If you have been paying attention to the news recently you know that the FBI just selected an unknown Glock as their new sidearm. Shortly after the original solicitation was published many people had the opinion that it was written with the purpose of specifically targeting the Sig Sauer P320 as the obvious choice, when it was passed over I was rather surprised. The P320 has been heralded as a “Glock killer”, I just had to find out if that was fan boys talking or it could be a legitimate claim.

Related: SIG P320 Selected as new US Army Handgun.

Before we get too far into things, lets take a look at the specs from Sig’s site:

Caliber

9mm

Action Type

Striker Fired DAO

Trigger Pull

5.5 – 7.5 lbs

Overall Length

7.2 in / 183 mm

Overall Height

5.3 in / 134 mm

Overall Width

1.4 in / 35.5 mm

Barrel Length

3.9 in / 99 mm

Weight w/Mag

25.8 oz / 731 g

Mag Capacity

15 Rounds

Sights

SIGLITE® Night Sights

MSRP	$628.00-$713.00

The striker fired P320 is a rather handsome gun just like the double action only P250 that fell a bit short at launch several years ago thanks to a less than ideal trigger. The P320 that we have for review is the compact frame in 9mm and has the revised slide stop to prevent shooters that use a thumbs forward method from inadvertently depressing the slide stop. As for the rest of the controls, I found the take down lever to be sized just right even though it looks comically large, the extra leverage is welcome when breaking the pistol down. The magazine button couldn’t be more perfect, Sig located it in exactly the right place and made it the perfect size to allow the shooter to drop the magazine fast while not presenting a problem in a holster.     

Field stripping the pistol is pretty easily accomplished when you twist the takedown lever down just like almost every Sig handgun ever. Once you turn the lever down it is as easy as removing the slide from the frame, then pulling the dual coil recoil spring assembly and barrel out of the slide.     

Taking a look at the action it is pretty clear that Sig did a really good job of turning the P250 into a solid little striker fired gun. Forgive the dirt, I was too excited to start shooting the gun and put about 350 rounds downrange before realizing I needed to take photos. Oops. 

If you pull the takedown lever out of the frame and push up on the trigger you find that the action is a self contained unit. The removable frame is the serialized part so that shooters can buy X-Change kits in other calibers and pistol sizes ranging from a sub-compact all the way to a full sized configuration. Sig also is offering several colors and sizes of grip shells that you can swap out without messing with another 4473. 

Sig ships the P320 with a paddle holster, a standard option. I decided to spend some time drawing from a holster to see how well the P320 fell into my hands. Every time I drew the pistol the sights lined right up on target, the trigger fell exactly where you want a trigger to sit on my finger. When I pulled the trigger I was able to land shots on steel with some pretty good regularity making me look like I might know what I was doing.

I was a bit concerned with the chunky slide mass pronouncing the muzzle flip at first but was pleasantly surprised when I wound it to be very manageable. The pistol also does a wonderful job of keeping the recoil at a very manageable level thanks to the dual recoil spring arrangement. Dumping the 15 round mag into my steel target was easy as could be. 

I handed the pistol over to my friend Scott (who has a pretty awesome gun related Podcast you should check out) so that he, the ultimate Glock fanboy, could give it a go. After several magazines Scott said that he liked it a lot and wants to see the long term reliability. There might be a chance in hell to convert the guy that knocks on my door Saturday morning to tell me about his lord and savior Gaston Glock after all!

I loaded the mag up with some Sig Sauer ammo and stood at the 7 yard line, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate use for the ammo. After shooting a couple groups that all look just about the same I was pretty pleased with the results. Yet again I had a reasonably good range day and was able to produce several really good groups.   

So what do I think about the P320 after feeding it right around 1050 rounds on range day 1 and another 350 on the second range day? I am in love and look forward to really pushing the P320 to the limit of what it is capable of. I think the photo below should say it all, although there is a small re-homing fee for some of them. Did the P320 prove to be a possible Glock killer? I think as soon as the US police market gives it a solid chance it has everything it needs to displace the king of modern sidearms. 

The MSRP of the P320 Compact as tested is $628 to $713 depending on options. I have seen the street price as low as the $420 range recently. If you would like to learn more about the features and different configurations of the P320 click HERE for Sig Sauer’s website.