Alllen Bundy
Member
I started shooting rifles and shotguns when I was 12. I'm now 67. But I never thought that I would ever need a handgun until the 2020 Minneapolis riots. That began my quest for a concealable handgun and everything that I needed to learn about handguns.
After considerable research I decided to buy a Sig P365 with a manual safety. But it took 4 months to find a dealer that actually had one in stock. I was finally able to buy one in early November 2020 just before the election. I was originally planning to buy a P365, carry with a 10 rd magazine, and use 15 rd mags for backup. But as soon as I held the P365 I thought no way am I willing to handle a 2 finger grip with my XL sized hands. So I bought the P365 TacPac, which came with three of the longer 12 rd magazines and later also bought two additional 15 rd magazines.
I could have fired my P365 at the store's gun range the same day that I bought it. But to be honest, I was worried that I might accidentally or negligently discharge my P365 if I didn't first practice my trigger finger discipline. I spent 3 weeks practicing trigger discipline, dry firing, and field stripping and reassembling my P365 until I could to it blindfolded without touching the trigger. At that point I felt comfortable enough to go the gun range.
I loaded my P365 for the first time at the range. I had heard that short barrels, like the 3.1" barrel of the P365, were "snappy" and I had no idea of how much recoil to expect. So I held my P365 in a death grip and fired the first round. I thought to myself: "This is easy." I had NO issues with recoil or muzzle flip. I relaxed my grip a little bit and continued shooting while I worked on my accuracy. FYI, the ammo that I fired had a muzzle velocity rating of 1,190 ft/sec, so it wasn't quite a +P load, but it wasn't a weak load either. From what I understand, the low bore axis of the P365 helps reduce muzzle flip considerably
I never experienced any flinching while I shot the P365. Granted I started shooting when I was 12, owned a rifle since I was 14, and I spent 3 weeks dry firing my P365, so I'm sure all of that helped quite a bit. At 7 yards, the grouping from my 1st magazine was about 9". But by the 4th magazine I had reduced the grouping to well centered 3-3/4" spread. Not bad for someone that had never fired a handgun and hadn't done any shooting in many years. I think that also says a lot for the P365 design.
I don't have any direct basis for comparison to my P365. The P365 was a little bit more difficult to shoot compared the 30.06 rifle that I fired when I was 14. But the P365 was MUCH easier to shoot compared to the 12 gauge double barrel shotgun that I fired for the first time when I was 12 years old.
I don't have any real buyer's remorse for buying the P365, other than to wonder if I would have preferred a P365XL. But I had little choice, as P365XLs were even more difficult to find than the P365s were at the time. If I buy a second pistol it will be a P365XL
The stock P365, P365X, P365XL and P365SAS are in my opinion pistols that give you a lot of bang for the buck, as well as larger than normal magazine capacity for a pistol that size. They also use many interchangeable parts. Some people install the longer P365XL slide on the shorter P365 grip module, and conversely install the taller P365XL grip module on the shorter slide of the P365. They install the flat trigger of the P365XL in place of the curved trigger of the P365 and vice versa. There is a lot of customizing that you can do with the P365/X/XL/SAS with both stock Sig parts as well as aftermarket parts. Red dots sights, LASER sights, LEDs, etc.
But these are also mass produced pistols that don't have the refinements of a hand crafted pistol. A person with good mechanical aptitude can make some further performance improvements inside the P365/X/XL/SAS with a little TLC and elbow grease.
Next: Modifications to the grip module.
After considerable research I decided to buy a Sig P365 with a manual safety. But it took 4 months to find a dealer that actually had one in stock. I was finally able to buy one in early November 2020 just before the election. I was originally planning to buy a P365, carry with a 10 rd magazine, and use 15 rd mags for backup. But as soon as I held the P365 I thought no way am I willing to handle a 2 finger grip with my XL sized hands. So I bought the P365 TacPac, which came with three of the longer 12 rd magazines and later also bought two additional 15 rd magazines.
I could have fired my P365 at the store's gun range the same day that I bought it. But to be honest, I was worried that I might accidentally or negligently discharge my P365 if I didn't first practice my trigger finger discipline. I spent 3 weeks practicing trigger discipline, dry firing, and field stripping and reassembling my P365 until I could to it blindfolded without touching the trigger. At that point I felt comfortable enough to go the gun range.
I loaded my P365 for the first time at the range. I had heard that short barrels, like the 3.1" barrel of the P365, were "snappy" and I had no idea of how much recoil to expect. So I held my P365 in a death grip and fired the first round. I thought to myself: "This is easy." I had NO issues with recoil or muzzle flip. I relaxed my grip a little bit and continued shooting while I worked on my accuracy. FYI, the ammo that I fired had a muzzle velocity rating of 1,190 ft/sec, so it wasn't quite a +P load, but it wasn't a weak load either. From what I understand, the low bore axis of the P365 helps reduce muzzle flip considerably
I never experienced any flinching while I shot the P365. Granted I started shooting when I was 12, owned a rifle since I was 14, and I spent 3 weeks dry firing my P365, so I'm sure all of that helped quite a bit. At 7 yards, the grouping from my 1st magazine was about 9". But by the 4th magazine I had reduced the grouping to well centered 3-3/4" spread. Not bad for someone that had never fired a handgun and hadn't done any shooting in many years. I think that also says a lot for the P365 design.
I don't have any direct basis for comparison to my P365. The P365 was a little bit more difficult to shoot compared the 30.06 rifle that I fired when I was 14. But the P365 was MUCH easier to shoot compared to the 12 gauge double barrel shotgun that I fired for the first time when I was 12 years old.
I don't have any real buyer's remorse for buying the P365, other than to wonder if I would have preferred a P365XL. But I had little choice, as P365XLs were even more difficult to find than the P365s were at the time. If I buy a second pistol it will be a P365XL
The stock P365, P365X, P365XL and P365SAS are in my opinion pistols that give you a lot of bang for the buck, as well as larger than normal magazine capacity for a pistol that size. They also use many interchangeable parts. Some people install the longer P365XL slide on the shorter P365 grip module, and conversely install the taller P365XL grip module on the shorter slide of the P365. They install the flat trigger of the P365XL in place of the curved trigger of the P365 and vice versa. There is a lot of customizing that you can do with the P365/X/XL/SAS with both stock Sig parts as well as aftermarket parts. Red dots sights, LASER sights, LEDs, etc.
But these are also mass produced pistols that don't have the refinements of a hand crafted pistol. A person with good mechanical aptitude can make some further performance improvements inside the P365/X/XL/SAS with a little TLC and elbow grease.
Next: Modifications to the grip module.
