Review: Sig Sauer's P365

The featured photo shows a Sig Sauer P365.

We are living in the golden age of concealed carry firearms and the Sig Sauer P365 is a byproduct of that. In the not so distant past your options for a small, easily concealable firearm were severely limited. If you didn’t like the way a Colt or Smith & Wesson revolver shot, you were out of luck. 

However, all of that began to change in the 1990s as more and more states began to offer concealed carry permits. As of 2014, about 2/3 of the population lives in a state with a Shall Issue licensing statute. That’s a huge increase from 1986 where less than 10% of the population were able to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun.

What does that mean for the common consumer? Innovative firearms like the Sig Sauer P365 that are geared towards concealed carry have become the standard. The rate of innovation for compact, capable sidearms has skyrocketed. High quality, easily concealable firearms are aplenty, and your choices are immense.

A Sig Sauer P365 and a Blade-Tech Klipt Holster.

The Nitty Gritty

The P365 is tiny. Really tiny. Typically small carry pistols, especially .380 pocket pistols, have a ton of compromises that prevent them from being ideal. Your fingers bump into the mag release, capacity is limited, weak cartridges, and the worst triggers known to man. Not the case with this little guy. It holds ten rounds of 9mm in what you could call a single and a half stack magazine. Unlike a single stack magazine, the ammo in the P365 magazine sits slightly staggered, allowing for more rounds without bloating to the size of a double stack magazine.

It’s rather amazing how quickly the P365 became the gold standard which we compare all other single and double stack 9mms. Once the hottest carry 9mm on the block, the Glock 43 is beginning to feel like a hard sell. When comparing the dimensions and weight of the P365 against the Glock 43 the picture becomes clear. More rounds in a smaller, more ergonomic package. The Glock 43 weighs a smidge more, is .26” longer, and .06” wider. If concealability is the name of the game, the P365s take the crown when comparing the two.

Carrying

I carried the P365 in our Klipt holster which is a pretty minimal holster design. Inside the waistband with a simple clip to hold it securely to my belt. Due to it’s small size, carrying it appendix wasn’t an issue and I didn’t feel that it needed a claw or wing to push the grip of the gun in. Having a gun this small hold so many rounds does instill some level of comfort. While I hope to never need it, having eleven 9mm hollow points on me is great. 

A Sig Sauer P365 and a Blade-Tech Klipt Holster.

Frankly I’m a bit unsurprised at how it carried. It’s a slim sub compact, and they all carry well. I’ve carried a Glock 43 in the past and it has similar dimensions. During the summer months or if I have to wear dress clothes, having a small pistol ready to go is a must if you’re the type of person who prefers to always be armed.

Shooting

When shooting guns like this you always have some trade-offs. The recoil is going to be snappier than larger firearms because you have less mass to absorb that recoil. I won’t lie to you, the P365 is snappy. Just as snappy as any other similarly sized firearm. However, with an undercut trigger guard from the factory you’re able to get a higher purchase which allows you to tame the muzzle rise a bit unlike many other “pocket” sized pistols. I didn’t find the need to use an extended magazine to give me the complete grip. It’s a very shootable gun at close distances with some practice.

I was mostly surprised with the sights and trigger that came from the factory. The three-dot night sights are great and it’s refreshing to see a company offer that standard. There is nothing worse than getting a brand new pistol, only to realize that you need to spend an additional $100 because the sights are horrible.

A Sig Sauer P365 with factory tritium sights.

That leaves us with the trigger. Full disclosure, I’m sort of a snob when it comes to triggers. The P365 has a pretty good trigger. It has a decent amount of take up, you hit the wall, it breaks at ~6 pounds, then you get a bit of a long reset with a nice tactile click. It’s a rather smooth trigger that pulls consistently. Far smoother than the Glock 43. Smoothness is really the key here and allows for some consistent trigger pulls. I’d go as far as saying that if a trigger is going to be long, it better be smooth. While the reset is a bit longer than I would prefer, you do know when you’re going to hit it. I can absolutely live with that.

The Wrap Up

Overall, I think the P365 is one of the best choices in its category. It’s small, packs a lot of rounds, and is decent to shoot. I’ve experienced no issues with reliability in my short time with it, however you should always test that YOUR gun is reliable by putting at least 500 rounds through it. Ultimately, find out if a gun this size is the right choice for you. While they do carry well, they are always harder to shoot than something like a Glock 19 sized firearm. Find a range near you that offers one for rent and find out if it’s the right fit.