Military selects Sig 320

[Doc Dan]

As far is lowest bid affecting the outcome, I am not certain that was the only factor in this case. One of the criticisms leveled at the military about selecting a new sidearm was that it was too costly and too complicated because the method had too much bureaucracy. Instead, there are a lot of stellar proven designs on the market that have already undergone serious evaluations by the FBI, SEALS, many law enforcement agencies, foreign militaries, and etc. The process does not need to cost 300+ Billion Dollars and more than a decade of time. That is shameful.

Though I kept hoping Ruger and S&W would get their act together and one of these would be chosen, I am always doomed to disappointment. While they make good handguns, in test after test Sig and Glock come out on top. I am a Glock fan anyway, and for good reasons. But Sig is my next favorite. I was in the Military when all that nonsense with the Beretta took place (and yes, S&W did better) and I was never in favor of the Beretta, nor were any soldiers that I knew, including some involved in testing. Good riddance to that sub standard piece of junk.

[Bugs]

Lowest bid is not the only factor but it is a a significant part of it. I was an officer in the military when we went to Beretta; a lot of us were frustrated with that choice. I'll stick with Glock over the Sig. Glock has a lower bore axis; less muzzle flip. The aftermarket support is head and shoulders above anyone else. Glock came out with this design and everyone has run to copy it due to it's success. I take all my Glocks swap out the springs and connector and polish the internals bringing the trigger pull down and smoothing it out. As far as SIG's go I like the older West German models but will be giving the new models a thorough look see. Just recently picked up a Vickers Tactical G19 with the RTF2 grip, nice pistol which will go into my carry rotation. For competition I have been using a G34 for years and see no reason to switch to another maker.

[demoncase]

Is it only going to be issued in that horrible shade of 'baby sick' tan?

[VashHash]

I wonder if this decision would have been any different if the Gen 5 Glocks were out, or is that what they tested against?

Dang, I didnt even know there was a Gen5.

Ambi slide release and mag release, no more finger grooves.

I'm pretty much sold at this point. It's about time glock went full ambi and no finger grooves. My fingers never fit in the grooves.

[akaAK]

I am a big fan of the 92A1 but admittedly I am only taking about punching paper. That being said I have shot the Sig320 and thought it was a fantastic polymer gun, the modularity doesn't mean anything to me but it was comfortable and had a decent trigger.

For the money (the sig is cheaper than equivalent glocks) in Canada I would go with the SIG

[Evil D]

I'm pretty much sold at this point. It's about time glock went full ambi and no finger grooves. My fingers never fit in the grooves.

Same here, not even close. If I force my fingers into the grooves they're so smashed that I shoot funky because of it. I think they noticed how many people are removing them and doing stippling jobs. When I bought my 19 I got the Gen 3 because my plan was to get a Timberwolf frame and swap everything over (and it only works with Gen 3) but now I'm just gonna wait and see how this unfolds. It could be years away though.

[Evil D]

the modularity doesn't mean anything to me

I really wonder if anyone will truly care. It seems more suited to the military than civilians, unless you're really going to buy two different sized frames and swap them around for different situations. I would just buy the frame that fit my hand and carry preferences the most and stick with that.

[VashHash]

I'm pretty much sold at this point. It's about time glock went full ambi and no finger grooves. My fingers never fit in the grooves.

Same here, not even close. If I force my fingers into the grooves they're so smashed that I shoot funky because of it. I think they noticed how many people are removing them and doing stippling jobs. When I bought my 19 I got the Gen 3 because my plan was to get a Timberwolf frame and swap everything over (and it only works with Gen 3) but now I'm just gonna wait and see how this unfolds. It could be years away though.

I load my 27 with a 15rd mag so i can grip it better. Works out perfect for my hands. Wish i hadn't gotten a gen 4 22 but it works. I just use the 27 a lot more. I might get a 19 when the 5s come out though so i can have a full size 9mm pistol.

[Doc Dan]

I'm pretty much sold at this point. It's about time glock went full ambi and no finger grooves. My fingers never fit in the grooves.

Same here, not even close. If I force my fingers into the grooves they're so smashed that I shoot funky because of it. I think they noticed how many people are removing them and doing stippling jobs. When I bought my 19 I got the Gen 3 because my plan was to get a Timberwolf frame and swap everything over (and it only works with Gen 3) but now I'm just gonna wait and see how this unfolds. It could be years away though.

I load my 27 with a 15rd mag so i can grip it better. Works out perfect for my hands. Wish i hadn't gotten a gen 4 22 but it works. I just use the 27 a lot more. I might get a 19 when the 5s come out though so i can have a full size 9mm pistol.

Actually, the G17 is the full sized pistol. The G19 is a compact and the G26 is a sub-compact. All great choices.

[VashHash]

I have trouble keeping up with the glock numbers

[Evil D]

I have trouble keeping up with the glock numbers

They definitely could correspond to similar models a lot more. It's odd that the 17 is larger than a 19 and a 20/21 are also larger. Why did they choose 19 for a compact size gun when all numbers around it are full size? They didn't plan it out very well way back in the beginning and now it's too late to fix it so they just throw numbers around. I'm constantly referencing their website.

[akaAK]

the modularity doesn't mean anything to me

I really wonder if anyone will truly care. It seems more suited to the military than civilians, unless you're really going to buy two different sized frames and swap them around for different situations. I would just buy the frame that fit my hand and carry preferences the most and stick with that.

same here, would rather have a complete gun than a box full of frames. for military purposes yes I can see the cost savings an ease for armourers

[remnar]

I wonder if this decision would have been any different if the Gen 5 Glocks were out, or is that what they tested against?

Dang, I didnt even know there was a Gen5.

Ambi slide release and mag release, no more finger grooves.

I'm pretty much sold at this point. It's about time glock went full ambi and no finger grooves. My fingers never fit in the grooves.

I stopped looking at Glocks when they added the finger grooves. They just don't fit me well. Glad to see the gen-5 without them. :)

[Doc Dan]

Glock's first pistol sold to the public was the Glock 17 and it was their "full sized" pistol, though it was more compact than some other pistols considered to be full sized at the time. It was developed to meet the demands of the Austrian military. It far exceeded those demands and beat out such great makers as Sig, HK, Steyr, Beretta, Browning, and some others. I seem to remember, but it has been a long time now, that it was designated as the 17 because the final pistol had 17 patents.
There are actually 3 variants of the 17 of which two are longer than the 17 full sized pistol. The 17L has a greatly lengthened slide and the 34, which has a slightly shorter slide than the 17L but longer than the 17. There is also the 18, which is a full auto version of the 17.

[Doc Dan]

Another thing about Glocks is that the G19 is now the official pistol of the Navy SEALS, replacing the previous Sig 226. That says a lot when both the SEALs and Special Forces have taken to issuing Glock 19's and so have the Marine Raiders.

[Doc Dan]

Here is a good video on the new Sig and reasons for adoption: http://www.guns.com/2017/01/24/in-depth ... ive-video/

[Evil D]

Another thing about Glocks is that the G19 is now the official pistol of the Navy SEALS, replacing the previous Sig 226. That says a lot when both the SEALs and Special Forces have taken to issuing Glock 19's and so have the Marine Raiders.

I wonder what the real motivation of that was. I know a lot of guys who carry 9mm are loving this choice because it makes them feel better equipped, since if it's good enough for the Seals then it should be good enough for a civilian. I'm a little guilty of that myself since I also carry 9mm. But, I also think it may be a sign that our assault rifles are far more reliable than in the past and the days of a side arm being used as a weapon are becoming a thing of the past, so I wonder if the choice wasn't based more on cost/weight than what the 19 is capable of. What I'm saying is, maybe pistols are basically an afterthought and the switch wasn't based on the 19 being better than anything else, but more based on cheaper guns and cheaper ammo. I hope I'm wrong with that but you have to wonder.

[MacLaren]

I think the desert sand had a helluva lot to do with the switch. A friend in the 101st said those Glocks would work better in the sand than any other.

[laker_cj]

Just learned from a friend that SIG is building a plant in Arkansas. Can't find enough machinists in NH. Besides, NH has second-highest energy costs in US.

I may be mistaken, but I believe the AR plant was more focused on the ammunition production. Their facility in NH is pretty expansive and didn't have all the machines up and running in 2015 when I was there; but they were also still moving from their smaller facility in Epping to the Portsmouth location.

Back on topic, the P320 is a solid firearm; I personally own three of them, along with a couple Glocks - either way don't think it'd have been a bad decision, but in the end I think this will help SIG at least in the short term, much like it kept Beretta going - and probably still will.

[wrdwrght]

Just learned from a friend that SIG is building a plant in Arkansas. Can't find enough machinists in NH. Besides, NH has second-highest energy costs in US.

I may be mistaken, but I believe the AR plant was more focused on the ammunition production.

You may be right. My friend knows about the AR ammo facility, but may have concluded that some firearm production might follow, given NH's relatively higher energy and labor costs, if not scarcer talent. Time, of course, will tell.