TM 2018 DEFENSIVE HANDGUNS ISSUE SIG SAUER P320 X-CARRY 6 SIG’s high-performance, upper echelon of polymer- frame/striker-fired carry pistol’s. Guy Coursey WALTHER PPQ Sub-COMPACT 16 A reliable and convertible 11- to 16-round capacity 9mm that puts 5-shots into 1-inch at 25-yards! Massad Ayoob SPRINGFIELD ARMORY 911 26 With big gun attributes and remarkable accuracy, we test Springfield’s first-ever .380 pistol. Massad Ayoob 16 6 WILSON COMBAT EDC X9 34 Not your typical 1911, this new 9mm pistol blends precision and reliability with modern day capacity. Massad Ayoob NEW HANDGUN GEAR & AccESSORIES 46 The latest and greatest in new-for-2018 holsters, ammo, sights, triggers and more. OT Staff 34 26 ROCK RIVER ARMS POLY 1911 50 A precise, affordable and lighter-weight model from the best kept secret in the 1911 world. Bill Battles GUN & GEAR GIVEAWAY CONTEST 58 Enter for your chance to win a Beretta APX Compact pistol, CrossBreed SuperTuck holster and an AR500 Armor body armor/plate carrier package worth $1,143.95. OT Staff 50 47 DAN WESSON WRAITH 1911 60 A precision, suppressor-ready .45 that backs up its name with scary-good performance. Dave Bahde SIG SAUER’S 2018 CATALOG 69 Get yourself up to speed on the latest and greatest offerings from one of the most innovative and all-inclusive firearm manufacturers we know today. 60 48 On Our Cover: The new-for-2018 SIG Sauer P320 X-Carry wearing a SureFire X300 Ultra weaponlight and resting on a Black Point Tactical OWB kydex light- compatible holster. 58 Photo by Ben Battles. 3 EDITOR Ben Battles Tel.: (603) 356-9762 [email protected] ART DIRECTOR Mackenzie Battles [email protected] DIRECTOR OF ONLINE CONTENT Charles Anderson [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Massad Ayoob, David Bahde, Guy Coursey, Frank Melloni, Tatiana Whitlock, Wayne Van Zwoll, Mike Dickerson, Bill Battles 2XTREME ADVERTISING SALES Byers Media, LLC Tel.: (989) 826-3296 Fax.: (989) 826-6926 Ken Byers [email protected] Autumn Ifland [email protected] Neil Henry [email protected] CIRCULATION Angela Battles Tel.: (603) 356-9762 [email protected] PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS www.ontargetmagazine.com SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE [email protected] On Target is a trademark of Phoenix Publishing, Inc. Entire contents copyright ©2018 by Phoenix Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 5 SIG’S UPPER ECHELON OF POLYmer-frAME, STRIker-fIRED CARRY PisTOLS GUY COURSEY BEN BATTLES 66 7 7 SIG SAUER P320 X-CARRY 1—CONTROLS, INCLUD- ING THE AMBIDEXTROUS SLIDE RELEASE AND REVERSIBLE MAGAZINE RELEASE BUTTON, ARE IDENTICAL TO A STAN- much intrigued. I don’t own one, but got to DARD P320. NOT SHARED try an X-Five out on a few occasions. I liked IS THE PLATE HOLDING it, but as the X-Five is a pretty big pistol and THE PISTOL’S REAR NIGHT I have fairly small hands (infer from that SIGHT. POP THE SLIDE OFF whatever you like), I stuck with my current THE FRAME, REMOVE THE P320s. Still, I had hoped that perhaps, some- TWO SCREWS HOLDING day, if I were very good, Sig would make a THE PLATE ON, AND LEFT slightly smaller version for every day carry UNDERNEATH IS A CUT (EDC). That happy day has now arrived. THAT’S READY TO AccEPT Soon after, as if by magic, a 9mm Sig X-Car- SIG’S ROMEO1 red-doT ry appeared for me to play with. Sometimes REFLEX SIGHT. dreams really do come true. My observations are noted here. The X-Carry shares a lot of the same char- acteristics as a standard P320 Carry model, with notable differences influenced by the FULL DISCLOSURE UP front–I AM A MAJOR X-Five. Its almost like the X-Five and P320 Sig Sauer fan. I own many of their products. I Carry had a small child that has not quite train as often as I can at their academy. I espe- grown up yet. It also continues an industry cially like their P320 pistol line. I carry daily, trend of hybridizing EDC or general use instruct with, and often use some version of the guns with those seen in competition. One P320 in competition. So when Sig came out need look no further than the Errornet or with their X-Five competition series, I was very most gun mags to see any number of pistols 1. 8 9 8 SIG SAUER P320 X-CARRY 1—IMMEDIATE VISUAL DIFFER- ENCES BETWEEN THE X-CARRY AND STANDARD P320 ARE More-verTICAL SLIDE SERRATIONS FOR A BETTER GRIP, A DEEPER ANGLED CUT BELOW THE BARREL HOOD AND A LIGHTENING CUT IN THE SLIDE TO REDUCE RECIP- ROCATING MASS. NOT THAT THERE’S AN ABUNDANCE OF PLAY WITH THE STANDARD P320, BUT THE slide-to-frAME FIT AND BARREL LOCKUP ARE BOTH NOTICEABLy-tighter ON THE X-CARRY MODEL. RETAIL COST IS EXACTLY $183 MORE THAN A STANDARD P320 CARRY MODEL, WHICh—CONSIDERING EVERYTHING YOU get—is A DEAL. 1. or rifles with parts that look as if they have undergone serious cosmetic surgery from stock to make them faster, lighter, more accurate and sexy looking. As the X-Carry goes, the frame is of similar dimensions to the P320 Carry, with the addition of a beavertail, slightly different grip geometry, and a single shallow finger grove just below the trigger guard. The improved frame alone is significant, as it gives the X-Carry a very different, more comfortable feel and allows slightly faster recovery between shots. As they are now sold separately, I intend to invest in one. Of note, the X-Carry has a normal mag well versus the enlarged mag funnel of its larger relative, which is not really something you would expect to see on your typical carry pistol anyway. Controls are all in the same places, and except for the trigger are of the same configuration, with takedown exactly as the standard P320. 2. Meanwhile the slide is about .10 inch longer than a standard Carry, but has a lightning cut on the top, and is crowned with Sig’s 2—THE X-CARRY FEATURES THE SAME MODULAR GRIP FRAME AND TRIGGER proprietary X-Ray 3 sights. These are in GROUP AS THE STANDARD P320, BUT WITH SIG’S STRAIGHT X-SERIES TRIGGER three-dot tritium configuration, and very INSTEAD OF THE STANDARD CURVED TRIGGER FOR INCREASED trigger-finger much like similar versions from Trijicon or LEVERAGE. EVEN THOUGH THE X-CARRY GRIP FRAME IS THE SAME LENGTH AS Meprolight with a donut around the lamp THE 15-round-CAPACITY COMPACT MODEL, IT HOUSES THE 17-round MAGA- of the front sight for quicker acquisition. As ZINE OF THE full-size PISTOL. THE GRIP’S PROFILE IS ALSO MORE SQUARED OFF I push 50 I am beginning to appreciate these THAN THE ROUNDED SHAPE OF THE STANDARD, WHICH EFFECTIVELY CREATES sorts of sights more and more. For those MORE CONTACT AREA FOR YOUR FIRING AND SUppORT HANDS. who want to add a red dot on their EDC, 10 11 SIG SAUER P320 X-CARRY 2-THE P320 X-CARRY’S 3.9- INCH BARREL (left) RECEIVES THE ADDED TOUCH OF 1—BOTH THE TRIGGER GUARD AND A RECESSED SLIGHTLY EXTENDED BEAVERTAIL ARE TARGET CROWN HIGHER CUT FOR A LOWER bore-aXIS, AT THE MUZZLE. WHICH, CONSEQUENTLY, HELPS CONTROL LIKE ALL OTHER RECOIL AND MUZZLE RISE A BIT MORE P-series SIG COMPETENTLY THAN A STANDARD PISTOLS WITH MODEL. Side-PANEL GRIP A SIMILAR TAKE- TEXTURING ALSO EXTENDS DOWN LEVER, FURTHER, UP PAST THE MAG FIELD STRIP- RELEASE, NEARLY TO THE PING IS IM- TOP OF THE FRAME. MENSELY EASY AND QUICK, AND DOES NOT REQUIRE PULL- ING OF THE 2. TRIGGER. the X-Carry slide also has a cut out and plate just ahead of the Which brings us to the final major difference between rear sight for a Romeo-1 optic, the Sig version of an RMR. the X-Carry and your average P320—the flat faced trigger. The pistol comes in the usual padded hard case with two Given the X-Carry’s pedigree and proliferation of flat 17-round magazines and instructions. The X-Carry does not faced triggers on many popular pistols and rifles out there, come with a holster as the stock P320 does. An additional particularly Glocks, M&Ps and AR-15s, this does not seem point worth noting is that due to different floor plates the at all unusual. I personally own more than one Overwatch X-Carry magazines are not compatible with a standard Carry TAC trigger for my favorite Glocks, and flat-faced Geiselle or Full-sized P320 frame. Just change them out with standard triggers along with other models for some of my well-used 1. floor plates and you are back in business for standard use. AR15s. On those platforms, in those configurations, flat- 12 13 SIG SAUER P320 X-CARRY 1—THE X-CARRY SHIPS WITH TWO 17-round 3. MAGAZINES WITH BASE- PLATES THAT ARE UNIQUELY SHAPED TO THIS MODEL, MEANING STANDARD P320 MAGS WILL NOT FIT WITH- OUT A BASEPLATE CHANGE. UNIQUE TO THIS MODEL, A FLARED MAGWELL MOLD- ED DIRECTLY INTO THE FRAME FACILITATES LIGHT- ning-quiCK RELOADS. ALSO OFFERING SOME OF THE BEST, Most-PRECISE defensive- AND RANGE AMMUNITION MADE TODAY, SIG HAS ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES AS A LITER- AL one-stOP-shoP FOR THE DISCERNING CON- 1. Cealed-CARRY SHOOTER. faced triggers work great and I can recommend them without the trigger gauge. Take-up was minimal, as was over-travel. It hesitation. On the Sig X-Carry, however, for me it was slightly felt a tiny bit gritty, as if there was almost another stage.