****update from Sig*****
I got an email back from Bill at Sig customer service today. Here is his response;

"For the most part they are production, however there are modifications that have been applied after we shipped them to make them look more like the M17. But it is not ours."

So mistory solved, it is a distributor add on not a factory original.

*original post*
I was at a local sporting goods store (Fin Feather & Fur) and I came across something a little weird. I saw what was being marketed as an Sig P320 M21 in the case. I know the military name for the P320 is the M17/M18 so I asked to see the gun. It looks just like any other full sized P320 but it had a PVD finish and it came with 3 magazines one 21 round magazine and two 17 round magazines. It had the voluntary upgrade already complete.

When I questioned the guy at the counter he told me it was the version that the military was getting. I know this is wrong because there was no manual safety. But after some talking I asked if I could see the box it came in, he brought it out and it sure enough said "M21 military" on the sticker. He said he had 2 in stock that just got in that day (5 January). I left and called Sig customer service to see of I could get any information about it, the person I spoke with said Sig never released anything with the M21 nomenclature. He asked for me to send him the serial number of the gun and he would check to see what Sig had it listed as on their data base. I went back in the store today and emailed him the photos.

Here are some crappy photos of the gun and the box. Sorry for the upside pic too.. :/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Factor8,

The label says SIG 320P 9M21.

I take that to mean it's a 320, Fullsize, 9MM with 21 round magazines.

There is no M21, the gunshop bubbas got it wrong.

Is the M21 sticker a Sig sticker? Kind of looks like it was an add on. I am also wondering if this is maybe their civi offering of the MHS guns and maybe this got out prematurely.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
The label says SIG 320P 9M21.

I take that to mean it's a 320, Fullsize, 9MM with 21 round magazines.

There is no M21, the gunshop bubbas got it wrong.

This makes perfect sense. the trigger is black and I think the MHS guns have FDE triggers.

320F-9-B is just a fullsize 320 without night sights.

Obviously someone at the SIG pump it up marketing Department knows putting MILITARY on the stick may help sell guns.

But other than that, it could just be a mistake.

They are going to offer a civie M17/18, but it would have an external safety.

I agree with RHINOWSO but regardless that is a pretty decent price.

I disagree that it's a good price. Non-NS should be $500. Maybe if you really want the 21 round mag and FDE.

The M21 might come from the 21 round magazine but if i knew how to take a better pick you would be able to read the large sticker on the case it says "Sig P320F M21" then under that it says "Sig P320 9MM Military".

I did a Google search for "Sig P320 M21" and I found some of these exact guns for sale on a few websites and an auction website. So it cannot be this local store pulling a fast one.

If I get an email back from Sig I will update the original post.

There are a few things odd here...

1. I'm pretty sure the full model number should be 320F-9-FDE if it comes from the factory that way, but the "FDE" is missing from the label. Even when they do special releases they usually put them into the model number somehow for easier tracking.
2. These are the first FDE mags I've seen in the wild. The factory FDE guns (up until now?) came with black mags, and the FDE mags came out for the MHS version.
3. The label that has M21 does not look like a Sig factory sticker to me, though they certainly could have changed them recently.
4. Not only does the MHS version have the safety, and the FDE trigger, but it is also milled for an optic like the RX models. This one doesn't appear to have that either.
5. It is odd for a 320 to come from the factory with mags of different capacities. The 320-X5 comes with all 21rd and the 320-Xcarry comes with all 17rd.

Perhaps Sig had a bunch of leftover FDE parts and put out a special version to seize on the MHS press, but it's very odd if they would really market or label it as M21. The safety FCUs have always been in low supply so it's not surprising that it doesn't have that.

What is interesting is that Sig announced a month or two ago that they would do a limited release of 5000 of the actual M17 to the public at a higher price. If they flood the market with somehwat similar FDE models first, that would seem to reduce some of the demand and rarity of the official version. Although FDE P320s have been around for some time, they've been somewhat scarce.

I only found one with a google search and here's the label (sorry for the size, it's a direct link as I didn't want to steal it to resize). I know Sig is known for random parts-gun releases, but I am surprised they didn't remove the original label which has the wrong model number and even says "BLK" in the description.

EDIT: Google search for "320F9M21" reveals many more results.

the upc shows up as

SIG SAUER SIG SAUER M21 REPLICA 9MM 21RD

I'm guessing its a special run that either a distributor or the gunshop had done, after it left Sig.

In the model number 320F-9-B, the B stands for BLACK. It is also repeated in the line below P320, 9mm, 4.7IN, NITRON, BLK

All of that tells me the gun left the Sig factory as Black.

Edit: After looking at one of these guns on gunbroker, I feel it is not a factory finish. I see flaws in it and the trigger hanger tag looks nothing like the ones that came on my other P320s (regular and x-series guns).

I hope this is not what SIG is going to sell civilians as the M17 replica.

If this was a true M17 replica, it should have the optic mount plate on the slide as well as the manual safety, night sights, chamber loaded indicator, barrel chamber without the extra cut, and a Carry grip frame.

Update from Sig in the original post

Looks like someone is just trying to make money off the M17/18 by sending out clones

I'd ask for the owner of the store and tell him/her that I don't do business with dishonest people.

That seems a bit extreme. There's plenty of inaccurate BS that comes from gun store employees. Doesn't mean it's malicious, or that they're willfully lying to you.

Could have just been misinformed, or misled by the distributor who made that run of special guns.

You have to take stuff with a grain of salt, and do your own research, just like the OP did.

This is on par with the dill hole who would take a bunch of Beretta 92 pistols and cerekote them in FDE and he would then re-sell them as some limited run of 'Ranger Edition' Beretta M9 pistols.

http://berettaforum.net/vb/sho...784&highlight=Ranger

It's extreme to bring it to the attention of the owner? Saying something to the random person at the counter is as good as talking to a brick wall. And simply not returning to the store will go unnoticed. Addressing it with the person that makes the business decisions is the only way to 1) get clarity 2) make your opinion heard and 3) possibly affect change.

Well that certainly explains all the unusual circumstances, though I wonder if there is a distributor that came up with these. In addition to the OP's local shop, Tombstone Tactical has them on their site and at least one unrelated dealer has them posted on GB.

I definitely would not fault the local shop, though I would inform them and make sure they're aware that this is not a Sig factory release.


To the OP, how did the finish look on it? In some of the pics I've seen the finish looked pretty terrible and even the grip frame looked to be refinished instead of factory FDE, but those could just be bad pics.

Overall, as long as the sellers are being honest about what these are and not misleading customers, I think it's not a bad deal. It's a 320F in FDE that comes with a bonus 21rd mag, and the prices I've seen are closer to $530 which isn't bad. But if it's a crappy finish or the buyer thinks he's getting a limited edition release from Sig, then I have a real problem with it. I wish they had not added the fake model number sticker... that definitely indicates bad intentions by whoever came up with these.