So I had to get a crossbow tuned and zeroed (yesterday, Sunday) for a ten-day Sika hunt I am headed-to up in Maryland on Friday. While at the store shooting the bull with a couple of the guys behind the counter I got invited to compare the Walther Q5 Match to the XFive Legion.

They had a new Q5 Match in stock they wanted to sell me instead of the P320 XFive Legion I've been waiting-on at another store, an Elite SIG Dealer, their competition.

Both of the pistols we shot this morning are owned, personal guns, of the guy I shot with that works at the authorized Walther dealer store where I had my bow tuned. He actually carries the Legion but had just recently bought the Q5 and wanted me to share the comparison.

First off, I do like the feel of the Q5 Match. They are very similar in the hand. I am 6-3 with big hands and a size 17 shoe so the bigger the grips the better for me usually. The guy I was shooting with is actually two inches taller than me but with smaller hands.

Sights on both are exceptional. I gotta admit I kinda preferred the bright red fiber optic front sight on the Q5 to the XFive. Personal preference I guess, but I wasn't expecting it to be that way being a long time SIG guy. Wasn't crazy about the rear notched sights on either as they lay back on the slide and leave some room for snagging things on the draw ... hard to explain but there is a little gap in there on both of them.

The XFive was quite a bit heavier, it was noticeable. At first I thought maybe it was the 17 round mag in the XFive vs the 15 round mag in the Q5 ... plus the Q5 has a lot of cutouts in the slide. The Legion feels easily close to twice as heavy.

Both are tack drivers. I was a little better with the Q5, especially at the 7, 10 and 15 yard lines. But still, they were close. I was all in the X circle at all three lines with both and still in the 10 circle at 20 and 25 yards with both.

Little less felt recoil with the Legion although with the hot 147s there was more muzzle flip ... not sure why. Got a little web friction on the big thumb knuckle with the Q5 because there is a swell line, a transition line, that is a little bit sharp running from the frame to the beaver tail on the Q5 that needs to be factory melted some. Both pistols actually had very similar lines in that regard but the Q5's is slightly more pronounced and it feels sharper than the same transition line on the Legion. This may not affect shooters with normal sized hands, I dunno. We both noted the difference.

I shot 100 rounds each of what I was told was Magtech 115 FMJ, out of both pistols (he had it loose in an ammo can). Plus I shot 50 rounds each of Winchester White Box 115 gr out of both pistols plus 50 Remington green box 124gr HPs through each and some stout 147 grain Fed HydraShok hot reloads I brought along for the ride (that my EDC P226 loves).

His Legion came with three 17 round mags, his Q5 Match came with two 15 rounders but they make 17 rounders (that come with the Q5 Pro I was told). Both mag-wells are well-designed and almost identical. Made for quick reloads and we ran through a few drills in that regard.

Neither pistol had a single malfunction.

Triggers .... Q5 has this funky looking two-stage blue trigger but it was crisp and clean, very little creep. We didn't have a spring scale but we both agreed that both triggers have about 4 pds of pull. I personally liked the flat trigger on the Legion better, it's just a helluva trigger IMHO. Seemed to have a shorter reset too, not by much, it was close.

Big difference on price. They're asking $1569.00 for the Q5 Match at their store, before taxes. That's probably full-pop MSRP I guess? I've been promised the next P320 Legion XFive that comes-in (at another store where I buy all my SIGs) for $1000.00.

The Walther Q5 Match is not worth the extra $569.00 IMHO but it is one helluva fine pistol. I don't know what it is about the gun but it has the look and feel of a piece of art, it really does. Both pistols are top-notch, creme de la creme. The Walther is prettier and feels more like a race gun than does the XFive Legion, but I'm not really looking for a race gun to be honest.

They made a good effort to sell-me on that Q5 Match though, plus they threw-in a little range ammo. It was worth an hour on the range.

I was really tempted to throw the card down and buy the Q5 this morning. It's that dang pretty and there is really not anything major to not like about it other than the price. It would be a show piece to pull out of the safe or take to the indoor range from time to time. Pure bragging rights kinda pistol but I stopped when we got back to the store and I started thinking I could buy another Virtus for a few hundred bucks more. Plus the price may drop on these next year hopefully. It's a darn pretty pistol.

I wouldn't call the P320 (legion) a tack driver, but it's okay. It's not going to do what a CZ Shadow or something like that can do, but it is good enough for competition.

If it were me, I'd take the P320. If I were going to spend the money for the Walther, I'd spend a bit more and pick up a Shadow, instead, but. you can have two legions for the cost of the shadow. It's all relative.

The thing about the Legion is that as it comes out of the box, it's ready to go. You don't need to do anything else, and it's ready to grease and compete, unless you want to stick an optic on it. I've built up several quasi-legions out of P320F's and I think I may have spent more on each, than I would have just picking up a Legion. You can't put into a stock pistol what's in the legion, for the price. It's too good a deal, in my opinion, to pass up.

The P320 Legions were running just shy of nine hundred bucks. Apparently they've gone up a bit too.

Thanks for the reply and you're right, from the 20 yard line the Legion started losing ground and at 25 yds the Q5 was obviously the winner .... but not enough-so to warrant the extra cost.

The grand for the XFive Legion is promised to me out the door, taxes and all .... so I'm figuring I guess $70 in taxes or so, he's going to make a couple of bucks. As far as current prices, I dunno. I'm next up on a waiting list so I'm gettin' it while the gettin' is good. I've been waiting on Cabela's and Sportsman's Warehouse forever. They keep saying they have them, they keep saying they're sold out.

I don't see prices going down until well into next year even if we have a favorable election outcome all the way around. I'm willing to pay a grand out the door at this point. I keep hearing things from the gun store salesmen about a slight change in clientele that has me wondering a bit.

I will say this, maybe someone will correct me if this is wrong ... but the Legion I shot this morning was more than plenty accurate from 7, 10 and 15. Ten ring at 20 and 25 and even then only 5 of those were outside the bullseye all of them were inside the 10 ring.

I'm going with the Legion but I have decided to drop hints with Momma for the Q5 via the kids maybe for this next birthday. That worked back on my 50th birthday some years ago and I scored a Benelli M1014 so I'm going to try again. I probably shouldn't have been suckered into shooting that Q5. The more I think about it the more I want it and now I wonder how soon the opportunity to own one might come along again.

Hoping someone else will come along who has shot one or owns one and tell me they're not that great.

ETA Thanks for the CZ Shadow suggestion. I'm going to call around tomorrow and see if I can check one out or if one of the ranges happens to have a demo .... which is probably pie in the sky wishful thinking.

Sounds like this is a Q5 Match SF. There is also a polymer version. I've got a Q5 Match SF and an X5 Legion. They are indeed both solid guns. The Walther seems more polished to me. The factory Walther trigger is good but not great. The X5 Legion trigger is about the same. Walther has an aftermarket first party trigger coming that I've tried and it's great.

I agree that the Walther is not $500+ better, but both guns are "worth it" to me in different ways.

Pass on the Q5. Too niche + expensive unless you're really into Walthers.

Shadow 2 is an awesome pistol! With just a minimal amount of time and money, half an hour and maybe $50, it is almost as good as my AccuShadow 2.

I had a Walther PPQ sitting in the safe. Bought it years ago. Admired the trigger and the paddles but it didn't really seem like a carry gun to me. It went to the range a few times but... mostly moved toward the back of the safe. Wasn't disinterested enough to sell it, wasn't interested enough to shoot it often. Or probably even once in the last couple of years.

Then CDNN put up the Q5 Match conversion slide and barrel. Closeout price of $349. Would work with either style of PPQ. Couldn't resist.

Old slide and barrel off, new slide and barrel on. Trigger is the same of course. Very light break, very short reset. My only real complaint about it is the take-up... the trigger bar rubs along the side of the frame and so pulling the trigger back to the release point has this "plastic-y" feeling. You can put a couple of drops of oil in there and it is lots better... until the oil migrates away and then you are back where you started.

The new upper looks great. I've cleaned it all up and dry fired it a bunch. We have puppies in the house so I'm not allowed to live fire for several weeks. Upsets the mamma dogs. But it sure looks good and for $349... seems like a good deal to me!!