I finally got around to checking out the Sig 320 compact 9 at a gun store. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. It seems to be a better glock than a glock, a better xd than an xd, a better polymer anything than any other polymer gun. I compared it to a Legion 229 compact, and could not determine which I would like better for carry. Looking at the specs, the 320 is 9 ounces lighter than the compact legion.
And of course the fact that the Army is replacing the M9 with the 320 is impressive as well.

How do you guys compare these two guns ? They seem to have identical missions, and almost identical ergos. With the exception of the triggers of course.

I'm totally unimpressed with the P320.
And, the military contract has zero sway to change my opinion.

I woul take the P229 Legion over it.

It doesn't excite me at all. Kind of ugly and the grip is bland and not particularly comfortable to hold. I have shot the compact, and shot it well, but much of that was likely from the Apex trigger that was in it.

Only polymer pistol I REALLY like is my 4.5" XDm. That thing will probably be buried with me someday. Love it.

Several months ago I switched over to EDC with a P320 sub-compact because I can shoot it so well. It replaced a CZ custom shop pistol. I now own two P250s and two P320's, including a Tac-Ops model. I think they are absolutely great guns for the price. I also like the 250, and have been able to pick up a couple fairly cheaply lately. I will admit my preferences are biased by the fact I pick up a number of 15 round magazines when the 250 was on the skids and they were cheap.

I absolutely love the 320 Compact 9mm! Phenomenal ergos and trigger! The problem is how long it took to get here. Glock has rightfully captured that market and it will take a long time to change things. The military contract will help though.

Now that grip modules are no longer unicorns I recommend trying different sizes. I really liked my Compact but it wasn't until I found a small grip that it became my favorite. It supplanted a well loved gen4 G19. Love that gun. But I had to put some mods into it to make it work well for me. The 320 stock with a small grip is perfect for me. Especially after I stippled it. Well, perfect-ish. I will always look for the next better thing.

I forgot I placed a back order for small grip modules so when one showed up the other day unannounced I figured a new stippling session is in order. I love the effect of stippling but I am way too much of a pussy to try it on my Glocks.

I used to carried a railess, tailess P229 9mm on duty and continued to do so after I retired, great gun.

I held off for a while after the 320 became available. I shot Glocks before and didn't care for their ergonomics. I thought the 320 was going to be similar.

I handled one, then purchased one. After firing it, it has become my carry gun. I shoot it more accurately than any other pistol I have shot and it carries well for me.

I've grown to like shooting my 320C well enough but it's certainly not my favorite, especially after I took the trigger assembly apart. Yes it comes apart super easy, even if I didn't want it to practically deconstruct nearly on its own as it did. Annoying piece of kit to put back together (actually 'kit' wasn't the word I had in mind, but it at least rhymes with what I was really thinking). The one thing going for it is if you like the grip of a traditional P-SIG it's the one striker on the market that allows for the easiest transition, at least from an ergonomic standpoint.

Of my strikers Glocks still meld the best, but after more than 2 1/2 decades of shooting dem blocky tings that's kinda expected I suppose. These days my VP9, though imperfect in its own ways, comes closest to knocking down the compact Glock. If only they made it slightly smaller (and definitely larger than the SK). And I have to say that the Canik TP9SF series is equally commendable. If only it were more a compact size, and if only I could truly trust Century Arms. The PPQ is the PPQ; as much as I enjoy my M1 I really want to try a Q5 Match. If only they made that one with the paddles. (if only, if only...) For all venom one can say about FNH pistols, my FNS9 compact is a sweetheart of a shooter as well. And now that I've shot the APX and the P-10C as well (and still waiting on the 509 to show up), these indeed are good times within the striker world.

The standard 320 feels meh to me, but I love the feel of the 320 x-5 go figure. I'll stick mostly to my Glocks though.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I'm totally unimpressed with the P320.
And, the military contract has zero sway to change my opinion.

I woul take the P229 Legion over it.

Why - anything specific, or just meh ? Nothing wrong with meh, but if there's something specific that doesn't work for you etc.

While I am certainly a SIG fan in general, I'm with those that are underwhelmed by the P320. It looks and feels like a striker fired Beretta PX4 of which I'm not that fond of either. The ergos don't feel for right to me and the triggers I have tried didn't appeal to me either. I have not handled the X variants but I just don't see those changing my opinion.

I know they are highly regarded by some but I'm still not sold on the removable FCU concept. Thinking about the Army contract, it was always my understanding that the military was about weapons that were standardized across the board for consistency. I can appreciate having the ability to customize the frames for individuals' specific needs, but it also means in the heat of battle for instance, you could end up having to use a pistol configuration you are not as used to. I'm probably overthinking that portion of it, but the removable FCU can also present some maintenance and functionality issues during disassembly, reassembly. Lastly, while it so far has been what appears to be isolated instances, the double click trigger issue of the striker not resetting under certain trigger pull circumstances could prove to be an elusive problem to deal with. I am not comfortable with an FCU design that has even a small chance of not working due to the way it "normally" works and was designed. Any trigger can have a malfunction due to an outside influence, whether fouling, environmental, etc. But it is quite another for a trigger to have a chance of not working based on how it is pulled or operated.

Bottom line for me is, I will take any other polymer frame gun from one of the other prominent and reputable manufacturers over the P320. Top three for me would be a tie between the PPQ and M&P2.0 and a close second would be a Glock. But that's just me. I still like P series SIGs a lot, but of all of them, the P229 (original and -1) is one I have just not warmed up to either.

My department recently switched to the P320 from the P229. At first I was skeptical, as I'm not a huge fan of striker fired plastic guns. I got to shoot an evaluation model a little bit, and decided that I didn't hate it. Then we got our new guns in, and I got to shoot it a good deal more, and qualify on it.

I've never had a problem qualifying expert on my P229, but I could never pull off that perfect score. Usually my hang up is with that initial double-action pull. The p320 comes out of the holster and goes on target far more smoothly and naturally than the P229 for me...something about the grip shape and angle just lends itself to a natural sight picture. This, combined with the excellent, consistent trigger pull let's me get that initial shot on target much faster and more accurately than I could with the P229. I went from never achieving that perfect score with the P229, to scoring perfect every time with the P320. The result speaks for itself.

IMO the P320 is the Glock that Glock should have been to begin with. It has the lightweight, high-capacity thing down, as well as the rugged durability at an affordable price point. Add to that the built in modularity of the design, and the fact that the trigger doesn't feel like a rusted out staple gun out of the box, and it starts to look like a Glock killer. I've honestly considered replacing my venerable old G26 that has been my constant companion for the last 7 years with a 320SC. The gun is that good.

The 320 is where it's at for me, well....that and the M&P 2.0, the VP9 and my three CZ's. I'm done with Glock, at least for the foreseeable future. 320's have much better ergo's to me and are balls on accurate. I have three of them and haven't had a problem yet.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I'm totally unimpressed with the P320.
And, the military contract has zero sway to change my opinion.

I woul take the P229 Legion over it.

Why - anything specific, or just meh ? Nothing wrong with meh, but if there's something specific that doesn't work for you etc.

-Ergo
-Trigger
-Butt ugly

All the hype is not going to change those for me.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I'm totally unimpressed with the P320.
And, the military contract has zero sway to change my opinion.

I woul take the P229 Legion over it.

This. I shot one for the first time recently and it wasn't bad but nothing to write home about. Any P Series especially a P229 Legion, which I also shot, are vastly superior for my uses. The only thing the P320 offers over the P Series to me is lighter weight and one striker fired trigger pull. If I want that I'll get a Glock. Or if I don't go Glock I'd get a CZ P10C. I shot one and was impressed.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I'm totally unimpressed with the P320.
And, the military contract has zero sway to change my opinion.

I woul take the P229 Legion over it.

Why - anything specific, or just meh ? Nothing wrong with meh, but if there's something specific that doesn't work for you etc.

-Ergo
-Trigger
-Butt ugly

All the hype is not going to change those for me.

Everything he said plus the two times I shot one I had failures. They were range rentals, I am not confident in them, even if it was by being dirty.

Well, I rented a Sig p320 and p229 Legion and compared them directly on the firing line.

The 320 was a good gun, but the guy behind the gun counter said some of their customers have had issues with the 320 trigger in terms of reset and dead trigger. I don't understand the issue, but the one I rented did not have a history of said problems, nor did I experience any issues firing the gun. Was I impressed with the 320 ? Meh. Is it a "nice" polymer gun, yes, but I didn't think it was any "nicer" than a HK VP9, which is a polymer gun I do like. In fact, I prefer the VP9 over the 320. Then I shot the p229 legion. Very nice. My groups were tighter with the 229 than the 320, and not being a striker shooter, I appreciated the first DA trigger pull on the classic P gun. I like the ergos of the 229 as well, very nice. Shooting the two was like driving a chevy vs a bmw. The 229 was just a better shooter for me. I can't describe how it was better, it just was. So if I were to buy one of these two guns, I'd buy the p229 legion, great gun, and doesn't "need" any work on the action or trigger to carry right out of the box. Of course so is the 320, but again, I'm not a striker action lover.

So comparing the 320 to other makers' polymer guns, I agree with a previous poster in this thread that the 320 is no better than other polymers on the market. No silver bullets or unicorns appeared when I shot it. No unicorns appeared when I shot the 229 legion either, but it's always fun to drive a BMW.

I checked one out at the store and did not care for the way it felt in my hand. Went with an HK VP9 for my striker jollies instead.

Between the two mentioned the 229 Legion would be my pick without question.

I fondled a VP9 again today at a LGS. I had rented it earlier in the year to try, and I shot very good with it. I may rent it again, and if some unicorns show up or something, I might think about it some more. I don't know if training with both striker and hammer guns is counterproductive, or not.

Do any of you guys shoot and train with both, or do you consistently stick with one or the other ?

I prefer the VP9 as well over the P320. It allows me to combine / share mags with the P30 as well