Hey all. Currently own an M18 using the Small grip module but looking for something thinner. Don't know how thin Sig makes the P320s but something similar to the old 1911 single stack thickness would be damn near perfect, call it an inch. Any info/experience you can share would be appreciated.

An 'Small' X-Carry Grip Module might actually be thinner in your hand than the Small Grip Module you have now. The X series modules have a flat profile on the sides of the Grip vs the more bulbous/rounded profile of the std. P320/M18. That said, they don't offer a Manual Safety version as far as I'm aware, so you'd might need to modify the Grip Module to work with the M18 FCU.

It'll never be as thin as a 1911 single stack frame, but is somewhat similar in profile in that does have a straighter backstrap area than the other Grip Modules, so it's probably as close as you'll get.

I can’t answer whether thinner grip modules for the P320 and variants are actually possible, but the significant factor limiting how thin the grip can be is the size of the magazine. There is no way the grip of a pistol using the staggered column P320 magazine could be as thin as one using the single column 1911 mag.

My curiosity piqued, though, I measured the thickness of the grip plates of the SIG P226 that uses a similar staggered column magazine like the P320. At their thickest point in the middle of the plates, they were 0.175 inch thick. The thickness of a full size medium P320 grip at each side is 0.210". Conceivably that measurement could be made thinner, but keep in mind that the P226’s grip is reinforced by the metal frame, which the P320 doesn’t have.

As for the full measurements, the P226 grip at its widest point in the middle is about 1.355"; the P320 measures 1.325", and therefore the P320 is already slightly narrower. In any event, though, because the P320 magazine is 0.850" wide just by itself, to fit into a grip an inch wide would leave only a maximum of 0.075" (~1/13") on each side for the grip module itself, and that does not include any additional space inside the magazine well to allow the mag to fit and drop freely.

The answer of course to making it possible to have a thinner P320 grip would be to limit the magazine to a single column.* Given the whining and moaning that greeted the introduction of the P210 Carry with its limited capacity magazine, I strongly doubt that that’s anything we will see from SIG.

* And assuming that would be possible with the standard P320 fire control unit.

Added: After reading the post by nhracecraft, I checked the grip of an XCompact model. I have only the medium version, but I don’t know that the small would change anything other than the front/back distance. The thickness is, however, somewhat less than the standard P320 grip at 1.225". The sides of the grip module are also less at 0.169".

(All measurements were taken with a dial caliper and are as close as I could read them, but I’m not going to qualify each measurement with “about.”)

Cant cite any figures or stats, but my Wilson Combat grip feels smaller than the OEM small 320 grip. For me, anyway.

I agree that the Wilson Combat grip may be a good choice. It also provides more of a “directional” feel than either the standard or the XCarry grip. It has a bit of a palm swell in the middle and narrows toward the bottom until it expands again for the “funnel.” At max width in the center I got 1.248". That’s a bit wider than the XCarry grip module in the center, but overall I believe the WC has a more ergonomic shape that fits the hand better, and that’s why I have them on all my P320s except for the XCompact. (If I ever start shooting the XC much, it will undoubtably end up with a WC grip module as well.)

The thinnest "feeling factory grip module will be the "X" models.

The Wilson (WC) grip modules will feel thinner even through they are more "plump."

The WC modules are based on the size of the factory Small modules and they contour them a bit for trigger reach. They seem to be shaped to replicate the feel of a 1911 with the arched MSH.

The WC modules feel good in the hand, but I found them a bit too thin compared to the SIG X frames...didn't point as well

100% suggest getting an X Grip module or Wilson Combat, both feel much better in the hand. Sig really should do away with the original grip module on the P320's they are trash.

I have a real problem with Sig standard grips on their full size pistols... specifically the P226 and I suspect a full size 320 would be the same.... but I don't on the P320 compact after I put a grey guns flat trigger on it....

A grip module with sheet metal magwell embossed with checkering is about as thin as you can get.

As said, in polymer and over a double stack mag, not much can be done, other than cutout the grip entirely except mag release and add grip tape to the mag.

I could see an FCU based design with integrated gripping surface directly on the sides of the magazine. Especially when the triple stacked 28 round mags come out. Point being, the constant push to increase carry ammo is directly in conflict with the smallest possible grip.

Hence, the Broomhandle Mauser. Mag is separate.

quote:

Originally posted by Ox190:
the original grip module on the P320's they are trash.

Why do you say that?
I prefer the Wilson Combat modules, but only slightly, so I am curious: What is “trash’ about them? How should they be changed?

If it is that they don’t fit your hand as well as other manufacturers’ and the P320 is the only handgun you’re familiar with, it may come as a surprise that gun makers must try to design their grips for an incredibly wide variety of hand sizes. That means that whatever they come up with is unlikely to fit most people perfectly. I have been acquiring handguns for well over 50 years, and I have tinkered with and modified grips for a large number of them. Fortunately, and unlike virtually all of its competitors, it’s very easy and relatively inexpensive to change the P320 grip to something else.

But if that’s not what you’re referring to, how would you change the P320 grip module?

I wouldn’t say “trash”. That being said I don’t like the originals either. I swapped over to the X or I stippled all the old ones that I use. The original is an odd (to me) oval shape and it’s not very grippy. At all. A stipple job is a huge improvement.