Sig P320: All the problems?

 I recently published two videos about the Sig P320 and the woes that platform is experiencing. The comments were all over the place, as one might imagine you would get from YouTube comments. Some accusation of me being a hater or such was definitely present, as well as the SiGsArEtHeBeStWhAtArEyOuTaLkInGaBoUt club. Look, from a purely outside perspective, I'll just say that the upside to the P320 platform is that it is quite easy to shoot.

I suspect, like many, that a lot of the claims of uncommanded discharges of the Sig P320 are actually user faults. If you give enough people a gun and ammo, sooner or later somebody is going to have a negligent discharge. And some of those people experiencing that issue will then blame the gun. But given the total number of issues here... well... I can't help but think there may be some fire associated with all the smoke.

Milwaukee PD is apparently emergency switching to Glock now, based on their issues. I know a federal agency that did the same several years ago because of the fits they were having with Sigs. 

Do I think the Sig is a bad gun? Nope. Do I trust it? Also nope.

The videos I did, in case you were wondering:

Short form video

Longer in-depth video

But I want all the upgrades!!!!!

I see a lot of posts on various groups asking about upgrades to Glocks. The problem, as always, is that people see some really cool looking stuff, and they want to have the same. Of course, if you are never going to shoot it or carry it for self defense, then you can certainly do all sorts of cosmetic upgrades, as well as anything else your heart desires.

The problem comes when you actually want to use the gun. Even if it is just for casual shooting or plinking, at some point upgrades can interfere with reliability. I've seen guns choke due to poor choices when it comes to recoil spring assemblies, firing pin springs, and trigger setups. If you don't mind and you like projects, then maybe none of this is a concern for you.

For a gun that I'm going to carry for real social purposes, I tend to limit my upgrades to the following:

1. Sights/Optics
2. Grip/Grip enhancements
3. Striker Control Device
4. Slide Stop/Slide Release
5. Minus Connector

Of course, if you are competing with it, then you'll probably want to consider, at a minimum:

1. Trigger Spring Change
2. Striker Spring Change
3. Trigger Bar/Shoe/Setup
4. Magazine Well
5. Aftermarket barrel/compensator

And if you want to spend some real cash:

• Slide cuts/lightening setup

Any cosmetic stuff that could be used in court should be strenuously avoided. Punisher backplates, etc., should definitely not be on a work or social gun.

No matter what, consider that any change made away from the original design will alter parameters of the gun's function. Maybe for good, maybe for neutral, and maybe for bad. Any change should be tested thoroughly before depending on it. Maybe you don't agree with my list regarding what I categorize as carry vs. competition. That's totally cool and at some point I may change my mind on some of it, but I tend to be somewhat conservative.

Canik Pistols: Too good to be true?

 I see a lot of people buying various Canik pistols and for many reasons. Some for fun, some for defensive purposes, and some for competition. The one example I tried was actually pretty accurate and it had a pretty decent trigger. I believe that one was marketed more toward the competition or faux competition crowd.

The issue I had with it: 3rd round out of the magazine nosedived and the gun choked up. Tap rack didn't fix it, I had to pull the magazine and screw with it before reseating it and running it. I only fired one magazine from it, but that one magazine convinced me that I wasn't interested in owning my own example of it.

The local range/fitness joint/gunshop carries several iterations of this pistol. If you go handle them they will doubtless feel pretty nifty. They also have all sorts of slide lightening cuts and gucci looking features, especially for their price point. 

I would, at least at this point, warn you away from them. Not that they may evolve into something decent with some time, but the ones I'm seeing and hearing about now are so-so in the reliability department. And they will doubtless suffer from issues when it comes to getting parts, which every gun will eventually need, at least if you do any serious shooting.

The Low and Left Conundrum

 Every class I teach, I inevitably have this conversation prior to our range session:

Student: "Hey Sarge, got a question for you."

Me: "Go ahead."

Student: "When I shoot I keep hitting low and left, do you know how to fix that?"

This is usually with somebody who has spent some amount of time shooting with another instructor, and they haven't addressed this issue. The thing is, with just a few simple fixes, this is usually easily remedied. I wish that their instructors would talk about it right out of the gate, because it is something that instructors should be talking about up front due to how it affects people.

Got Made

 I was pumping gas and the guy on the other side of the pump asked: "What are you carrying?"

Me: "What do you mean?"

Him: "Your gun, I saw that you're carrying one."

Me: "Glock 45."

Him: "My man! I got a Glock 22 in 40 cal!"

Me: "Is that a gen 5? They didn't release the gen 5s in 40 until more recently."

Him: "Yeah it is. I take it you're in law enforcement? You got that look."

Me: "Yeah, but even before I got into it people thought I was a cop."

Him: Laughing, "I can see that. Do you know anything about Desert Eagles? I want to buy one in .357!"

Me: "They're fun, but you're probably not going to carry that around, they weigh 5 lbs empty."

Him: "Maybe I will anyway, I'll probably walk funny!"

Me: "No doubt. Take it easy sir!"

I was wearing my official "sort of not at work but headed there or back" uniform which is to say khaki pants and an unbuttoned shirt hanging over my gun. It is not quite open carry, but it is not really concealed either. It probably keeps some Karens from seeing the gun but anybody with even half a clue will know that I've got a gun on. Oh well.

Find Your Excrement

There are about a million reasons to use a Bluetooth tracker. The simple and easy is stuff like finding your keys, your luggage, or anything that you need to keep track of. Obviously you should go out of your way to not misplace things, and my simple solution for that is to always have a place where things go when they aren't with you or on your person. But that said, sometimes excrement happens. And I fear that as we age, that excrement creeps in where you least expect it. Modern tracking technology helps a lot when it comes to keeping that at bay.

There are several different technologies out there that you may be interested in. I'll briefly discuss 3 of them: AirTag, SmartTag, and Tile. Let's talk about AirTag first.

AirTag is an iPhone/Apple only product. If you're an Android person, that lets you out right at the onset. AirTag only comes in one form factor, which means that you'll really need something to hold it if you want to use that technology. Fortunately there are several options from Apple as well as aftermarket vendors, to include keyrings and wallets. They have a replaceable battery which supposedly lasts for about a year. They are also water resistant, but I wouldn't take one scuba diving or put it in the laundry if you can help it.

AirTag's real advantage is that its find network is functionally infinite as long as anybody with an iPhone is near it. That means that probably any population center, airport, etc., will allow you to track your AirTag. The AirTag doesn't include GPS, it simply uses proximity to other Apple devices, so you can conceivably end up playing a game of hotter/colder to find your AirTag. Additionally, you can't reverse locate your phone with the AirTag, so if you lose your phone often, it would probably be better to go with the Tile or another similar technology that includes that functionality.

SmartTag is Samsung's answer to the AirTag. Similar functionality in most respects, but Samsung has two versions. If you opt for the SmartTag Plus it uses Ultra Wideband, which gives much more range, but is only usable with newer generation Samsung devices. The one feature that SmartTag has is the ability to use that SmartTag to turn on devices in your house by way of IoT style device control.

Tile doesn't have quite the ability to use any phone around it to give greater network access, only Tile app enabled phones. But what it lacks there it gains in the ability to use either Android or iPhone devices, as well as the ability to find your phone through it, which neither the AirTag or SmartTag will do. This may be the generalist in this category, but still quite useful for most people. Tile also comes in multiple form factors, from the original, to slim, to stickers which adhere to things and have a 3 year integrated battery.

No matter which one meets your needs the best, I find these to be quite useful. If for nothing else than for travel, because losing luggage is still sometimes a thing. I'd definitely throw one into a checked gun case at a minimum. And there's always the ability to add one into your wallet, keys, day planner, or any other thing that you cart around with you that is important.

AirTag wallet

AirTag

SmartTag

Tile Slim

Tile slim (square white thin)

Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate I get a small commission from qualified purchases.

Reloading Spreadsheet

 For those of you who reload, or are intending to reload, this spreadsheet may be of use. Fill out your costs and you can figure out how much it is going to cost you per round, as well as how many rounds you'd need to make in order to break even with factory ammo.

The Spreadsheet

Let me know if this helps, and if you have any feedback to make it easier/more useful!