A Closer Look At The Army’s New Pistol: The Sig Sauer P320 [PHOTO GALLERY]

Big news recently from the Army. Those handgun trials that have been in progress since dinosaurs roamed the earth are finally over. The military has finally decided on a replacement handgun for the Beretta M9, first brought into service back in 1985. The winning entry comes from Sig Sauer – the P320. Rather than a single handgun, the P320 is more of a system because the firing mechanism is modular and can be moved from frame to frame and paired with different barrels and slides. That means not only can the overall size be easily adjusted, so can caliber.

We’ve been working with a P320 for quite some time, here’s a closer pictorial look.

: I mounted this Bushnell Elite handgun scope using a UM Tactical mount for accuracy testing. The Sig P320 shot better than a P229 and P226 in the same caliber.

: Sig Sauer P320 full size, left side.

: Sig Sauer P320 rear view.

: Sig Sauer P320 full size, right side.

: Sig Sauer P320 full size model – .357 Sig.

: This full size Sig Sauer P320 frame has a five-slot rail segment for mounting lights or lasers.

: If you’re into press checks, the Sig P320 has forward cocking serrations.

: Note how the Sig Sauer P320 has cutouts above the magazine base plate. That provides an easy way to tear the magazine out in case of malfunction.

: The standard Sig P320 has no manual safety lever, just this slide release lever n both sides of the frame.

: The frame on the Sig P320 features cutouts, allowing easier trigger finger reach.

: This Sig Sauer P320 has a six-pound trigger pull weight.

: The Sig P320 uses an external extractor.

: The front sight on this Sig P320 sports a Tritium vial for low light use.

: Both front and rear sights on the Sig Sauer P320 mount with dovetails, so they’re easy to swap.

: It may look like a hammer, but the Sig Sauer P320 is a striker-fired design.

: Like many other modern semi-automatic pistols the Sig P320 uses a tilting barrel recoil system.

: A Sig Sauer P320 full size model chambered in .357 Sig.

: The Sig P320 ships with steel magazines which drop freely using the magazine release.

: The Sig P320 has a reversible magazine release button.

: Takedown of the Sig P320 is easy – just rotate the left side frame lever.

: This Sig Sauer P320 has a full size frame and is chambered in .357 Sig caliber.

: The actual “firearm” is this internal chassis. The frame, barrel, and slide are all just parts, so mix and match of sizes, barrel lengths, and calibers is simple.