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Back in April, I wrote up the initial differences between the XCompact and the RXP XCompact and in June I wrote a review of the RXP XCompact. I loved the RXP XCompact and ended up turning that into a range gun with the Parker Mountain Dual Compensator barrel system, but the standard P320 XCompact stayed the same for the last year. When I started carrying the XCompact regularly, I wanted to really push the gun and see how it did long term over the last year with a fairly high round count every range session. After almost a year and 5,000 rounds, let’s take a look at how the SIG Sauer P320 XCompact did.
Range Sessions
Over the last year, my SIG Sauer P320 XCompact has seen everything from snow and sub-zero temperatures to rain and hot summer days at the sandy section of the range. When I first started out in the frigid months of winter in Northern Michigan, I really grew to appreciate the larger trigger guard to accommodate winter gloves without having the gloves get stuck or not fit in the trigger guard at all. In the past, one of the biggest challenges for me in the wintertime was finding a gun that I can comfortably fire with large gloves on. With the P320 line of handguns, the extra room in the trigger guard along with a straight trigger makes it very easy to accomplish. Throughout the winter months, I put around 1,100 rounds through the handgun without any issues.
As Spring approached, I typically start to carry my full-size guns less and tend to move to something smaller like the XCompact, P365, or Glock 43. This year was really the first year where I left my 43 and P365 at home in favor of the XCompact. Don’t get me wrong, the P365 and 43X are great options for small summer carry guns but the slightly larger frame and grip make the XCompact better for my larger hands than the smaller carry guns. I found myself carrying the P320 XCompact over most of my other compact and micro sized handguns.
3,000-5,000 Round Testing
Throughout the Summer, I did a number of drills and range sessions with the XCompact for self-defense training. I practiced drawing from concealment and shooting from cover with this little gun as well as practicing reloads out of my NeoMag. Whether it was barricade drills, shooting on the move or shooting from cover, it was 100% reliable even when getting sand and grit inside the gun from shooting the lower barricade openings. Typically, I wouldn’t shoot a few magazines worth of ammo through the bottom barricade just due to the amount of sand that gets thrown into the action and on the gun, but I wanted to see how the little P320 held up.
Wear on the barrel appears to be normal with no odd wear patterns or damage of any sort.
At the end of the range session, the action was gritty with sand and material, but the gun was still 100% reliable to my surprise. I don’t normally abuse guns like that and set them up for failure but the little XCompact did a great job. I just recently hit the 5,000 round mark in an effort to finish up this review and out of all those rounds, I had 1 round that failed to fire. The primer was hit but the round didn’t go off and I’ve had the same issue in different guns so I’m chalking it up to ammo rather than the gun.
The barrel is definitely dirty but the rifling looks great still with nothing out of place.
Pros and Cons
After spending so much time with the P320 XCompact you start to develop things you like and dislike with the firearm or weapon system. The P320 has some great aspects that make it one of a kind with its Fire Control Unit being so easy to remove. Other aspects like the chunky rear sight and optics plate have their own set of challenges when looking at it. I love how the gun feels in the hand and how controllable it is at the range. The high bore axis is there though which can be a disadvantage to some shooters. There are a number of things I love about this gun but sometimes a few things I don’t love that SIG ended up changing for the RXP.
The classic hood wears from the SIG barrel but it feels extremely smooth to rack and shoot.
Pros
- Ergonomic grip and modular with the P320 Fire Control Unit.
- A very smooth shooting gun for its size.
- The flat trigger feels great and is predictable when firing.
- Feels like a small package while holding a flush 15 round magazine.
Cons
- Optics plate has rear sight attached, when mounting optics you lose your rear sight
- Rear sight is very chunky and blocks some of the shooter’s peripheral vision.
- Higher bore axis than other guns like Glocks but is very easy to control
Overall Thoughts
Out of all the smaller framed guns I’ve tested, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a gun quite as much as this little XCompact. It’s not perfect but some of its quirks make the gun feel like it has a soul. It feels like a plucky little handgun that is capable of hanging out with the big boys at the range. Everything I dislike about the sights and optics plate were fixed with the RXP XCompact.
The RXP updates may be the better option for you but the XCompact is still a fantastic handgun and I plan on carrying it for the foreseeable future. Let me know what you think about the XCompact in the comments below. If you have a question, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there!
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