My dept was on the hunt for another issued sidearm, and it was down between Glock, and the P320. We currently carry 229R DAK .357 Sig, so my guess was the bean counters really wanted to stay with Sig...bing-bang-boom...we are getting full sized 320's with the Dept. patch etched in the slide. Personally I was hoping for the Glock, since I never really warmed up to the 229R DAK. My gut tells me if they would have polled the front line Troops, they would have seen what is carried off duty most of the time...Glock. I don't have any concrete data, other than yearly Division qualifications for off duty weapons. Everyone that was qualifying off duty weapons would go back to their cars and get their Glocks.

Oh well, I don't get to make those decisions. With the upcoming change in mind, and wanting to change the way I think about keeping the same manual of arms as my primary weapon, I was looking at getting either a P320c, or a P320 Carry in 9mm for off duty carry. I've been getting brain lock looking all over YouTube at both models. I'll be over the mountain Thursday, and I planned on running by the LGS to check out what they have to get a feel for them both.

For those that have either, or, how do you like them? I'm not in a mad dash to get it right away, since the issuing of the weapons will be through attrition, I imagine, and not all at once (2000+ needed).

Thanks...

Just my oppinion but I feel the G31 would have been a better choice. There are other Police Ageancys who holster just that. I think they are served well with the .357 cartridge. Its just me as I'm not all that warm on the 320 gun.

Might as well get a smaller P320 as your off duty.

We’re issued the 31 and my backup/off duty guns are the 32 and 33.

I’m going to switch us over to gen4 31s this summer.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
Just my oppinion but I feel the G31 would have been a better choice. There are other Police Ageancys who holster just that. I think they are served well with the .357 cartridge. Its just me as I'm not all that warm on the 320 gun.

I was thinking the same thing. My tin-foil-hat wearing side of me thinks there was "back door" deals going on. Glocks are in too many holsters to not get a serious look. When they did the T&E there wasn't that many shooters present. All I was told by my Division FI was that there was good talk about the Sig. I thought "great...P320 it is"

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
Might as well get a smaller P320 as your off duty.

We’re issued the 31 and my backup/off duty guns are the 32 and 33.

I’m going to switch us over to gen4 31s this summer.

I'm sorta jealous...

We're in the process of switching over to 9mm P320's. We had every shooter that came out to Block 2 Firearms shoot a P320 in .357 Sig and a Glock 31. P320 won the survey by over 200 votes. We're going to 9mm because the current rounds make the performance almost identical (less than 1/4" difference in ballistic gel through the entire FBI test protocol) and I can save $33,000 a year by making the switch. Nothing wrong with .357 Sig, but it's not a marked improvement in performance over current 9mm, you hold more rounds in the gun, and you save a bunch of money.

I will say that in 15,000 rounds with the 31 and the P320, we had no malfunctions that weren't shooter induced. I would have no concerns about carrying either one.

I quite like the P320, and now own a number of them, but I carry a Glock. My personal carry firearm is a G32, and when possible, I prefer the full size G31.

You won't be disappointed with the P320, though.

quote:

Originally posted by K.O.A.M.:
We're in the process of switching over to 9mm P320's. We had every shooter that came out to Block 2 Firearms shoot a P320 in .357 Sig and a Glock 31. P320 won the survey by over 200 votes. We're going to 9mm because the current rounds make the performance almost identical (less than 1/4" difference in ballistic gel through the entire FBI test protocol) and I can save $33,000 a year by making the switch. Nothing wrong with .357 Sig, but it's not a marked improvement in performance over current 9mm, you hold more rounds in the gun, and you save a bunch of money.

I will say that in 15,000 rounds with the 31 and the P320, we had no malfunctions that weren't shooter induced. I would have no concerns about carrying either one.

That was kicked around, too, going to 9mm. They carried it back in the day when they issued 228's. I guess they just like spending the money on the .357.

I have 7 P320's in various configurations. If you are going to carry then I'd recommend the P320 compact, it's slightly easier to conceal. I have a P320C RX for my primary carry and I love it.

One downside to the compact version is that the magazines are shorter than the full size and carry magazines which means if you later decide to buy a full size or carry size P320 the compact mags will not fit in the full or carry models. The full size mags however will fit in the compact but will stick out past the magwell.

So if you think you may want a P320 full size in the future and you don't want to have buy a whole new set of magazines, then go with the Carry version.

Just my 2 pennies...but I think .357Sig is softer shooting in the the 320 than the Glock. I owned them both at one point in time.

My very last duty gun was a Glock 31. I would have rather had a P320 in .357 Sig if it was around then. Better gun in my opinion.

We went to the P320 Carry in 9mm from the P229 in .40 about a year ago. When they talked about changing, I actually suggested we go to the G17, but they instead picked the P320. I'm glad they did...mine has been awesome. Incredibly reliable, easy to shoot, naturally pointing, and accurate. Having worked with it, I wouldn't trade it for two Glocks. And I like Glocks.

Like the OP I've considered picking up a supcompact (or maybe a compact along with an extra subcompact grip frame and mag) to use as a backup/off-duty piece. I've been spending all my spare cash on other stuff, though, so my G26 is still filling that role for the time being.

Fortunately you have a right fine caliber in the 357Sig and you are keeping with it. I can also understand the Glock desire.

Don't have any .357 SIGs, but I bought a 9mm P320 Carry.

I went with the Carry size figuring if it was too big in the grip, I could easily step down to the Compact, buy a 15 rounder and use the 17 rounders for spares (maybe with the sleeves). If I really wanted, I could step down to a SC, which you can't really do with a full sized slide.

As it turns out, the Carry's bit of extra height wasn't any issue for me to conceal. I do happen to have a large frame without being muscular or fat, so I'm kinda lucky there. And I don't dress in tightly fitted clothes anyway.

Here's the height differences between a P226 (flush fit 15), P320 Carry (17) and P229 (.40 so it's 12):


As for being issued the P320 instead of the Glock, just go into it with an open mind. I was not a fan of the P250, so I passed on the P320 initially. Tried the VP9 and PPQ first but ended up not shooting them as well as I wanted. Tried the P320 and was markedly better, especially during rapid fire. It doesn't feel as nice just sitting in your hand as the other two, but the results showed I was clearly shooting better with the P320.

Good luck to you, and stay safe.

I think the 320 will get beat up with the 357 round , plus it cost more than 9 ammo . But I also think the 357 will take the fight out of the bad guy quicker.

I'm issued a G22 at work but carry a P320 off duty and competition shooting. I love the 320 and have a FS, Carry and compact. It points naturally and is a joy to shoot.

I think the .357 is an excellent round, carried one for a short time myself, a G32. Cost of ammo was a factor for me as I shoot quite a bit and the PD wasn't footing that bill at the time.

As far as Glocks go, it's no secret, I like them and carried them for a long time as my primary duty weapon.

That being said, I moved to the 320 platform back in 2015, and have had no issues. In 2015 my department looked at going to the issued weapons, a battle if fought and won, thank gawd. Anyway we tested several pistols, and the Glock and the 320 were the two left standing when the dust settled.

We then got the officers involved and had them shoot both and not just punching holes in paper, but spent a day having them run drills, etc. The 320 won out unanimously, even with guys that were carrying glocks.

Well the issued duty weapons thing went away, but myself and the other four range instructors, bought our own 320's and started carrying them.

I did carry a 5th Gen glock for a short time while my 320 was being upgraded, and thought I might stay with the 5th Gen, even when the 320 came back.

Well after it's return, I quickly discovered why it pulled me away from Glock in the first place.

I am carrying my 320 again, and I have added an X carry frame to it. I have had several 320 since 2015, and not a single one of them has had any issues or problems.

Glocks are great pistols without a doubt, but they do have some limitations, that other manufacturers have solved with their designs.

Remember the 320 is a new platform, but so was Glock once upon a time. And when it was new it certainly had it's fair share of problems, see NYPD G19 problems.

The 320 will mature and build it's track record, just like Glock did.





TXPO

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

quote:

Originally posted by K.O.A.M.:
We're in the process of switching over to 9mm P320's. We had every shooter that came out to Block 2 Firearms shoot a P320 in .357 Sig and a Glock 31. P320 won the survey by over 200 votes. We're going to 9mm because the current rounds make the performance almost identical (less than 1/4" difference in ballistic gel through the entire FBI test protocol) and I can save $33,000 a year by making the switch. Nothing wrong with .357 Sig, but it's not a marked improvement in performance over current 9mm, you hold more rounds in the gun, and you save a bunch of money.

I will say that in 15,000 rounds with the 31 and the P320, we had no malfunctions that weren't shooter induced. I would have no concerns about carrying either one.

May I ask what 9mm load your agency settled on in 9mm?

I own two P320s, a full-size in .45 ACP and a compact in 9mm Luger. I also bought a carry model grip module and some 17 round magazines for my compact 9mm, so I guess you can say I have a carry model P320 as well. I have not shot a P320 chambered in 357 SIG although I do have a P229 DA/SA chambered in 357 SIG.

You did not say what you disliked about the P229 DAK .357 SIG, whether it was the weight, ergonomics, trigger action, caliber, or something else. If you dislike the grip of the P229, you may not be crazy about the P320 since the grip contour is similar, certainly much more like the P229 than a Glock. The P320 does allow you to modify the grip dimensions (width side-to-side, width front-to-back, and circumference) fairly easily and cheaply by swapping grip modules.

I know a lot of people like Glocks and I do own a Glock 19 Gen 4, but for myself the ergonomics and trigger action on the P320 are markedly better than those of a stock Glock. The compact P320 9mm is very comparable in size to a Glock 19 although the Glock is just a bit sleeker.

As for what version of 9mm P320 to get, I think the carry model does make sense. You can easily reduce the length of the grip by getting a compact grip module and some 15 round magazines if you find the carry model a bit too tall to easily conceal. But the grip length of the carry model is less than 1/4" longer than the compact, so there isn't all that much difference and the carry magazines hold 2 additional rounds. If you go that route, you can use the longer carry magazines with the compact grip module as was said, although they won't be flush fit.

Of course, you could also go the other route, buying a compact and then getting a carry grip module and the longer magazines. But carry grip modules seem to be somewhat harder to come by than compact grip modules.

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

My EDC is a 357Sig P320C. Problem free, and satisfyingly accurate.
The trigger has a bit more sting to it, post-upgrade, but I'm still quite happy with it.

Glock-wise, they just don't work for me. Have tried multiple times with a G19 & just don't shoot well with it. I'm sure I could improve with more trigger time.