Sig Sauer P320 Modular Handgun Technology

A top contender in the military’s Modular Handgun System competition—yeah, it's good enough to bet your life on.

- Steve Sieberts

I first became familiar with the sig product line in the early ’90s, when i was working as a DOD contract gunsmith. I was sent to the armorer’s course at sig headquarters in exeter, NH to learn the ins and outs of the P226. The P226 was/is a great pistol, and i still have one in my safe. The P320 was built on the earlier P250 in its modular design. The P320 follows the design configuration of many striker fired pistols that have been all the rage for some time, but the P320 takes the concept of a module pistol one step further.

The P320 is one of a group of contenders for the U.S. military’s Modular Handgun System (MHS) program. On most striker-fired polymer pistols, the steel frame is molded into the polymer grip, and this is true for the SIG. The P320 differs from most handguns in that the serial number of the gun, or the “firearm” in the eyes of the ATF, is actually embossed on the removable fire control system housed within the synthetic grip of the frame.

The upside is that once you have that modular fire control system tweaked, polished and set up to your liking, you can swap grip frames for about $50, and swap out upper-receiver assemblies and change calibers for $350 or so. The downside to a modular system for a civilian, is that the shooter only has one fire control system, so really only has one gun ready at any given time. This system is huge for the military. I spent 3.5 years as a Small Arms Tech with the 82nd Airborne Division. At the time, the 1911 and S&W M10 were still being used. I was also with the Army Marksmanship Unit when the Army started to test the pistol that would be the Beretta M9. One of my fellow Army shooters was on the test committee.