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It’s been a little over a year since the SIG Sauer P365 X-Macro was released, and it’s become a popular choice for those looking for a compact handgun that doesn’t sacrifice at all on the performance side of things. Last year, TFBTV’s Hop and I had the opportunity to head out to New Hampshire for the initial release of the SIG P365 X-Macro and had a bit of trigger time with it there. Since then, I’ve acquired my own copy of the P365 X-Macro to use and carry around and I’ve been doing that on and off for the better part of a year now. The question is, after a year of use, do I think the P365 X-Macro is worth the investment? In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the P365 X-Macro to see how it’s held up over time, as well as how it does its job as a concealed carry handgun. So without further ado, here is my P365 X-Macro review – one year later.
SIG Sauer @ TFB:
- The NEW 17-Round Capacity Compensated SIG P365 X-Macro
- The NEW SIG-Sauer P365 X-Macro: MORE FIREPOWER
- Icarus Precision ACE 365 X Macro Grip Module
One Year Later: P365 X-Macro Review – Was It Worth It?
Construction and Finish Wear
After a year of regular use and carrying and training range sessions, the construction and finish of the P365 X-Macro have held up surprisingly well. While there are some minor signs of wear on the slide and barrel from holstering and range use, the overall finish is still in great condition. The stainless steel frame is sturdy and durable and the internal parts haven’t shown any signs of starting to wear away or fail, and the black Nitron finish has held up to scratches and scuffs with perhaps one small section on the right-hand side featuring some cosmetic blemish from perhaps gun-oil or some other liquid that stained the finish. Overall, the P365 X-Macro appears to be a well-constructed handgun that can withstand the rigors of everyday carry, and some of the typical abuse I’ve dealt out to my other EDC handguns – including human sweat.
The included 17-round magazines have also held up very well through repeated loading, unloading, and shooting cycles and I have to say what I’m most impressed by besides their reliability, is that they tend not to really pick up any sand or dirt despite being constantly dropped during hasty mag changes. However, if there is one area that I can criticize for perhaps being a bit too fragile is the magwell. While it’s nice and beveled on the bottom, the polymer just hasn’t held up to a lot of reloads – steel magwells are always going to be more durable, and even those tend to get worn away and scuffed up after repeated use.
EDC Comfort
One of the new standout features of the P365 X-Macro specifically for EDC carry is its standard Picatinny rail dust cover, and customizable grip modules, which make it more comfortable to shoot for people with different hand sizes and allow you to mount lights so you can be more adaptable to your carry situation as it changes. The one that worked best for me was the medium grip and I stuck with that for the entirety of this year-long review period, and I also used the FOXTROT2 weapon light whenever I was able to (one of the holsters could not accommodate it). After a year of carrying the Macro, I can confirm that it’s a comfortable and reliable EDC option if not just a tad bit on the large side. Blackpoint Holsters provided me with both an OWB and an IWB option. The IWB option lacks the capability to handle the weapon light but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make in order to carry more comfortably appendix. Most of the time I’ve just been sticking to the OWB Blackpoint holster as I love shooting the Macro with the FOXTROT2 mounted on it.
The standard 17-round magazines provide best-in-class capacity without adding bulk, and the X-RAY3 Day/Night sights make it easy to acquire a sight picture quickly in tandem with the ROMEOZero Elite. The ROMEOZero Elite mounts seamlessly to the P365 X-Macro’s slide, providing a clear and unobstructed sight picture that’s ideal for self-defense and range use. If anything, the P365 X-Macro can get just a bit heavy because of the sheer weight of a single magazine – something worth considering before buying.
The only minor issue I’ve noticed is that the grip texture can be a bit aggressive on bare skin, but this can be remedied with the use of a different holster, grip cover, or even an aftermarket grip module. Compared to a lot of my other EDC handguns, this one is on the larger side of what I’m comfortable carrying in my normal clothing and I think after a solid year of carrying it, I can say that I’ll probably keep it as one of my winter EDC options, especially when paired with the FOXTROT2 Light. Simply put, for EDC purposes, the P365 X-Macro is more or less the size of a compact P320 in all respects but is much slimmer, and comes with a ported slide, and an optics mounting solution right from the factory. In some regards, it’s also about the same size and rough dimensions as the original P365 with 15-round extended magazines.
Range Experience and Reliability
Over the course of a year, we’ve put several thousand rounds through the P365 X-Macro and it’s been flawless with a wide variety of ammunition. The ported slide has proven to be a worthwhile investment for outdoor range use, reducing recoil and allowing for faster follow-up shots which is a boon to those who might want to combine their EDC, Competition, and Range Toy all into one gun. However, I do have to say that if you’re thinking of picking one of these up and you are solely a patron of an indoor or covered range, you’re in for a bad time.
It’s obnoxiously loud
The ported slide is quite effective and actually gains more effectiveness from hotter ammunition meaning that your carry ammunition should perform much better for you in the recoil department when you train with it, or god forbid, you have to use it. However, at an indoor range of any type, the ported slide becomes an absolute nightmare to shoot and really rattles your head even with over-the-ear hearing protection. If at all possible, I’d just outright avoid shooting the Macro indoors or maybe just replace the ported slide with a P365 XL slide since they are compatible right out of the box. However, it is also worth noting that the comped slide is basically ammunition agnostic and therefore does not specifically require hotter ammunition to have it cycle normally – something that pistols with threaded-on compensators can’t say.
While the compact size and shorter barrel length may not provide the same level of accuracy as larger handguns, the P365 X-Macro is still capable of giving you a comfortable enough grip so you can keep hitting targets at self-defense distances. I’ve used the P365 X-Macro during a steel challenge match and if it’s accurate enough to do that, then it’s more than accurate for self-defense duty. Additionally, this might be a bonus for those with slightly smaller hands, especially when you factor in the swappable grip modules.
I’ve had no issues with malfunctions or failures to feed, and the P365 X-Macro has proven to be a reliable and consistent performer on the range. The ROMEOZero Elite, however, is a slightly different story. The 6 MOA dot is easy to acquire and maintain, and the rugged construction of the ROMEOZero Elite ensures that it can withstand the rigors of everyday carry as well as minor drops, bumps, and other typical range impacts. While the ROMEOZero Elite is an added investment, I feel like it is one that is far outclassed by the performance of the X-Macro. I would much rather instead mount something like an RMRcc on the Macro as the ROMEOZero Elite’s battery life in my experience is just too poor for me to want to keep it on the pistol. I had to replace my CR1632 battery three times during my review period and for the third time I have permanently decided to disable the circle dot feature as I feel like it’s negatively impacting the overall battery life.
Final Thoughts – Is It Worth the Investment?
The P365 X-Macro is sort of a weird but very well-performing EDC carry gun. While other companies in the micro-compact 9mm category have introduced their own variants of compensated higher capacity guns, the method to which SIG Sauer has approached it is quite unique and in some ways reduces the complexity of the idea and added an unprecedented level of capacity to the mix as well. I personally would prefer to not have this gun with the comped slide and I was pretty upfront about that during my first impressions with the pistol. Thankfully, SIG listened and has since released a new version that features everything the X-Macro normally comes with, sans the comped slide.
The P365 X-Macro is a hefty investment for an EDC handgun, probably one of the most expensive on the market. It’s likely not for those looking for something more affordable or with fewer features – some people don’t care about having a higher capacity or even an optics-ready handgun let alone one with an integrated compensator.
However, its odd combination of features and capacity makes it suitable for more than just EDC carry duty and I think someone who was wanting to explore more than just a crowded public indoor range and wanted to perhaps compete with their carry gun, could get a ton of mileage out of just this one purchase. While I’m not so impressed with the ROMEOZero Elite, the micro-sized red dot optic is insanely affordable and has shown itself to be reliable enough to withstand normal EDC duty without failing, if not just a tad bit annoying with its shorter battery life compared to other models of micro red dots.
I’d like to hear what you have to say about the P365 X-Macro pistol if you own one. Have your experiences with it been good or bad? Let me know in the comments, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time!
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