Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Another Sig P365 X-Macro thread

Sort of.

I'd heard of these but never bothered to look into them too much*. My carry gun is a P365 XL which is a very nice size for concealing, but every time I take it to the range and shoot it alongside a full size S&W M&P 2.0 I'm reminded of what "snappy recoil" means. Especially as I get older, which seems to be happening to me more and more these days.

Anyway, went to the local gun store/indoor range today to make some noise and they had an X-Macro in the case, so after shooting I handled it a bit. That grip is definitely more hand filling than the XL, I can see how it would help reduce felt recoil quite a bit.

The sales guy verified that the P365 XL slide goes right on the X-macro grip module, so as soon as I got home I ordered one from Sig and a couple of 17 round magazines from CDNN. I'm not sure my existing kydex holster for the XL will fit with the longer Macro grip. If so, fine, if not, oh well, I'll get one that does.

Sig is proud of their grip module and even CDNN's reduced price on magazines ain't cheap, then add current shipping costs to that. Total cost to convert the XL to X-Macro with two mags is just over 200 bucks, but that's 500 bucks less than buying one new off the shelf.

Grip and mags should get here in a week or so, once they do I'll get strapped and go walk through some high crime neighborhood to see how it works....



* Since it's very obvious that a larger grip makes for noticeably less recoil impulse, I had sorta kinda been thinking about a S&W M&P 2.0 Compact to go with my regular size M&P 2.0, but it just didn't seem to offer that much reduction in size and even as big as it is it carries 15+1. The X-Macro overall is the same length and height as the M&P Compact, about 5 ounces lighter but will carry 17+1, same as the full size M&P. The big advantage is if I need to go smaller/more concealable it only takes a minute to convert back to the XL.

Good luck man. I don't notice any difference at all, but I run 15 and 17 round mags in my XL, and also use a Hogue grip. That is how it was when I bought it, and I believe that makes all the difference in the world. My girlfriend has the Xmacro with the bigger grip. The advantage actually goes to the XL, because it is more concealable, if you want to use the 12 round mags, you can, and your grip is smaller than the Xmacro. If you have not used your XL with 15 and 17 rounds mags, I'd give that a go first, before the longer grip module, but it looks like you already bought it. Further note: I shot a Xmacro Comp the other day, and the difference in recoil is nil, as compared to my XL with Hogue grip. YMMV.

I was drifting around my local gun store yesterday evening and happened along as the behind-the-counter guy, a guy I have known for years, was moving some handguns around in the case. He was setting a bunch of P365 variant pistols out on the counter and I had a chance to handle several. I really liked the XL but the grip seemed just a little too small for good recoil management. I mentioned that and my friend said "Get a Wilson Combat grip module and that gun feels entirely different." He said to hang out here for a minute and then he stepped into a back room and came out with an XL with the Wilson grip module. That grip module is just ever so slightly larger in exactly the right places to make the XL feel very good in the hand. And it does this without being noticeably bigger or harder to conceal. I think for $65 it is well worth it. It felt so good I think I am going to buy an XL and the Wilson Combat module and give it a whirl as a new CCW gun.

I believe the Wilson can be weighted by two tungsten weights between the trigger and magazine.

Folks rave about them, I'm dubious.

Not sure I want to add weight above the beli line, or add recoil reducing weight
at the grip. Less weight might do more, with no drawback, at the front.


I'm certainly not qualified to argue with Wilson,
JMO seeing the setup.

I'm pretty ignorant on the subject so I could easily be wrong, but I don't think you have to add weight, that is an option if a shooter should choose to do so. For whatever reason... it is there if you want it.

The Wilson grip modules are great. I don’t think the tungsten rods really add much weight so I’ve never considered adding them.

I did the Xmacro conversion of the XL that you're doing. My favorite 365 variation. I did the Wilson grip module on the XL before going Xmacro, but like the Xmacro better. The Wilson is better than factory but still a bit small.



I've since added the flared mag well and recommend adding it also.

Wilson just came out with the xMacro grip modules, and I like the way it fits my hand!

There is some kind of humor in taking a gun that was revolutionary, and an instant hit, due to its small size, then continually making it....bigger.




Personally I carry the 365.
But only with 12 round mags.
In an XL size holster.
And I keep watching for an XL used, cheap.
Might as well, pretty much made my gun a poor copy of one.😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

If you follow the “carry a gun big enough to fight with” concept, the original P365 is in my opinion right at the edge of that graph, like others have said the grip and control of the firearm are on the smaller gun side. Does anyone know if you can put the macro grip frame on the original P365 size barrel length. The idea of a macro grip on the short original barrel/slide is interesting to me! Probably a dumb idea but for appendix carry when you sit down sometimes the longer barrels are not comfortable. Plus the bigger grip would allow considerably more control of the gun.

That was me. I bought an "original" size P365 but used 12 rd mags. I felt it gave me the size I typically wanted, but if I decided to "go small" I still could. I likely would still be doing that if it weren't for the fact that I wanted to go with a red dot. My sister now has my original P365 and I have an XL with a dot. It's one of my two EDC's for work, and it's always my "go-to" for evenings and weekends.

Not hating on the fact that Sig has made it bigger and bigger, but the smaller versions suit my needs better.

I bet you'll like it Jim. I'm currently carrying a regular p365 with the 12rd mag and a 15rd for backup. But, last week I bought the p365 Xmacro TacOps. Came withe the flared magwell and 4 17rd mags. I ordered a Holosun 407k green for it and a holster.
I put about 500 rds through it last weekend without a single hiccup. Center Head shots at 20 yds were easy and I don't even have the dot on it yet. It shoots very well and seems to be a "goldilocks" gun for me.

I have a X-compact with the Wilson grip module as well. I shoot the xMacro better than I do the x-compact and since the later is bigger and holds fewer rounds, it'll probably go down the road.

The shorter 365 slide for the 3.1" barrel might physically work but the Macro grip extends out for a 3.7" barrel so you wouldn't get any reduction in overall length.

From Sig's webpage for the Macro grip module: "Note: A compatible slide assembly (P365XL or XMACRO length) and magazine must be used."


A few more thoughts responding to other posts. Here's a snippet of a post made in March 2020 when I was testing 9mm ammo in different barrel lengths:

One subjective impression is recoil. It was 28 deg. this morning with an 8 mph wind and my fingers got a bit cold. The P365 had a 12 round mag in it so I could get my hand fully on the grip but recoil was still snappy. My chilly trigger finger really felt it after the first five rounds.

Going to the 365 XL with a longer and heavier slide showed a noticeable decrease in felt recoil, it was a slower recoil impulse. I've no way to quantify this, it wasn't a huge difference, but it was definitely noticeable. Going to the M&P Compact was a "really big difference" (technical term) in recoil, and the 5.0" full size M&P was again a smaller but noticeable difference from the 4" barrel; it was a real pussycat compared to either Sig. This is all to be expected but I was a bit surprised at the difference between the two Sigs. I've noticed this at a warm indoor range firing both but my cold trigger finger this morning was really sensitive to it.

Based on this it's impossible to predict how much felt recoil difference there will be going to the bigger grip since the slide mass stays the same, but based on some 60 years of handgun shooting so far I'm pretty sure that a bigger grip ain't gonna increase the felt recoil.

In my well educated and highly regarded opinion the XL version is an excellent combination of concealment with adequate firepower (among others, it's not the only one) but Mackay's "gun big enough to fight with" post was definitely influential in wanting something easier to control and with more firepower. I looked again at Compact versions of pistols I already had or have (M&P 2.0 and Glock 17), "again" because I've owned a Glock 19 and an M&P 2.0 Compact and sold them both 2-3 years ago. Don't ask me why now except I just didn't care for them.

That makes looking at the 365 Macro seem like going down that same path since it's length and height are about identical to those but for whatever reason - fit, trigger pull, whatever - I like that 365 XL. But as I get into my 70's even that grip gets harder to control. An accident about 18 months ago that screwed up my support hand hasn't helped things, either. When I picked up the Macro at the store the grip snuggled very comfortably into my hand, more so than a G19 or M&P Compact ever did.

Which is why I ordered the Macro grip and some mags for it. We'll see how it goes, I'll either like it or not. If not, I'm only out 200 bucks as opposed to the price of a whole new pistol and would still have two high cap mags that work in the XL. If I do like it a lot then I'll have two carry options with the exact same trigger and sight, with one of them carrying a full size pistol's worth of 17 rounds on board.



Plus, ya know, I hadn't bought myself anything for Christmas, so...

In no way was I hating either.

The “big” Sigs are still small and light, for capacity and barrel length.

I guess I need to find a used XL. Do all of them have the ports???

Mine isn't ported. But, that's all I know.

No. At least mine does not.

If I was going to change anything about my XL, it might be to add a dot. I have 2, So I can play around with one while. I continue to carry the other one as usual. In my last several years, I learned to pick up at least 2 (sometimes 3) of any handguns I plan on carrying extensively.

I wouldn't have bought mine, had it been ported. Here's the Hogue grip, that made a big difference in how the grip felt. I don't like shooting it with the 12 round mag, but like I said earlier, the 12 round mag makes it easier to conceal:


15 round mag:

Shooting it with the 15 round mag is great. Gives my pinky a place to rest

The 17 round mag gives it the same feel:


It may not be as aesthetically appealing as the Xmacro as far as the grip is concerned, but there are some benefits to keeping it as an XL.


At least the way I see it. YMMV.