SIG Sauer P320 Gains Government Contracts

The SIG Sauer P320—first introduced in 2014—has received a number of law enforcement and agency contracts since its introduction. The ability of the handgun to change size and chambering without the intervention of an armorer or gunsmith received high marks in our review and elsewhere in the gun media, and local, state and federal agencies are taking notice of the gun's modular abilities.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP) is the latest agency to adopt the P320 as its sidearm of choice.  In a few weeks, the department’s 150 officers will upgrade from SIG P226s, chambered in .357 SIG, to P320s in 9 mm. “After a thorough testing process, we are confident the new weapon will serve our agency well,” said NDHP Captain Thomas Iverson.  A few weeks earlier, the Santa Barbara (CA) Sheriff’s office also went with the gun.

The biggest endorsement of the new platform came earlier this year when it was selected for the U.S. Army’s new Modular Handgun System. Competition to replace the branch’s aging fleet of Beretta M9s was originally announced in 2011. The P320 concept was hatched and in production by early 2014, meeting the deadline for the military’s last bid solicitation.

High Point Police Department (HPPD) officers were among the first the carry the handgun for duty, and it was the first striker-fired sidearm ever issued by the department.  “The features and modular design allow this pistol to be fitted to each shooter for comfort of grip and change of assignment,” HPPD Chief Marty Sumner said when the news broke in summer 2015. “Since the serial-numbered frame can be dropped into several configurations, it makes this one pistol for all assignments.”

At about the same time, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol made the same decision, in 9 mm, after testing one of the pistols with 78,000 rounds of mixed ammunition. The Hawaii Department of Public Safety followed suit in November—also going with 9 mms—and Florida’s Pasco County Sheriff’s Department also started early with .40 S&W versions.