This one’s a peculiar story. When I first heard about the 320 XFIVE Legion I didn’t think it was going to be any big deal. Why go through the trouble of taking a polymer frame that’s known for being lightweight and injecting the mass back into it? Really I thought it might be a gimmick. I also went into this encounter not being a fan of either the 320 line or of the Legion series. I’m not sure what kind of process Sig has going on here but they managed to take these two ideas and put them together into something that I liked way more than I would have thought possible.
My first encounter was during a Sig Demo Day here at the Range where I got to run all of ten rounds through it. I had only held it once before getting to shoot it. Something about this pistol had me intrigued, I had to spent more time with it. A few weeks later I got my wish and had a chance to run a few more rounds through one and it continued to leave a good impression with me overall. I actually really like this gun! On paper it seems like another one of “those 320’s” that I never much cared for but there’s some curious X-factor stuff going on here. It’s time to do some digging.
The “X” line of P320’s are geared as competition guns with built in optic mounts, upgraded sights and flat faced triggers, and a unique grip profile compared to the rest of the 320 series. As with all of the 320’s they are striker-fired designs with modular grip frames and an ever expanding market for modifications.
The Legion variant changes up a few of these ingredients, the most obvious being the tungsten infused polymer which makes up the lower frame. I didn’t understand the purpose of this until getting one in my hand. As they claim, it has the mass of a full metal pistol. It balances better, soaks up recoil better, and somehow feels much better in my hand than any of the polymer shells present on the rest of the 320 line. It’s hard to describe because the shape is the same as the polymer XFULL line and I didn’t find them to be all that spectacular but something about this one really did feel more positive.
I’ll also mention here that if you’d like to upgrade one of your existing 320’s this tungsten blended frame is available on Sig’s website as a separate part. In all honesty I would recommend getting the complete package if competition guns are more your speed as there’s more to the XFIVE than being bumped into a higher weight class.
As with the rest of the Legion series everything has been given a uniform gray finish with the stainless slide perfectly matching the hybrid frame. Sights are an adjustable all black rear and a small Dawson fiber optic front which gives you laser-like pinpoint accuracy with enough space left in between for some peripheral vision. These felt like fantastic target sights to me. If you’d rather slap a Romeo1 or other manner of optic onto the slide the rear half can be removed as with most modern pistols. This will also remove your back irons.
The trigger is claimed to have a 30% reduction in pull and has been given the flat faced treatment which has become quite popular of late. Admittedly I’d rather go with a curved trigger, partly because I found this one to be quite sharp as the edges are cut at right angles and I like to curl my index finger around the go-switch when I shoot. The trigger can be swapped out but if you opt to leave it in then you’ll have one with a spiffy side cutout to make it look extra fancy.
The trigger pull, one of my biggest complaints about the entire 320 line, is light and steady on the XFIVE Legion with a little of that “320 mush” inherent in every model I’ve ever handled. Reset on the Legion is smooth and short. Whether due to that 30% reduction or some other adjustment I feel like Sig has finally honed the 320’s trigger into something which is legitimately good. This had been my second eye-opening moment when handling the pistol and I’m really glad to see that Sig has spent some time refining this area.
The flared magwell is another one of those competition ready modifications which do their job quite well but I have always felt they harmed the overall look of whatever they’re installed on. Unlike some models where this addition feels tacked on and can rob the hands of real estate I found that the placement and angle of this one perfectly nested against the bottom of my off-hand and gave me a more solid feeling hold all around. Your mileage may vary of course, no two hands are alike, but this one did alright by me.
This also leads to one of my smaller complaints about the XFIVE Legion. Both the XFULL and XFIVE Legion come with 17 round magazines but the Legion has aluminum baseplates which, while an absolute joy to eject and slap back home, happen to sit completely flush with this magwell adapter. Reloading felt more awkward than positive, it was nothing like the feeling I get with quickly reloading a run of the mill P226. The aluminum plates are a nice addition but I really feel like they should have gone a little further here. Larger capacity magazines exist for these pistols so why not go for those as well? It would fit the intended purpose of these guns and would also give much more positive reinsertion.
Back to positives, the XFIVE Legion retains the same ambi slide catch of the other 320’s but I’ve personally encountered some where this control felt really flimsy and could be wiggled from side to side. Manually locking the slide open was sometimes a real pain in the backside with these guns so I made sure to get a good feel for how the XFIVE felt here. Fortunately it is good news, the slide catch on this Legion felt good and rigid and I had no trouble locking the slide open.
Racking the slide is another one of those curious characteristics which made me go “Huh!” I don’t know what it is but the slide on the XFIVE is both easy to rack and downright pleasing to the senses. It has a smooth, light yet solid feel to it and it just sounds incredible. No cheap rattletrap scraping or grinding here, it handled like a precision instrument and I do just love to draw this slide back and let ‘er fly. It’s an appropriate sensation for this manner of firearm.
Now for the real trial: Shooting the darn thing. The tungsten hybrid frame quickly led me to two conclusions. One, this gun handles rapid fire like a champ. Without any sort of barrel compensation going on it all comes down to the mass that’s weighing it down versus the mass which is slamming back and forth above your hands. The gun’s overall balance really shines here. I did a couple double and triple taps at the end of the session and the XFIVE gleefully burned through them all. I didn’t have a target for this test as my rapid fire groups usually leave a bit to be desired but it was once again a good solid feeling with a quick return of the sight picture. She felt ready to rock and roll and I always appreciate that sort of confidence in a firearm.
Speaking of good and solid, the second conclusion I had reached is that this gun is heavy! After doing some slow five shot groups for accuracy my arms were getting really tired! On Sig’s website it’s listed as having an unloaded weight of 43.5 ounces and boy did I ever notice it. For the sake of some comparison a full size Beretta 92X comes in at 33.3 ounces while a .50 caliber Desert Eagle comes in just shy of 70. The XFIVE is definitely beefy for a nine millimeter.
From these 30 shots I did manage to wrangle a 1 and 1/4″ group. Considering I had less than one box of rounds through it at this point and that I was a bit pressed for time I’m pretty happy with the result.
The P320 XFIVE Legion is both a bit of a mouthful to say and a serious anomaly to me. I don’t understand how two designs which have left me with an overwhelming feeling of “meh” can be brought together into a feeling of “wow, this thing is really nice!” My suspicion is that if you’re already a fan of the 320 series then you’re going to find a lot to like about this addition to the Legion series, but if you’ve never been one for Sig’s striker-fired lineup then I’d still suggest giving the XFIVE a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.
