P365 9mm vs P365 .380

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woman carrying p365 sidecar holster.

By Heather @armed.with.constrast

If you know anything about guns then you probably already know that the Sig Sauer P365 is America’s number one selling handgun and for good reason. It has quickly become one of my top choices for everyday carry, let’s dive into this and see why. 

In 2018, Sig Sauer released the P365 9mm and in doing so made a game changer in concealed carry. The P365 is a light weight, high-capacity micro compact with Tritium XRAY3 Day/Night Sights with two 10 round magazines that can also accept 12 or 15 round magazines with grip sleeves for even more carry capacity. Since then they have released the P365 SAS (9mm), P365 XL (9mm), P365X (9mm), P365 Spectre (9mm), P365 Spectre Comp (9mm), and now the P365 .380 ACP. 

.380 vs 9mm

P365 9mm vs P365 .380 Parts & Pieces

When it comes down to the actual components of the P365 9mm vs P365 .380, we are looking at the same grip module and fire control unit, with minor changes to the slide, guide rod and barrel to allow for less recoil and an easier “rack-able” slide. For those of you who want the specifics let me break it down for you:

P365 9MM

  • Stainless steel slide and frame
  • Polymer Grip
  • Standard Curved Striker Fired Trigger
  • Weighs in at 17.8oz
  • Overall Length 5.8in, Overall Height 4.3in and Overall Width 1.06in
  • Sight Radius 4.9in
  • Xray3 Day/Night Sights

P365 .380

  • Stainless steel slide and frame 
  • Polymer Grip
  • Standard Curved Striker Fired Trigger
  • Weights in at 15.7oz
  • Overall Length 5.8in, Overall Height 4.2in and Overall Width 1in
  • Sight Radius 4.9
  • SigLite Day/Night Sights
.380 LEFT vs 9mm RIGHT

As you can see, they are almost identical handguns except for a couple of elements. One of those elements is a brand new redesigned two-piece captured guide rod and an optics ready slide. A great feature with the optics ready slide is that you don’t lose your rear sight, so you can add suppressor height sights for co-witnessing if you prefer having both. The optics plate has top loading screws which make it much easier to install than the bottom installed screws Sig has had in the past. 

9mm LEFT vs 380 RIGHT

365 9mm vs P365 .380 My Experience

When I was first asked to try the P365 .380, I thought that it was going to be a waste of my time and in the long run a waste of ammo money. I knew that the gun had basically the same footprint as its 9mm counterpart, and could not see the slightly less recoil to be that noticeable that I would want to switch or even recommend to my followers. I have also become quite accustomed to the Xray3 Day/Night sights on the 9mm and P365 XL that I currently have. Although I didn’t have any experience with the SigLite Day/Night sights I just couldn’t imagine wanting to switch to them over my Xray3 Day/Night sights. 

(Left) Sig P365 .380 SigLite Day/Night Sights
(Right) Sig P365 9mm Xray3 Day/Night Sights

The day my local gun shop called to tell me that the P365 .380 came in, it was almost a joke between the two of us. When I showed up at the shop to pick it up, one of the employees, who over the years has got to know me and what I usually pick up, kind of laughed and asked me why I got a .380? When I opened up the box, I was not super excited as it looked exactly like the P365 9mm that I already owned. I was as underwhelmed as I thought I would be. We continued to chat about how we thought it was a pointless addition to the already very popular P365 9mm family until I left to head to the range. Once at the range I set up my target, loaded my P365 .380, racked the slide and shot. It was at this moment that my whole thought process about this gun changed. I had to ask myself if it was real. The difference I felt was quite noticeable, I was shook. I not only shot noticeably better, but I absolutely loved the SigLite Day/Night sights. The white rim around the tritium made all the difference for me to align my sights quickly and accurately. The softer recoil was obvious, and I felt less anxious right away about it. I wouldn’t say that racking the slide was so noticeably lighter that I could recommend it for weak hands or old grannies, but it was slightly easier. I also noticed that I was having some failure to eject issues and thought it was me riding the slide or weak wrists, but after much research I have seen many people complaining of the same thing. However, each one of them said that after about 200-300 rounds of a break-in they didn’t experience this anymore. Night sights are pretty useless, other than being a night light on the night stand. So we shall see!

P365 9mm vs P365 .380 Conclusion

For me it’s simple, the verdict of the P365 9mm vs P365 .380 is the P365 .380. With the lighter weight, less recoil, optics ready, SigLite Day/Night Sights and the fact that it’s the same footprint as my P365 9mm. I can use all the same holsters and accessories I currently already have. The only thing I wish they would have done is added a couple more rounds of capacity, but I suppose we will have to wait for the XL version… 

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4 comments

  1. Question, how do they compare (weight) fully loaded and conceal carrying?

  2. Question, how do they compare (weight wise) fully loaded and conceal carrying?

  3. David Jessup

    What’s the difference in the guts of the magazine for the 380 vs. the 9mm? For instance, Ruger shortened up the LC9 mag by putting a small rectangular insert at the rear of the 9mm mag to accommodate the slightly shorter COL of the 380. Did Sig do something similar for the 9mm and 380 mags? Are they exactly the same size or is the depth of the 380 mag slightly shorter due to the slightly shorter COL of the 380 cartridge? Enjoyed your review!!

    1. Heather wrote this article, we don’t actually have one to test.

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