Sig Sauer P365 Review: Still the Standard? [Range Tested]
Is the Sig Sauer P365 the perfect concealed carry handgun for you? We focus on shootability, accuracy, reliability, and more.
USMC Veteran. Concealed Carry & NRA Pistol Instructor. 3-Gun Competitor. Career firearms writer
We review products independently. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission to help support our testing. Learn more about our review process.
We've got a great video review of the Sig Sauer P365 right here...but read on for the written review with more specs/features/commentary.
Sig Sauer made a huge splash when they debuted the P365 back in 2018.
10+1 rounds of 9mm in the smallest package yet.
Years later...does it still deserve to be so popular?
We initially tested after launch in 2018 but here is our updated review after years of carry, shooting, upgrading, and more.
We'll cover tons of stuff and by the end you'll know all about the P365 and if it makes sense for your carry and shooting needs.
Table of Contents
Sig Sauer P365 Review at a Glance
Pros
- 10+1 9mm capacity, up to 15+1 with extended mags
- One of the smallest 9mm form factors
- Comes with tritium night sights
- Flush fit and pinky extension magazine options
- Excellent grips
- Controllable given the small size
Cons
- Tight fit with full mag and one in the chamber
- Thumb may rest on slide stop negating last round slide hold open
The Bottom Line
The rest of the industry has had a couple of years to catch up but the P365 is still an impressive micro 9 that is super popular as a CCW option.
If you want to jump into comparisons among the current players...check out our Best Micro 9mms.
Sig Sauer P365 Specs
- Caliber: 9mm Lugar
- Capacity: 10+1
- Barrel Length: 3.1 inch
- Overall Length: 5.8 inch
- Width: 1 inch
- Height: 4.3 inch
- Weight: 1.125 lbs
- Frame Material: Stainless Steel
- Street Price: $499
Background
The SIG P365 is a tiny gun.
It’s effortless to carry and super comfortable. It packs ten rounds and comes with two 10 round magazines. One is flush fitting and the other features a slight pinky extension.
The P365 also has a factory 12 round magazine that extends the length of the gun overall just a hair. This would give you twice the capacity of the Glock 43, and nearly twice that of the capacity of the S&W Shield and Walther PPS M2.
This iteration of SIG also comes with the SIG Sauer XRay3 night sights, which are amazing. The front sight is a high visibility day and night sight. The front sight has a high visibility green ring around a tritium vial.
The rear sight rocks two tritium vials and besides that are blacked out. The rear sight is serrated to reduce glare in bright environments.
Who Is This For?
The P365 is geared solidly at concealed carry and marked the jump from 6 or 7 rounds to 10+1 rounds of 9mm becoming standard.
You can go smaller with .380 ACP such as with the Ruger LCP Max...but if you want more oomph the P365 is a great choice.
Fit & Feel
Let’s talk about ergonomics here. They can make or break a gun.
A lot of single stacks have a few different issues, and they are often related to compromises made to the grip to reduce size.
The SIG sports a very functional and comfortable grip. It has a tremendous little palm swell that fills the hand well. The trigger guard has a nice undercut that allows you to get an excellent and full grip on the gun.
With the 10 round magazines rocking the pinky extension I can fit my entire hand on the grip. There is no hanging pinky here, and I like that.
A better grip means more control.
Small guns tend to be hard to control, so the more control, the better.
The gun’s controls are simple and easy to reach. The slide lock is small but textured with a ‘step’ that allows your thumb to reach it with ease. The gun’s magazine release is triangular and is a low profile design.
It’s not hard to reach, but it’s not like the magazine release you’d find on a fighting pistol. It’s small, but its something you have to expect from a little gun.
The trigger is brilliant. I’ll say it now it’s superior to the other pistols we’ve compared the P365 too. It’s crisp, gives a very clean break, and a tremendous audible and tactile reset. It’s not a match grade trigger, but as a stock trigger, it's impressive.
How Does It Shoot?
Shooting the SIG P365 is more fun than it should be.
Over time I’ve gotten pretty used to shooting small handguns, but you can always feel the discomfort associated with that hand slapping recoil.
The P365 isn’t a Glock 17 regarding comfort, but it does have high marks for comfort.
A significant portion of this comfort factor comes from the excellent grip. It doesn’t feel like I’m holding a board like the PPS and Glock 43. The higher undercut allows me to get a full grip on the gun and this also helps mitigate recoil and even muzzle rise.
Hitting accurate double taps is pretty straightforward.
If you take a peek at my target here, you’ll see it marks out the critical areas of a man-sized opponent.
I can quickly place a double tap in the vital areas of the chest and pelvis area.
Accuracy is also top notch up close, thanks to the combination of great trigger, great sights, and a little practice with the fundamentals. I can get a 1-2 inch group at 7 yards going at a leisurely pace.
Backing out to 25 yards placing shots into the chest or pelvic area isn’t a challenge. I can group an entire magazine where they all need to be.
At 35 to 50 yards I can even ring my 21-inch ShootSteel popper if I take it slow. Of course, I’m not hitting 100% of the shots, but at least 70%.
Sig Sauer does advertise heavily that it’s a 10 + 1 gun, which is true, but it can be a hassle to load that full magazine with one in the chamber. You have to force the magazine in when it's full.
Lastly, I want to say the gun itself is quite easy to rack. More so than most small firearms, and if you have weaker hand strength, I think this is an excellent choice. It’s not a compromise like the S&W 380 Shield EZ.
Concealed Carry with the P365
The SIG P365 is a tiny gun; it’s so comfortable and just one of those guns you’ll forget you’re carrying. The SIG P365 is a great little carry gun, and it’s been a welcome entry into my waistband.
Our editor Eric wears his P365 in a Hidden Hybrid Holster and Kore belt.
The P365 conceals extremely well, without compromising comfort or my ability to draw the gun.
Recommended Holsters
Check out our favorite brands...and ways of carrying in Best Concealed Carry Holsters.
But our favorites are:
Carry Ammo Options
Thankfully, SIG isn't the only company - or even the first - to offer a line of ammo that is designed for short barreled sub-compact pistols.
Federal HST is a long established defensive ammo but it now comes in a new flavor - HST Micro.
Designed for small guns, the HST Micro has less flash, less recoil, less noise, and fires subsonically.
Best of all? It still expands like you would expect from standard Federal HST ammo. Check out the Lucky Gunner Ballistics Test for more science goodness.
If you want more defensive and training ammo options, check out our Best 9mm Ammo article!
What Sets It Apart?
The CCW market is a crowded one.
There are more guns than ever designed for concealed carry that is small, potent and easy to carry. To keep this an apples to apple comparison, we are only comparing 9mms to 9mms.
Glock 43
The Glock 43 was a huge deal a few years ago, which is true whenever Glock releases something new. The G43 is a single stack 9mm that features the same simplistic design Glock fans have come to know and love.
Here is how they stack up size wise.
[table id=48 /]
Walther PPS M2
The original Walther PPS was one of the first single stack carry guns and came out well before the Shield, the XDs, or the Glock 43. The PPS M2 was a bit of a modernization of the design with a more Americanized magazine release, a rounder grip, and a lack of rail.
[table id=49 /]
Smith & Wesson Shield 2.0
The Shield is the American heavy hitter in the single stack polymer frame firearms realm. This little guy was and is extremely popular, affordable, and very easy to find. Outside of the trigger, there isn’t too much you can say is bad about the gun.
[table id=50 /]
Glock 26
Since I’m comparing it to nothing but single stacks lets take a minute to compare it to the Glock26. The Glock 26 is a favorite 9mm double stack, subcompact Glock designed for concealed carry.
[table id=51 /]
Looking at a variety or single stacks and a few double stacks tell me SIG designed this gun the right way. They’ve given it double stack capacity in a gun the size of a single stack. This could potentially be a revolution in the CCW handgun industry.
SIG designed the magazine first and then built the gun around in. If that’s true, the design works and is brilliant.
Newer ones have come out with all the top players...and we go through them in our Best Micro 9mms.
Which Model P365?
It was a lot easier when the first P365 came out...it was the one to get.
Now there's a couple more flavors.
Thankfully it's mostly to do with size.
There's the P365XL which has a larger grip and slide. Plus a nicer flat-trigger although that's subjective. It's the go-to EDC for our editor Eric. Check out our full review.
Next up is the P365X which keeps the longer grip but maintains the regular P365 slide...plus makes it optic ready. Available with the Romeo Zero red dot or by itself to add your own micro red dot.
Lastly there's the P365 SAS which reduces snag points but requires a tool to field strip. For deep concealment it's great. See our full review.
By The Numbers
Reliability: 5/5
I had zero hitches with any of the ammo I used. This includes the 365 training and defensive ammo, Speer 124 Grain JHPs, Tula, Winchester Steel, and more.
No jams, failure to ejects, or magazine failures occurred. This is even after I dropped magazine after magazine while practicing my reloads.
The gun works, and I’ve never cleaned it, or even added oil after receiving it from SIG.
Field stripping is also incredibly easy...check out our video:
Ergonomics: 3.5/5
While the ergonomics are solid for a small gun, it's still a tiny gun. The magazine will often catch your hand while reloading and fail to drop free. I’m almost always resting my thumb on the slide lock, which creates a situation where the slide rarely locks to the rear after the last shot.
Other than that the gun is comfortable to shoot, has a great trigger, and very minimized recoil and muzzle rise.
Accuracy: 4/5
For a small gun, it’s quite accurate. The short sight radius is an issue, but when it comes to defensive use, this gun is more accurate than it needs to be. The great sights and trigger make it a smooth shooter.
Accessories and Upgrades: 4/5
Before this was an abysmal 2/5 because the only things you could get were holsters.
Now that I've had my 365 for a few years...here are some of my favorite upgrades that I use daily.
Bang For your Buck/Value: 3/5
With a street price of $499 and magazines running between 35 to 48 dollars, this gun is priced solidly compared to the other micro 9mms. The magazines are a tad pricey, but they are well made.
Overall: 4/5
P365 Upgrades
Here's some of my favorites:
Streamlight has made a TLR-6 light for the P365. We love ours so far.
Not the brightest at 100 lumens...but plenty enough for night time identification. And we love the push-button on/off.
You'll also want more mags even though they are a little pricy.
Now there's even a 15-rounder although it does stick out a lot more.
Ammo...you'll want lots of it. Check out the Best 9mm Ammo for Range & Self-Defense.
Want more? I've got a full Best P365 Upgrades article that covers everything.
Final Thoughts
The Sig Sauer P365 is now one of the most popular CCW pistols due to its large capacity, reliability, tiny size, great trigger, and upgrade potential. Plus it's fun to shoot and comes in several varieties like the P365 XL and SAS models.
It's my favorite subcompact 9mm so far. I enjoy shooting it, carrying it, and I never feel likes it's too much or too little. It’s one of the few pocket pistols I’ll take out and plink with for fun.
Most small guns I shoot are for training, and keeping skills sharp. This one is just fun to fire. No slide bite, no hand slapping recoil, just a little gun that goes bang when I pull the trigger.
To see how to break down the P365, make sure to check out our video below!
Does anyone have some time with the SIG P365? If so what are your thoughts? If not, what is a gun that’s captured you? Check out our Best P365 Upgrades and also Best CCW Guns (Across Calibers).
Rating score
FAQ