A gun-writer named Will Dabbs wrote an article entitled “The Sauer 38H-The Elusive Evolutionary Transitional Form” Firearms News, January 2018, Issue 2 at pp. 34-36, 40-41. He is talking about the vintage Sauer 38H and he winds up concluding the "… the P320 is indeed still an evolutionary development of the P226 that was itself a development of the P 38H." Did anyone see this? Any thoughts? I do not pretend to know the design of the P320 but even if it were an evolutionary development of the P226, since the P226 is not an evolutionary development of the Sauer 38H, the statement is absurd

I don’t know anything about the 38H, but it’s hard to imagine any two autoloading pistols that—other than that they both have triggers, sights, slides, barrels, and detachable magazines—are more different in design than the P226 and P320.

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Originally posted by sigfreund:
it’s hard to imagine any two autoloading pistols that—other than that they both have triggers, sights, slides, barrels, and detachable magazines—are more different in design than the P226 and P320.

It's not that hard. They do share some design elements, mainly in barrel lockup, recoil operating mechanism, feeding, and takedown/field-stripping. They're also cosmetically somewhat similar.

There are certainly a number of other designs that are even more dissimilar, both in appearance as well as specifically in design. Think of all the various blowback handguns, blow-forward handguns, bullpup handguns, fixed-barrel handguns, rotary-barrel handguns, rotary-bolt handguns, tip-up barrel handguns, toggle lock handguns, flapper lock handguns, roller lock handguns, swinging link handguns, telescoping bolt handguns, handguns with fixed magazines or alternate magazine locations, various funky experimental operating mechanisms, etc. etc.

Despite the major differences like the removable internal chassis, use of polymer, and striker vs. hammer, I think we can agree that the P320 is more like the P226 than it is like the Luger, or the Boberg RX9, or a slew of other designs.

Well, they are all blowback.

Oh, wait, never mind.

In corporate terms of thought, yeah, kinda. But the Sauer is distinguished by its decocker and the 320 is of the type that's supposed to obviate the need for the decocker.

Other than having a Browning tilting barrel (like almost every other modern pistol)I don't see any relation.

The P320 is In no way an evolution of the P226. And I struggle to find any way that the P226 could be an evolution of the Sauer 38H.

I haven't read the article, but it sounds like he's grasping at straws for article material, or hasn't ever actually looked at the pistols he's discussing.

I'll also add, that considering the base of a handgun's operation and design is how the trigger actuates the firing pin or the striker, the P226 being a DA/SA gun is almost nothing like a pre-tensioned internal striker P320. Ignoring the chassis base design of the P320.

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Originally posted by Prince Herman:
A gun-writer named Will Dabbs wrote an article entitled “The Sauer 38H-The Elusive Evolutionary Transitional Form” Firearms News, January 2018, Issue 2 at pp. 34-36, 40-41. He is talking about the vintage Sauer 38H and he winds up concluding the "… the P320 is indeed still an evolutionary development of the P226 that was itself a development of the P 38H." Did anyone see this? Any thoughts? I do not pretend to know the design of the P320 but even if it were an evolutionary development of the P226, since the P226 is not an evolutionary development of the Sauer 38H, the statement is absurd

I dont know the article. How does the author defend his conclusion?

Ha Ha. This is the American gun-press. They don't support anything. They simply pontificate and presume the reader is an idiot. He does not defend it. It is a bald statement without analysis or support. It was more of an add-on at the end of his story. He made three statements about the decocking lever:

• "A subsequent version of this device virtually defines the wildly successful line of SIG-Sauer P220-series pistols."
• "The family lineage of the SIG P220 decocker is clearly seen when compared alongside the original Sauer 38H."
• "The Sauer 38H was remarkable not so much for what it was, but for what it became. The general layout of the gun to include the cocking lever subsequently defined the SIG-Sauer P220-series weapons that have been used operationally around the world".

then he said

“The most recognized feature of the Sauer 38H was the decocking lever…A similar component found itself onto the side of all of SIG’s220-series guns.” This last was actually a reasonable statement.

Then he threw in as if out of nowhere:

"… the P320 is indeed still an evolutionary development of the P226 that was itself a development of the P 38H."

Private Note: Unfortunately, I have to work at my job and I have not been able to do the thing that you know I have to do!

Yep. Gun writers gotta write...

Reading this about the 38H makes me want a brand new re-issue of this great, historical pistol. Probably won't happen but at least a guy can still dream and wish.

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Originally posted by Prince Herman:

Then he threw in as if out of nowhere:

"… the P320 is indeed still an evolutionary development of the P226 that was itself a development of the P 38H."

It would be interesting to review the article with the author.

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Private Note: Unfortunately, I have to work at my job and I have not been able to do the thing that you know I have to do!

we share the same destiny.