SIG Sauer P320

SIG Sauer P320
SIG Sauer P320 Compact
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Switzerland Germany USA
Service history
In service	2014–present
Production history
Designer	Adrian Thomele, Thomas Metzger, Michael Mayerl, Ethan Lessard
Manufacturer	SIG Sauer GmbH, Eckernfoerde, Germany; SIG Sauer Inc., Exeter, NH, United States
Variants	Full-size, Carry, Compact, and Subcompact
Specifications
Weight	833 g (29.4 oz) P320 Full Size (incl magazine) 737 g (26.0 oz) P320 Carry (incl magazine) 737 g (26.0 oz) P320 Compact (incl magazine) 708 g (25.0 oz) P320 Subcompact (incl magazine)
Length	203 mm (8.0 in) P320 Full Size 183 mm (7.2 in) P320 Carry 183 mm (7.2 in) P320 Compact 170 mm (6.7 in) P320 Subcompact
Barrel length	120 mm (4.7 in) P320 Full Size 98 mm (3.9 in) P320 Carry 98 mm (3.9 in) P320 Compact 91 mm (3.6 in) P320 Subcompact
Width	35.5 mm (1.4 in) P320 Full Size 35.5 mm (1.4 in) P320 Carry 35.5 mm (1.4 in) P320 Compact 28 mm (1.1 in) P320 Subcompact
Height	140 mm (5.5 in) P320 Full Size 140 mm (5.5 in) P320 Carry 131 mm (5.2 in) P320 Compact 120 mm (4.7 in) P320 Subcompact
Caliber	9×19mm Parabellum .357 SIG .40 S&W .45 ACP .380 ACP
Action	Short recoil operated, locked breech
Rate of fire	Semi-automatic
Feed system	P320 Full Size: 17 rounds (9×19mm) 14 rounds (.357 SIG, .40 S&W) 10 rounds (.45 ACP) Carry: 17 rounds (9×19mm) 14 rounds (.357 SIG, .40 S&W) 10 rounds (.45 ACP) Compact: 15 rounds (9×19mm) 13 rounds (.357 SIG, .40 S&W) 9 rounds (.45 ACP) Subcompact: 12 rounds (9×19mm, .380 ACP) 10 rounds (.40 S&W) 6 rounds (.45 ACP)
Sights	Fixed iron sights, front—blade, rear—notch, with optional tritium night inserts

The SIG Sauer P320 is a semi-automatic pistol made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn, and SIG Sauer of Exeter, New Hampshire. The SIG Sauer P320 can be chambered in 9×19mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. The P320 chambered in 9×19mm was introduced in the North American market on January 15, 2014 followed by the .45 ACP compact model at the SHOT Show in January 2015.^[1] The P320 is a further development of the P250 utilizing a striker-fired mechanism in lieu of a double action only hammer system

Design details

Operating mechanism

Like other SIG Sauer pistols, the P320 pistol is a short recoil operated, locked breech pistol. It uses the typical SIG Sauer cam-operated barrel, which locks into the ejection port on the slide.

Features

A key feature of the pistol is its modular design. The main module of the P320 is an internal stainless steel frame fire control unit, which consists of the integrated fire control group (trigger, hammer and all necessary linkage and springs), ambidextrous slide release (one on each side of the pistol), ejector and four slide rails. This steel receiver unit is used in every P320 grip module, top end, and chambering combination and is inserted into the grip frame module and held in place by the axis pin of the disassembly lever. The firearm's serial number is on the fire control unit instead of the grip module. The fire control unit allows the operator to interchange differently-sized slide assembly or top end modules and polymer grip frame modules and trigger shoes and (limited) chambering conversions to adapt the gun to the individual user and address different needs.

The P320 was designed to be ambidextrous in handling, sporting an ambidextrous slide catch lever and user reversible magazine catch. All other operating controls are designed so they can be operated from either side. The firearm can be field stripped with no tools. Additionally, the firearm can also be field stripped without depressing the trigger or requiring a tool, an additional safety feature to prevent negligent discharge of the weapon.^[2]

The full-size, carry and compact grip modules feature an integral Picatinny rail mounting-bracket at the lower forward edge of the module to allow the mounting of laser sights, tactical lights, and other accessories.

Modular options

SIG Sauer P320 Full Size 9×19mm Parabellum with aftermarket grip enhancement

The P320 pistol is offered in three glass-reinforced polymer grip module sizes—small, medium, and large — in each of the full-sized, carry/compact, and subcompact P320 variants. The pistol top ends also come in full-sized, compact, and subcompact variants that will fit the correspondingly sized grip modules. Every chambering can be converted by the user with a caliber exchange kit. The 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, and .357 SIG chamberings share their polymer grip frame modules and this offers the possibility to interchange these three chamberings by swapping the top end — consisting of the slide, recoil spring assembly, barrel and the box magazine. Due to the significantly larger external dimensions of the .45 ACP cartridge compared to the other P320 chambering options, the .45 ACP chambering uses slightly wider .45 ACP specific polymer grip modules with an enlarged magazine well.

The manufacturer offers caliber exchange kits or Caliber X-Change kits consisting of a slide, recoil assembly, barrel, box magazine and grip module in the varying frame sizes, grip module sizes and chambering variants in which the P320 pistol is offered. These kits enable a user to switch between the various P320 configurations without the use of tools.

Safety

The P320 has no manual safeties to promote instant readiness. Instead of manual safeties an automated firing pin safety ensures safe carrying of the weapon whilst preventing accidental discharges if the gun is dropped or roughly handled.

Trigger system

The trigger is a self-cocking DAO trigger system with a spring powered striker. The trigger system has a pull weight of about 28.95 N, 5.5 lbf^[3]

The P320 trigger is available in standard (solid) and tabbed (with trigger safety) ^[4]

Barrel

The P320 is available with a 120 mm (4.7 in), 98 mm (3.9 in), or 91 mm (3.6 in) barrel depending on the size (full-sized, carry/compact or sub-compact respectively).

Ammunition feeding

The pistol feeds from metal detachable box magazines with a six- to seventeen-round magazine capacity, depending on chambering and pistol size.

Sights

The P320 comes with three-dot combat-type iron sights of which the front sight element can be drifted to the left or right in its dovetail to adjust for windage. There are three rear sight heights and six front sight heights available to adjust for elevation. Self-luminous tritium powered SIGLITE Night Sights in differing heights are optional. SIGLITE night sights are optional, but come standard in exchange kits.

Accessories

The factory accessories consist of spare magazines, caliber exchange kits, a short reduced reach trigger shoe, handgun holsters, and the STL-900L Tactical Light/Laser unit.

Variants

• Modular Handgun System Variant - Designed to meet the requirements for the MHS program. Modifications include:^[5][6]
  • Ambidextrous thumb safety
  • Loaded chamber indicator
  • Improved slide sub-assembly to capture small components when disassembled
  • Improved trigger "mud flap" to prevent foreign debris from entering the pistol action

Reviews

Rob Curtis at GearScout praised the P320's smooth operation and good balance, calling it "immensely controllable", but noted a problem with the slide lock in both test units he tried.^[7]

Users

•  Thailand: Request for permission for duty-free private purchases by members of the Royal Thai Police; 150,000 batches^[8]
•  United States:
  • University of Cincinnati police.
  • Union Beach Police - Union Beach, New Jersey
  • Howell Police - Howell, New Jersey
  • Morris County Sheriff's Office - New Jersey
  • Seymour Police - Seymour, Indiana
  • West Valley City Police - Utah ^[9]
  • Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Highway Patrol
  • Hooksett Police. Hooksett, New Hampshire^[10]
  • High Point Police. High Point, North Carolina^[11]
  •  Hawaii: Hawaii Department of Public Safety. Hawaii^[12]
  •  Oklahoma: Oklahoma Highway Patrol^[13]
  •  Florida: Pasco County Sheriff's Office ^[14]
  • United States Park Police

References

1. ↑ http://www.miltechmag.com/2015/01/shot-show-2015-sig-sauer-adds.html
2. ↑ http://www.officer.com/product/11305415/sig-sauer-inc-p320-pistol
3. ↑ http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/p320-full.aspx
4. ↑ http://www.sigevolution.com/p320
5. ↑ http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/10/foghorn/sig-sauer-unviels-p320-mhs-edition/
6. ↑ http://gearscout.militarytimes.com/2014/10/13/sig-sauer-p320-mhs-edition/
7. ↑ "Sig Sauer P320: MHS edition" Gearscout 06/06/2014
8. ↑ "Police chief to seek approval from ministry to make direct order of 150,000 Sig Sauer pistols". Thai PBS. 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-21. 
9. ↑ {{http://www.utah.gov/pmn/files/242797.pdf}}
10. ↑ Tactical-Life http://www.tactical-life.com/news/hooksett-police-sig-sauer-p320/. Retrieved 2015-03-19.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. ↑ Guns.com http://www.guns.com/2015/07/28/north-carolina-police-department-goes-sig-p320/.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
12. ↑ Thefirearmsblog.com http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/11/20/sig-p320-selected-by-hawaii-dps/.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
13. ↑ "https://www.sigsauer.com/AboutUs/FancyBoxNews.aspx?newsid=138". www.sigsauer.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.  External link in |title= (help)
14. ↑ "Pasco sheriff's deputies trade in Glocks for free SIG Sauer service handguns". Tamba Bay Times. 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2016-08-06. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SIG Sauer P320.

• Official website P320 page