Page 1 of 21 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 207

Thread: Why P320 is so popular outside of pistol-forum

  1. #1
    Member zaitcev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Austin, Texas, U.S.A.

    Why P320 is so popular outside of pistol-forum

    Now that we had a few massive hate fests in this forum, such as "Would you trust P320", how about we reconcile with the fact that civilians love them some P320?

    I'm just back from a pistol class where I ran P320 Full Size. I only have that gun because the front strap of G19 cuts painfully into my fingers as I start to apply the grip. The cross-section of the grip on my P320 is more round at the front, so it does not hurt no matter how tight I grasp it. Before getting it, I considered putting a good bead of JB Weld on the front strap of my G19, then filing it into a desirable shape, but I decided that I wasn't handy enough to make that project a success. I fired a bit north of 1300 rounds in the class, and dry-fired perhaps a third of a half of that amount, and my fingers are fine.

    But another thing I noticed is the invasion of P320 of various kinds among the students. Most still have Glocks, but I'd say P320 is at least a quarter. It wasn't like that just a year ago. Well, I had a Glock back then too.

    I overheard other students discussing this and the ergonomics was the main topic. Glock users had calluses and tender spots. One guy's fingers were in band-aids all over. Another one reported to class on the second day wearing gloves. SIG users were feeling smug, I'm sure. The second topic was the complaints about the price of SIG magazines. I brought ETS magazines to the class, but to the disappointment of many, they aren't drop-free in my gun. Nobody seemed to care much about the difference in the trigger feel.

    I didn't see any malfunctions aside from one Glock user having light strikes, but it was cured by a change in ammunition. Well, 1300 rounds per gun is not much. But it is safe to consider P320 reliable enough for civilian use.

    I'm afraid P320 is here to stay. Even if nothing else, adoption by Army is going to see to that.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    TEXAS !
    Taurus is here to say too.

    The P320’s adoption by the army guarantees it will sell. But who is it selling to ?

    Furthermore, you are in Texas and the P320 is the current issue gun of the Dps.. Many local law-enforcement agencies and civilian shooters in Texas follow the lead of the DPS. This will guarantee regional popularity.

    My own agency issues a unique SKU version of the P320. Here is where I have an issue with SIG. The government contract P320’s I have seen I’ve been extremely reliable. Unfortunately I am not seeing that in commercial guns, both my own and guns run by competent shooters in local match Circles.

    That tells me the P320 design is fine but SIG only ensures it is properly executed when compelled to do so. If you think about it, putting morals and ethics aside, why should they when they will still sell every P320 they make?

    We have seen the same two-tiered quality control system before, most notably in law enforcement and government contract RRA and bushmaster rifles vs the same companies commercial guns.

    I’ve been an agency and factory trained armorer for several different guns over the years. I have taken SIGs P320 Armorers class. Seeing the small complex parts inside the FCU did not inspire my confidence but they have survived realistic testing.

    Ultimately, the issues with the P320 are “SIG” problems, not “P320” problems.

    All of this is why I still carry a personal Glock vs a agency SIG despite shooting the SIG as well or better than the Glock.

    PS- On the subject of ergonomics, SIG s has still failed to make sizes small and large Xgrip frames available. A modular done without modularity is a problem. Myself and several of the better shooters in my agency, or at least in my office have experienced issues with high grip resulting in unintentional activation of the slide catch in the middle of a string of fire. In fairness this has only occurred with the size medium carry grip, it has not occurred with the standard 320 grip but it has occurred on several occasions with several skilled shooters. The slide not locking back on the last shot is one thing, but a self-induced stoppage in the middle of a string of fire is unacceptable.
    Last edited by HCM; 02-11-2020 at 12:12 AM.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    TEXAS !
    Are you running the stock recall spring in your full-size P320?

    My experience with the full-size slide is that it is over sprung and tends to dip when recovering from recoil. For a civilian shooter this is easily fixed with a lighter sprain but for a work done where that is not an option I much prefer the Carry version.

  4. #4
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Texas
    I shoot dirt clods, rocks, and stumps with my trusty handgun. For many years I popped these targets with a 1st generation S&W Model 39 made in 1956. My daddy traded a man two hogs and a gun shy bird dog for it. The hogs were wormy, and the dog would point turtles but not quail. My M-39 performed flawlessly as it consumed case after case of corrosive WW2 European surplus ammo. I loved this pistol. Mine was perfect but many others in the series had terrible performance records. Smith finally got this platform to work after tweaking it for 40 years, but then it was too late.

    PF persons, who object to using Sig's, don't trust the company. The company has demonstrated suspect ethics. Those not trusting companies usually don't trust their products. Many can point to examples of defective Sig products and can connect the products to faulty policy. Here many have made a good case against Sig. The forum has a large number of members who carry guns for a living. I am a civilian who carries a handgun and usually base my choices on what PF professionals recommend. I do not subscribe to the idea that a brand might be good enough for a civilian to carry.

    Your Sig will most likely serve you well. I urge you to buy a second one so you can practice with one and carry the other.

  5. #5
    I just bought my first P320 this month. It is fine and hasn't done anything lame yet. I like it. I can see it being mainstream popular because of the modular design. By that, I don't mean that most people will actually change calibers, barrel length, and grip length for specific reasons. Mostly, they will just feel confident in stippling their grips with a soldering iron or painting patterns on it because they can just swap it out to look brand new for about 40 bucks if they don't like their mods anymore.

    I'm a low volume shooter compared to most members here. I shot about 4-5K rounds from my pistols last year. Some of you I am sure do that in a month or two. Most gun owners spend much less time at the range than even I do. Let's face it, most people don't shoot more than a case a year. They just want to have cool looking stuff that looks military or pro competition shooter approved. Then they want to spend hours customizing it with paint jobs and stippling so they can admire how pro it looks. It's probably just like any other hobby. For example, when I rode road bikes, I wanted to have a cool carbon fiber bike with nice components that looked like pro racing stuff. I'm not a sponsored rider. I'm just a fat slow guy who wants to have cool looking stuff.

    Also, Sig is still perceived as a luxury brand by most gun owners.
    Last edited by FreedomFries; 02-11-2020 at 12:47 AM.

  6. #6
    A couple friends of mine, who I highly regard, have jumped to the SIG P320. I’ve fired a couple, and I wasn’t particularly wowed, but I think they certainly offer some interesting options, and some very competent and intelligent people have made the switch. Not sure why there’s so much controversy over them. It’s not like ANY mechanical device is perfect, or will satisfy everyone.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by HCM View Post
    Taurus is here to say too.

    The P320’s adoption by the army guarantees it will sell. But who is it selling to ?

    Furthermore, you are in Texas and the P320 is the current issue gun of the Dps.. Many local law-enforcement agencies and civilian shooters in Texas follow the lead of the DPS. This will guarantee regional popularity.

    My own agency issues a unique SKU version of the P320. Here is where I have an issue with SIG. The government contract P320’s I have seen I’ve been extremely reliable. Unfortunately I am not seeing that in commercial guns, both my own and guns run by competent shooters in local match Circles.

    That tells me the P320 design is fine but SIG only ensures it is properly executed when compelled to do so. If you think about it, putting morals and ethics aside, why should they when they will still sell every P320 they make?

    We have seen the same two-tiered quality control system before, most notably in law enforcement and government contract RRA and bushmaster rifles vs the same companies commercial guns.

    I’ve been an agency and factory trained armorer for several different guns over the years. I have taken SIGs P320 Armorers class. Seeing the small complex parts inside the FCU did not inspire my confidence but they have survived realistic testing.

    Ultimately, the issues with the P320 are “SIG” problems, not “P320” problems.

    All of this is why I still carry a personal Glock vs a agency SIG despite shooting the SIG as well or better than the Glock.

    PS- On the subject of ergonomics, SIG s has still failed to make sizes small and large Xgrip frames available. A modular done without modularity is a problem. Myself and several of the better shooters in my agency, or at least in my office have experienced issues with high grip resulting in unintentional activation of the slide catch in the middle of a string of fire. In fairness this has only occurred with the size medium carry grip, it has not occurred with the standard 320 grip but it has occurred on several occasions with several skilled shooters. The slide not locking back on the last shot is one thing, but a self-induced stoppage in the middle of a string of fire is unacceptable.
    I have this issue consistently with the x compact as the slide release is in an even worse position than the carry. Waiting for a grip module that has that area built up more other than the standard one. Wondering what the Wilson combat module does to help.

  8. #8
    Member zaitcev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
    I am intrigued by the Wilson Combad grip module, because I would prefer a straight grip. That said, my fingers do not hurt with the stock P320, and I'm not at the level where the presence or absence of palm swell makes an impact on the score, so the $65 would be wasted.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    TEXAS !
    Quote Originally Posted by tlong17I View Post
    I have this issue consistently with the x compact as the slide release is in an even worse position than the carry. Waiting for a grip module that has that area built up more other than the standard one. Wondering what the Wilson combat module does to help.
    The Wilson is interesting but not something we would be able to use at work.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by zaitcev View Post
    SIG users were feeling smug, I'm sure.
    It's sad and pathetic that you and your smug fanbois give 2 shits about what anyone else is shooting in a class. Did you feel equally smug when you drove by a broken down Honda Civic in your Toyota Corolla? That's all these guns are, just econo duty guns squirted in molds. They're all the same. You're not special because you chose one over the other.

    Here's a story about you and your eye rolling buddies.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/287794
    Last edited by HopetonBrown; 02-11-2020 at 02:42 AM.

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •