WHILE AT THAT GUN SHOW...
By MARJ LAW
If there’s another gun show in Tallahassee, you know Joe and I will be there. Not that we need to. Our friends are super generous and let us borrow their handguns. But it’s always interesting and informative, especially if we avoid coming home with anything.
So, we’re plastering our noses to the cases, and Joe calls: “Marj, there’s a Sig Sauer P365 you need to see.”
“Joe. We’ve had a 365. You thought it had too short a grip. Then we tried out the 365L. The 365L did have a longer grip, and you liked the feel of that one. Finally, we got our hands on the 365 SAS. The SAS model was cool because all the levers were indented into the gun, so nothing would snag on your pocket or in your purse. We ended up not liking the SAS because it was so difficult to break down. Those indentations, which were supposed to make the gun better caused it to be more difficult to use after all. So, no, Joe. We don’t need another 365!”
“Marj, you got to see this. It’s different.”
Grumble grumble.
Okay, so it’s another Sig Sauer 365. So what?
I pick it up. The grip fits really nicely. I like it. Joe likes it. A lot.
“Is this the only grip size?” I ask.
“No. This P365XCA-9-COMP comes with three different-sized backstraps,” the seller says. “This is the medium-sized one.”
I have a small hand. Joe’s is a lot larger. The 365’s beavertail sinks right into the soft skin between thumb and index finger. The beavertail and the weight of the gun make your hand ride nice and high on the grip. Good for control and accuracy. Indentations for thumb and area below the index finger further make this grip extremely comfortable.
“Yes, okay. It fits nicely into my hand. Give me a better selling point.” Gun lust and a good grip are not nearly enough reason to covet another handgun.
“It’s a small carry gun.”
“You have a small carry gun.” I’m not impressed with that argument.
“It’s a 9mm handgun.”
“You have a 9mm handgun!”
“It holds 17 rounds. Seventeen!” he repeats to keep my attention.
“Sure.” Do we believe that?
He pops out the magazine. This tiny gun with the narrow grip top really does hold 17 rounds. Really. It’s double-stacked in a zig-zag pattern which allows for that narrow top.
Hmm. I look at the sights. Holding my hand over the rear sights, I see they glow. Tritium. The front sight is tritium also, but it has a bright green circle around it. These are called “XRAY3 day/night sights. Easy to acquire a fast sight picture.
“Now, that’s pretty cool. But you don’t like striker-fired guns.”
“I do like Sigs. The P320 is an excellent gun. It’s striker-fired too. Besides, most Sigs are hammer-fired. Sig is a great company, whether their guns are hammer or striker-fired.
And see how small this is? It’s only 5.2-inches tall. With an overall length of 6.6 inches, its barrel is 3.1 inches. At 1.1 inches wide and at 21.5 ounces, yes, it’s a good carry gun.
Did you notice the flat trigger? I like flat triggers.
Check out the two large oval shaped ports on the top of the slide. Sig calls this an integrated compensator. It’s supposed to reduce the muzzle flip and make it so follow-up shots are faster and more accurate.
And while you’re looking at the slide, see the two screws in front of the rear sights? These unscrew and a rectangular plate comes off so you can mount a red dot sight. Sig calls this an ‘updated optics mounting system.’ Yep. I like this gun.”
Drat! I can tell this gun is coming home with us. As luck would have it, Joe just happened to have brought along a gun he’s been trying to trade. The seller is happy to make a deal.
“What’s the first thing we do with a new gun?” Joe asks me when we return home.
“Duh. Clean it. But how hard is it to break down?” I ask. People often don’t take into account fieldstripping their guns. Some are a real bother.
He shows me by locking the slide back. Then he moves the takedown lever 90 degrees. After that, he moves the slide off the lower. Easy. That’s good.
Once it’s cleaned, we’re off to the range.
It’s always good to have a gun feel right in your hands; it’s another thing to shoot it well. This is why people always say: “try before you buy.”
So, does Joe regret this admitted impulse buy?
We rate guns on a 1-5 scale. When we give a “1” it means it is easy and we like it. When we give a “5” it means it is difficult and we do not like it.
Joe shoots first.
“Okay, Joe. How is the trigger pull? Is it hard to pull back?”
“No. It’s not the easiest, but it’s easy. I’ll give it a 2,” says Joe.
“How far did the trigger travel before the gun went off?”
“I’ll give travel a 2 as well. Not far.”
“How much recoil?” Most people want to know how much kick to expect.
“I’ll give that a 2 as well. The kick isn’t bad at all.”
“And how do you like the grip?”
“Now that I’ve put the large backstrap on, I give it a 1. It feels just right.”
With my smaller frame, I expect different results.
However, even with the large backstrap, I still like the feel of the grip.
I aim and squeeze the trigger.
Blam!
Joe’s right about that trigger pull. It’s an easy 2. So is the trigger travel. Kick is a 2 as well. And, even though I’d prefer the small backstrap, that bigger grip is really good.
What’s this new P365 good for?
As Graham Baates says on The Truth About Guns: “I know most folks carry a small subcompact or micro-compact gun, but take a larger gun to training courses IF they even train at all. The P365 XMACRO is comfortable enough for training while still slim enough to use as a carry gun.”
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.