SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 Pistol Test Review.

VALUE FOR MONEY

The SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol is the latest model from the company and it’s selling at a critical 5 cents less than the $100 mark. At this price, it’s up against some serious competition – not least from the SIG SAUER Max Michel 1911 BB Pistol that offers far greater realism at $4.00 less.

So value for money is fair. This is a great training tool, but behind the realism curve for CO2 pistol collectors.

However the P320 is a genuine SIG SAUER product and that counts for a lot in the market!

HAM has tested the Coyote Tan model, but the P320 is also available in overall black finish. There’s no functional difference between the two colors, of course.

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SIG Sauer P320 CO2 Pistol, Metal Slide, Coyote Tan

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SIG SAUER P320 Pellet Pistol, Coyote Tan

REALISM-LOOKS AND FEEL

Overall, the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol has a strong resemblance to its centerfire cousin. It’s very close to the same size and weight. At a range of more that 10 feet, it would be difficult to tell the difference between the P320 ASP CO2 pistol and the P320 Nitron Full-Size firearm.

The overall weight and “feel” of the P320 are absolutely correct! Compared to the firearm P230, this airgun version has exactly the same weight, size, balance and looks. It’s a fairly heavy pistol, weighing nearly 1 Lb 14 Oz, and certainly feels good to handle.

But close-up, it’s a different story. Realism of the P320 is a generation behind the levels attained by many new replica air pistols currently on sale.

Unfortunately the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol continues the design trends shown in the P226 and P250. It has detail realism that is far behind that of CO2 pistols like the Umarex Legends range, to take one example. This means that collectors will immediately be disappointed with the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol.

The safety of the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol looks nothing like that of the firearm. And although the slide release looks more accurate, it’s a dummy and doesn’t work at all.

Most disappointingly, there’s no cartridge ejection port in the slide, just a molded depression. That’s the biggest strike against realism and one that it looked as if SIG SAUER had grown out of with their 1911 Max Michel BB pistol.

And the P320 cannot be field-stripped in a manner similar to the firearm. This is becoming an expectation among CO2 pistol collectors.

On the plus side, there’s no screw head or other external mechanism that punctures the CO2 cartridge and makes the pistol “live”. This is because the SIG SAUER P320 pellet pistol is fitted with SIG’s patented cam-lever mechanism that positions and pierces the CO2 cartridge using what appears to be the rear strap of the pistol grip frame. It’s just about invisible and works very well.

We should remember that SIG SAUER is targeting the training market with their air pistols. Seen as a training tool, the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol gives good realism.

ACCURACY AND POINT OF IMPACT

The SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol tested by HAM gave very good to excellent accuracy with pellets.

“Our” P320 preferred H&N Field Target Trophy Green alloy pellets. These gave HAM Tester Doug Wall an excellent 6-yard group that impacted pretty well dead center on the target.

Although this HAM test of the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol concentrated on pellet firing – rather than BBs – Doug also fired one test target with Daisy Avanti BBs. These also gave a good group, shooting well to the point of aim.

Overall, accuracy of the P320 tested by HAM showed “minute of soda can” accuracy with all the pellets tested. It also achieved this accuracy level when shot at 10 yards with the H&N alloy pellets.

So the point of impact is good for alloy pellets and BBs. However, shooting heavier lead pellets saw the point of impact on the target fall. Accuracy remained very good, but as the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol has non-adjustable sights, it would be necessary to aim up if you are looking to hit the center of the target.

The front and rear sights have white dots to aid sighting, with a clear, square front and rear sight picture. However, there is no adjustment for either elevation or windage.

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H&N Field Target Trophy Green .177 Cal, Lead-Free, 5.56 Grains, Domed, 300ct

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H&N Field Target Trophy Green Pellets

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

The company claims that the the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol has “authentic SIG P320 weight, balance and handling”. This is true.

The claim is also made that the the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol shoots with a muzzle velocity of up to 430 FPS. The company accurately modifies this statement by adding that “results may vary based on pellet weight, temperature and altitude”.

However, the HAM team feels that the P320 we tested will ever achieve anything close to 430 FPS. The highest 10-shot average recorded was 347 FPS and the fastest individual shot 364 FPS. Yes, HAM testing was undertaken, as always, in a cool – 64 degrees F – basement range. However 347 FPS is a long way from 430 FPS.

As Doug Wall commented in his testing notes: “Even with our 64 Degrees F temperature being a bit low for a CO2 gun, it’s hard to see the velocity going up 80 FPS”.

HAM Publisher Stephen Archer is pleased to see that SIG SAUER no longer claims that its CO2-powered pellet pistols offer “semi automatic operation”, as was claimed with the P226 and P250. He was never really happy about the semi auto claim as he felt that the action of these guns was actually technically that of a double-action revolver and not a true semi-automatic.

No claim is made by SIG SAUER that the P320 is “semi automatic”, even though the action is clearly similar to that of the P226 and P250, and that claim is now not present on the SIG SAUER website, even for the P226.

CONSISTENCY

The SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol tested by HAM delivered generally good consistency.

As we’ve already mentioned, accuracy was consistently good – or better – with the full range of HAM pistol test pellets. It was also good with the the Avanti BBs.

Standard Deviation – a measure of shot-to-shot variation in the string – was also low for a CO2-powered pistol at an average of just 12.66 FPS. This means that – in spite of the strong blowback – gas usage used per shot was relatively low and well-controlled.

Trigger pull weight was also fairly consistent, with a variation of about plus or minus 8 Ounces against the average of just under 8 Lbs.

REALISM – TRIGGER AND ACTION

The SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol features a strong blowback action. This gives a nice, realistic-feeling “kick” to the gun when it is fired, increasing realism as a training tool for firearms shooters.

But again, the realism only extends so far…

There’s no slide lock. And that’s just as well because – as we mentioned above – the slide release is a non-functioning dummy.

In spite of the P320’s strong blowback action, but there’s no hold open feature when the magazine is empty. Users will get used to this, but this again points to a design that lacks the realistic functionality seen on some other firearms-replica air pistols.

Double action trigger pull weight of the P320 firearm is listed at 6.5 Lbs. However, the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol tested by HAM had a trigger pull weight averaging 7 Lbs 15 Oz – a considerable increase over the centerfire version.

When pulling the P320’s trigger, you will hear and feel the rotary pellet magazine being indexed into place by the action of pulling the trigger.  Again, this is something that becomes second nature with use, but it is clearly different from the semi-automatic action of the firearm. It means that the P320 must be fired once the trigger has been partially-pulled and the pellet been fed into place. Otherwise a jam could result.

The slide safety functioned effectively. However, it was quite stiff to operate, both the set “safe” and “fire”.

Operation of the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol tested by HAM was faultless. No jams or failures to feed were recorded during our testing.

SHOT COUNT

With usable 80 shots at over 200 FPS per 12 Gram CO2 cartridge, the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol tested by HAM gave a very good shot count for such a strong blowback.

In fact, HAM Tester Doug Wall continued to fire the P320 to a maximum of 90 shots. At this point, muzzle velocity had fallen to 112 FPS and the pellets impacted waaaaay down the target. But the blowback still worked. That’s impressive!

MUZZLE VELOCITY

Maximum muzzle velocity achieved by the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol tested by HAM was an average of 347 FPS with the H&N alloy pellets. Most muzzle velocities were in the 300 FPS range. The average over all the HAM pellet test targets was 305.8 FPS, with the heavier pellets shooting slower – of course.

This is a perfectly satisfactory muzzle velocity for training and plinking with a CO2-powered air pistol. It’s a very satisfactory balance when combined with the strong blowback action and good shot count.

APPEARANCE AND FINISH

Appearance and finish of the P320 is generally very good.

The synthetic frame molding is sharp, with clean stippling on the grip. Pleasingly, the join between the two halves of the frame is minimal, being almost invisible in places. The metal slide is likewise sharp and clearly cast.

BUYING AND OWNING

The SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol is widely available online and in some “brick and mortar” sporting goods stores.

Of course, the big attraction of owning this air pistol is the 30-round magazine. This gives a great shot count for a CO2-powered pistol. It’s also a huge improvement over the double-ended 16-shot magazine fitted to the P226 and P250 – in the HAM team’s opinion.

Magazine operation is similar to the magazines fitted to the SIG SAUER MCX and MPX ASP long guns. It uses an endless belt of links, each of which holds two pellets. However the belt does not need to be removed from the magazine for loading, unlike the long guns.

It’s advisable to seat every pellet into its position and this takes a little longer, of course.

Pellet loading is fairly fast compared to loading other CO2 pellet pistols. However it’s much slower to load with BBs than a dedicated BB pistol, due to the same need to seat the BB. As BBs have a smaller diameter than pellets – even though both are nominally .177 caliber – we found that some small diameter BBs simply fall through the magazine and cannot be used.

Overall, the HAM team feels that the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol is best used as a pellet pistol.

The SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol is very well packaged in a solid card box with clear plastic inserts. This will help ensure that the product reaches you in good condition, in spite of the best efforts of shipping companies to sometimes do otherwise!

The Owner’s Manual packed with the P320 is clear and well-illustrated. It’s in English only and is specific to the P320.

Many owners of the SIG SAUER P320 ASP CO2 pistol will take confidence from the 12 month SIG SAUER warranty. Although this is less than the warranty leaders in the CO2 pistol world – Gletcher leads here with a three year warranty – it’s far better than the 90-day warranty provides by other vendors such as Umarex USA.

SAFETY FIRST. Due to the realistic appearance of this product, handle it as you would a firearm. Do not display it in public or in any place where it could be mistaken for a cartridge firearm. This air pistol is for use with .177 caliber lead pellets and steel BBs. As with all BB-firing airguns, it’s necessary to wear shooting glasses when firing this airgun. Also do not shoot at hard surfaces or water. BBs tend to bounce off these surfaces and may hit you, or something other than what you intended. If in doubt, don’t pull the trigger!

6 YARD TEST TARGETS

TEST TARGET SHOT WITH BBS

10 YARD TEST TARGETS

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SIG Sauer P320 CO2 Pistol, Metal Slide, Coyote Tan

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SIG SAUER P320 Pellet Pistol, Coyote Tan

This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.

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