The Sig Sauer P365 has been my everyday carry gun for a few months now. For firearms in this form factor, I find it to be the easiest to get a good grip on with my average sized meaty hands, it’s relatively easy and comfortable to shoot accurately, and it’s very easy to conceal comfortably. Many other gun reviewers echo these findings and it’s no wonder why it’s received so many industry awards since it’s release a little over a year ago.
Like any new to the market handgun, it hasn’t been without a few problems resulting in some fairly strong criticism amongst firearms aficionados. A quick Google search for “P365 reliability issues” and you will find plenty of complaints around heavy striker drag on cartridge primers and broken firing pins. Sig Sauer has supposedly addressed these issues in more recently manufactured units and fixed those firearms that failed. The primary concern from the negative crowd is the reliability of a handgun that will be primarily used for self defense. While reliability is and should be a concern for every armed citizen, one must remember that all firearms are prone to failure (which is why proper maintenance is paramount).
Today, I spent about an hour and about 100 rounds at an indoor range working on shooting fundamentals: stance, grip, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, breathing, and follow through. I was fairly happy with the results on the reduced size silhouette target which was positioned at 3, 7, and 15 yards.
Given the number of striker drag reports I see making rounds on the internet, I did pay attention to my spent cases. And they do indeed exhibit some drag which is heaving than any other firearms I’ve fired.
I’ve put about 300 rounds through the P365 now (probably a bit more but I keep my round counts conservative) and other than the striker drag evidence I haven’t had any other problems that were not shooter induced.
Am I worried about the firing pin breaking? A little. But not enough not to carry it. Yes, it could happen. But it could happen to any handgun. I will be running this gun in a few upcoming local IDPA match to get a better feel for the firearm in more dynamic shooting exercises and to increase the round count. Statistically, the firing pin is more likely to break during a match, training class, or while at the range working on fundamentals – since I do those things way more often than actually defending myself. If the pin does break, I will ship it to Sig Sauer to fix and will likely carry it again upon return. It’s the same thing I would do with any other firearm that I can shoot well and carry comfortably.
One word of caution to shooters with meaty hands like mine: This gun, like all other micro sized guns in this category, may result in a little slide bite.
In closing, I recommend this gun for concealed carry. It’s easy to shoot, easy to conceal, and comfortable to carry. Great sights, good trigger, and amazing ergonomics make this a fire arm that I believe most armed citizens will find easy to maintain program compliance.
I have been carrying a Sig P365XL for nearly two years and I find it to be very easy to carry. I now have about 5,000 rounds through it but I do need to point out a couple of things. Around the 3,000 round mark, I dutifully replaced the recoil spring as recommended by Sig. Shortly after that, the trigger went dead at the range. I diagnosed a broken trigger bar spring. Yikes, I was stunned that this occurred with absolutely no warning. I was really troubled by the fact that this could have just as easily occurred during a defensive encounter. Nonetheless, I was able to source a replacement trigger bar spring and thanks to the internet I was able to replace the broken spring myself. So just a word of caution to others, you not only need to do the recommended maintenance on this firearm, you should also do preventative maintenance at least with respect to the trigger bar spring. I will be changing out that part every 2,500 rounds from now on.