Sig Sauer P320 Carry Review and Dirt Test [2019]
Before and after testing.
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
The Sig Sauer P320 is absolutely a member of the pistol aristocracy, but this is actually a disappointment, because it could have been the king. As it is, the P320 is just another strong competitor in a market already drowning in strong competitors.
The P320 is accurate, reliable in the dirt, and has a good trigger, but it doesn't shoot steel-cased ammo: our P320 choked hard on 2 out of 3 brands of steel-cased ammo we tested. That’s a dealbreaker for many shooters since some P320 competitors *cough, Glock, cough* can eat steel-cased for lunch and smile.
The P320’s removable fire control group (FCG) allows a single P320 transform from full size to subcompact with no paperwork, which is pretty cool on paper, but in reality once you buy a new grip ($45), barreled slide ($300), and two magazines ($35 each) to accommodate a new size of P320, and you just spent $415 which is more than the price of an entire new pistol from several competent competitors.
The final hit to the P320 started as its greatest strength – it won the MHS competition to become the Army’s new sidearm. However, a spate of accidental discharges in 2017 and 2018 resulted in internal design changes including a low-mass trigger, sear, and striker, as well as the addition of a trigger disconnector. Our dirt testing proved the new internals don’t stop the P320 from being a powerhouse in the dirt, but it still couldn’t unseat a Gen 4 Glock we tested at the same time – maybe if the Sig had its original internals, it would have.
The P320 is a very nice gun, but it's unusually expensive to purchase and own, and it doesn't shoot steel-cased ammo. Those are red flags for many shooters, so while it is a good gun, it's not ideal for everyone.
The P320 is accurate, reliable in the dirt, and has a good trigger, but it doesn't shoot steel-cased ammo: our P320 choked hard on 2 out of 3 brands of steel-cased ammo we tested. That’s a dealbreaker for many shooters since some P320 competitors *cough, Glock, cough* can eat steel-cased for lunch and smile.
The P320’s removable fire control group (FCG) allows a single P320 transform from full size to subcompact with no paperwork, which is pretty cool on paper, but in reality once you buy a new grip ($45), barreled slide ($300), and two magazines ($35 each) to accommodate a new size of P320, and you just spent $415 which is more than the price of an entire new pistol from several competent competitors.
The final hit to the P320 started as its greatest strength – it won the MHS competition to become the Army’s new sidearm. However, a spate of accidental discharges in 2017 and 2018 resulted in internal design changes including a low-mass trigger, sear, and striker, as well as the addition of a trigger disconnector. Our dirt testing proved the new internals don’t stop the P320 from being a powerhouse in the dirt, but it still couldn’t unseat a Gen 4 Glock we tested at the same time – maybe if the Sig had its original internals, it would have.
The P320 is a very nice gun, but it's unusually expensive to purchase and own, and it doesn't shoot steel-cased ammo. Those are red flags for many shooters, so while it is a good gun, it's not ideal for everyone.
Review Contents
This review is organized as shown below. You can read the whole thing, or click on the below links to jump to the section that’s most interesting to you.
- P320 Carry Overview and the P320 Pistol Lineup
- In the shop:
- P320 Carry Overview and the P320 Pistol Lineup
- In the shop:
- Tabletop Handling Observations
- Internals
- User Interface (Trigger, Sights, Magazines, Grip, and Other Controls)
The P320 is a simple idea: take Sig Sauer's hammer-fired P250, then just swap out the gubbins in the slide to make it striker-fired instead. Like it or not, the handgun market continues to swing harder and harder toward striker-fired guns, so the P320 was Sig's seemingly fool-proof effort to jump on the bandwagon. The P250 has been around since 2007 so with more than a decade of manufacturing legacy behind it, all Sig needed to do was avoid goofing up the striker design too horrendously, and the new P320 would be just as reliable, accurate, and durable as the well-regarded P250.
Now, depending on who you ask, Sig either did or didn't do just that: goof up the striker mechanism.
The new P320 had a good trigger, the biggest concern when switching from a hammer to a striker, and it retained all the reliability, accuracy, and durability of the P250. Job well done, right? The US Army seemed to think so, and adopted the Sig P320 as their new standard sidearm. Police departments and many, many civilian shooters followed, and the P320 was a hit showing very strong sales and gaining a reputation as an expensive but well-made lead slinger.
However, you could also argue that Sig goofed up the striker mechanism in the single most important way possible: safety. In 2017 and 2018, it was proven that the P320 would accidentally discharge a round if it was dropped, loaded, onto hard ground and landed in a specific orientation. And we don't mean once under a blue moon and a black sky - drop the gun in this way, and it would go off pretty consistently: see demonstrations here and here.
Now, whether or not this made the P320 "AN UNSAFE GUN" is up for debate. Not only did Sig implement the Voluntary Upgrade Program (VUP) to fix this issue, the gun still passed a number of rigorous safety tests prior to the VUP. It should be noted that it's possible many other pistols have such defects, but they are never noticed: if there are 500,000 of a particular gun in circulation, its likely that safety problems will be found, whereas if that same gun only sold 5,000 units then its safety issues might never be known since the guns just aren't being handled as often, by as many people.
All new-in-box P320s come with two magazines and a bare-bones plastic holster inside a plastic case. The plastic holster is actually a good value-add - it's not what you want for duty use, but if you just want to get your new P320 to the range for some practice while you decide on which holster is right for you, it's perfect.
Factory refurbished P320s pop up occasionally on the market, and these models come in an easily identifiable red cardboard box. Refurbished P320s include two magazines, but generally do not come with the plastic holster.
The P320 model range runs the typical gamut for a big-name pistol: the P320 Full-size mates a 4.7" barrel to a full-size grip with 5 under-barrel Picatinny slots that end flush with the muzzle.
Going down in size is the P320 Carry, which keeps the full-size grip but drops the Picatinny rail length down to three slots to match a compact 3.9" barrel. This combination of compact barrel and full-size grip puts the P320 Carry right in line to compete with the Glock G19X, Steyr M9, and a few other pistols that share this increasingly popular "full size compact" size class.
Another step down is the P320 Compact, a true compact with 3.9" barrel and a shortened grip that only accommodates 15 rounds instead of 17.
One more rung down the ladder is the P320 Subcompact, a 3.6" barrel on a mini-size grip that only holds 12 rounds. However, as of Q3 2019, the subcompact P320 no longer appears on Sig Sauer's website, although magazines and parts for it are still available. This may mean that Sig dropped the P320 subcompact completely, possibly to protect sales of their P365 subcompact pistol.
Now, depending on who you ask, Sig either did or didn't do just that: goof up the striker mechanism.
The new P320 had a good trigger, the biggest concern when switching from a hammer to a striker, and it retained all the reliability, accuracy, and durability of the P250. Job well done, right? The US Army seemed to think so, and adopted the Sig P320 as their new standard sidearm. Police departments and many, many civilian shooters followed, and the P320 was a hit showing very strong sales and gaining a reputation as an expensive but well-made lead slinger.
However, you could also argue that Sig goofed up the striker mechanism in the single most important way possible: safety. In 2017 and 2018, it was proven that the P320 would accidentally discharge a round if it was dropped, loaded, onto hard ground and landed in a specific orientation. And we don't mean once under a blue moon and a black sky - drop the gun in this way, and it would go off pretty consistently: see demonstrations here and here.
Now, whether or not this made the P320 "AN UNSAFE GUN" is up for debate. Not only did Sig implement the Voluntary Upgrade Program (VUP) to fix this issue, the gun still passed a number of rigorous safety tests prior to the VUP. It should be noted that it's possible many other pistols have such defects, but they are never noticed: if there are 500,000 of a particular gun in circulation, its likely that safety problems will be found, whereas if that same gun only sold 5,000 units then its safety issues might never be known since the guns just aren't being handled as often, by as many people.
All new-in-box P320s come with two magazines and a bare-bones plastic holster inside a plastic case. The plastic holster is actually a good value-add - it's not what you want for duty use, but if you just want to get your new P320 to the range for some practice while you decide on which holster is right for you, it's perfect.
Factory refurbished P320s pop up occasionally on the market, and these models come in an easily identifiable red cardboard box. Refurbished P320s include two magazines, but generally do not come with the plastic holster.
The P320 model range runs the typical gamut for a big-name pistol: the P320 Full-size mates a 4.7" barrel to a full-size grip with 5 under-barrel Picatinny slots that end flush with the muzzle.
Going down in size is the P320 Carry, which keeps the full-size grip but drops the Picatinny rail length down to three slots to match a compact 3.9" barrel. This combination of compact barrel and full-size grip puts the P320 Carry right in line to compete with the Glock G19X, Steyr M9, and a few other pistols that share this increasingly popular "full size compact" size class.
Another step down is the P320 Compact, a true compact with 3.9" barrel and a shortened grip that only accommodates 15 rounds instead of 17.
One more rung down the ladder is the P320 Subcompact, a 3.6" barrel on a mini-size grip that only holds 12 rounds. However, as of Q3 2019, the subcompact P320 no longer appears on Sig Sauer's website, although magazines and parts for it are still available. This may mean that Sig dropped the P320 subcompact completely, possibly to protect sales of their P365 subcompact pistol.
Our Bore Axis Comparison article shows that the P320 has the highest bore axis of any striker-fired gun we have measured, unsurprising since the top end was originally for a hammer-fired P250. However, the high bore axis makes for a tall, meaty slide that is difficult to mishandle during racking, and when we compared the recoil to a Glock 17 Gen 4 fired at the same time (the Glock's bore axis is substantially lower) the Glock's recoil was only marginally softer.
The P320's magazine release is easily accessible without shifting the firing grip, although some shooters may regard this as a flaw rather than a feature since it increases the risk of an accidental magazine drop. Some P320 competitors, such as Glocks, are built such that most hand shapes will have difficulty hitting the magazine release without shifting from the firing grip slightly (or buying an extended magazine release).
The P320's grip is pleasant, with a more 1911-esque grip angle than guns like Glocks or Steyrs. Grip texturing is unobtrusive and seemed effective in the wet portion of the dirt test (more on that later).
Standard Picatinny slots sit under the barrel, and like other polymer-frame striker guns, the P320 carry weighs in at around 1.5 lb unloaded - 24.0 oz to be exact.
The P320's magazine release is easily accessible without shifting the firing grip, although some shooters may regard this as a flaw rather than a feature since it increases the risk of an accidental magazine drop. Some P320 competitors, such as Glocks, are built such that most hand shapes will have difficulty hitting the magazine release without shifting from the firing grip slightly (or buying an extended magazine release).
The P320's grip is pleasant, with a more 1911-esque grip angle than guns like Glocks or Steyrs. Grip texturing is unobtrusive and seemed effective in the wet portion of the dirt test (more on that later).
Standard Picatinny slots sit under the barrel, and like other polymer-frame striker guns, the P320 carry weighs in at around 1.5 lb unloaded - 24.0 oz to be exact.
Shown with a Carry grip module in black and a Subcompact grip module in FDE.
Inside, the P320 is an unsurprising tilting-barrel action that locks to the ejection port - standard fare since the 1980s for good reason, and a design that Sig actually gets credit for popularizing with the P226. Conventional rifling is used over polygonal rifling in traditional Sig fashion.
The recoil assembly is a dual-spring design with the primary action spring made from flatwire, not standard round spring stock, which is a nice touch. Said recoil spring hugs a full-length guide rod. The P320 Carry's recoil springs are on the soft side – if the gun is dirty and you point it upward so gravity is pulling on the slide, then rack and ride the slide forward slowly, it will only go about 95% into battery. It will click to 100% once you point the gun level, as it would be in normal firing, but the spring is right on the edge of not being stiff enough to accommodate a dirty gun.
This is a uncommon but not unheard-of quirk present in some striker-fired guns. On the closing stroke, the recoil spring of a striker gun is typically responsible for cocking the striker as well as stripping a round from the magazine and achieving full battery. In a hammer gun, the cocking happens on the opening stroke, so there is less work for the slide to do and it just strips a new round from the magazine and coasts forward to battery under spring pressure. All that said, we still found the P320 Carry to be extremely reliable in the Dirt Test, and its ammunition sensitivity had to do with failure to extract, not failing to achieve battery, so the 'softish' recoil spring wound up being nothing more than a curiosity.
Non-reciprocating mass (frame and full-length guide rod assembly) is unsurprising at 8.7 oz, typical for a polymer-framed full-size handgun. Reciprocating mass (slide assembly) is surprisingly good at 15.3 oz, especially considering the P320's high bore axis. For comparison, that's almost the exact same reciprocating mass as the amazingly svelte and low bore axis Steyr M9A1, while the boxy Glock 17's slide has a reciprocating mass of 16.8 oz even though its slide is only about 0.5" longer.
The recoil assembly is a dual-spring design with the primary action spring made from flatwire, not standard round spring stock, which is a nice touch. Said recoil spring hugs a full-length guide rod. The P320 Carry's recoil springs are on the soft side – if the gun is dirty and you point it upward so gravity is pulling on the slide, then rack and ride the slide forward slowly, it will only go about 95% into battery. It will click to 100% once you point the gun level, as it would be in normal firing, but the spring is right on the edge of not being stiff enough to accommodate a dirty gun.
This is a uncommon but not unheard-of quirk present in some striker-fired guns. On the closing stroke, the recoil spring of a striker gun is typically responsible for cocking the striker as well as stripping a round from the magazine and achieving full battery. In a hammer gun, the cocking happens on the opening stroke, so there is less work for the slide to do and it just strips a new round from the magazine and coasts forward to battery under spring pressure. All that said, we still found the P320 Carry to be extremely reliable in the Dirt Test, and its ammunition sensitivity had to do with failure to extract, not failing to achieve battery, so the 'softish' recoil spring wound up being nothing more than a curiosity.
Non-reciprocating mass (frame and full-length guide rod assembly) is unsurprising at 8.7 oz, typical for a polymer-framed full-size handgun. Reciprocating mass (slide assembly) is surprisingly good at 15.3 oz, especially considering the P320's high bore axis. For comparison, that's almost the exact same reciprocating mass as the amazingly svelte and low bore axis Steyr M9A1, while the boxy Glock 17's slide has a reciprocating mass of 16.8 oz even though its slide is only about 0.5" longer.
And now, credit where credit is due: the machine work on the P320's internals is simply superb. There is a spring inside the striker assembly that is literally only a few hairs thick. The machining on the skeletonized striker assembly is particularly impressive, and one staffer who had never owned a Sig put it best when he said "I really get it now. I get why people love Sigs. They didn't need to go to all this trouble, but they did anyway."
However, a little research dimmed the love affair substantially. The skeletonized striker assembly might be a masterpiece of metalwork, but it's NOT the original design. It's the lightened striker that was part of Sig Sauer's Voluntary Upgrade Program - the original striker was beefier and much more simply machined. So, Sig didn't go to all that trouble just out of a uniquely German dedication to quality. In reality, they went to all that trouble because they needed to reduce the assembly's mass to keep the gun from going off when it wasn't supposed to.
Additionally, close inspection of the "machine work" on the skeletonized striker reveals rounded edges and the occasional circular tool mark - both signs that this striker was cast or possibly *gasps in horror* it was metal injection molded (MIM). Whatever it is, it's probably not machined from billet, because you can buy a brand new striker assembly (not just the striker itself but the whole assembly) from Sig for only $50. That's a cast-metal price if we ever saw one. Still, it sure is a pretty lookin' striker, and it performed well in our dirt testing (more on that later).
However, a little research dimmed the love affair substantially. The skeletonized striker assembly might be a masterpiece of metalwork, but it's NOT the original design. It's the lightened striker that was part of Sig Sauer's Voluntary Upgrade Program - the original striker was beefier and much more simply machined. So, Sig didn't go to all that trouble just out of a uniquely German dedication to quality. In reality, they went to all that trouble because they needed to reduce the assembly's mass to keep the gun from going off when it wasn't supposed to.
Additionally, close inspection of the "machine work" on the skeletonized striker reveals rounded edges and the occasional circular tool mark - both signs that this striker was cast or possibly *gasps in horror* it was metal injection molded (MIM). Whatever it is, it's probably not machined from billet, because you can buy a brand new striker assembly (not just the striker itself but the whole assembly) from Sig for only $50. That's a cast-metal price if we ever saw one. Still, it sure is a pretty lookin' striker, and it performed well in our dirt testing (more on that later).
The very pretty skeletonized striker (bottom) is part of Sig's Voluntary Upgrade Program (VUP) for the P320 (rumor has it that this striker was meant only for competition-ready P320s, but now after the VUP, it's just a standard part).
The original striker (top) is beefier and much more simply machined.
The original striker (top) is beefier and much more simply machined.
One of the P320's niftier features is the removable FCG, which also acts as the serialized portion of the gun (from a legal perspective, this piece IS the actual gun). Sig isn't the first to implement this idea, but they are the first to implement it as part of a broader modularity and marketing push based around the notion that you can own one P320 and reconfigure it as subcompact, compact, mid-size, or full-size pistols by buying parts you can order through the mail. However, as we've mentioned before, it's still more expensive to reconfigure one P320 than it is to buy a comparable gun from a competitor or even, in many cases, an entire new P320 on the used market.
The Sig P320 FCG laid bare. The Steyr M9 and IMI Masada also feature similar removable FCGs,
but neither firm has yet backed up this idea with a range of swappable grips and slides the way Sig has.
but neither firm has yet backed up this idea with a range of swappable grips and slides the way Sig has.
Trigger:
The P320 has an extremely high quality trigger. We measured the trigger break on our review model at 6.1 pounds, but it feels lighter since everything about it is so crisp and tight. The trigger has a nearly complete lack of overtravel, particularly impressive for a factory trigger on a duty-grade gun, which makes it easy to be accurate since there is very little opportunity to jerk the trigger. Trigger reset is very short, but to be honest, we forgot to measure exactly how short before we shipped the gun out again. However, suffice to say it is short, and also highly audible and tactile as you would expect from a Sig duty gun.
No external safeties are present on the P320, and it also lacks a trigger blade safety like most of its competitors. This enhances the trigger's feel, making it feel more like a hammer-fired gun, but it's a bold move from a safety perspective that would have been substantially more impressive if there weren't multiple accounts of properly-handled P320s shooting their owners. P320s with a manual safety may pop up occasionally for sale, but these are special order items, typically only found as trade-ins where the military or law enforcement agency that originally purchased the gun insisted that it have a manual safety.
The P320 has an extremely high quality trigger. We measured the trigger break on our review model at 6.1 pounds, but it feels lighter since everything about it is so crisp and tight. The trigger has a nearly complete lack of overtravel, particularly impressive for a factory trigger on a duty-grade gun, which makes it easy to be accurate since there is very little opportunity to jerk the trigger. Trigger reset is very short, but to be honest, we forgot to measure exactly how short before we shipped the gun out again. However, suffice to say it is short, and also highly audible and tactile as you would expect from a Sig duty gun.
No external safeties are present on the P320, and it also lacks a trigger blade safety like most of its competitors. This enhances the trigger's feel, making it feel more like a hammer-fired gun, but it's a bold move from a safety perspective that would have been substantially more impressive if there weren't multiple accounts of properly-handled P320s shooting their owners. P320s with a manual safety may pop up occasionally for sale, but these are special order items, typically only found as trade-ins where the military or law enforcement agency that originally purchased the gun insisted that it have a manual safety.
Sights:
The P320's sights are straightforward, non-adjustable combat sights, but they are unusually competent in their design and extremely high quality for factory sights. Most pistols on the market could benefit from swapping out the factory sights, but the Sig P320 is one of the rare exceptions.
Both the front and rear sights are tritium-illuminated, and the sights themselves are made of steel rather than plastic like some competitors *cough, Glock, cough*. The rear sight has a flat face, allowing easy one-handed racking of the slide on belts or webbing - this feature keeps getting less common for reasons we don't fully understand. The rear sight notch is 0.18” (4.5 mm) which we consider to be just about perfect for a general-purpose combat sight on a full(ish) size slide.
The P320's sights are straightforward, non-adjustable combat sights, but they are unusually competent in their design and extremely high quality for factory sights. Most pistols on the market could benefit from swapping out the factory sights, but the Sig P320 is one of the rare exceptions.
Both the front and rear sights are tritium-illuminated, and the sights themselves are made of steel rather than plastic like some competitors *cough, Glock, cough*. The rear sight has a flat face, allowing easy one-handed racking of the slide on belts or webbing - this feature keeps getting less common for reasons we don't fully understand. The rear sight notch is 0.18” (4.5 mm) which we consider to be just about perfect for a general-purpose combat sight on a full(ish) size slide.
The P320 has a good set of combat sights that come standard with tritium illumination.
Magazines:
Magazines hold 17 rounds and are made of steel with witness holes at the 1/3, 2/3 and full marks. Like most Sig Sauer accessories, P320 magazines are not cheap: $35 is about the floor for them in 9mm, but you’ll more often see prices of $40+. The 21-rd factory magazines are actually just 17-rounders with an extended baseplate, so as of Q3 2019, 21 rounds is as high as you can go and still trust the magazine. Promag makes a 32-round magazine, but it's (unsurprisingly) a hot mess.
Unfortunately, those of you anticipating that prices on P320 magazines will drop as the platform becomes more popular have most likely got a long, long wait ahead of you. Sig went with a steel magazine, greatly limiting the number of manufacturers that can produce a high-quality magazine to compete with factory models. Magpul, for instance, will start producing steel magazines on the twelfth of Never, and Promag will put out a battle-ready magazine on the exact same day. Mec Gar already makes P320 magazines for Sig and most likely has a non-compete agreement, so don't expect cheap magazines from them, either.
There is at least one company, PLATE Mag, who says they are developing a plastic magazine for the P320 which will be cheaper than the factory steel magazines and just as reliable. Frankly, we'll believe it when we see it - swapping from a metal magazine (especially a steel pistol magazine) over to plastic is just plain difficult. Magpul did it with the PMAG, but that was a rifle magazine and also makes a very short list of success stories. Still, here's to hoping.
Grip:
P320 grip modules have a superpower - almost any size of grip module can be fitted to any P320 upper, allowing you to mix and match barrel lengths and grip lengths, but actually doing this is typically cost-prohibitive. In order to buy enough parts to allow one P320 to function effectively as two different sizes of gun, you have to buy: a new grip module ($45), a new barreled slide ($300), and two magazines ($35 each). This totals out to $415 a.k.a the price of an entire new gun from the competition. Even if you skimp and only get one magazine, you're still at $380, which isn't exactly chump change.
The one exception to this pricey dilemma is the P320 Carry - the model we obtained for this review. The P320 Carry is a compact upper (3.9" barrel) on a full-size grip, so installing a subcompact grip yields very competent CCW gun for as little as $80 extra ($45 for the subcompact grip and $35 for one subcompact magazine). The off-the-shelf P320 Subcompact's barrel is only 0.3" (7.62mm) shorter at 3.6", so the P320 Carry with a subcompact grip is essentially the same gun, just 0.3" longer while also having the ability to transform into a very competent duty pistol by re-installing the full-size grip. Essentially, this approach yields a gun that is a little small for a duty pistol, as well as a gun that is a little big for a CCW, but you only had to spend $80 extra to get both. As icing on the cake, both your duty pistol and your CCW have identical control layouts, triggers, and sights, so any training that you do with one will benefit the other, too.
Add in something like the CAA MCK, and your P320 Carry can do a convincing impression of a CCW pistol, a duty pistol, and a pistol carbine - all with one gun. To be frank, that's pretty dang cool and right now the P320 is the only gun on the market that can do it.
Magazines hold 17 rounds and are made of steel with witness holes at the 1/3, 2/3 and full marks. Like most Sig Sauer accessories, P320 magazines are not cheap: $35 is about the floor for them in 9mm, but you’ll more often see prices of $40+. The 21-rd factory magazines are actually just 17-rounders with an extended baseplate, so as of Q3 2019, 21 rounds is as high as you can go and still trust the magazine. Promag makes a 32-round magazine, but it's (unsurprisingly) a hot mess.
Unfortunately, those of you anticipating that prices on P320 magazines will drop as the platform becomes more popular have most likely got a long, long wait ahead of you. Sig went with a steel magazine, greatly limiting the number of manufacturers that can produce a high-quality magazine to compete with factory models. Magpul, for instance, will start producing steel magazines on the twelfth of Never, and Promag will put out a battle-ready magazine on the exact same day. Mec Gar already makes P320 magazines for Sig and most likely has a non-compete agreement, so don't expect cheap magazines from them, either.
There is at least one company, PLATE Mag, who says they are developing a plastic magazine for the P320 which will be cheaper than the factory steel magazines and just as reliable. Frankly, we'll believe it when we see it - swapping from a metal magazine (especially a steel pistol magazine) over to plastic is just plain difficult. Magpul did it with the PMAG, but that was a rifle magazine and also makes a very short list of success stories. Still, here's to hoping.
Grip:
P320 grip modules have a superpower - almost any size of grip module can be fitted to any P320 upper, allowing you to mix and match barrel lengths and grip lengths, but actually doing this is typically cost-prohibitive. In order to buy enough parts to allow one P320 to function effectively as two different sizes of gun, you have to buy: a new grip module ($45), a new barreled slide ($300), and two magazines ($35 each). This totals out to $415 a.k.a the price of an entire new gun from the competition. Even if you skimp and only get one magazine, you're still at $380, which isn't exactly chump change.
The one exception to this pricey dilemma is the P320 Carry - the model we obtained for this review. The P320 Carry is a compact upper (3.9" barrel) on a full-size grip, so installing a subcompact grip yields very competent CCW gun for as little as $80 extra ($45 for the subcompact grip and $35 for one subcompact magazine). The off-the-shelf P320 Subcompact's barrel is only 0.3" (7.62mm) shorter at 3.6", so the P320 Carry with a subcompact grip is essentially the same gun, just 0.3" longer while also having the ability to transform into a very competent duty pistol by re-installing the full-size grip. Essentially, this approach yields a gun that is a little small for a duty pistol, as well as a gun that is a little big for a CCW, but you only had to spend $80 extra to get both. As icing on the cake, both your duty pistol and your CCW have identical control layouts, triggers, and sights, so any training that you do with one will benefit the other, too.
Add in something like the CAA MCK, and your P320 Carry can do a convincing impression of a CCW pistol, a duty pistol, and a pistol carbine - all with one gun. To be frank, that's pretty dang cool and right now the P320 is the only gun on the market that can do it.
This isn't two guns, it's just the same slide on a Carry grip module (left) and a Subcompact grip module (right).
The P320 Carry is a duty gun that can double as a CCW by purchasing a subcompact grip, which makes it a surprisingly solid value.
However, the Carry-to-Subcompact switcheroo is the only P320 size conversion that won't cost as much as buying an entire new gun.
The P320 Carry is a duty gun that can double as a CCW by purchasing a subcompact grip, which makes it a surprisingly solid value.
However, the Carry-to-Subcompact switcheroo is the only P320 size conversion that won't cost as much as buying an entire new gun.
This small gap is essentially the only downside of putting the Subcompact grip module on the Carry's slide.
When it comes to adjusting for individual hand sizes, P320 grip modules are once again a nightmare for the wallet. To achieve an adjustable fit, the P320 eschews the industry-standard replaceable backstraps in lieu of replacing the entire grip module - each size of grip module (full-size, carry, compact, and subcompact) is available in at least two sub-sizes, usually three (Small, Medium, and Large).
This Carry grip module (left) is a size M, while this Subcompact grip module (right) is a size S.
All P320 grip modules are available in a range of sub-sizes.
All P320 grip modules are available in a range of sub-sizes.
However, Sig does not include any extra sizes of grip module with purchase, a new grip module runs anywhere from $35 - $45, and its impossible to tell which size is right for you unless you've got the module in-hand. Very few stores carry unboxed grip modules for you to fondle, so if you'd like to adjust the grip size on your P320, first get comfortable with a $35 - $45 pricetag for what other manufacturers include for free, and then expect lots of shipping and returns.
Other Controls
The slide release is ambidextrous and there aren’t any other controls to speak of – like many modern striker guns, the P320's control interface is pleasantly uncomplicated. There are no safeties or decockers cluttering up the frame, and the slide release is a comfortable reach with the thumb. The magazine release is unusually shaped but effortlessly effective.
Other Controls
The slide release is ambidextrous and there aren’t any other controls to speak of – like many modern striker guns, the P320's control interface is pleasantly uncomplicated. There are no safeties or decockers cluttering up the frame, and the slide release is a comfortable reach with the thumb. The magazine release is unusually shaped but effortlessly effective.
The P320 is an exceedingly competent shooter, and the near-complete lack of trigger overtravel makes it very easy to be accurate. I wish we had more to say, to be honest, but it's just all-around good. The sights are good, the recoil is modest, the trigger is very nice without being over-the-top. The P320 is a duty gun from a premium brand, and it acts like it.
It wasn't the most accurate duty gun we've ever shot, but it was easy to keep the holes near to touching at 10 meters, which is all we ever ask of a duty pistol running factory parts.
Oh, and magazines drop free energetically, loaded or not.
It wasn't the most accurate duty gun we've ever shot, but it was easy to keep the holes near to touching at 10 meters, which is all we ever ask of a duty pistol running factory parts.
Oh, and magazines drop free energetically, loaded or not.
Expect 5-shot groups like these when plinking at 10 meters with the P320 carry - most holes will nearly touch, and you might get lucky and put 2 into the same hole like we did on the bottom right. Put enough rounds downrange and you can get one big, ragged hole.
Bullet Salad BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
Bullet salad is a quick way to learn a pistol's appetite, and involves throwing as many types of ammunition through the gun as you can in rapid succession. The results?
The P320 Carry choked, repeatedly and consistently, on Wolf and Winchester Forged steel-cased ammunition.
On average, it would go 8-10 shots between malfunctions (1-2 failures per magazine) with these two ammunition types. it is also worth noting that it ate Tula steel-cased ammunition just fine, but we only had about ~30 rounds of Tula so that's not a convincing reliability test.
There were one or two stovepipes, but most failures were failure-to-extract where the extractor lost its grip completely on the case rim, leaving the spent casing halfway out. This malfunction was typically fixable by racking the slide a few times, but one more than one occasion, we had to stick a cleaning rod down the barrel and tap the casing out.
We asked Sig Sauer if they would like to work on the gun, so that we could re-run the test before publication, but they declined. We were told that the company's official stance is not to use steel-cased ammunition in their pistols unless it is an emergency and there is no other ammunition available.
Bullet salad is a quick way to learn a pistol's appetite, and involves throwing as many types of ammunition through the gun as you can in rapid succession. The results?
The P320 Carry choked, repeatedly and consistently, on Wolf and Winchester Forged steel-cased ammunition.
On average, it would go 8-10 shots between malfunctions (1-2 failures per magazine) with these two ammunition types. it is also worth noting that it ate Tula steel-cased ammunition just fine, but we only had about ~30 rounds of Tula so that's not a convincing reliability test.
There were one or two stovepipes, but most failures were failure-to-extract where the extractor lost its grip completely on the case rim, leaving the spent casing halfway out. This malfunction was typically fixable by racking the slide a few times, but one more than one occasion, we had to stick a cleaning rod down the barrel and tap the casing out.
We asked Sig Sauer if they would like to work on the gun, so that we could re-run the test before publication, but they declined. We were told that the company's official stance is not to use steel-cased ammunition in their pistols unless it is an emergency and there is no other ammunition available.
Bullet Salad Results
Here are the flavors that we fed to the P320 Carry, ranging from 115 gr FMJ bullets to 147 gr JHPs, and brass, aluminum, and steel casings:
Magazine #1: 17 rounds of 115 gr FMJ - Federal Premium brass-cased
All other magazines were loaded with a mix of:
All seven brass-cased ammo types, from 147 JHPs to 115 gr FMJs, were eaten flawlessly, as well as the aluminum-cased 115 gr FMJ. It was only the steel-cased ammunition that gave the P320 trouble.
Bullet Salad Methodology
The bullet salad test always begin with a freshly cleaned and lubed gun. The first magazine is loaded with USA-sourced, brass-cased, FMJ ammo (think Winchester white box, Federal Premium, etc.). This step verifies the pistol is was re-assembled properly and helps the gun "wake up" (spreads grease around evenly, ejects extra lube from the mechanism, etc.)
After that, load the magazines with as many different manufacturers, case materials, bullet weights, and bullet types as you can afford. This is only a little bit more expensive than stacking deep with just one or two brands, and it's worth it to see how your new gun behaves.
A bullet salad test takes a little planning - be sure to write down what got loaded when, so that if the gun jams, you know what it was eating at the time. At minimum, load four-round "stacks" of the same ammunition within a magazine so that the gun completes several full firing cycles - firing, ejecting, and re-chambering, giving the gun several opportunities to choke on the particular ammo before moving to the next. Ideally, run at least a full magazine of each type through the gun.
For extra credit, use a different target for each bullet type to add in a small accuracy test.
If the gun does run into problems, that's not the end of the world. Just buy more of one of the ammo that it ate happily and use the "bad" ammo for plinking - you only committed to a box or two.
Here are the flavors that we fed to the P320 Carry, ranging from 115 gr FMJ bullets to 147 gr JHPs, and brass, aluminum, and steel casings:
Magazine #1: 17 rounds of 115 gr FMJ - Federal Premium brass-cased
All other magazines were loaded with a mix of:
- 115 gr FMJ - steel-cased Winchester Forged
- 115 gr FMJ - steel-cased Tulammo
- 115 gr FMJ - steel-cased Wolf
- 115 gr FMJ - aluminum-cased Federal Premium
- 115 gr FMJ - brass-cased Federal American Eagle
- 115 gr FMJ - brass-cased Winchester White Box
- 115 gr FMJ - brass-cased Prvi PPU
- 115 gr +P JHP - brass-cased Barnes TAC-XPD
- 124 gr FMJ - brass-cased Winchester 9mm NATO
- 138 gr SJHP - brass-cased Federal Syntech Defense
- 147 gr JHP - brass-cased Fiocchi Extrema
All seven brass-cased ammo types, from 147 JHPs to 115 gr FMJs, were eaten flawlessly, as well as the aluminum-cased 115 gr FMJ. It was only the steel-cased ammunition that gave the P320 trouble.
Bullet Salad Methodology
The bullet salad test always begin with a freshly cleaned and lubed gun. The first magazine is loaded with USA-sourced, brass-cased, FMJ ammo (think Winchester white box, Federal Premium, etc.). This step verifies the pistol is was re-assembled properly and helps the gun "wake up" (spreads grease around evenly, ejects extra lube from the mechanism, etc.)
After that, load the magazines with as many different manufacturers, case materials, bullet weights, and bullet types as you can afford. This is only a little bit more expensive than stacking deep with just one or two brands, and it's worth it to see how your new gun behaves.
A bullet salad test takes a little planning - be sure to write down what got loaded when, so that if the gun jams, you know what it was eating at the time. At minimum, load four-round "stacks" of the same ammunition within a magazine so that the gun completes several full firing cycles - firing, ejecting, and re-chambering, giving the gun several opportunities to choke on the particular ammo before moving to the next. Ideally, run at least a full magazine of each type through the gun.
For extra credit, use a different target for each bullet type to add in a small accuracy test.
If the gun does run into problems, that's not the end of the world. Just buy more of one of the ammo that it ate happily and use the "bad" ammo for plinking - you only committed to a box or two.
Failure to extract and stovepipes, all the time, with the Wolf and the Winchester Forged.
We tested the ammo both with and without a weapon light mounted, but it didn't make a difference.
We tested the ammo both with and without a weapon light mounted, but it didn't make a difference.
Dirt Test BLUF:
After being dirtied up, the Sig P320 Carry malfunctioned 27 times out of 45 shots total. This was three fewer malfunctions than the current Dirt Test champion, a Glock 17 Gen 4, but was still insufficient to unseat the Glock 17 due to the below reasons (or see the full comparison article: Glock 17 vs Sig P320 Torture Test).
After being dirtied up, the Sig P320 Carry malfunctioned 27 times out of 45 shots total. This was three fewer malfunctions than the current Dirt Test champion, a Glock 17 Gen 4, but was still insufficient to unseat the Glock 17 due to the below reasons (or see the full comparison article: Glock 17 vs Sig P320 Torture Test).
- Of those 27 malfunctions, 4 of them were "showstopper" malfunctions, meaning the gun could not be simply racked and cleared to bring it back into the fight. The Glock, by comparison, experienced 0 showstoppers.
- The Sig was never able to complete 10 shots without failure at any point during the test, while the Glock succeeded in completing 10 shots without failure at the end of the test.
Dirt Test Overview:
Before going any further, we would like to say that a gun that chokes a lot during the dirt test can still be a perfectly good gun - there are many fantastically accurate and soft-shooting competition guns that practically implode if they even look at a pile of dust. However, we recognize that a weapon's reliability in the great outdoors is a principle concern for many gun owners, so this test simulates all kinds of unfortunate events, from a firearm hitting the dirt during an emergency vehicle dismount to a gun left holstered or slung all day in the gritty wind before being pressed into action under fire.
Pre-Test Preparation
The pistol is field stripped and cleaned. Following cleaning, oil is applied to the trigger mechanism and striker assembly, and grease is applied to the frame rail guides and the barrel’s unlocking cut.
Note: The oil used was a personal concoction by one of our staffers: a 50-50 mixture of motorcycle oil and automatic transmission fluid (both full synthetic), and the grease was Battle Born© firearms grease.
Immediately prior to testing, the pistol is fed a 10-rd magazine of brass-cased FMJ target ammunition to ‘wake it up’.
Differences from Previous Dirt Tests
Previously, the GunTweaks Dirt Test was carried out using a fine, silty dirt taken from the backstop berm of a nearby shooting range. However, we got tired of our supply of dirt being buried under snow in the winter, and furthermore we wanted anyone, anywhere in the country, to have access to the exact same dirt for testing purposes.
We considered several “dirt” options and settled on food-grade, freshwater-mined diatomaceous earth (DE), since it is consistent in particle size and composition across brands (unlike bulk sand or dirt) and acts as a mild abrasive (unlike talc powder). Plus, it’s mined right here in the USA.
Test Method – Part 1 (dry)
Drop the (unloaded, but with an empty magazine in place) gun into a flat-bottomed container filled with 2 inches of DE. Drop the gun twice on each side (four times total) to force some DE into the nooks and crannies. Then, scoop up a heaping handful of DE and pour it over the action, once on each side, to make sure everything is nicely coated.
Once the gun is pulled from the DE, drop the empty mag, load a full mag, rack, and fire. No cleaning is allowed, not even dry-racking the action. Fire as many shots as is required for the gun to “shoot clear” i.e. fire a string a shots without malfunctioning, or until you run out the magazine, in which case the gun has failed the test.
The weapons are only fed factory-loaded, brass-cased FMJ ammunition.
Test Method – Part 2 (wet)
The test method for part 2 is identical to part 1, with the exception of the gun being cleaned in water in between. The gun is immersed in a bucket of water while the slide is racked and trigger pulled at least ten times. This cleans the DE from Part 1 out of the mechanism, allowing a second trial to be run without needing to go home and completely clean the gun beforehand. If desired, you may also repeat the wet test as many times as needed by simply dunking, cleaning, and dropping the wet gun back into DE as described above.
Dirt Test Results
Before going any further, we would like to say that a gun that chokes a lot during the dirt test can still be a perfectly good gun - there are many fantastically accurate and soft-shooting competition guns that practically implode if they even look at a pile of dust. However, we recognize that a weapon's reliability in the great outdoors is a principle concern for many gun owners, so this test simulates all kinds of unfortunate events, from a firearm hitting the dirt during an emergency vehicle dismount to a gun left holstered or slung all day in the gritty wind before being pressed into action under fire.
Pre-Test Preparation
The pistol is field stripped and cleaned. Following cleaning, oil is applied to the trigger mechanism and striker assembly, and grease is applied to the frame rail guides and the barrel’s unlocking cut.
Note: The oil used was a personal concoction by one of our staffers: a 50-50 mixture of motorcycle oil and automatic transmission fluid (both full synthetic), and the grease was Battle Born© firearms grease.
Immediately prior to testing, the pistol is fed a 10-rd magazine of brass-cased FMJ target ammunition to ‘wake it up’.
Differences from Previous Dirt Tests
Previously, the GunTweaks Dirt Test was carried out using a fine, silty dirt taken from the backstop berm of a nearby shooting range. However, we got tired of our supply of dirt being buried under snow in the winter, and furthermore we wanted anyone, anywhere in the country, to have access to the exact same dirt for testing purposes.
We considered several “dirt” options and settled on food-grade, freshwater-mined diatomaceous earth (DE), since it is consistent in particle size and composition across brands (unlike bulk sand or dirt) and acts as a mild abrasive (unlike talc powder). Plus, it’s mined right here in the USA.
Test Method – Part 1 (dry)
Drop the (unloaded, but with an empty magazine in place) gun into a flat-bottomed container filled with 2 inches of DE. Drop the gun twice on each side (four times total) to force some DE into the nooks and crannies. Then, scoop up a heaping handful of DE and pour it over the action, once on each side, to make sure everything is nicely coated.
Once the gun is pulled from the DE, drop the empty mag, load a full mag, rack, and fire. No cleaning is allowed, not even dry-racking the action. Fire as many shots as is required for the gun to “shoot clear” i.e. fire a string a shots without malfunctioning, or until you run out the magazine, in which case the gun has failed the test.
The weapons are only fed factory-loaded, brass-cased FMJ ammunition.
Test Method – Part 2 (wet)
The test method for part 2 is identical to part 1, with the exception of the gun being cleaned in water in between. The gun is immersed in a bucket of water while the slide is racked and trigger pulled at least ten times. This cleans the DE from Part 1 out of the mechanism, allowing a second trial to be run without needing to go home and completely clean the gun beforehand. If desired, you may also repeat the wet test as many times as needed by simply dunking, cleaning, and dropping the wet gun back into DE as described above.
Dirt Test Results
Dirt Test Results Discussion
The P320 Carry was absolutely as reliable as a service pistol should be. It is comparable to a Glock 17 Gen 4, which is a very high bar to meet. If you are looking for a gun that will be as reliable as possible when faced with mud and blood, the P320 Carry is a solid choice.
The P320 Carry was absolutely as reliable as a service pistol should be. It is comparable to a Glock 17 Gen 4, which is a very high bar to meet. If you are looking for a gun that will be as reliable as possible when faced with mud and blood, the P320 Carry is a solid choice.
In general, Sig Sauers are good guns that are a little on the pricey side. The P320 Carry is no exception, but its unique hat trick of being able to transform into a decent CCW gun with the addition of a subcomact frame make it a surprisingly decent value. The safety concerns of the original design have been resolved by the VUP, but in a clever enough way that the P320 is still a very fine shooter and extremely reliable.
The only real, substantive knock against the P320 is its intolerance of steel-cased ammunition. For some shooters this is a dealbreaker, but for others its barely even a consideration since the price advantage of steel-cased 9mm isn't as dramatic as it used to be, and some shooters avoid steel-cased altogether.
All things considered, the P320 Carry is a very fine pistol, and absolutely worth its weight on your hip.
And that’s it. Happy shooting.
The only real, substantive knock against the P320 is its intolerance of steel-cased ammunition. For some shooters this is a dealbreaker, but for others its barely even a consideration since the price advantage of steel-cased 9mm isn't as dramatic as it used to be, and some shooters avoid steel-cased altogether.
All things considered, the P320 Carry is a very fine pistol, and absolutely worth its weight on your hip.
And that’s it. Happy shooting.
|
|