P320 Subcompact 9mm range results and ammo selections. Pictorial review.

M

Mystro

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I spent all morning at my range shooting the crap out of my new P320 9mm subcompact. Since this is a polymer gun and robustness is a priority, I approached the first range trip to purposely see if I could sabotage it. I didnt clean it as I typically would so it went right out of the box dry to shooting.

I was also gonna throw all kinds of ammo from junk to premium at it to see what it would do. My first time ever shooting any P320 was at 10 yards with WWB. Recoil was a non issue and as soon as I held a more 6oclock aim (which I prefer) they all went right there. I was impressed with virgin out of the box accuracy for its first mag.


I then loaded the second mag up with Federal fmj and moved back to 20 yards. This gun puts them right in there. Recoil was non issue and it felt like I was shooting a LE duty pistol instead of a Subcompact. Even the second mag was surprisingly accurate right out of the gate...


I shot another 100 rounds of WWB and started to get the feel of the gun and was stacking rounds at 10 yards like a 1911. Trigger break is outstanding and reset is as good as you could ever ask for. Trigger weight is as light as I ever would want and I also carry a PPQ so its in that league. At this point I am very pleased so I grabbed some steel cased junk ammo and tried to get the gun to malfunction. I limp wristed it, I rode the slide like a rookie, shot with my left hand, etc.... I couldn't get the P320SC to jam or even be moderately inaccurate. The more I shot and the hotter the gun got the more I couldnt miss anything. I field stripped the gun down at around the 150 round mark and it was bone dry and dirty from the junk ammo. I put it back together and continued to test not cleaning it.

Next up was the premium and hotter +p ammo I like to carry in other guns. Hornady 135gr +p, Gold Dot 124 +p, Golden Saber 124+p.


Everything fed reliable and extracted all the brass in a nice neat pile regardless of ammo. Recoil was extremely mild even with the hot +p stuff. Significantly less than the S&W Shield this gun is replacing. Accuracy is stellar for a full size gun but exceptional for a subcompact, I would put it up against any full size. You dont feel like you have any disadvantage with the P320 9mm subcompact. Especially with 12+1 in a gun this size. Easily I would recommend it as a detectives gun or anyone's primary gun.


I expected alot from Sig being a hardcore Sig fan but was fully expecting to have to give the P320 a pass on feel and quality because it was a plastic gun but that is not the case. It will stand toe to toe with its legendary combat proven P series brothers. This P320 platform is gonna be a game changer and I would buy it even if it wasn't a modular platform. In my area, I have never seen local LE dept switch so fast to one platform of gun (P320) since Glock came on the scene. The P320 is gonna be huge. I am looking forward to shooting other calibers and variants of the P320.

Here is a few holsters I had on hand that fit the P320SC perfectly:
 
Does your 320 have the new out of battery disconnect?

The disconnect would be on the right side of the fire control module.

I have been looking to figure out the differences between the new module and the original.
 
As a SIG owner I’ll admit the P320 was never really on my radar, but your review makes me think maybe I should give it a look. Also, love the Emerson.
 
I really like my P320 Compact. It's never malfunctioned in 1k rds and having both the VP9 and the P320 now I honestly think the P320 has a better trigger, albeit a bit heavier. My P320 trigger comes in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. time and time again and hasn't changed over my ownership. I don't think the triggers on these break in from factory; they simply are what they are. That said the pre-travel, break, over-travel, and reset are dramatically different in feel, at least to me, than most of the striker fired pistols I have. It truly feels like a good SA trigger on a hammer fired gun.

What's sort of odd, however, is that I have no love for the pistol. It is neither visually appealing nor overly comfortable ergonomically (it's still very good, but not as comfortable to me as say an M&P). My biggest gripe would have to be the re-use of the P250 frame. There is no reason to force the hand that far down on the frame of a striker fired polymer pistol. Is it the end of the world? Not at all and I only find the bore axis slightly noticeable in shooting. However it's still the one element I would change if I could.
 
It looks modular, like the P250. Will other caliber fire control assemblies fit?
Click to expand...

You have it reverse. You take the fire control assembly and put it in other frames with different slides, barrels, and recoil springs. Theoretically you could buy one actual complete pistol, then just own a bunch of frames, slides, barrels, etc. and swap the fire control assembly as needed. The swapping is incredibly easy and relatively quick. However SIG still doesn't seem to have a good supply of extra frames and etc. out to the market yet. Also, the price of another frame and slide and barrel and recoil spring seems to fall close to $300. Certainly cheaper than a brand new gun, but idk if It's cheap enough for me personally to make me invest in such a thing.
 
Great review Mystro. :cool:

SIG sure seems to have hit it out of the ball park with the P320 line.

SIG apparently is already making inroads to the LEO market with the P320 and their amazing portfolio of weaponry these days.

I am sure I will be getting a P320 at some point in time.
 
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Great write-up & review Mystro! Not a 320, but I've got a compact and sub compact 250 on the way and I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on them and to the range. You keep posting results like you are getting, I might have to add a 320 in the my collection!
 
TunnelRat said:
You have it reverse. You take the fire control assembly and put it in other frames with different slides, barrels, and recoil springs. Theoretically you could buy one actual complete pistol, then just own a bunch of frames, slides, barrels, etc. and swap the fire control assembly as needed. The swapping is incredibly easy and relatively quick. However SIG still doesn't seem to have a good supply of extra frames and etc. out to the market yet. Also, the price of another frame and slide and barrel and recoil spring seems to fall close to $300. Certainly cheaper than a brand new gun, but idk if It's cheap enough for me personally to make me invest in such a thing.
Click to expand...
While I admit I want to get one just because I find the idea of a lego gun awesome, the primary beneficiaries to that would seem to be for law enforcement/military. For an individual, the added benefit of having an entire separate handgun makes it worth the extra couple hundred dollars versus just the frame. For an institution that has to replair & replace parts for dozens/hundreds/thousands of users, the cost savings would be tremendous.
 
For the military... Having the internal frame serialized and every other part changeable... It makes a lot of sense.

The internal frame is highly unlikely to be damaged and would last a long time.

You could keep the same serial number and rebuild the gun completely several times due to wear and tear.


I think the bore axis is a byproduct of the modular design and method they achieve it.

Shoots good though.


I want to get one of the new "carry" grip modules to use with my FS slide. A FS grip but shorter rail/dust cover would improve the pistol's looks IMO.
 
I think the PPQ has the better trigger.

The 320 shoots softer and has better texturing on the grip.

Both are comfortable in the hand, but in different ways.
 
Tell us about the trigger. How does it compare to a good P228 or P229 trigger?

I've always thought that a striker-fired SIG would be awesome....
 
Walt...

My 320 trigger feels similar to my 226 with SRT when in SA. There is similar amount of take up, a clean break with no noticeable creep, but the break is heavier at around 6.5lb and does have more overtravel than the 226.
 
Mystro - Great review and excellent photos - Thanks! I've bookmarked this for re-reading when I have some money for a new 9mm ... :( This is kind of a sidebar - sorry - but it looks like the fire control unit could/would provide some protection for a shooter's hand and trigger finger in case of a kaboom? This looks like another advantage for the P320...
 
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