SIG P320 M17 FOR SALE

Sig Sauer’s Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, Tom Taylor, made the following announcement in a press statement issued last month: “Since the official selection of the M17 and M18 by the US Army for the Modular Handgun System (MHS), we’ve seen significant civilian interest to own both variants of the handguns.

The P320-based M17 and M18 are among the most tested handguns in history and the pair has been proven to be unmatched in both accuracy and reliability.”

Civilian versions of firearms have been known to diverge from the design of their military counterparts to comply with a wide array of legal constraints, but Sig Sauer’s marketing insists that this is not the case with the M18: “we are very proud that with the P320-M18, civilians can now own the same innovation and versatility that has made either the M17 and M18 the handgun of choice for all branches of the US Military.”

Indeed, the P320-M18 looks to be a carbon copy of its military counterpart.

The M18 is a striker-fired 9mm pistol, featuring a tan, PVD-coated stainless steel slide sitting on a beige-toned polymer frame– the same finish as the military version.

Occupying the $600 price bracket, the M18 ships with Sig Sauer’s SIGLITE front night sights and removable night sight rear plate, as well as several 17 and 21-round magazines.

The slide is designed for seamless compatibility with SIG’s ROMEO1PRO, a premium red dot pistol sight, while frontal and rear serrations along both sides of the slide provide an additional grippable surface for reliable operation.

The only apparent difference between the civilian and military versions of the M18 is that the former boasts black controls, as opposed to the tan-colored controls of the latter.

The M17 and M18 are advanced variants of SIG’s popular P320 platform, featuring a redesigned slide, loaded chamber indicator, more durable trigger, anti-corrosion coating, and ambidextrous manual safety.

These improvements come at something of a design tradeoff: M17 and M18-style P320 pistols are only compatible with 9mm rounds, whereas the baseline P320 can additionally be converted for compatibility with the .40 S&W and .357 SIG calibers.

Described by Sig Sauer as “among the most tested handguns in history” that have “been proven to be unmatched in both accuracy and reliability,” the M17 and M18 will make their way to branches of the US military after winning the Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition to replace the ageing Beretta M9.

The full-size M17 will be phased in as the US Army’s primary service pistol, while the compact M18 will be procured for officer and other specialized roles.

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps is set to adopt the M18 as its standard-issue firearm, while the Air Force and Navy plan to purchase 130,000 and 60,000 M18’s respectively.

Clocking in at an overall length of 7.2 inches and a loaded weight of 28.1 ounces, the M18 is poised to distinguish itself as a solid concealed carry solution for consumers seeking portability and friendly ergonomics without excessive compromises in performance.

The most obvious difference is the color: M17 in flat dark earth frame and coyote slide while the P320 dons all black. This was a new standard for the competition, never required in the old Beretta M9s, which were all black.

This new color makes complete sense since most of our current conflicts are in desert regions and the gun now matches the desert camo.

Little known fact: there is a black version available for civilian consumption, the M17 Bravo, which has all the mechanical features (see below) of the military sidearm but in all black.

• MANUAL SAFETY

In addition to the now-working aforementioned drop safety, the M17 also includes a manual thumb safety that is absent on the P320.

This ambidextrous 1911-style safety was a government must, a carryover from the Beretta. This seems out of place on a striker-fired gun, but at least it’s better than the old de-cocker and safety combo on the M9.

• SIGHTS & OPTICS

The M17 comes standard with Sig’s factory night sights, which are better than the plain factory P320 sights.

And if you want to add an optic, the military version includes an optics plate in the slide that fits most standard red dots, an option on the civilian version.

• FRAME

One of the military’s requirements in the Modular Handgun Program was that all-important first word: modular.

To bring down costs and improve reliability, parts had to be interchangeable between two versions, the SIG Sauer M17 (based on the full-size P320) and the M18 (based on the smaller P320 Compact).

So, unlike the P320, the M17’s frame does not cover the entire bottom of the slide, stopping short at the front to allow modular frame integration with its shorter M18 cousin.

LOADED CHAMBER INDICATOR

While the SIG P320 has a visual port to check the chamber, the M17 goes one step farther with a tactile loaded chamber indicator that rises above the back of the chamber.

This sounds like an odd placement since it seems like it would block sights, but Sig did a great job of engineering so that it’s not in the way after all.

MAGAZINES

While there are many differences between these two guns, one commonality – thankfully – is the magazines.

Normal P320 mags will work in both civilian and military systems, just as they do between the full size and compact versions. So if you have any P320 or M17 mags, they will fit in four different guns.