Sig Sauer P320 Review: The Army’s New Pistol
The Sig Sauer P320 Pistol definitely has some controversy surrounding it. When the U.S. Army announced that they were going to adopt it as the new sidearm for soldiers many people were disappointed.
In this article, we will go over the P320 compact version chambered in 9mm. I will give my opinions on this new pistol and share my thoughts on why I like it and also why I dislike some aspects of the P320.
First Impressions
Immediately when this pistol came out on the market I was very excited and purchased one early. I will admit that I was curious because of the hype that was being spread about the Sig P320. The idea of a gun that was modular and could be changed to different calibers, frame sizes, and barrel sizes was interesting, however, I was just excited that Sig Sauer was coming out with a striker-fired handgun.
The compact is the perfect size in my opinion and it felt great when I handled it for the first time. The Sig P320 Compact is similar in size to a Glock 19 which most people will find is an excellent size for a handgun.
I’m not sure exactly how many rounds I have shot through it but it has to be in the ballpark of 300-400 which isn’t too many. My experience has been great though, no malfunctions of any kind.
Finally a striker-fired pistol from Sig Sauer
The P320 had been a long time coming and has essentially replaced Sig Sauers’s P250 which was their original polymer framed pistol. The P250 was okay but the main complaint was the very long double action only trigger pull it had. People’s beliefs have evolved over time and the striker-fired trigger has been the new standard in most modern pistols.
The original P250 did, however, incorporate the modular style frames and allowed shooters to change frames and such because of the serial number being attached to the internal fire control assembly. This means you can pull out the fire control assembly and drop it into another frame without having to go through the process of purchasing another handgun.
That means you don’t have to fill out another 4473 if you want to change caliber or sizes. This was great for many people because in certain countries you are only allowed to own one single handgun. Sig gave these people a way to own different calibers and sizes without breaking this law. (kudos to Sig).
What you get with the Sig P320
Starting off with the sights, Sig includes their SIGLITE night sights. For those of you not familiar with night sights, they have a small piece of radioactive material in a vial that emits its own light. So at night time or in dark rooms, the shooter will still be able to see the pistol sights and obtain a good sight picture. In today’s modern firearm market I believe that all manufacturers should include this standard with every handgun (just my personal opinion).
The Sig P320 Compact 9mm comes with two 15 round magazines, this is good considering Sig magazines are overpriced. It also has a 1913 style Picatinny rail for mounting a weapons light or any other accessory. The trigger pull is very smooth and crisp making it easy to be accurate when shooting.
For the price (usually around $500) you get a good pistol. The Sig P320 would make a good handgun for concealed carry or home defense. It is reliable and comfortable to shoot and light compared to other similar pistols the same size.
The New Army Sidearm
If you haven’t heard already the U.S. Army has decided on the Sig M17 (which is the military version of the P320) to be the new sidearm for soldiers replacing the Beretta M9. I was happy when I heard this mainly because I already owned one when I heard the news, but also it was time for the Army to get a new pistol.
This caused an uproar in the firearms community because a majority of people in the firearms community wanted to see Glock get the contract. According to the Army, the Sig outperformed all other pistols during their testing.
At the time of my writing this article, I am currently deployed overseas and have started seeing the Sig M17 in theater. I personally love this gun and I am happy the Army is starting to use it. I might be a little bias because I own one but overall it is a great pistol.
Don’t drop it
A while back a guy on Youtube was testing different handguns and determined that if the Sig P320 is dropped and hits the ground at a certain angle the gun will fire. This caused a huge amount of blowback and Sig recalled all of the pistols and fixed the flaw. If you owned one of the pistols affected they will upgrade your trigger to the X-series straight trigger for free.
With any new pistol there usually tends to be issues with it in the beginning, and unfortunately, the first people who buy them actually are beta testing the new designs. I still have not sent mine back to Sig to have them upgrade my trigger only because I have been lazy and keep forgetting. They sent me a box and a pre-paid shipping label I should probably do that soon.
Also, even if a pistol or any gun for the matter is drop safe, you shouldn’t drop a firearm ever. I can see why any reason a gun fires without the trigger being pulled is a big problem though.
Final Thoughts
The Sig P320 Compact is a good handgun and can serve many different roles. Its lightweight, reliable, and affordable. The Army believes in it and so do I. The Sig P320 was one of the guns that made it on our list for Buying Your First Handgun & 10 Recommendations
If anyone owns this handgun let me know in the comments what you guys think of the Sig P320 and if the Army made the right choice by choosing this as their new sidearm? If you want to see the current price click the button underneath.
