Holy smokes! Is there any standard for what the FDE grip module color is supposed to be?

I was looking at an M17 (limited edition) the other day and in the same case were several other P320s. I understand that the slide won't match the frame perfectly, but the grip module colors ranged from nearly brown to creamy ivory. I'm thinking if I get an M17, I may have to go with the black. At least that is likely to be fairly consistent across sizes and over time, even if not "authentic" to the military version.

BTW: Why did the military choose FDE for the pistol in the first place? Are they expecting that all wars will be fought in the desert for the next 30+ years?

The M17 grip module is not FDE. It is Coyote Brown.

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BTW: Why did the military choose FDE for the pistol in the first place? Are they expecting that all wars will be fought in the desert for the next 30+ years?

I hear that black shows up better on night vision equipment.

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Originally posted by Fire Away:
The M17 grip module is not FDE. It is Coyote Brown.

OK. Where would one get a Coyote carry grip module in a size other than the medium that comes on the M17?

Could be the Army didn't spec it to be FDE/Coyote, Sig just choose that. Anyway, it is a pretty neutral color that blends decent in any environment, certainly better than black.

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Originally posted by MNSIG:
OK. Where would one get a Coyote carry grip module in a size other than the medium that comes on the M17?

I don't think any other sizes are available at this time.

In his SHOT thread MTCowboy mentioned that they've got the black versions of the grip available now, and (FWIW) they've had the large and small non-manual-safety versions available for a bit. Hopefully we'll see their coyote/tan/FDE options available sometime in the foreseeable future.

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I may have to go with the black.

FWIW, I've seen a lot of folks who have ponied up the extra cash for the M17 complaining that the tan finish is flaking off by the rails and that it's generally not durable. I haven't had this problem at all on my run-of-the-mill black 320s. In fact, I've found the finish to be very durable, even after several years of duty carry. Whatever they coated those barrels with is phenomenal...there are no smilies or marks on them at all even after 4-5000 rounds.