My first (initially disturbing) experience with my new Sig P365

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tRidiot

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Shot mine today for the first time. Put 30 rounds through it just to get a feel this morning, flawless. This afternoon my 12-round mags came in (GrabAGun is FAST!). This evening I took it out to my friend's house (yes, I do have one - TWO actually!) and we side-by-side compared it with his Glock 43, which he has been a big fan of.

Right off the bat, I had some problems. We started having immediate problems with FTEs and failure to fully cycle. Had to manually rack the slide with almost every round. WTF??? I was flabbergasted... earlier it was flawless. And yes, I cleaned it this morning and lubed it with Ballistol. My friend commented it felt like the loads may be underpowered. They were from a Dillon ammo box I grabbed off the shelf, about half empty or so. On second look, they were mixed brass FMJ. So we loaded some up in his G43 and it fired it "better" but was still having the same problem. The conclusion we came to was that this was a box I had reloaded during my first attempts last summer I think, and I guess it was all underpowered. WHEW! I didn't label the box.

:bolt:

So... then we opened a new box of Remington JHP bulk. Loaded up the 10-round flush, the 10-round pinky-grip mag and a couple of the 12-rounders... and it functioned FLAWLESSLY from that point forward. So apparently my experimental reloads just weren't allowing it to cycle properly, same with the G43. WHEW!

So we moved on to some direct comparisons. The front of the grip of the G43 is VERY flat. The Sig is slightly more rounded, with a little bit of a finger groove just under the trigger guard and is slightly undercut. We both concluded this was incredibly more comfortable to shoot than the G43. And keep in mind, he's been a big fan of his little Glock. But he's an open-minded sort, so he agreed.

Also, surprisingly, the flush-fit mags did not Significantly affect the shootability or accuracy of the Sig as compared to using the 10-round with the pinky extension or the 12-round mags. Then we tried a few runs with rapid mag change from the flush to the 12-round, and though it seemed to feel just fine and shoot just fine for us with both, swapping to the 12-round mag did seem to allow both of us to get a very minimal improvement in follow up shots, getting back on target a tiny bit easier. Overall, the flush mag doesn't seem to be a detriment of any consequence in shootability. I was very pleased with this.

The only problem I had (so did my friend) was trying to do mag drops for swapping the mags, not a problem with the gun itself, but precisely because it is so small, you really have to unravel your fingers from the bottom of the grip in order to get the mag to drop free. Basically ended up really extending out the pinky (as if you are drinking hot tea with your pinky extended) to clear the mag to get it to drop free. Just something to get used to, not any kind of malfunction, just training with this firearm.


Overall... incredibly INCREDIBLY impressed with this subcompact. Both of us. He is planning on picking one up, as well, probably in a few months, as he just bought an RDB. But he agreed it was much more "pointable" and more comfortable to shoot than his G43. Once we compared the 2 in the hand, that flat frontstrap of the Glock made it much less comfortable to shoot. Neither of us have small hands. But the thing that most impressed and surprised me overall was how even with the flush mag, it didn't really affect the feel or shootability of the gun in a negative way. And carrying 4 extra rounds in a stock mag is crazy good, in a gun with a marginally wider grip and smaller in pretty much every other way is just shocking.

Some early problems seem to have been mostly resolved with Sig's changes, and I think they just flat knocked this one out of the park, overall. I think my wife and 12 y/o son are probably going to really love this gun, and I may have to buy another one or two in order to keep mine in my own hands!

TL;DR - great gun, much preferred over the Glock 43 for me, and my friend who carries the G43 every day.
 

tRidiot

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Haha. I liked the G43, I really did. But it was my first time shooting that one, too, so it was a true first experience with both, for me. I really liked the Sig trigger, too, alot of people have been commenting on how good it is. I'm not really a trigger guru, though, so while it did feel better, it's hard for me to give a really thorough and compelling review on it.
 

tRidiot

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Yep, the mag release felt a little odd at first. I'm more used to the bigger, square release on the Glocks I normally shoot more (ha! take that!), but I did become more comfortable with it pretty quickly. It felt pretty natural by the end of our short session.

We put maybe 100 rounds through it. Definitely needs a lot more shooting to become comfortable with it.
 

NikatKimber

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The mag release isn’t as easy as say a 1911 or double stack Glock, but it’s better than the Kahr.

Mag changes did take a bit of getting used to with the 12 round mag since it is part of the grip. You have to relax the grip and strip the mag.

Some people brought up the KelTec P11 at first. While I haven’t had any experience with that gun, the Sig P365 not only matches the capacity, but it exceeds the shoot ability of all other micro 9s I’ve ever shot.
 

dennishoddy

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Not tactical stuff, but real life situations. The guns have it in them, I just got to get it out of me.
Start shooting competitions. USPSA or IDPA.
No matter what gun you choose, you will learn how to shoot fast accurately, and learn how to clear malfunctions quickly under the pressure of the clock.
It doesn't matter if you will win or not. I shoot in a class that I will never win in USPSA because it's the best training I can ever get for $20 a session.
Experts will gladly offer their experience and help with grip, trigger discipline and all the other things involved in shooting fast and accurately.

I know I'm going to be beat to death by the indoor range shooters, but that type of shooting offers nothing other than punching paper.
You stand in one position and punch paper.
One needs to be out moving and shooting reactive targets like steel, as well as paper under pressure.
Just my 2 cents.
 

dennishoddy

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Started doing IDPA this year and loving it. Haven't done great but getting better. Last one had five stages and allowed two guns. I learn a bit every time.
Was working with my timer and set up multiple stages. The Shadow 2 was a workhorse after I started getting the feel of it, but at first it was a nag. My fundamentals and muscle memory sucked. Still do, but sucks less. Ha.
Shooting paper you can get hole in hole down pat. Put up 5 staggered steel plates on a timer and your lucky to hit the berm. Double Ha!
Amazing how much pressure you go under when that timer goes off.
We had a couple of new USPSA shooters at our match this morning. One a lady that was having major problems hitting anything.
One of the guys figured out she was shooting from the wrong eye. She was left eye dominant and had been coached by her husband to shoot right eye, not knowing how to determine she was the other way.
Once she corrected this issue, she shot more accurately, and more quickly.
There is benefit to shooting competition.
 

bigred1

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I've always been intimidated about going to those kinds of matches because I'm not that fast to be put on a clock (so I thought) but listening to you guys maybe I ought to give it a try since people there will help instead of ridicule or think I'm wasting there time. Yep, think I will. I'm always looking to pick up some tips to improve my skills.
 

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