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History
When Sig first introduced the P365, I don’t think they knew how quickly and effectively they would be taking the world by storm. The P365 became a benchmark, helped define a category of firearm size, and left Sig with only one question – what next? The XL was their first entry into the P365’s X family and comes standard with 3.7” barrel, extended slide and more pronounced beavertail to bring that full size feel to the micro compact king. While still retaining the crisp pull of the P365 trigger, the redefined X trigger breaks at 90 degrees to provide a predictable break point. And to top it all off, it’s optic ready from the factory.
In-Hand Review
When shopping around for a conceal-carry weapon, you have to define for yourself what is most valuable and most important to you, as everyone’s priorities are slightly different. How small do you want the gun to be? What capacity should it be able to hold? What level of clothes printing is acceptable? Should it be optics-ready or should it be a simple tool for the job? Clearly, there’s a lot to consider.
After renting and firing, bothering every gun counter to let me hold every brand’s “CCW” option, I started to lose hope that what I had mentally configured into my ideal CCW would never happen. It wasn’t until a friend of mine came over for a cookout and showed me what he carries – a Sig Sauer P365 XL. Naturally curious since I had already held and fired the P365 that simply didn’t tick all the boxes, I asked what made the XL variant special enough that he was willing to put his life in this entry’s hands. He simply said, “Here, hold it and you tell me.” Fully loaded with 12+1 and a Sig Romeo Zero red dot already on it, it felt so well balanced, so well thought out, so easy to grasp. This was what the P365 was born to evolve into – a micro compact with a full-size feel. Immediately, I knew this was the one for me.
Personally, I’ve got smaller hands, so things like a Canik TTI, a Beretta M9 or even a Glock (pick any of them) simply don’t fit my hand as well as they do some people. Having that fit and feel is important, and while you’ve got it in hand, you have to consider the grip texture. Sig did an excellent job with the grip here by giving it plenty of friction and hold without it feeling like sandpaper. Also, can your thumb wrap and hit the magazine eject without you compromising your form and grip? Can that magazine then eject without being impeded by your grip? For me, both boxes are checked here, too. And best of all, it’s factory ready with a removable plate to install a red dot!
There was just so much to love about it, but no amount of makeup and industry buzz words will cover up a poorly crafted and terrible shooting handgun. It needs to shoot, it needs to be trusted. Luckily, the XL excelled here, too. It was a smooth and predictable pull every time, with every different brand of ammo that I put through it. The sight picture was simple to read, and the hit mark never varied. Once you dialed yourself in, you were good to go. It was ready to serve you as soon as you picked it up. This was definitely something that I was willing to trust my life with.
Conclusion
With Sig Sauer understanding their target audience and what their customers valued, they continued the P365 line even beyond the XL with the likes of the X Macro, the AXG Legion and FUSE, and now the Luxe, Sig aims to offer you a modular pistol that can be mixed and matched to create your perfect setup, or simply offer you the best out-of-box experience you’ll ever get from a microcompact line. Like we started this journey with, your priorities for CCW are yours to decide. Sig simply made it easier to figure out.