Would You Buy a New SIG SAUER P385 Now? In the Next Six Months? The Next Year?

Last week SIG SAUER rolled out their new P385 9mm pistol. The New Hampshire company bills it as a blend of their ultra-popular and reliable P365 and their much-maligned P320. Hence, the name (365+320≠385, but whatever).

It’s basically a modular full-size and compact pistol — there are five models to start — built around a (very) slightly modified P365 fire control unit. You know, the one that no one has accused of going bang when it isn’t asked to. 

It has a (slightly) lower bore access and it takes P320 magazines because while fewer and fewer P320s are being carried these days, there are still a lot of P320 magazines out there.

Rather than using traditional replaceable backstraps or molding grip modules in various sizes as they did with the P320, SIG has split the grip into two pieces. The variable lower sections — they call them Magstraps — let you vary the grip length and circumference (and therefore the flush mag capacity as well).

While SIG says P320 pistol isn’t going anywhere, let’s cut the crap. The P320 isn’t long for this world and literally everyone now knows it. We’re all aware of the P320’s troubled history, from the early drop-safety issues, the subsequent “voluntary upgrade” and the multiple reports of “uncommanded discharges” and the resulting lawsuits.

When news broke last year of an Air Force airman who was supposedly shot and killed by the uncommanded discharge of an M18 pistol (one of the military versions of the P320), that seemed to be the last straw.

It later turned out that the M18 pistol in question was not at fault and another airman was charged with manslaughter in the shooting, but the damage had been done. Multiple ranges and trainers around the country banned the use of P32os and numerous retailers either cut their inventories or stopped selling them altogether. While we don’t have numbers, anecdotal information we’ve gotten indicated a significant drop-off in P320 sales in the last year-plus.

As we wrote at the time of the Air Force incident, the cumulative damage to the reputation of the P320 had been so significant that it probably no longer even mattered whether or not the P320 was actually safe.

In other words, at some point, rightly or wrongly, the P320 may be too damaged to be saved as a viable commercial product.

We also pointed out that SIG already had the equally modular P365 in its lineup that now does everything the P320 does and doesn’t have any of the P320’s baggage.

When this kind of thing is increasingly circulating out there in the ether, your brand has an existential problem…

And yes, that whole “it ends today” thing didn’t do them any favors.

SIG, however, has decided they need a second modular pistol platform so now comes the P385 using (in effect) the time-tested P365 FCU and lets people who are stuck with P320 mags continue to use them.

SIG claimed last week that the P320 isn’t going anywhere. Improbably, they even announced two new P320 models for some reason (here and here), but who do they think they’re kidding? The P320 is going the way of the Betamax. SIG never would have created an entirely new pistol platform if they saw any viable future for the P320 aside from military sales (at least until the current contract expires next year).

SIG has, by the way, given the P385 a new “redundant drop safety mechanism,” a feature they probably wish they’d included in the P320 back in 2014 when it was first introduced. They’re also offering P385 models with an optional frame safety. For obvious reasons. 

Here’s the thing. The P320 is/was a great handgun. I own one along with various slides and grip modules and love(d) it, though it’s now permanently relegated to the safe. I also own a P365 — in the FUSE configuration — which is also a fantastic gun. And while I haven’t seen one yet, I fully expect the P385 to be a first-rate handgun, too.

The trouble is, SIG has put up a decidedly spotty record of initial quality control with their striker-fired handguns. While it certainly wasn’t as bad as the P320’s drop-safety problems, some of the first P365s had striker tip breakage and primer drag problems. There was also a “dead trigger” issue, too, thanks to a trigger return spring problem.

Those P365 hiccups, however, are all just a speck in the rear-view mirror. Today’s modular, versatile P365 is incredibly popular for a lot of very good reasons. It’s an excellent design, one that gives you everything from a micro-compact carry pistol to a full-size duty gun, all with one 4473. It has a good trigger and does literally everything almost any owner needs a handgun to do. Plus, there’s an entire ecosystem of SIG-made and third party slides, grip modules and other parts made for the P365 so you can mix, match and customize it as you will.

If you’re a P320 owner, though, and have decided that, because of all the questions around that platform, carrying it is no longer an option, do you jump over to the P365? Or do you decide to make use of the P320 magazines you already own and go with the P385?

The question then becomes, given SIG’s track record, would you pick one up now? In the first six months? After the first year? How long would you want to wait to see what problems — if any — the early adopters may turn up?

So many questions. So many things to consider. Let us know what you think below.