Why I now carry the SIG Sauer P320 Compact 9mm pistol

[Creedmoor]

I agree with this statement. If it’s got one you HAVE to train during the draw stroke to remove it. I have several 1911’s, I have a BHP and I love those old nostalgic pistols. IF I carry one of them, I carry Condition 0 when I get into a “YELLOW’ awareness situation.

The pistols I normally carry, I do not have an external manual safety on: Glock (few nowadays), Sig (P320 & P365 X MACRO TACOPS (more often than not), P80 PF940 V2 or CL, serialized frames, (95% of the time).
I prefer the grip angle of the P80 over both the Glock and the Sig but the Sig far and away above the Glock.
I have thousands of rounds through my P80’s and have drop tested all of my carry guns from 8ft onto hard carpeted floors. No issues to this point and I expect none either.

Because of my age and my Dad, I transitioned from S&W revolvers to a 1911 (which I detest) to the Glock 22 when son #2 hired on with the SD to what I carry today.
I am intimately involved in building my carry pistols too and I like that “closeness” to my self protection tools.
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This Jarhead will trust his life to lots of things brother, but a Holosun is not on that list.















Just kidding, Semper Fi. Merry Christmas

 

[Creedmoor]

I pull off my IWB holster with the pistol inside if I need to disarm while on the road (post office, etc). No reason to remove it from the holster.

I have shifted over to the shoot yourself Black-hawk through the belt model.
Its far easier just to remove the pistol for me with this holster.
When I carried a paddle I did the same.









In reality, I'm just biding my time before I shoot myself or others with either the 320 or the Black-hawk holster.

 

[92FSTech]

In regard to the manual safety discussion, DA/SA is my preferred solution. No levers that need to be actuated to bring the gun into action, a long enough initial trigger pull that you have to be pretty intentional about it, and a physical hammer that you can cover with your thumb while you re-holster. Additionally, you have to create the mechanical energy for that first shot by compressing the mainspring...it's not sitting there stored in the gun just waiting to be released.

I like the P320, and I'm comfortable and confident with it in the manner in which I carry it, but if I could only have one gun for everything it would be this one. It has an incredibly smooth and consistent DA pull and a sweet rolling break on the SA. It carries well and fits my hand like they designed it for me specifically.

 

[NHT3]

I'm genuinely curious about the details. Do you remember what the slide length was on the gun involved (full, carry/compact, or sub-compact)? Were the rear rails still engaged? Do you remember what direction you had to drive the slide to get it to re-engage the front frame rails? Looking at my carry model I'm just not able to figure out how that could have happened.

Full size I believe, I know it had an optic.. Rear rails were still engaged and as I remember we had to drive it forward which disengaged the slide completely and then reinstall the slide normally. We were both puzzled as to how it happened. I remember the slide stop appeared to be a MIM part, very tight grain in the metal. Obviously wear resistant but somewhat brittle.
It was at least 3 years ago or longer so my memory may be a little fuzzy.

 

[ditcherman]

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Glad to see you’re still here!
It was in reference to the gun handling techniques described - stuffing it between the seats, tossing it on the passenger seat…I thought you would be non-mildly against that. The first rule or the fourth one, I forget.

 

[Skip]

In regard to the manual safety discussion, DA/SA is my preferred solution. No levers that need to be actuated to bring the gun into action, a long enough initial trigger pull that you have to be pretty intentional about it, and a physical hammer that you can cover with your thumb while you re-holster. Additionally, you have to create the mechanical energy for that first shot by compressing the mainspring...it's not sitting there stored in the gun just waiting to be released.

I like the P320, and I'm comfortable and confident with it in the manner in which I carry it, but if I could only have one gun for everything it would be this one. It has an incredibly smooth and consistent DA pull and a sweet rolling break on the SA. It carries well and fits my hand like they designed it for me specifically.

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I’m not a fan of the DA/SA action but I did shoot it well when I carried a P226. No safety, decocker only. I understand your reasoning for the DA/SA action and hey, Ernest Langdon is a Marine so….
(From 2010. I’ve lost 70lbs since then..)

 

[Route 45]

Glad to see you’re still here!
It was in reference to the gun handling techniques described - stuffing it between the seats, tossing it on the passenger seat…I thought you would be non-mildly against that. The first rule or the fourth one, I forget.

Yeah, I blacked out when I read that. Sorry for the confusion.

What day is it?

 

[ditcherman]

Yeah, I blacked out when I read that. Sorry for the confusion.

What day is it?

Happy New Year!

 

[Creedmoor]

In regard to the manual safety discussion, DA/SA is my preferred solution. No levers that need to be actuated to bring the gun into action, a long enough initial trigger pull that you have to be pretty intentional about it, and a physical hammer that you can cover with your thumb while you re-holster. Additionally, you have to create the mechanical energy for that first shot by compressing the mainspring...it's not sitting there stored in the gun just waiting to be released.

I like the P320, and I'm comfortable and confident with it in the manner in which I carry it, but if I could only have one gun for everything it would be this one. It has an incredibly smooth and consistent DA pull and a sweet rolling break on the SA. It carries well and fits my hand like they designed it for me specifically.

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Yep, good post...

 

[92FSTech]

Full size as I believe, I know it had an optic.. Rear rails were still engaged and as I remember we had to drive it forward which disengaged the slide completely and then reinstall the slide normally. We were both puzzled as to how it happened. I remember the slide stop appeared to be a MIM part, very tight grain in the metal. Obviously wear resistant but somewhat brittle.
It was at least 3 years ago or longer so my memory may be a little fuzzy.

I took the slide off my full-size, and the slide rails do open up a bit towards the front, which is not the case on the compact/carry slide. There are a couple of relief cuts, but nowhere with an opening wide enough that the frame nubs should be able to pop out without permanently damaging either them or the slide. There have been a number of revisions of the 320 slides, though, so who knows if mine is the same as what you were dealing with.

 

[Amishman44]

No gun is, but does it have the same configuration as the full size? If so it has the same problems. There has been way too many misfires to ignore. Many agencies are dropping the platform some ranges have banned them and law suits are in motion. Pretty hard not to notice there is a problem.

Safety concerns, as well as the 'too vertical of a grip-angle', being two issues I have been unable to overcome (even though I did purchase a compact model and shot a few hundred rounds through it) has left me saying, "Thank you, but I'll pass on the 320."

 

[Creedmoor]

Safety concerns, as well as the 'too vertical of a grip-angle', being two issues I have been unable to overcome (even though I did purchase a compact model and shot a few hundred rounds through it) has left me saying, "Thank you, but I'll pass on the 320."

I feel the same with a compact glock, my first two shots and gonna end up in the groin of who I shoot if carrying the 19C or 23C I own. Plus I don't like the triggers. I'm a 226 guy, but after decades of carrying one, I just got tired of hauling it around. plastic just makes it easier.
Sig should come out with the 22 line with a plastic frame.

 

[Amishman44]

I feel the same with a compact glock, my first two shots and gonna end up in the groin of who I shoot if carrying the 19C or 23C I own. Plus I don't like the triggers. I'm a 226 guy, but after decades of carrying one, I just got tired of hauling it around. plastic just makes it easier.
Sig should come out with the 22 line with a plastic frame.

I'm the opposite, I prefer a Glock grip angle as I grew up shooting SA revolvers and am used to the more aggressive grip angle that the Glock platform offers. With the SIG 320, with a 'natural' grip hold / angle, I end up shooting into the dirt or the legs of the aggressor...due to the more vertical grip angle offered on the SIG.
Even with a 1911 (which are great shooting pistols) I have to slow down and be methodical for accurate shooting.
Good thing there's different options available for different shooters to choose from!

 

[Route 45]

Sig should come out with the 22 line with a plastic frame.

They did, sorta...

 

[Creedmoor]

I'm the opposite, I prefer a Glock grip angle as I grew up shooting SA revolvers and am used to the more aggressive grip angle that the Glock platform offers. With the SIG 320, with a 'natural' grip hold / angle, I end up shooting into the dirt or the legs of the aggressor...due to the more vertical grip angle offered on the SIG.
Even with a 1911 (which are great shooting pistols) I have to slow down and be methodical for accurate shooting.
Good thing there's different options available for different shooters to choose from!

I feel your pain..

 

[Creedmoor]

They did, sorta...

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Yea, I'm avoiding shops like Bass & Bucks with letting my son go in and pay the bill. I don't need to see that lineup.


Have you shot one yet?

 

[Route 45]

Yea, I'm avoiding shops like Bass & Bucks with letting my son go in and pay the bill. I don't need to see that lineup.


Have you shot one yet?

I had a 2340 years ago, which was basically the same thing in 40 S&W. Very nice shooter, but I got away from hammer fired guns and stuck with striker guns. DA/SA not really my cup of tea. I've only got one DA/SA pistol, a Beretta 92, mostly because I have a CX4 Storm carbine that takes 92 mags.

 

[Vanguard.45]

Lefty here too, and I do like the controls on the 320 which makes it one of the reasons I am using them for IDPA, but what do you think righties do on all of the guns?

I don't know how righties shoot most pistols with all of the levers and buttons on the left side of most pistols? Seems crowded over there!

 

[Creedmoor]

Probably more to do with laws relating to firearms and recalls than anything else. If I remember correctly firearms are pretty much exempted from a lot of consumer protection regulations. Therefore they can't be forced to do a recall like automobiles or other consumer products. There are reasons for this that are perfectly valid.

I believe Remington 700's were a voluntary as well, though they did call it a recall. Most of the time voluntary upgrade vs recall has more to do with admitting anything being wrong from a legal standpoint.

https://www.remarms.com/sites/default/files/Notification.pdf#

Mind you I am generally agreeing with you as pretty much every striker fired gun and plenty of non striker fired guns have had voluntary upgrades.

By and large the gun industry is self policing. Hence not many true recalls.
It does happen though, here's one from FN earlier this year.

FN ISSUES MANDATORY SAFETY RECALL OF ALL FN M249S® RIFLESFN America, LLC announces the mandatory recall of all FN M249S® semi-automatic, belt-fed rifles sold before January 1, 2022.

 

[Creedmoor]

That’s the first time I’ve seen you really spell your procedure out; safety on, reholster, safety off.

I was mistakingly thinking for many conversations here that you wouldn’t carry an un-safetied pistol.

In this thread, Post #87 and #131