I bought it for the reasons of, I could shoot it accurately and one of my more knowledgeable friends had one. Fast forward 5 years later and I feel differently about Sig Sauer than I used to. At some point you have to take a hard look at modern tools, materials and engineering while asking the question “Can this be done better?” Sig Sauer has done just that with the P320 and I must say it is a big leap into the next generation of service pistols.

Let us “pump the brakes” for a second and validate the last statement. At the core function and feature set the Sig Sauer P320 offers, is it a forward step, or a good sprint to play catch up? A little bit of both actually. The Sig P320 is a Polymer framed Striker fired Service pistol chambered in 9mm, .40 and .357 sig with .45 in the works. In those parameters, this is a “tap, rack, bang” offering from Sig after the P250. There are plenty of options in the Polymer striker pistol market, well established and reliable options at that. So how is this a “next generation” pistol in any sense of the phrase? Several reasons, for starters the most obvious reason to anyone who has fired a P320 is the trigger. 

Sig Sauer has found a way to make a striker fire pistol not feel like, a striker fire pistol. Many other striker pistols out there have created an entire market of drop in trigger upgrades just to make a striker trigger great. What is worse is that this isn’t even an “insider secret” or some gun smithing trick. It is widely known that striker fire triggers suck, yet none of these manufacturers seem to put any investment in making a better trigger commonplace or even a feature to be known by. Sig Sauer however, has put it front and center with the finest striker fire trigger I have ever seen out of the box. I feel like I am shooting my P226 yet I see no hammer and I have no de-cocker to manipulate. Well done. If there is even a P320 Trigger Upgrade available on the market, I don’t even think I would be shopping unless I was in some sort of competitive shooti-g market.

The P320 has obviously taken some cues from the polymer aftermarket as well with some great features that improve the functionality and aesthetics of the pistol. The trigger guard is thinner closer to the frame, reminiscent of popular “undercutting” most do nowadays. The frame is ergonomic and ubiquitous without being overly sculpted or modular like the grip reductions and sculpting services you see out there these days. Speaking of services, “stippling” or texturing of the polymer grip is done tastefully on the P320 in all the right places making this pistol tactile without being overly abrasive. Finally there are front serrations on the slide for more grip on the slide for press checking and racking. Plus, they just look pretty damn cool too without being over the top. The mag release is also notable as it is for one, ambidextrous and switchable from left to right, but it is also easy to release the magazine quickly without being an oversized or extended mag release system. There are also magazine well baseplate cuts for those “Murphy’s Law” moments when you need that mag out and it has different plans. Although with the stiffness of the polymer and amount of tolerance allowed in the magazine well, that must be a really bad situation to need that. Still good to see it was included though.

These are all features you can do to just about any polymer pistol out there today, so I ask again. What makes this a “Next generation” service pistol? Well, all of these features  I just went through are FACTORY STANDARD and not something you spend extra money after the purchase to make a “cool” pistol with improvements on form and function. That’s correct, you get a fantastic trigger, undercuts, front slide serrations, decent stippling and SigLite tritium night sights for about the same price as a brand spanking new pistol from any other brand. Sig Sauer did not inflate the price at all to get to that competitive price point. A huge leap forward on so many fronts for Sig and as I said in the video, I applaud them for it.

Well, what could be bad with so many positives going for the P320? Well, there is nothing bad, so much as a “Needs Improvement” mark for me when it comes to this new polymer Sig. For one, this has to be the most felt muzzle flip from a 9mm I have ever felt. It has a similar muzzle heavy feel from other Sig pistols, however it doesn’t seem to work for the 320 here as the 9mm tested felt closer to a .40 than a 9mm. Strangely enough though when partnered with a good solid metal pistol light like a Surefire x300 or a Streamlight TLR-1 it settles right down and becomes a real smooth and flat shooter.  

May I ask, what is the deal with the grip angle? It was a bit awkward at first as it is definitely a more vertical angle to the grip than any other Sig before and reminiscent of the old Mauser. It was such a drastic shift from others that I cannot help but wonder if this is part of why it feels like there is more flip than there actually is? If you watch the review video you will see, it doesn’t actually even move a whole lot, but it certainly feels jumpy. The polymer they use is extremely hard and unforgiving. That is not really a good or bad thing, just an observation that lead to questions only time will answer. I had mentioned the grip wasn’t “modular” like most other polymers, and thats because if you want a different grip, you buy a whole new grip. See, the trigger and “Frame” are all one component in the traditional sense. The tr

Finally there is the takedown lever. It isn’t bad per se, so much as different and a departure from all other pistols, the P226 included. With a modern thumbs forward grip, the takedown lever rested squarely under my support hand thumb and was awkward at first, but quickly became a “gas pedal” type of rest for my thumb. I found I could really wrench down on my grip and reduce any muzzle flip pretty dramatically when pressure was applied to the takedown lever while shooting. So, as stated, not really a bad thing so much as a …different… thing. Could be a turn off for some and a blessing for others. 

The SigSauer P320 is an amazing step forward for Sig as a company and it is clear to me that they are very much alive, well and paying attention to the market and what users are buying. The P320 is overall an awesome and forward thinking step for SigSauer. This is not your dad’s Sig, it is a Sig with the modern end user in mind and all at a price point that is right in line and competitive with others in it’s market. If you buy a Sig P320, you won’t be disappointed. We had a great time re-learning our old friend Sig, and plan to shoot it more and more.