The Sig P365 is one of the newest compact handguns on the market. Sig Sauer designed this compact handgun from the magazine out. Starting with a double stack magazine and making it a cross between a double stack and a single stack. Thus making sure they could fit 10 rounds into a gun the size of most single stack compact guns. Being the thinner than a Glock 43 and having a higher capacity than the M&P Shield. The Sig P365 is close to the perfect concealed carry handgun.
Before we go too far let us go over the P365 specs:
Sig P365 Specs
- Caliber: 9mm
- Length: 5.8 “
- Height: 4.3” with flush magazine
- Width: 1”
- Barrel: 3.1”
- Trigger: ~6 lb.
- Sights: XRAY3 Day/Night Sights (3-dot)
- Weight: 17.8oz. w/empty magazine
- Slide: Stainless Steel, Nitron finish
- Capacity: 10 (1 flush mag, 1 extended mag) optional 12 round magazine
Fit and Finish
Sig Sauer may have tarnished their reputation with their P320. However, the P365 makes up for it. Out of the box, everything is extremely tight. There is no play in the slide. In fact, the slide release is tight enough you’ll have to use two thumbs for the first few hundred rounds. You may even find it difficult to take down and clean until you’ve put a few 100 rounds downrange. Which with the amount of oil Sig leaves on the gun won’t be a huge problem.
The finish is that of a higher-priced firearm. The Nitron finish on the slide is a beautiful flat black that fits perfect with the polymer lower. The polymer lower is just as nice. With stippling on the grip, you don’t have to worry about sweaty palms, and dropping the gun. It’s the right amount of texture without being too sharp, or rough.
Capacity
Honestly, the 10 round capacity is what makes the Sig P365 special. There is no other subcompact gun on the market this small with a 10 round capacity. There are some who will say that the capacity is 10+1 with the standard magazines it comes with, and 12+1 with the optional 12 round magazine Sig sells individually.
I have found that although you can insert a fully loaded magazine with a closed slide, thus one in the chamber. It is not easy and requires a good bit of force. Thus if you choose to run with 11 or 13 rounds you’ll want to double-check your magazine is fully seated. Likewise, if you are running a competition with this gun, or heaven forbid a defensive situation, I’d suggest installing a magazine with the slide open. Making it easier to fully seat the mag. Maybe as the gun breaks in it will be easier. However, as of over 500 rounds through the gun it’s still pretty tight to insert a magazine on a closed slide.
Size
To understand just how small the Sig P365 is you gotta look at the Glock 43, and the M&P Shield. Glock only holds 6+1 rounds, and has a slide length of 6.06″. Whereas the Shield has 7+1 or 8+1 depending on magazine with a slide length of 6.1″. While a little over 1/4″ of length isn’t going to make a huge difference in how concealable your gun is. The overall height might.
With the standard flat magazine that comes with the P365 the overall height is only 4.3″. Compare this to the Glock 43 at 4.25 you have the same size, but with 4 more rounds. Look that the M&P Shield with a height of 4.6″ and you have a smaller gun with more magazine capacity.
Trigger Feel
The trigger is a simple metal trigger. Nothing special, although it may be a little bigger than some are used to. There is no trigger safety like Glock’s or M&P’s have. When you pull the trigger you will feel an almost constant pull all the way through break. There is no major glass breakpoint. You will feel a breakpoint, but you have to be looking for it.
It’s not like some other guns where you can move the trigger uptake with almost no pressure then pull very hard to break the trigger. This trigger has some weight to it all the way through. There is a little more trigger travel than some guns. However, this is a good thing for a gun that has no other safeties on it. Although you may find it a little different at first this trigger grows on you, and most people find the gun easier to shot because of the trigger.
Sights
The XRAY3 sights that come one the P365 are very easy to see and use. With Tritium, you get a nice glow of three dots in low light conditions. Which makes lining up your sights a breeze. In bright daylight, you have the nice bright green circle of the front sight to focus on. Giving you an easy to see front sight to focus on. No more trying to line up three black posts, or white dots that get dirty and fade over time. With a 12 year half-life of Tritium, you’ll have glowing sights for years to come. Very few guns come standard with these kinds of sights. However, many gun owners end up installing night sights on their guns.
Known Problems
No new gun comes without some problems. The Sig P365 is no better than any other new gun. There have been a few reported problems. The first run of these guns did have problems with barrels getting scraped up. Some failures to go into battery. They also had problems with the firing pin dragging on the primer, and a few firing pins breaking. There have also been problems with triggers not working. Most of these problems seem to be related to the first batch of guns sold.
Sig has been great at taking care of the people who bought these guns. Sig Sauer revamped the guns and is currently selling an upgraded gun. The people who have bought the “second generation” Sig P365 are saying their guns are working great. In fact, there are more people claiming over 1000 rounds with no problems than those who are having problems.
It’s agreed that you shouldn’t have to worry if your gun is going to have problems. Personally, I wouldn’t let others bad experiences make the decision for you if you’ll buy this gun.
Extended Magazine
As if 10 rounds in a subcompact gun isn’t enough, Sig Sauer offers a 12 round extended magazine. This magazine does extend the height of the gun about a half-inch. For those of us with bigger hands, this is good. It keeps you from having a pinky finger dangle off the gun. In fact, the only downside to this 12 round magazine is that it costs between $40-55 depending on where you find it for sale. It also appears to use the factory steel from the 10 round magazines. Which means I’m hoping someday Sig will release a “rebuild kit” for the 12 round magazines that will allow you to turn your 10 round magazines into 12 rounders. For now, we’ll all have to happy having 10 rounds from the factory and for a little more getting 12 rounds. Nearly doubling the round capacity of any gun in its size.
Conclusion
The Sig P365 although it had problems when it first came out. The size, round capacity, and trigger feel makes it an amazing subcompact pistol. With the updates of this pistol having solved the major problems. It’s a pistol anyone wanting to carry concealed to should get their hands on and at least shoot it, to see if they like it. Most likely they will be buying P365 for their very own. What’s not to like about a smooth trigger with a 10 round capacity in a subcompact pistol?