For ages, SIG SAUER has been known primarily for their all-metal frame handguns. Solid firearms that work reliably every time. Guns like the Mk25 P226 – used by the Navy SEALs – and SIG’s recently introduced line of 1911 handguns. Now SIG is diving head-first into the competitive arena of polymer-framed striker-fired pistols, a market long dominated by GLOCK. SIG’s submission: the P320 . . .
The P320 has been around for a few years in another form, namely the SIG SAUER P250. That handgun had a number of nifty features, such as the ability to remove the small serialized part and assemble a completely different gun. You can swap our parts for a larger grip or a shorter barrel. Changing the caliber is as easy as pie. The P320 takes the lessons learned from that handgun and adds a bit of striker-fired awesomeness to make something very interesting.
According to SIG, “modularity” is the the project’s watchword. As with the P250, the trigger group and striker assembly are the serialized parts. You can remove them completely from the firearm and place them into a different frame with a different barrel for a different caliber. So you can buy a short-barreled P320 for concealed carry, then buy a longer slide, barrel and frame for competition. One gun, any caliber, from .22lr to 45ACP. Better yet, SIG will deliver the parts straight to your door.
The impetus for the design isn’t the American market — it’s Germany. While SIG SAUER is an American owned and run company, they have a European heritage and still manufacture firearms for that market. In Germany citizens are only allowed to have two handguns registered to their firearms license, so the ability to have one small serialized part and get a remarkable number of possible firearm configurations is a big plus. Germans used to need to choose one configuration and stick with it — now they don’t have to.
The real question is how the gun shoots, and having put hundreds of rounds down the pipe in the last few days I can report that it’s pretty good for a striker fired handgun. The trigger is miles better than the GLOCK or S&W M&P stock trigger, and might even be better than the Apex replacement for the latter. It’s short and smooth, but there’s a little bit of a roll to the pull that keeps me from calling it the king of the striker fired guns. Some people like a little roll in their handgun triggers so more power to you, but not me.
As I said to the SIG brain trust the FNS-9 is still my go-to sidearm for competitions, but the P320 is a force to be reckoned with. With the swappable grips, the quick caliber changes, and the famous SIG SAUER quality, the package just gets sweeter and sweeter. The icing on the cake? SIG tells me that the gun will retail for just $50 more than a GLOCK 19.
SIG is sending TTAG a P320 for a full review. We’ll also be giving one away to the readers in another of our popular editorial contests. Until then, stay tuned.