As a first look for your general information, I want to present some summary information about three new pistols for early 2018. While there are several new firearms to be announced at the 2018 Shot Show in about three weeks, I want to give you a heads-up notice about three handguns that intrigue me. The three handguns are:
- Springfield Armory 911 .380
- Sig Sauer P365 9mm
- Glock 19X 9mm
Here are some basic specifications comparisons about them to help you. I hope to do an in-depth, hands-on review of them later.
SPRINGFIELD ARMORY 911 .380
Springfield has just introduced its first new pistol for 2018, and it is their most concealable handgun to date. It is the Model 911 in .380 ACP, and they designed it for self-defense use at close range. Those familiar with 1911s will like the similarities and find it easy to handle with the advantage of shooting a small-frame, lightweight gun.
Springfield says it has optimized the frame-to-slide-to-trigger guard relationship, creating handling characteristics unique among small pistols of its kind.
“With such great advances made in modern defense ammunition, the .380 has become a seriously viable defensive platform,” says Springfield Armory CEO Dennis Reese, “and our customers deserve a pistol that makes the most of it. Once you try it, you’ll be as convinced as we are that this is the best .380 pistol choice available.”
At 5.50” long, less than 4” high, with a short 2.75″ barrel and an unloaded weight of only 12.6 ounces, the 911 pistol can be easily hidden until necessary. Springfield’s Octo-Grip texturing on the mainspring housing and front strap allows for a solid grip without snagging clothes while carrying concealed. The thin-line grips and mainspring housing are made of G10 by Hogue.
The Model 911 has a full-length guide rod, and its flat-wire spring helps control and softens recoil. It has a flush 6-round magazine and a 7-round extended magazine. It has a loaded chamber indicator and ambidextrous safety. Two configurations of the 911 .380 are offered with integrated green Viridian laser grips. It comes in a brushed-satin, matte-finish stainless steel or black nitride slide. The sights include an Ameriglo Pro-Glo green tritium front sight inside a yellow luminous circle. The rear sight has a tactical U-Notch with green tritium inside of white luminous circles.
Springfield promotes their new single-action pistol as having a crisp, short-reset and a 5-pound trigger, with the industry’s only G10 trigger shoe by Hogue.
SIG SAUER P365 9mm
Sig Sauer this week introduced its new micro-compact P365 subcompact 9mm concealed-carry handgun. Ron Cohen, CEO and President of Sig Sauer said the P365 is built around SIG’s new, proprietary magazine for maximum concealability, capacity, and shootability.
“The pistol is made for professionals and civilians alike who want a smaller, high-performance pistol that does it all. This is the ultimate, everyday concealed carry pistol.”
The P365 measures 1” wide, 5.8“ long, and 4.3” tall with a 9mm barrel length of 3.1”. It weighs just 17.8 ozs. with an empty magazine. Its patent-pending, narrow-neck, modified double-stack magazine holds ten rounds in both the flush-fit and extended versions, plus one in the chamber, for a full capacity of 11 rounds. This is about a 50-percent capacity increase over 9mm pistols in its class. An optional 12-round extended magazine equips this micro-compact pistol with full-size 13-round capacity.
Sig Sauer says its high grip-to-bore axis design is designed to reduce, perceived recoil. It has a fully-textured polymer grip with a slim-line rail that will accommodate SIG light or laser accessories. The stainless-steel slide comes standard with front and rear serrations for easier slide manipulation. It comes with SIGLITE night sights for faster sight acquisition under all lighting conditions.
Disassembly is easy and safe with a takedown that does not require the trigger to be pressed. A generous trigger guard undercut also allows for a higher hand position and better retention. The narrowing magazine design allows the upper part of the grip to be contoured to fit the shooter’s thumb when fired.
SIG Sauer will be launching new products specifically designed to complement the P365, including ammunition optimized for everyday carry, a high-performance weapon light, a laser sight, a compatible suppressor, etc.
GLOCK 19X 9mm
Glock recently introduced their first ever “Crossover” pistol, called the Glock 19X. It is a mix and combination of their Models 17 and 19 and their field-tested platforms. The full-size frame of the Glock 17 and the compact Glock 19 slide have combined to produce a pistol combination for various uses. It has the new Gen5 characteristics and opens the door for future possibilities of melding other platforms and calibers for even more options.
“The G19X was developed for the military and is a practical everyday pistol that will do what you need it to do, when you need it to; every time, in every condition,” says GLOCK VP Josh Dorsey. “The pistol was developed for the military using GLOCK’s combat proven experience with consideration to efficiency, dependability, and durability. Through rigorous testing, the G19X stands out above the competition and has the ability to function in all situations with ultimate reliability and accuracy. Our goal was to meet the demanding needs of the military while maintaining our standard of perfection. With proven results, the G19X delivers maximum efficiency and trustworthiness.”
The G19X comes with the first-ever Glock factory-colored slide, which is the Coyote Brown color. It has a Coyote Brown pistol case also. The nPVD slide coating of the GLOCK 19X is said to prevent corrosion, resist chemicals, and stand up against the weather elements. The G19X has the Glock Marksman Barrel with enhanced polygonal rifling, nDLC barrel coating, and an improved barrel crown for increased accuracy.
It has ambidextrous slide stop levers, no finger grooves, reversible magazine release, and a lanyard loop. The pistol includes a standard 17-round magazine and two 17+2-round extended magazines. The larger extended mag is not a concealed carry mag, but benefits those with larger hands and is mostly for range use.
Hope this helps you and Continued success!
Photos by Manufacturers.
* This personal opinion article is meant for general information & educational purposes only, and the author strongly recommends that you seek counsel from an attorney for legal advice and your own personal certified weapons trainer for proper guidance about shooting & using YOUR firearms, self-defense and concealed carry. It should not be relied upon as accurate for all shooters & the author assumes no responsibility for anyone’s use of the information and shall not be liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information or any damages or injuries incurred whatsoever.
© 2018 Col Benjamin Findley. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part by mechanical means, photocopying, electronic reproduction, scanning, or any other means without prior written permission. For copyright information, contact Col Ben Findley at ColBFF@gmail.com.
Offer the Sig as a SA with manual safety and you have my attention.
Hi JungleCogs. Yes, the 365 is striker-fired double action, but this DA has the striker partially tensioned as the slide is cycled, then fully cocked and released by pressing the trigger. Making for a consistent and lighter trigger press than traditional DAO. A firing pin block allows a round to be safely carried in the chamber and there is no manual safety lever. The original design had a thumb activated safety, so I’ll bet that variant may come later. I am on the list to get one when officially introduced soon, so I will shoot it and do my field test and evaluation, then report how it compares to a SA press. Thanks for your comment.
1) The Springfield offers nothing that the Sig 238 (or 938 for that matter) and Kimber Micro don’t already offer
2) The Glock X makes about as much sense as the Steyr C series…why put a shorter slide on a bigger frame, Glock would have been better off with a 17 slide on a 19 frame. It’s nothing more then a market ploy and attempt to recoup their investment in a failed run at the US Military contract.
3) The Sig is the most interesting of the bunch and even it doesn’t offer a lot (if anything) over something like an FNS 9C or similar models it’s slightly thinner and shorter but not significantly …For that matter Kel Tecs P11 was even closer in size all around (granted not near the quality) with the same capacity, and Sig dropped the ball by going to a proprietary rail.
And more importantly about the G19X, why not offer it in 40S&W and/or 357SIG? Both of those calibers are more “tactical” than 9mm.
I’m guessing that they will probably offer it in a .40S&W later. Makes sense.
The Springfield 911 is similar to the Sig P238, but I want to shoot it to see its trigger. It supposedly has a great and softer trigger. I’ll report on it in my 911 review when I receive it shortly to review. Also, the G19X is on its way to me with its smooth Gen 5 trigger & improved marksmanship barrel. I am anxious to see up close its new Coyote Brown color… a real departure from black and black on all their other guns.
What has been changed with the Gen 5 trigger and the improved marksmanship barrel? And can these improvements be retrofitted into existing Glocks? Enquiring Glock owners want to know.
From what I generally understand, the new Gen 5 trigger has a completely redesigned trigger spring assembly that compresses the spring (rather than stretches it) for a smoother operation. Also, there is a changed mechanism housing, modified trigger pin, and a reshaped trigger bar to work the new spring for a more responsive, crisp & smooth operating trigger. But I’ll bet the aftermarket Apex trigger can still be a benefit. Glock claims that the totally new designed & improved marksmanship barrel has new rifling for improved accuracy. I understand it is NOT interchangeable with previous Gens & the new barrel CANNOT be swapped with other Glocks. Hang in there. I have a G19X coming for me to field test soon and I’ll let you know.
My Springfield XDS 9 and EMP Contour Carry both purchased new were disappointing. Both required 2 returns to Springfield and many hundreds of rounds before they ran correctly. I owned the EMP for 2 months before it actually fired its first shot. As well, Springfield’s customer service was less than stellar. While they did provide quick RMA’s my requests for information and compensation were ignored. I was repeatedly told it is a mass produced product as if that is an excuse for poor quality. I don’t buy that, can you imagine purchasing a refrigerator (approximately same price as EMP) and shipping it back to the manufacturer twice before it chilled your food?
While I was pretty much a Springfield fan boy I wont even consider their latest gun of the month entry. I am looking forward to getting my hands on a Sig P365.
I am looking forward to reviews of the new Charter Arms 45 Colt and 41 mag snubbies. The 41 mag sounds intriguing. 45 Colt is no slouch either. As far as the autos go, eh. I see Springfield updated the XDs. That might be interesting.