Again: The 320 is being marketed aggressively, especially to institutional users. Sig is following Glock's old business model for marketshare.
The 320 has been through some rigorous testing...where it had significant issues. The FBI contract is likely the largest. All the scuttlebutt I heard coming out of the FBI on that was highly favorable until all of a sudden it wasn't due to serious issues that arose in testing and viola: The Gen5 Glock got the win.
It's worth noting that the FBI, the USSS, and the CBP awards were made after some pretty thorough testing...and all went to Glock.
The 320 has some significant potential advantages over Glock. An entire industry of reworking Glock grips hasn't materialized for no reason. The Glock is an ergonomic nightmare for most people's hands. The Sig's use of an easily replaceable frame that a fire control chassis slips into is brilliant. It's the execution of it that leaves much to be desired, and that's where Sig has been for a number of years. They've been willing to innovate but did so with significant problems in delivering on the final product.
The S&W M&P is a superb design that had serious problems from the jump because of S&W's troubles delivering a proper end result. It took them until version 2.0 to address serious issues like the inconsistent lockup problem. Had they fixed that up front and not had a number of other problems along the way, who knows where the M&P might be right now.
3/15/2016
I have a p320 variant and the Wilson Combat grip module and a flat face trigger renewed my interest in it. The fcu concept allows the user to significantly change the feel of the gun without permanent mods or going through an ffl. It is definitely debatable how big a deal that is, and I definitely understand just having another firearm instead of switching things around. What about the fcu makes it to where you can serialize it as the “gun” and would there be a way for Glock to do that and maintain their simplicity? I would love to be able to drop a Glock fcu into various aftermarket modules without having to go the p80 route or buy other serialized parts.
I've never gotten the impression that anyone at PF gives a shit about being "cool" - certainly I don't, that's why I like it here.
I think we joined around the same time and while I've noticed plenty of new faces I still see "shoot more, buy less" as the answer to most questions, which tells me we're still culturally pretty sound. I'm certainly a better shooter because of PF.
I'm responding to this mainly because I've been pretty vocally one of the anti-Sigs here, but I'm certainly not thoughtless or hive-mind about it. I enthusiastically endorse the SP2022 still, and if the QC issues ever smooth out I want an M18.
State Government Attorney | Beretta, Glock, CZ & S&W Fan
If a hammer-fired P320 Compact were all you wanted, it would be very simple to make one, just expensive. Buy a few P250 parts, buy a MUP-1 fixture, use the fixture to drill a couple of holes, swap the P250 parts into your Compact and voila: you have a hammer-fired P320 Compact. In fact, the extra holes do not prevent you going back to striker if you want. But I suspect that you actually want a DA/SA P320 Compact instead. The latter is impossible unfortunately.
Mike Glover, retired special forces, seems VERY impressed with his new Sig P320. This guy has seen more combat than we can imagine, is an instructor today, and incredibly humble.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
The 320 becomes more and more popular in USPSA carry optics and production every passing month. They (we) shoot A LOT as a general rule. Probably more than most tac timmies, I would bet.
Most people don't worry about the "reputation" of the company that made their pistol because it's irrelevant if theirs runs. They're not interested in virtue signaling or tilting at windmills.
FTR, I neither have nor want a 320. I shot one once and it sucked.