Among our group of pistoliers there is a definite prejudice toward hammer fired pistols, even in this modern age of “plastic fantastic” handguns. We’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the world of polymer framed guns, finally admitting that they work well enough and provide a means of less expensively crafting advanced ergonomics into guns that would otherwise leave lots to be desired. Even so, we still prefer wheelies or “old school” semi’s for our paper punching range work. We still believe that John Moses Browning was a more important figure in engineering legend than the Wright Brothers or Henry Ford - right up there with Willis Carrier, who invented air conditioning.
That having been said, we decided to give a close look at a striker-fired pistol about which we’ve been hearing good things lately; to see for ourselves. If the Sig Sauer corporate propaganda is to be believed, there’s no reason for anyone to buy any other pistol than the P320. Safety, accuracy, reliability, durability, adaptability, ergonomics, maintenance, and price all favor the Sig - or so they say. Well … , at least some of this is true.
Safety - Considerations for deployment of a handgun to members of a law enforcement or military organization require them to be as “idiot proof” as possible. We don’t mean to imply that members of these organizations are less than stellar in the brainpower category but mass deployment of any mechanical system to a group of humans requires consideration of the possibility of error. Even though these groups of operators are exposed to an exponentially larger amount of training that John Q. Public, the incidence of “accidental” or “negligent” discharge in everyday use is high enough that the possibility of operator error needs to be engineered out of the product to the extent possible. Sig has gone to extra lengths in this area with the P320. If you claim a discharge to be accidental instead of negligent - especially during routine maintenance - you’d better have a really good story or be able to prove a defect in the gun’s system or someone is going to call BS on you pretty quick. “The gun went off by itself” just ain’t gonna work with the 320, and you don’t have to activate the damn trigger to get the gun apart. A full explanation of the safety features is available at www.sigsauer.com
Maintenance - If you know about Sig’s P250 you already know a lot about the 320. The “modular” concept is practically identical. A simple but true phrase is: “The 320 is a striker-fired 250.” No tools are required for disassembly. This is a fairly common feature today but Sig takes the concept a big step further by allowing even the “trigger group” to be easily removed from the frame without tools or special skills. This allows all moving parts in the frame assembly to be removed for easy cleaning and the process is both quick and mentally painless.
The barrel/slide/firing block assembly is a conventional semi-auto design, allowing the barrel to be removed for easy cleaning of the removable parts. The trigger group is a “cassette” design, with all the little pins, parts, springs, and levers contained in one assembly, which is easily removed from the grip frame for “washing” as a unit. This allows for much more thorough cleaning than pistols in which these parts remain in place in the frame except for removal by a qualified armorer. This is unique in the industry today.
Ergonomics - The “compact” grip frame mounted on the pistol we tested fit all of our hands well enough and “really great” on a couple of them, so chances are a consumer would find the pistol on display suitable for his/her needs. If not, each of the four pistol sizes (full, carry, compact, and subcompact) is available in variations of girth for a completely custom fit. It is even possible to buy an extra grip frame (at relatively low cost) for sharing the pistol with someone whose hand is a different size/shape because the grip frame does not contain the gun’s serial number and is, therefore, simply an accessory. This could also be handy for someone who wants a larger pistol for range/practice work and a smaller one for concealed carry.
With all these variations available, the P320 that is a perfect fit for any one consumer is available without the necessity of aftermarket ($$$) purchases. With a slide-lock lever on both sides, and the ability to reverse the magazine-release button, the P320 is ambidextrous (except for the ejection port).
The other items that affect overall ergonomic suitability have benefitted from Sig’s experience in fitting large organizations with members of various sizes and shapes, so the shape and texture of the trigger, placement of the trigger guard, sight design, trigger pull feel, etc. are well engineered for the man/machine interface.
Shooting - First impression of the 320 as we took it out for our test session was excellent ergonomics. The one we shot was the “compact” model. Because our group consists of widely varying hand sizes and finger lengths, few guns feel entirely comfortable to all of us but this gun worked exceptionally well for everyone who participated in the tests. Not perfect, mind you, but a good enough fit for all that there was not a single complaint in the “grip fit” category.
Accuracy - This is not the kind of pistol any of us would pick to employ as a 25 or 50 yard marksmanship piece. We have “hair trigger” revolvers with much longer sight radius and highly tuned semi-autos that put very tightly grouped holes in paper. The P320 just ain’t that kind of gun. Surprisingly, however, the first few shots each of us took with it all rang the 8” steel a high percentage of times in our “get acquainted” strings of fairly rapid fire at personal defense distances. Raised eyebrows and wide smiles were the order of the day as each of us emptied our first magazine. Our subjective initial feel of the gun was collectively; “easy to shoot accurately.”
Reliability - We tried several different types of ammo at times during the session; from our own cast lead handloads to FMJ factory loads, which also varied widely in power (combination of bullet weight and muzzle velocity). Everything we fed it operated flawlessly and shot to point of aim. This was not a surprise because the design of the barrel/slide assembly is quite similar to other Sig Sauer semi-autos, differing only in the area which houses the firing pin (striker mechanism in this case). Based on our knowledge of the Sig design and extensive experience with the company’s various models, our somewhat educated prediction is that the P320 will not detract from Sig’s excellent reputation for reliability.
Conclusion - We do not favor striker-fired pistols. None of us currently owns one, although we shoot a wide variety of them regularly enough in testing of repair or modification work done in the shop. It’s not that we actively dislike the design or find it lacking in utilitarian ways, nor would we recommend against it for other consumers. We just prefer the more conventional designs for our style of shooting. That having been said, the P320 was a bit of a pleasant revelation to us. Our common conclusion was; “if I were going to buy a striker-fired pistol, this would be the one.
Respectfully Submitted
The Bunker Bunch
August, 2016
As usual, we solicit your constructive comments or suggestions. Thank you for your visit.
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