P365XL Mini-Review

R/CCW P365XL ReviewHello R/CCW!It’s been a while but I have finally settled on a new EDC when I want something a little “less” than my G19G4 W/ TLR-7A.I previously had a “2nd Generation” normal P365 that had issues which I have since sold; the times of year I am limited to a true “micro” gun are limited so I wanted the most bang for my buck.The real first question, why the NRA edition? I love the 50 shades of FDE and for a $10 premium over the "normal" model I got an extra magazine.The good:First of all ergonomics. The ergos were very good to begin with, the lightly flared Magwell is appreciated although I had to adjust how I “tap” the mag home with the side of my palm on my Glocks as this lead to a couple of failures to fully insert loaded mags on a closed slide.Even with bigger hands I am easily able to get a good firing grip on the 365XL.Speaking of closed slides, expect to practice a lot if you have big hands because to begin with you will have a few failures to lock back on the last round due to interference with the slide lock.By the end up my first 300 rounds I was no longer riding the slide lock but it took a conscious effort.The gun cycled all sorts of target 9MM just fine, along with Critical Duty, 124 and 147gr HST and Gold Dots along with some Ranger-T.The felt recoil is very manageable, comparable to a Glock 26 . Accuracy is very good and only limited by the shooter and sights.Groups are pretty good for a gun this size, the fun picture below is at 15 yards and about 1 shot a second. Taking my time the gun is stupid accurate. The flat trigger is a nice upgrade over the curved trigger on the "regular" P365.Speaking of groups, the "X-Ray" sights are a good "clone" of my favorite setup, the Ameriglo-Bold. If you like Square notches in the rear with high-vis fronts you will love the P365/XL sights.The Bad:The 12 round mags are very difficult to load with 12 rounds out of the box, a couple of cycles fix this but out of the box expect to let your mags sit loaded for a bit before they loosen up.The grip texture could be more aggressive where the thumbs naturally rest however this is fixed with aftermarket products like Talon grips.The aftermarket still lacks a good duty grade , high lumen light for the proprietary rail. This will probably be solved sooner or later but is a big draw-back when its dark from 4PM until 5AM for a good part of the year.The UGLY:I may just be cursed with SIG products because every new SIG I have had ends up going back. Upon a post firing inspection I noticed a deep Knick in the barrel crown. I am 100% sure this was a factory defect as I had not dropped the gun, it was sharp and concerning enough I contacted SIG. It is going back to the factory and being replaced, which unfortunately means I will have to “prove” the gun again with another string of 200 rounds and 2-3 mags of my self defense ammo of choice. During normal times this would not be a big deal, $50 worth of ammo tops but those same 200 rounds now is quite the investment.In ConclusionThe P365XL makes a good choice for an EDC pistol that is light/slim, accurate and reliable. I wish I had purchased one sooner after finally getting one.Bonus Practicing my North Korean COVID Control Measures via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/3opSAGV