P320 X5 ‘virtually unstoppable’ for reliability and accuracy

by Scott Smith | Contributing Editor

Sig’s P320 X5 ready to go with Talon Grip installed to give you a better purchase in the wettest of conditions.

Over the years I have found myself owning and shooting more Sig Sauer (Phone: 603-610-3000; Online: sigsauer.com) pistols than any other brand. The main reason is they simply shoot. Not that long ago Sig’s catch phrase was “To hell and back reliability.” This was not a marketing hype, the famed “P” series will shoot anything you feed them and accurately.

When I was at the Sig Academy a few years ago Sig was introducing their P250. A double-action hammer-fired pistol that truly had the trigger pull of a Colt Python with a 17-round magazine. The pistol was accurate and, in Sig tradition, reliable. Sadly Sig did not use their standard dovetails which limited sight availability. This no doubt impacted sales as this pistol was targeted to be a multi-purpose one “serialized” fire control/trigger group is all you need to own multiple pistols. How does this happen you ask? Read on.

The most innovative thing about the pistol was that the fire control unit was the serial numbered portion of the pistol not the frame. The P250 allowed you to use one fire control/trigger unit and be able to switch not only the caliber but the frame size, barrel length and caliber. Unfortunately the 250 never took off; it had truly stiff competition at the time of its inception in the M&P. However, this interchangeable and serialized fire control/trigger group would play a big role in Sig’s next polymer pistol that would take off.

The Sig P320 was to be the newer and vastly improved sibling of the 250. To make the trigger pull lighter it would be striker fired. Out of the box the trigger pull is arguably the best of any duty pistol. To make this pistol more versatile Sig went back to using standard Sig front and rear dovetails. Unlike the P250, when Sig introduced the P320, they built a shooting team around it, and shoot the 320 in competition they did. The 320 won numerous titles in the nearly two years the team existed, creating a lot of interest in the pistol.

I had fired one of the early 320s back in 2015 and was impressed. As advertised the trigger out of the box was, sweet. For an old troop whose first duty weapon was an S&W “K” frame, it was nirvana. After all these years, I have a few friends in the industry and was told to hang on and wait to get what would be the P320 flag ship. Listening to these trusted voices I waited.

The rear sight of X5; you can see how it is cut out to install Sig’s Romeo mini red dot.

At the 2017 SHOT Show media event Sig debuted their new P320 X5. The X5 designation has been attached to Sig’s high end competition single action P225 series. These pistols are arguably the most accurate factory built pistols, dare I say surpassing the P210 whose record speaks for itself. A P320 X5 was going to have a big heritage to live up to.

With the vast numbers of writers at the media event it is hard to really get a feel for a pistol. Fortunately the wind was brisk and folks wanted to play with other Sig products so I got to shoot four magazines through the X5. It was a final pre-production model so the trigger was not perfect but it was nice. Keeping all the rounds on the USPSA target style steel at fifteen yards was easy. The folks from Sig told me it would be May before the production guns shipped.

Come the end of April I dropped Sig an email to get a sample of the P320 X5 shipped. A couple weeks later the beast arrived. When I opened the box I was amazed how Sig crammed four 21-round magazines, cable lock, pistol, all the requisite paperwork and a sample of oil in the case. After taking the pistol out and handling it, I was even more amazed at how Sig put this puzzle together. I did get all the stuff back in the box but not as neatly as when it arrived.

As I expected the X5 felt like it did on the test range in Vegas. With an empty magazine it was muzzle heavy, when I took it to shoot I found once loaded it felt like an extension of your hand. The flat trigger broke the striker crisply at six pounds. There was little over travel on reset.

Further initial inspection showed a flawless black Nitron finish over stainless slide. The slide has three lightening cuts to reduce weight of the slide and the felt recoil during firing. The front sight is a fiber optic model from Dawson Precision. The rear is a proprietary adjustable sight attached to a removable plate to allow mounting of a Romeo red dot sight.

When you inspect the frame you will note an extended beavertail to mitigate recoil. You will also find the rear of the trigger guard is relieved to give a higher grip which also reduces recoil. At the rear of the trigger guard is a slightly extended magazine release. Sig molds in a Picatinny rail for mounting various lights and lasers. To make reloads smoother and faster there is a removable mag well.

The P320 X5 proved to be accurate as this target shows; 22 rounds free style at 15 yards.

Once the slide was locked to the rear I rotated the lever that secures the slide down to allow the slide assembly to be removed. After the slide was removed the lever can be rotated out to allow the fire control unit to be removed from the frame. This unit can be used with other 320 frames and barrels giving you a lot of versatility with your competition pistol.

While the slide was off I lubricated the rails, striker and transfer lever of the trigger unit to get the X5 ready to head to the range. With the slide and frame rails being stainless it is important to ensure they are lubricated to prevent galling. I also add a drop of oil to the pivot points of the barrel and around the muzzle which helps the barrel to move more smoothly through the cycling of the pistol.

The one thing I did do before heading to the range was put on a Talon granulated grip. Having used them on numerous pistols, I cannot recommend them enough. These are what I consider a must-have $18 item, especially if you wish to use one pistol for a number of IDPA and USPSA divisions. Talon makes custom fit grips for pistols to give you a truly firm grip without altering the frame. If you texture your grip it could change the division you shoot in.

Now that the pistol has been lubricated and grip wrap changed to give me a good purchase in the hot humid days of summer it was time to head to the range. I had a variety of ammunition from Black Hills Ammunition (Phone: 605-348-5150; Online: black-hills.com), Federal Premium (Phone: 800-379-1732; Online: federalpremium.com), Hornady (Phone: 800-338-3220; Online: Hornady.com) and Sig Sauer. The loads were range/competition ammunition with 115-grain full metal jackets from BHA, 115-grain Syntech and 115-grain economy hollow points from Federal, Hornady 124-grain HAP Steel Match and 115-grain XTP American Gunner0. Finally, from Sig there were 115-grain full metal jacket and 115-grain V Crown hollow points.

The first couple of magazines were loaded with a mix of the above ammunition just to see how the X5 shot. The trigger was smooth and reset could be felt, during practice this is a good thing to teach you how your pistols feels. I was having no problem keeping controlled pairs inside of the A zone of a full size USPSA target. During this initial testing I was mixing the ammunition in magazines and the Sig just kept shooting. One magazine of mixed ammunition was aimed carefully and fired free style at 15 yards. All rounds stayed in the A zone of a Birchwood Casey USPSA Dirty Bird Silhouette Bad Guy IPSC Target. That’s 22 rounds inside of a 3”X5” area; not bad for the first shots.

These are 11 shot groups at 25 yards with each of the loads used to test the X5 with. As you can see, all of the groups are very close.

After a bit of trigger time with a long gun, I got down to shooting the P320 X5 for accuracy. I used Birchwood Casey’s new EZ Score Multiple IPSC Target. These targets allow you to simulate various distances from one shooting position. I like these targets because one 23”X35” target gives you nine targets, which are ideal for accuracy work.

I fired 11-shot groups at 20 yards from a rest with each of our six ammunition samples. This might seem like a large accuracy sample, but I have found when you toss out the two most extreme shots you get a pretty true idea of the accuracy of a firearm. Having fired thousands of rounds through my P226 X5s I suspected Sig ensured the P320 would be nearly as accurate. Not surprisingly theP320 X5 showed no preference for manufacturer or bullet style. All the groups were 2¾-inch or less; even when I fired a 14-round magazine with two of each of our test rounds the group was less than 3½ inches. I have no doubt this pistol can put bullet on top of bullet with a more steady hand and better eyes.

This is the front and rear sight of the X5. While adjustable the rear sight appears to be bullet proof. You can see the lightening cuts behind the front fiber optic sight.

This beat up ole GI is happy with the accuracy I achieved because the pistol goes bang every time I pull the trigger. I have found consistent accuracy and a reliable pistol is the most important piece of gear you can have for action shooting. Too many times I have seen shooters with the “most” accurate tightest fit firearm end up struggling because its reliability was not 100%.

When it came time to use the X5 for USPSA, I turned to my well-worn Safariland (Phone: 800-347-1200; Online: safarliand.com) GLS. Since its introduction about three years ago, I have found this holster to work well for 3-Gun and USPSA matches. This is a level two holster designed by Bill Rogers, the force behind many of Safariland’s retention holsters.

What sets the GLS apart from other polymer holsters is the adjustable locking block. This allows you to use one holster for a number of pistols that are of a similar body size/style. The large/long model I have been using works well for my XDm, G41MOS, TP9SFx and P226 X5s as well. This gives you a lot of bang for the $56 you pay.

Safariland’s GLS ProFit is the perfect holster especially after a custom Duracoat and Military Graphics makeover.

Safariland introduced their USPSA Competition Kit this past year. It normally ships with the 5197 holster. However I am told you can get it with the 578 GLS. The kit the holster and the mounting bracket for Safariland’s competition holsters. This bracket allows you to adjust the height of the holster, cant of both the bar and butt of the pistol to fit your draw stroke. The kit ships with a lockable belt loop or you can replace it with an ELS clip if that’s what you use for competition. Personally I use the ELS rig for 3-Gun for ease of switching gear. For USPSA I use TUFF Products Surefit Competition Set (Phone: 877-883-3776 Online: tuffproducts.com) because it is comfortable, affordable at $60 and I can easily mount my TACO Pouches from HSGI (Phone: 877-301-2116; Online: highspeedgear.com). I find this rig allows me to use a number of pistols without changing anything other than the pistol.

When this rig is coupled with my Sig Sauer P320 X5, it allows me to shoot a match to the best of my ability. The X5 is virtually unstoppable when it comes to reliability and it makes me look like I can shoot. The X5 has an MSRP of $1005, which might seem high, but consider you get the four 20-round magazines, excellent trigger, Dawson Precision fiber optic sight, lightened slide and Sig’s “To hell and back reliability.” It is hard to put a price on a pistol that runs accurately.

Well by the time this issue hits the mailboxes, fall will be upon us and no doubt many will be in the woods hunting. As we put away our competition gear and get out the hunting clothing and firearms don’t forget the blaze orange for safety. As always even when out hunting for a trophy; shoot safely, shoot accurately and have fun.