We got our hands on the SIG M17 at range day, the actual military model. If you are a P320 fan and or a collector, you are going to want one of these. You could buy a gun that was in the MHS trials right now, or you could by the winner in the spring when the M17 is released for public sale.
Own a Piece of History
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The M17 features a unique coyote coloring, with the slide slightly darker than the frame. Internally, the gun features coatings not found in regular P320’s, part of the magic of passing a DOD acquisition test. Most of us don’t routinely salt water submerge our pistols, but that is Tuesday in several military units. The M17 model features a slide cut for the Leupold Delta Point Pro, another requirement of the MHS contract. Like the P320X5, the M17 addresses this mounting with a removable plate, that includes the rear sight.
The MHS contract also specified an optional thumb safety. SIG, acting like grownups, has opted to keep this feature for the civilian model. The M17 has a 1911 style safety as an option.
Impressions & Availability
The few changes from the actual M17 will include the removal of anti-tamper devices. If you don’t know Soldiers, they are famous for touching things they shouldn’t. Leave a Specialist 4 in a padded room with two ball bearings and an anvil, an hour later the anvil will be broken and the ball bearings lost. The P320 civilian is a chassis system, offering ease of parts change out. Not a good idea for the Joe’s, so the M17 has special parts built in to prevent it. Your civilian model will be all P320 in this regard.
Coming to a store near you, late March early April this year.
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For more information about SIG Sauer pistols, click here.
“Leave a Spec 4 in a padded room with two ball bearings and an anvil”? ? LOL. Typical mouthings from Jerks. Tell you what. Delete the “Specialist 4” and insert “Lieutenants “. First or Second….makes no diff. Then you will have an accurate statement. From “Experience” …..I have never served with any Lieutenant that I would trust my life with. But I have served with many E-4s that I would . It seems that the military is hell bent on sending in young Lieutenants that know crap. More people have been KIA’d because of green Lieutenants than any other.. Fact.
Go back to the 1911A1 .45 ACP. Never failed me in 2 tours Vietnam, Grenada, Panama and Desert Storm.
I still have my 1911A1 for home defense and target practice
J. C. Dowdle MGy/Sgt USMC Retired
Every feature on this firearm looks like an afterthought. I thought the Glocks looked like toys, but this Sig is an embarrassment to the brand. Anti tampering…really? I’m not a fan.
“that color was required”, I hope they have a matching holster because that’s where most of these are going to remain. What do we do if we go back to a jungle, buy a few million more??? Great idea, like the ACU camo!!! Someone needs to let he REMF’s in procurement know GI’s are a pretty resilient bunch by nature, and left to their own designs have figured out that flat spray paint and burlap strips aren’t so expensive.
Glad I was able to start my military career without Power Point, an issued beret, velcro, or designer gear. You haven’t lived until you’ve slipped on a pair of broken in rip-stop ERDL’s with a matching tattered “catch me-fuck me” hat; and received a warning order on one knee around a field expedient sand table (I write this “tounge in cheek” with Bruce Springsteen “Glory Days” playing in the background).
Just wondering why the U. S. military is out sourcing its firearms. Are there any quality firearm makers in the U.S.? Like Ruger, Smith & Wesson or Colt.
There ARE quality firearm makers in the U.S. There is one in Exeter, New Hampshire called Sig Sauer Inc. Been there making guns since 10/07. Totally separate from Swiss/German guns.
It seems certain that this is a Political thing all about the $. What was wrong with the SIG P229 or P226? What about the FN509? I have the latest model of the HK45C, and love it for reliability, balance, relatively easy recoil and superb accuracy.
I also like the Colt 1911 Lt. Wt. Commander in .45, but the safety on the HK (V1) is also a decoder so one can carry with one in the chamber on or off safety. The real problem is not only with the platform but with “Geneva Convention Ammo”, or FMJ.
And the wasteful insanity continues…
I quit trying to have “the historic military version” of pistols decades ago because even the military doesn’t know how many different pistols they have out there. There are 1911’s from a dozen manufacturers, HK Mk23, HK P9S, SIG Mk25, M9 Beretta, General officer .380’s, at least 5,000 Ruger P85’s and I am sure that doesn’t come close to everything. In the early 1900’s we even made Lugers at Rock Island Arsenal.
Then throw in a dozen revolvers issued from 1900 on. J frame and K frame and N frame S&W’s. .38 Long Colt, .45 Long Colt 1909 New Service, M1917 .45 acp etc. etc.
Another Tupperware wonder by a foreign maker rushed into service before it was fully vetted. Wonder how much money was slipped under the table to secure this government contract? Or perhaps a revolving door from corporate to a nice, cushy government job? Either way, only American manufacturers should supply American soldiers with dependable ordnance, regardless of cost. Real warriors have to ask why JMB’s 1911 (the original single tap) was retired when its soul-mate the M2 is still in service? The old adage about don’t fix it if it ain’t broke still applies. After all, why should the US military lower its standards to accommodate women and snowflakes? Real warriors need real weapons that perform. If you have to pull a handgun, why not one that has proven itself from the trenches of WWI, to the battlefields of WWII, to the frozen hills of Korea, to the tunnels of Vietnam and to the desert sands of the Middle East? But, then again, “military intelligence” is an oxymoron.
You are aware that Sig Sauer is made by Americans in New Hampshire USA !
I understand your sentiment however if you had your way we would still be using muskets…..Its called progress.
I agree, we don’t need any stinking plastic handguns like every other country in the world. Their all wrong! If the single action colt Army revolver was good enough to kill native Americans…..well it will still do the job!
The ARMY hasn’t had this gun for 6 months and they have proven to be a POS!!!
Should have gone back to the 1911 in 45 ACP!!!
Any for the Wimpy ones they could by the 9mm or 22lr version of the 1911.
If a specialist wants to sit in his favorite room, shove a couple ball bearings up his rear end and slam his head against an anvil until it breaks, who are we to judge that? I find this article highly offensive.
I carried an anvil (m-60) and two balls for a year in Nam and didn’t break any of them!
What the heck are “anti-tamper devices” on a handgun????
Why? To placate all those mentally retarded left wing butt munches.
So basically, take away the M17 engraving, the anti-tampering devices, the manual safety, the and anti-corrosion coatings and you can own an “exact” copy of the Army’s M17 handgun, for probably a premium price.
Why not just offer a really exact copy of the M17 for consumers instead of a wannabe copy?
Just a small matter, but I wonder why the Army specifically ordered the two different colors on the gun. Why is the slide a dark gold color while the frame has the coyote coloring?
Because the Army essentially owns the M17. SIG more than likely made all the incremental changes so they can sell as many of “M17’s” as they want without the Army’s permission.
Because the Army does stupid things all the time, like spending over half a billion dollars…that’s BILLION with a “B”…to buy a handgun that it won’t properly train its Soldiers to use. They could have saved all that money, bought the M9A3 from Beretta, which fixed 86% of Soldier complaints about the M9, and the per unit cost of the improved M9A3 would have been less than the original M9 under the contract. Then they could have taken a fraction of that half a BILLION dollars and actually gotten someone who knows what they’re doing, like Ernest Langdon or Mike Pannone or Larry Vickers, to train military personnel on how to use the M9A3. Imagine the surprise of Soldiers to learn that the guy who finished 6th in the 2017 USPSA Production Nationals was an AMU shooter…that’s a Soldier for those of you from Rio Linda…actually shooting the M9A3, and a number of the other top competitors, including the 2017 USPSA Production National Champion, were shooting traditional double action DA/SA guns…like the Beretta. The M17/M18 is an unnecessary use of taxpayer money much better spent elsewhere. The Army is looking for the magic gun and trying to solve what is fundamentally a software (training) issue with a hardware (new gun) solution. I can’t wait until the negligent discharges start and the Army publishes new rules requiring Soldiers to carry the new magic gun in Condition 3.
Who wants to buy a wannabe handgun? Why don’t you sale the Army’s M17 to the consumer instead of jacking it up price wise and keeping it the same exact pistol as the Army’s M17?
A removable plate that includes the rear sight. Would it not be better to have the plate in front of the rear sight so when the red dot fails you still have the rear sight?
+1 They could learn from the FNX 45 Tactical. Take notes Sig!
Because you don’t need 2 rear sights?
https://www.leupold.com/gear-and-accessories/accessories/deltapoint-pro-rear-iron-sight
With the mag sticking out the bottom, it already looks like an “extendo” was Appalacian Engineered for this thing.