SIG Sauer P320 XFive Legion

The standard SIG SAUER P320 is the basic platform the company used to enter the U.S. military trials to select a new pistol. As a result, the P320 was adopted by the government in 2017 as the M17, which tells us something about the excellence of the P320. There is no doubt the civilian version of the M17 will become extremely popular for two reasons — first is the fact military designs always spill over into the shooting public. This was true with the Colt Single Action in the last quarter of the 19th century and it’s also easy to see the tremendous influence of the .30-06 1903 Springfield and the .45 Government Model 1911 during the 20th century. The other reason is the fact it’s chambered in 9mm, the most popular semi-automatic cartridge available today.

M17’s New Cousin

Now SIG SAUER has turned to the P320 platform to come up with another excellent version of the 9mm semi-automatic pistol. The M17 is designed for serious combat while the new XFIVE Legion is designed for serious competition. In fact, this design is held in such high esteem by the company they’ve made a very well-known competitive shooter, Phil Strader, their Pistol Products Manager. This alone makes it easy to see they are serious about pistol production appealing to, and satisfying, discriminating shooters. If you’ve ever watched any of the TV gun shows featuring combat-style competition, you’ve certainly seen Phil shooting SIGs.

Phil shares some things about the new pistol: “The P320 XFIVE LEGION takes advantage of the positive attributes of polymer and steel simultaneously. The TXG grip module flexes (like polymer material) for a softer recoil, but maintains the weight of a steel pistol for less muzzle flip. Combined with the improved trigger that reduces pull by up to 30 percent and the new recoil assembly that allows shooters to customize the pistol to their specific loads, the P320 XFIVE LEGION will make a visit to the range something to remember.”

The Why

Phil went on to explain the X-Series grip module was redesigned from the original P320 based on input from professionals and competitive shooters, law enforcement personnel, SIG Academy staff and others. By looking at a wide variety of potential users, the improvements included a better magwell opening, an extended beavertail and a straighter grip profile to better resemble the feel of a 1911.

They certainly accomplished this goal as the XFIVE Legion feels like a 1911 in my hand. The addition of heavy material in the TXG grip mod (more on this shortly) came from another engineer at SIG. Phil shared they typically add weight to pistols in order to make them shoot softer and this was a way to evenly distribute the weight throughout the entire grip.

Phil continued: “All of the other attributes were based on what we’ve been doing in competitive shooting for years. The flat trigger surface that breaks at 90 degrees helps the shooter from over-manipulating the pistol left or right during the trigger pull. The slide serrations were improved for a more positive grip on the slide. The thicker 5″ barrel was to increase weight in the front, and the recoil assembly was a change that many have already been making to the original P320 XFIVE LEGION.

“This pistol is so pleasant to shoot I’ve spent several days running more than 20 different loads through it, including seven different SIG SAUER loads.”

Target Lock

Sights on this pistol are absolutely excellent, consisting of a green fiber-optic front sight which is exceptionally easy to see, mated up with a fully adjustable square notch rear sight. The striker-fired pistol operates much like the double-action revolvers I have been shooting for the past 60+ years. In fact, the trigger pull is better than one finds on many of today’s double-action revolvers. It’s also much like a double-action revolver as there are no external safeties to manipulate. When time comes for shooting, the only decision to be made is to pull the trigger.

XFIVE controls are a takedown lever on the left side, an ambidextrous slide release, and a magazine release on the left side behind the trigger. The magazine release is very positive and there is no hesitation with the magazine sliding out. SIG supplies not just one or two, but three high-capacity, 17-round magazines. This means plenty of ammunition readily available for competition and should one wander afield, the ability to carry more than a full box of ammunition.

If one desires, the rear sight assembly can be easily removed and replaced by a Romeo 1 PRO optic. Shooting can also be aided by adding light or laser to the Picatinny rail in front of the trigger guard. The trigger is straight and as Phil mentioned, breaks at 90 degrees. It’s relatively wide and smooth faced — this means no safety trigger, which always chews on my trigger finger, and breaks cleanly and crisply, making it one of the easiest shooting 9mms I have ever experienced. It can be made even easier-shooting by replacing the normal 14-lb. recoil spring with the provided 12-lb. spring for shooting lighter loads.

Running The XFIVE

This pistol is so pleasant to shoot I’ve spent several days running more than 20 different loads through it, including seven different SIG SAUER loads. I experienced absolutely no malfunctions of any kind as to feeding, chambering, and ejecting. For practice use or my style of competition on paper plates I find FMJ 9mm loads very reasonably priced and readily available. However, for more serious carrying my choice of loads would come down to the SIG SAUER V-Crown 115-gr. JHP. This load clocks out at over 1,300 fps and would do most of what we would want or expect a 9mm to do.

In reality, at this stage of my life, competition is over and wondering afield is pretty limited. However, I did purchase this P320 and I like it so much I’ve ordered a second P320 version, the civilian version of the M17. I see myself shooting this XFIVE Legion quite often and sharing it with family members, kids and grandkids. This is the perfect pistol for some enjoyable family fun shooting using these 9mm rounds.

For more info: www.sigsauer.com

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