers.
JohnsonCityTN
Amateur
I roll with a p320 compact on most days when not at work.
I've read the issues. A lot of it seemed to be due to older models. Mine is flawless through 1300rds of various 9mm.
It points well, it shoots well, the trigger is solid, and the aftermarket is picking up for it and I'd imagine that'll only get better now that big Army picked it up.
Give one a rental, see how ya like it
I've read the issues. A lot of it seemed to be due to older models. Mine is flawless through 1300rds of various 9mm.
It points well, it shoots well, the trigger is solid, and the aftermarket is picking up for it and I'd imagine that'll only get better now that big Army picked it up.
Give one a rental, see how ya like it
Sunshine_Shooter
Established
So, you like Sig having a known issue in their guns go unfixed? Internal testing cannot flush out all the little things that may be sub-optimal in a design, but making tens of thousands of them and having them all tested at a profit will tell you everything about a design, good & bad. The fact that they've made in-line fixes to it already means they are looking into the gun's performance and making corrections to make it better. And don't think Glock hasn't done the same thing.
Thresher8-8
Amateur
My department is looking to switch from 226s & 229s to the 320. I am not one of our testers but I have shot 35 rounds of Ranger 147g 9mm through it. A neighboring jurisdiction just changed to it & a friend let me put a couple mags through it. I really liked the trigger! Recoil was not even a concern and the group was rather tight. My experience with striker fired pistols is I have a G19 & had a G26. My G19's trigger is miles better than my G26 was. Not sure why, they were both Gen 3. Maybe it was the years between the manufacturing?.?. From the info we have gathered the issues on the first released models have been worked out. Has anyone else heard differently?
Also and maybe more importantly for my needs:
Has anyone played with the RX and NVGs? My K-9 unit is looking at them for sighting through nods. I have read Jedi's review but as he says the duty world is not his lane. Also has anyone found a reliable duty holster for the RX? I could use any useful info for justification.
Also and maybe more importantly for my needs:
Has anyone played with the RX and NVGs? My K-9 unit is looking at them for sighting through nods. I have read Jedi's review but as he says the duty world is not his lane. Also has anyone found a reliable duty holster for the RX? I could use any useful info for justification.
JohnsonCityTN
Amateur
Thresher. If running a p320 RX without a light, I believe the Safariland GLS holsters will work. Not sure if that totally qualifies as a duty holster, but food for thought. Outside of that, I would imagine that you'd need to get a holster maker to roll your own special blend as I believe safariland only makes the als for glocks with red dots.
As far as reliability with the Sig, I believe their initial releases had an extractor that was just a mm or two too short that caused FTE's with certain brands of ammo. As far as I know, it has been rectified and if you do have a gen 1 p320, sig will send you a current length extractor.
I've got 1300 rds in a few months through mine and it's been boringly reliable.
As far as reliability with the Sig, I believe their initial releases had an extractor that was just a mm or two too short that caused FTE's with certain brands of ammo. As far as I know, it has been rectified and if you do have a gen 1 p320, sig will send you a current length extractor.
I've got 1300 rds in a few months through mine and it's been boringly reliable.
SCSU74
Regular Member
What is the reason for leaving the 226/229? IMHO those platforms are a much better choice for the time being. The 320 is still very new compared to those models. There isn't much long term testing and that leads to an unknown regarding how everything holds up. Another issue with the 320 that I mentioned is the lack of back end support. It is very hard to find spare parts and with the military jsut selecting it as their sidearm that will only get worse until the contracts are filled.
As far as the durability, the only issue I've come across (heard of) was with the extractors in the compact. Bruce was made aware of this and was swapping the spring out, this eliminated the issues as far as I know. Regarding the Romeo I'd touch base with Alma Cole, he has a lot of use with the optic and is a good resource. Personally, I wouldn't use it on patrol based on the reviews I've read with the glass breaking. It is also made in China and rumored to be a Holosun re-brand, I'd rather go with a RMR which has been extensively tested/used in a duty environment.
According to SHOT, RMR holsters (Safariland ALS) for the 320 will be out soon. The safariland rep in the P/S group mentioned late Jan, early Feb.
SCSU74
Regular Member
The only "upgrades" I'm aware of is the change in slide release and takedown lever, both of which are user preference and don't affect the operation of the pistol. I've owned/shot variations of all old controls, all new, and a mixture of old TDL and new slide release. All functioned 100%. I prefer the older style TDL with new slide release. The older TDL allows you to put pressure downward with your support thumb to manage recoil a bit. The newer slide release stays out of the way better for my grip and allows the slide to stay open on the last round more consistently.