The SIG Sauer P365 is one of those semiauto pistols, along with the Springfield Armory Hellcat and Smith & Wesson M&P Shield, that has been generating a lot of enthusiastic talk in the gun press and amongst my shooting buddies alike.
So, naturally, just like with those two aforementioned guns, I just had to finally go see what all the fuss was about. Though I’m not the biggest fan of SIG Sauer pistols, I objectively acknowledge their quality, and I’ve come to love the SIG 1911 .45 ACP genuinely, so rest assured I approached their P365 with an open mind.
SIG P365 Early History and Specifications
SIG Sauer designed their P365 series in 2017, and put it into production the following year; it was an instant smash hit, becoming the bestselling handgun of 2018 and 2019.
As the manufacturer’s official info page states about their XMACRO COMP version, “With an innovative new magazine design the P365-XMACRO COMP packs a full-size 17+1 round capacity into the thin, iconic profile of the P365. The P365-XMACRO is also more shootable, with an integrated compensator that reduces muzzle flip and makes follow-up shots faster and more accurate. And with its slim, 1” wide design the P365-XMACRO COMP is more concealable and more comfortable to carry than any other 17 round gun on the market.”
Barrel length is 3.1 inches, overall length 6.6”, height is 5.2”, and weight is 21.5 ounces. The gun combines a stainless steel slide and polymer frame.
A Shooting Buddy’s Impressions
My friend Itshak “Ike” Sarfati, a battle-hardened Israel Defense Forces (IDF) veteran who definitely knows his stuff, and whose name you may recognize from my reviews of the standard Glock 30 and Glock 30S as well as the Uzi submachine gun, Glock 43X, and Smith & Wesson Shield, has this to say about the SIG P365 series:
“The P365 and its different variations are some of the nicest, lightest variations of today’s micro compact guns. The gun ls lightweight, accurate with a great trigger straight from the factory, mine was 100% reliable, it comes with different size modular grips and mags of 10, 12, 15, and 17 rounds and is anybody’s dream to have as many variations of it to get the best fit and individual purpose and use of it.”
“Toda raba (Thank you very much)” for that expert perspective, Ike!
Personal Shooting Impressions/Range Report
Okay then, onto the fun part y’all have been waiting for. For that, I went to the ever-popular Cindy’s Hot Shots in Glen Burnie, Maryland, with its super-friendly staff, who indulged me with their rental SIG P365-XMACRO COMP 9mm.
Ammo used was a 50-round box of PMC Bronze 115-grain full metal jacket (FMJ) AKA “hardball.” Test-fire was divvied into 25 rounds of head shots at 7 yard and 25 rounds of center-torso shots at 25 yards, all delivered from the Classic Weaver Stance. Target used was the Pink-Fire Defender from Thompson Target. As a quick sidebar, I hasten to add that Thompson Target proudly proclaims that their products are “MADE IN USA…NOT IN CHINA.” (Xi Jinping and the rest of his CCP cronies can roll that in their collective pipes and smoke it!)
Grip ergonomics weren’t the all-time best but were more than sufficiently comfortable. Trigger pull quality really impressed me, I daresay the nicest trigger of any striker-fired pistol I’ve ever fired, even the Canik (which has arguably the best reputation of any factory-stock striker fired pistol trigger out there). Sight picture was top-notch as well. So those latter two positive traits naturally led me to some lofty practical accuracy expectations. So then, how well did the gun live up to those lofty expectations? Er…
At 7 yards, all of my shots struck the head…but even then and there, the shot group was underwhelming and nowhere near as tight as I would’ve expected, with several rounds straying towards the periphery.
At 25 yards? Well, as I’ve mentioned in a few of my other gun articles, I’m cross-eye dominant, more specifically right-handed and left-eye dominant, and as my friend and fellow firearms instructor Lou Chiodo points out, folks with my particular condition have a tendency to pull their shots slightly high-left. Well, with this gun, my rounds were impacting more than just “slightly” high-left, even after making a so-called “Kentucky windage” adjustment and taking a 5 o’clock hold. None of my shots hit the 10-ring, only four took the 9-ring, three in the eight-ring…and there a dirty half-dozen that, though they didn’t the silhouette completely, landed outside of the designated scoring rings, including four at the edge of the shoulder area. Ugh.
Reliability? Flawless, as long as I didn’t “top off” to the full 17+1 capacity. When I did top off, not only was getting that last round into the magazine a major pain, but it caused a stovepipe jam on the very first round fired.
In fairness, as one of the range staffers – who also happens to be a retired Maryland municipal law enforcement officer – pointed out to me, the bore was probably well worn down from X number of thousands of rounds fired through it. Them’s the breaks with range rental guns, I reckon. I’d certainly be willing to give this pistol a second chance, especially if I can find a fresher specimen.
Incidentally, in 34 years of shooting, this is my first time ever firing one with a muzzle compensator. Since the 9mm Parabellum isn’t exactly a hard-kicking round to begin with, I didn’t really notice an appreciable difference in recoil reduction, but it sure was interesting watching the gases from the cartridges’ ignition being directly upward.
Want Your Own?
True Gun Value states that “A SIG SAUER P365 XMACRO pistol is currently worth an average price of $694.46 new. The 12-month average price is $728.88 new.” Palmetto State Armory lists a price range of $479.99 to $949.99, whilst Sportsman’s Warehouse has an asking price of $799.99.
Christian D. Orr has 34 years of shooting experience, starting at the tender age of 14. His marksmanship accomplishments include: the Air Force Small Arms Ribbon w/one device (for M16A2 rifle and M9 pistol); Pistol Expert Ratings from U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP); multiple medals and trophies via the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) and the Nevada Police & Fires Games (NPAF). Chris has been an NRA Certified Basic Pistol Instructor since 2011. In his spare time, he enjoys (besides shooting, obviously) dining out, cigars, Irish and British pubs, travel, USC Trojans college football, and Washington DC professional sports.
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