P320 compact slide on subcompact frame?

O

OhioGuy

New member
I was in a local gun store looking at P320s. I'm interested in the RX model for range and eventual competition use, but I may also want to have a subcompact so I can carry the same gun I shoot at other times (same trigger, etc. so all my training is consistent). The guy there illustrated that he could pull the slide off the compact model (3.9" barrel I think) and put it directly onto the frame of the subcompact model (3.4" barrel I think). It fit and seemed to cycle correctly by hand.

The slide protruded beyond the frame by maybe 0.5", but the end of the slide is kind of encased in metal, so there's no gap. The only gap was a tiny sliver between the frame and the slide where the recoil spring was barely visible if you really looked for it.

So my question: is this guy making stuff up, or is this a legitimate option? Cuz if it's legit, I could swap the slide directly onto the smallest frame, and other than about 0.5" of length (which doesn't affect concealment) I'd have an optic-equipped carry gun for only the extra $50 of the additional frame.

I took a photo of what this looks like, but can't figure out how to get photos uploaded in this forum....
 
Yes, a Compact slide will work fine on a Subcompact grip module. Many owners like that combination because the shorter grip conceals more easily while the longer slide offers a better sight radius. Many owners also carry 15-round Compact magazines with grip adapters as backups to the 12-round Subcompact magazine in the gun.
 
Bought my wife a P320..... definitely need to understand all these configuration options better.

Anyone have a link to a useful source... besides the Sig site?
 
All slide sizes work/fit on one size grip smaller.

Full slide fits full and compact grip. Compact slide fits compact and subcompact. (full fits sub grip but you see recoil spring)

The cost of a new Xchane slide/barrel is about the cost of a new gun-pointless.

That's it.
 
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wild cat mccane said:
All slide sizes work/fit on one size frame smaller.

That's it.



The cost of a new Xchane slide/barrel is about the cost of a new gun-pointless.
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First off that's not true for the 45 ACP, that's the only one that doesn't work for the others.

And not quite. You can find the exchange kits for usually around $300-$350. Whether that's close enough to the $500 of a new gun is up to the consumer.


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Sorry-recalling when the P320 was $400 and still no one bought them :)

Yes, Sig lied about the 45 being compatible.

And the S, M, and L grip size and color availability continues to be a problem.
 
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If I put a compact slide on a subcompact frame, will the result still fit either holster? Presumably any kydex holster will be designed either for one standard size or the other?
 
I don't remember the P320 ever being $400. The P250 maybe was and the SP2022 was for a while, but having owned them on and off since the beginning they were almost always $500 and up. At the start they were even closer to $600.

None of this takes away from your point though that the kits aren't a great deal. And with the military contract I expect frames and the kits to be even more scarce.


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It was. I remember almost buying the Full slide Compact grip for $410 when it first came out as a "specialty" run. The P320s went to $400 after they first came out. Purchasing was low.

I admit, I'm going off a bit hot. I think there are better options.

Still would take the full slide on a compact, but it would have to be lower than the $380 PPQ which is better.
 
From what I gathered today, if you buy one size, you can put that slide and trigger unit into the next slide down for just the cost of the replacement grip, without the cost of a full conversion kit. That would be quite cost effective. Assuming holsters will fit your Frankenstein hybrid P320 :)
 
The heart of the 320 is the fire control unit. It is somewhat caliber specific in that sig won't support a 9/40/357sig fcu with a 45 grip and slide. But if you stay within the 9/357/40 family it is interchangeable between grip sizes, barrels and slides (conversion kits). The conversion kits generally run about $300 or so. Grips are about $40 and you can easily swap between sub,compact,carry/full and small/med/large. The pistol comes with a medium size grip (the sub may come w a small grip). The sig forum has tons of info, including some who have tried a 9mm fcu with 45 and it worked but no guarantees.

Hope this helps.
 
It was. I remember almost buying the Full slide Compact grip for $410 when it first came out as a "specialty" run. The P320s went to $400 after they first came out. Purchasing was low.
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Looking back I do see that deal now on slickguns.com around two years ago. I see the occasional deal online still for $450 or so. For some reason locally they have never come down that much, which is weird because this is NH. Best I find them for around here in stores is $500 without the night sights, $580 with.

Edit: Just noticed we joined the forum on the same day :cool:
 
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OhioGuy said:
From what I gathered today, if you buy one size, you can put that slide and trigger unit into the next slide down for just the cost of the replacement grip, without the cost of a full conversion kit. That would be quite cost effective. Assuming holsters will fit your Frankenstein hybrid P320 :)
Click to expand...

You can readily move one size down by only buying a smaller grip module. Then, you can either buy a smaller magazine to match the new grip module or use the magazine that matches the slide with a grip adapter. So you can effectively have a different size gun for $40-$80.

OhioGuy said:
If I put a compact slide on a subcompact frame, will the result still fit either holster? Presumably any kydex holster will be designed either for one standard size or the other?
Click to expand...

Compact grip modules have a rail and a squared/hooked trigger guard. Subcompact grip modules have a rounded trigger guard; the Small size has no rail while the Medium size does have a rail.

Holster fit between the Compact and Subcompact sizes could be problematic in kydex or other polymer holsters unless the holster was specifically designed to accommodate both squared and rounded trigger guards. My Subcompact grip module does not lock tightly into my kydex holster designed for a Compact grip module. I have a leather holster that works well with both the Compact and Subcompact grip modules.
 
another ding for me but also interesting...

Every other polymer gun manufacture now comes with interchangeable back straps. Even the FCU changing Beretta APX has three backstraps in its box. The P320 comes with a medium grip only.

The P320 might be better in concept (not in reality for me-too oval shaped) because its size changes are total circumference. What kills it is they are $40 and unicorn ware-certainly in person.

2+yrs ago it was GunWatcher.com that was ruling the aggregating gun web.
Slickguns didn't and still doesn't pick up a lot of Kygunco or gunbuyer emailed deals. Gunbuyer continues to have different prices based on how you enter the product's url.

I have an email from gunbuyer for the compact P320 9mm at 420 in 2015.
 
Gunbuyer themselves posts deals to slickguns.com these days. They've been doing it pretty regularly for the Walther PPQ, especially with the rebates. It might not pick up those deals directly from the website but a lot of online retailers are posting the deals themselves now. Kygunco is another story though. I subscribe to them through their email newsletter. I find that their deals sell out quickly though, often because they're quite good and kygunco seems to have CZs when others don't.

If you prefer a different aggregator that's certainly fine. I just used it to look up some pricing information not really argue that it's the penultimate website.

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