Sig Sauer Elite Performance

         I live half an hour outside of town on my modest rural farm. I count the local Sheriff and his deputies among my dearest friends, but even in a perfect world it will still take them at least a quarter hour to get to my place from a standing start. I know of three of my immediate neighbors who have been the victims of home invasions in the past five years, two of which occurred while the homes were occupied. In one case the oldest family member present at the time was twelve. Defending yourself against an armed threat in your home is no baseless exercise.  

SIG Sauer is best known for military-style hardware, ranging from submachine guns and sniper rifles, to the new Army M17 pistol. It is easy to forget they also make 1911 pistols, some of the best around. The first time I shot a Sig 1911 over a decade ago, it was hard to miss the value of the included high-end features. This year, SIG released a special edition “ We the People” model, a sure win for collectors.

Remember our coverage of the P210 last year? Me too. Followed immediately by Sig not shipping them. Catching up with SIG this year, they promised me they are both 1) real and 2) shipping right now. The new P210 is 100% American made, and sure to get you hot and bothered if you like target pistols. I still feel about it now exactly like I did at SHOT 2017.

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.

Naming your latest handgun “The American Pistol” makes a pretty clear statement. Add to that the timing of the launch of this product line amidst the backdrop of a highly contentious Presidential campaign and a continuingly more divided American narrative, and it makes a loud and clear statement. Ruger is an American company that is dedicated to American values and to its American customers.

“Trying to stop a bad-guy with a nine mm is like trying to stop a charging buffalo with a twenty-two. Might as well use a fly-swatter”.

Such statements were common when I was a kid, and at the time there was some truth to them. Many experienced shooters, veterans, and L.E. officers still preferred the hard-hitting .45 ACP, (Automatic Colt Pistol) to the 9mm with its smaller, lighter and more streamlined projectile.

It is not often I find a firearm that actually changes my core preferences. Being a soldier is a strange mix of knowing when and where to adapt, without falling prey to every new whiz-bang improvement that comes down the line. It’s safe to say the SIG Sauer P320 X5 has me trading in my other favorite polymer pistols.

Last month, I was handed the new SIG Sauer Virtus rifle for review, my first test item in the MCX family. Though initially, I was skeptical, the Virtus turned out to be very impressive weapon system. It uses a unique operating system, an entirely new piston driven action developed in-house by SIG Sauer.

Would you rather be quiet or accurate? Do you have to choose between them or do this two concepts coexist like politicians and sex scandals?

Not so long ago, I competed in an F-Class match, shooting at a distance of 800 yards. One thing that stood out was the competitors’ finicky attention to muzzle devices, or more accurately, the lack thereof. First, F-class allows none, so there’s that. Second, the chatter on the firing line was that muzzle devices like brakes, flash hiders, and suppressors only reduce the accuracy of a rifle. I have no reason to doubt that, but it did get me thinking.