Welcome back to another face-off review. This week, I wanted to take a look at some of the compensated pistol options on the market. Some of the most popular currently are the SIG Sauer P320 Spectre Comp and the PMM (Parker Mountain Machine) JTTC Dual Compensator. At the surface, both options look remarkably similar but when digging a bit deeper, the differences start to become apparent where a certain individual may prefer one system over another. Let’s take a closer look at the JTTC Dual Comp and SIG Spectre Comp.

The Rise of Compensated Pistols

In the past few years, the rise of aftermarket compensated pistols has exploded in popularity. This is especially true in the P320 line of pistols from SIG since they are modular making it easy to customize slides, barrels, and frames with aftermarket parts. PMM was one of the first to start offering new compensator and barrel combos as drop-in replacements to change how your P320 shoots and looks. Combine that with a longer full dust cover frame and you could have a seamless compensated pistol that looks factory new.

SIG also saw the potential of offering a factory-compensated pistol with the release of their P320 Spectre Comp line of pistols. If you missed the review of this pistol be sure to click the link here to check it out, but I will also be giving it a brief overview on here as well. Of course, there are countless other options for compensators on the market but these two are some of the most popular models available on the market today. Although both look similar, that’s where the similarities end and their design, function, and lock up are all different so let’s take a closer look at the PMM Dual Port Compensator first.

PMM JTTC Dual Compensator

The PMM JTTC Dual Port Compensator has been out now for a few years with both a single port and dual port compensator available on their website. Recently, PMM released their Tardigrade pistol which is a complete system with a slightly different compensator that’s been changed aesthetically but remains functionally the same as their dual port compensator. Now that it has been out for a few years PMM has options for sub-compact and compact slides offering various options if you already have a P320 and want to switch out various parts to build your very own one-off custom range gun. The beauty of the PMM barrel and compensator system is the fact you can switch out your barrel and add the compensator for $355 and you have a completely new setup.

The kit includes shims and a vice block so you don’t damage your new comp while installing it to your gun. Having shims to tighten down the compensator is a fairly straightforward system but can sometimes take a little trial and error to get the perfect setup where everything lines up. In my experience, the PMM compensators are great for people who have a stock P320 and want to switch frames to make a seamless P320 that shoots incredibly flat. With hotter 115gr ammo, the PMM comps really activate and you can tell there’s a measurable difference from shooting a stock pistol. When you start pushing into the 124 and 147gr it’s not as noticeable since the rounds aren’t as hot as the 115gr rounds.

SIG Spectre Comp

SIG dropped their Spectre Comp lineup of the P320s in March of 2022. Initially, these were offered with a TIN and black color pattern with their black-out option coming out later that same year. This was the first P320 offered from SIG with a factory barrel-mounted compensator. I had the opportunity to review the Spectre Comp and my initial impressions were positive with almost no break-in period required and a buttery smooth finish, it was a winner in my eyes.

Some of the positives were the screw locking mechanism SIG put on their compensator so it’s easy every time to have the compensator return to zero if you want to take it off for clearing. The entire gun being designed by SIG also allowed it to be styled more consistently across the gun giving it a more congruent look. For the full complete pistol, SIG has the Specte Comp P320 at $1,479.99 or you can pick up the complete compensated slide for $799.99.

Although it is more money than the PMM JTTC Comp, the Spectre Comp comes with an optics-ready slide with X-Ray3 night sights as standard as well. It may be twice the money as the PMM but certainly offers value for the price. One other difference from the PMM JTTC comp is the fact SIG made it a large single port compensator rather than PMM’s dual port compensator. This does affect the shooter’s feel on recoil when firing hot-loaded 115gr ammo but we will dive more into that shortly. If you’re looking for a factory-compensated pistol, The Spectre Comp P320 line is a great way to get into the market without having to buy any aftermarket parts.

Which One Is Best?

Between the two options, I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me what my favorite system is. That’s a tricky question to answer and it depends on your budget and what you want to do with it.  The PMM JTTC line of compensators is the cheapest option to make your regular P320 into a range-built compensated machine. If you’re confident when it comes to installing shims, the installation process really isn’t all that difficult and the ability to throw on a compensator to your existing slide really does make a difference. I fully understand people out there don’t have a ton of extra cash for gun parts.

If you have a budget where every single dollar matters, the JTTC Dual Comp is certainly the best bang for your buck since it is essentially what is required to turn your pistol into a compensated model from the standard stock variation. If you have more of a budget and can afford it, the SIG Sauer P320 Spectre Comp slide only or complete pistol really is the most value for money even though it is more expensive. The slide does come in at over twice the price at $799.99 but this also includes the internals, and an optics cut. SIG is also offering these complete slides in black and gold, black only, or all FDE options allowing you to have whatever color variation you want. I prefer the mounting system with the set screws as well since it’s easier to take the compensator off for general cleaning.

Performance Differences

When it comes to shooting the two P320s side by side, they are almost identical with 124gr and 147gr ammo. With standard power 115gr, there is slightly less felt recoil and muzzle rise with the PMM Dual Port compensator than SIG’s Spectre Comp. It’s a very slight difference but shooting roughly 200 rounds through both side by side, there’s slightly less muzzle rise out of the PMM Comp with regular 115gr American Eagle ammunition.

When we bump up to the 115gr +P HST rounds from Federal, the JTTC Comp does have less muzzle rise due to its dual-port design over the single port from SIG. This is expected since there’s more opening to allow expanding gas to escape. Between the two options, I would still prefer the SIG option due to its overall value for the price and ease of use when it comes to cleaning. Both options are fantastic and there’s certainly a market for both products. If you’re looking for a well-built high-end compensated P320, the PMM Tardigrade is also a fantastic option!

Overall Thoughts

The amount of choices on the market now for compensators is mind-boggling, to say the least. The amount of after-market support for the P320 is starting to reach the level of Glock pistols and this is a definite plus for consumers when it comes to parts availability and options. The best part of having so many options for a particular model of handgun is the fact it offers a wide variety of aftermarket parts for a range of prices.

Either of these options is a great choice but if I could have any of them I would probably go with the Spectre Comp slide or complete setup since it’s overall the most enjoyable gun to shoot but the PMM offers a fantastic way to build out your custom range pistol. Do you guys have any experience with either setup? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. If you have questions about these compensated pistols or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you in the next one.