The Sig Sauer P320
Developed by Sig Sauer, the US arm of Swiss arms manufacturer Swiss arms, the Sig Sauer P320 is a semi-automatic pistol typically chambered in 9mm Parabellum but can also be chambered in .357 Sig and .40S&W. Introduced to the North American market in early 2014, it was adopted in 2017, in a modified version, as the standard sidearm by the US Army. Its revolutionary design makes it a must-have weapon.
A fully modular fire system
In the handgun family, the Sig Sauer P320, which is an upgraded version of the P250, has earned a place of honour thanks to a revolutionary feature: its fire control unit is fully modular. The fire control unit includes the trigger tail, breech stop, ejector and slides. With a slide on each side, the P320 is an ambidextrous weapon, which is a significant advantage.
In addition, the weapon can be disassembled without tools and without pulling the trigger, preventing any risk of an unfortunate shot being fired. Three sizes of polymer grips can be fitted to the fire system and calibre change kits are available to allow the user to easily switch between four different barrel lengths. The Sig Sauer P320 is a handgun that fits the requirements and preferences of many shooters, and is quick and easy to handle.
A weapon that has been controversial
Despite this great adaptability, the Sig Sauer P320 has had its share of problems. In 2017, following an incident, the use of the P320 was suspended by the Dallas police until the findings of an investigation. This one revealed that a shot could go off by accident if the P320 were to fall unfortunate on the ground. An investigation that forced the firm to ask all P320 holders to take their weapons to a gunsmith so that an upgrade operation could be carried out; the brand took full charge of all these operations, without the gun holders having to pay anything.
The P320 was also the subject of an infringement suit brought by the Austrian brand Steyr Mannlicher, which held a patent for a handgun with a removable frame.
A reference weapon in North America
In spite of these controversies, the Sig Sauer P320 has established itself as the reference handgun of the American army. However, the latter imposed its requirements on the brand to definitively adopt the model. The brand has thus adapted its slide to facilitate the installation of a red dot sight. It also added a loaded chamber indicator and improved the quality of its trigger to avoid the intrusion of foreign bodies. Following these improvements and a battery of tests, the P320 was finally awarded the contract to arm the US forces. Within the US Army, the P320 is known as the M17 and M18 (a more compact version).
Although the P320 was available to the public as early as 2014, the announcement of this contract helped the brand to boost sales and Sig Sauer launched a consumer variant of the M17. In North America, and also in France. A sports shooter can thus acquire a case that will contain a P320, a magazine, an empty chamber indicator, a velcro M17 patch. The opportunity to benefit from the best in terms of handguns.
Replicas available in the armoury
At Jean Pierre Fusil, we offer two replicas of the Sig Sauer P320: a pellet gun for leisure and an alarm gun for home defence.
