Sig p365XL Hands-On Review [2020 + Video]

Gun University was invited up to the Sig Academy to try out some of their newest products – it was awesome and we’re really excited about these two new pistols from Sig (as well as other products we got to play with that haven’t been announced yet).

Range days with a manufacturer to try out their new products are always fun but they are almost always part of a “media day” where there’s a lot of other folks there lining up to shoot the products too. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to really get some time with a gun in this format.

We were insanely lucky in that Sig hosted the day at the range with their product managers and crew just for us! This gave us a TON of time with each product to really put them through their paces and get a solid feel for what each one offered.

Our hands-on experience with the P365XL a couple of months ago gives us this review. If you’re not already familiar with the P365, you might want to start with our p365 review as the p365XL is a variation of the p365.

Sig P365XL Grip: We absolutely LOVE the grip of the P365XL!!!

We thought we liked the P365’s grip until we tried the P365XL’s grip. Seriously, if we could have taken the grip module from the P365XL that we were testing and taken it home to put on our P365, we would have.

The grip is just the right size to give you a great purchase on the pistol while still being small enough to carry concealed. It is equivalent to the Glock 43X in length.

One potential downside for some shooters: If you like the ability to have the smallest pistol possible, then you may not like the P365XL because it forces you to have the same grip length as the extended standard P365 – you can’t go shorter. If this is you, you might want the standard P365 instead.

However, if you’re like us, we only run with the extended 12 round magazine on our P365s so it just makes sense to have a full grip that doesn’t go away during magazine changes. Also, the grip length requires the P365XL to come with 12 round magazines as standard – no needed to buy extra mags.

Even better news? The P365XL has extended 15 round magazines!!!!

Sig P365XL Slide: The longer slide of the P365XL doesn’t really do it for us but we realize that it is desirable for many shooters.

The idea of a longer slide is to provide a longer sight radius (distance between the sights) and a bit more bullet velocity for more energy.

We get it – both of those are things we’d like too! However, they come at a cost (albeit a small one)…. the longer pistol is harder (slightly) to conceal… especially when carrying in the appendix position.

Is it a deal breaker? Absolutely not! In fact, if this pistol came out first and we didn’t know that another model had a shorter slide, we’d still love the P365XL. All we’re saying is that the longer slide isn’t a benefit for us (it’s not really a detriment either).

P365XL Trigger: The trigger on the P365 is great… the trigger on the P365XL is greater.

The triggers on our P365 are so great (especially when compared to any competitors) that we’ve never really needed to upgrade them. However, now that we’ve tried the x-series flat trigger on the p365XL we kinda’ wish our standard P365s has this trigger too.

P365XL Optic Cut: WAY TO GO SIG!!!

Red dot optics are the way of the future – we are happy to see manufacturers adopting them.

The Shield RMSc is made for compact pistols and many people have already been sending their P365s off to get milled for the micro red dots. Thankfully, the P365XL comes milled from the factory!!!

One minor criticism? The rear iron sights are part of the plate that must be removed to install a red dot. If you’re using a Shield RMSc, this isn’t a problem because it has a built-in rear sight. However, other manufacturers do not have built in iron sights – if your red dot goes down, you could be missing back up sights if needed.

P365XL Summary: If you’re looking for the smallest pistol to have the option to hold up to 12 rounds, get the standard P365. However, if you want a pistol that is slightly larger, you’d like an optic cut from the factory, has a 12 round capacity standard, and is a bit more shootable/useable, the Sig P365XL might just be for you! We’d be happy with either one.

Also, the Sig P365XL is a really nice fit between a sub compact and a compact pistol – it is big enough (especially with the 15 round extended magazines) to handle full size jobs but it is small enough to be easily concealed.

What would we do different? We’d keep everything except the longer slide. The new grip, the optic cut, and upgraded trigger are all obvious upgrades for us. The longer slide is merely a feature change – it’s up to you whether it is a benefit to you.

If you can only afford, or you see the benefit in training with, only one handgun, the Sig P365XL should be it! It is big enough (especially with the 15 round magazines) to be a range/duty pistol and it is small enough (and so much better than the competition on ergonomics, capacity, etc.) to be the best CCW pistol.