SIG P365 Malfunction Drills

[BARgunner]

I purchased a new (build date Feb. 2019) P365 this week and after I got it home, I took it apart to clean off all the 30 weight oil is was soaked in. Got it nice and clean and relubed and headed to the range. What a disaster! I managed to get through 120 rounds before I gave up in frustration. I had a total of 28 malfunctions: 5 failures to fire (light or no marks from the striker on the primers), 17 failures to go into battery while shooting, and six failures to lock back on the last round. I used 4 different factory magazines and I used Winchester and Federal 115gr FMJ. The odd part is it never failed to go into battery when I put in a new mag and loaded a round.
I have never had a pistol that malfunctioned that badly ever! And no, I was't limp wristing it. I shoot quite a bit every month with a variety of pistols and revolvers and I'm sure it was not my doing. Don't get me wrong, I really like the size and capacity of this pistol and I like the ergonomics but I have never owned a pistol that malfunctioned like this one. I was looking forward to using this as my EDC but now that's on hold.
I have three friends that have these and they haven't had any problems, so I must have got a lemon.
Needless to say, I'm calling SIG in the morning.

 

[Lonestar57]

Sounds like you've got a lemon. Bought one several months ago and I've not had one malfunction in the 600+ rounds shot through it so far. Wish you luck in getting your problem resolved. Please follow up after talking with Sig. Take care.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Did you have one of your three friends shoot yours?

 

[H Richard]

That's a shame, I have had mine for 7 months and probably 300-400 rounds and not a single problem.

 

[BARgunner]

Did you have one of your three friends shoot yours?

No, they weren't at the range while I was shooting.

I called SIG today and was told it was probably my grip and to try firing it one handed or with my left hand. The tech said my thumb might be riding the slide release. I'll go back to the range this afternoon and try his suggestion with some Magtech and Blazer brass. The tech said Winchester has really hard primers which could have caused the failure to fire. I've probably shot 10K of Winchester in a variety of pistols and carbines in the last two years and haven't had any problems with it but I'll try another couple of brands just to be sure.

 

[Rocket3]

No, they weren't at the range while I was shooting.

I called SIG today and was told it was probably my grip and to try firing it one handed or with my left hand. The tech said my thumb might be riding the slide release. I'll go back to the range this afternoon and try his suggestion with some Magtech and Blazer brass. The tech said Winchester has really hard primers which could have caused the failure to fire. I've probably shot 10K of Winchester in a variety of pistols and carbines in the last two years and haven't had any problems with it but I'll try another couple of brands just to be sure.

Complete BS answer!
They should have had you a return label before end of business that day.

 

[LVSteve]

The odd part is it never failed to go into battery when I put in a new mag and loaded a round.

Slingshot or by dropping the slide lock? Do you have fleshy hands? It sounds to me like you might be riding the slide with your grip.

The other thing is that you report using 115gr ammo. I find most 115gr to be pathetically underloaded. Yes, I know some folk in the US feel that 115gr is the standard, but it's not. In my experience European designed guns in 9mm often need PROPER spec ammo. Weak sauce, way under SAAMI spec 115gr ain't it.

 

[Muss Muggins]

No, they weren't at the range while I was shooting.

I am in no way criticizing or minimizing your firearms experience. Letting somebody else shoot it, especially someone known to shoot that particular pistol well, is always my first go to in diagnosing malfunctions . . .

 

[BARgunner]

I am in no way criticizing or minimizing your firearms experience. Letting somebody else shoot it, especially someone known to shoot that particular pistol well, is always my first go to in diagnosing malfunctions . . .

I didn't take it as criticism. If my friends had been there I would have had them try it. The only other guy at the range tried it and he had two failures to go into battery in one mag. I'm headed to the range this afternoon but I don't think it's my grip and I know it's not the ammo. I've been playing with it some and checking my grip and it doesn't seem like my thumb is touching either the slide or the slide release. Shooting it left handed and only using one hand should rule that out.

 

[gnystrom]

I stopped counting at 5000 perfect rounds on my Mar. 2018 gun.

 

[mustangman]

On the light strikes, oily striker and oil in the striker channel was the problem for a couple I read about over at Sigtalk.
The owners manual states the same.
I just bought one myself and plan on shooting it for the first time this weekend. I've got my fingers crossed.

 

[BARgunner]

I didn't make it to the range this afternoon but that had a golden lining. I was able to get in touch with one of my friends that has had his P365 for a couple of months and we are going to meet out there tomorrow afternoon and give them a head to head comparison. He's got around 500 trouble free rounds through his so it should be a good test.

 

[Sayoc01]

Sig.P365

I've had mine for a little over 2 mo.put 400 rounds down range, no problems!I let a new gun buyer try mine...no problems & he bought one!Only problem I have is my front sight is dead.I'm c/o the sights & repl.them with speed sights!Really like this gun!Like my Glock 30s better....but...I'm a 45guy.The 365 is a pleasure to carry concealed!
Jim

 

[BARgunner]

It was an interesting day at the range. Before I went, I took the pistol apart and wiped it down and brushed it off. When I put it together, I noticed a small piece of black plastic near where I had put the grip frame down. It looked like what you might find if you used a de-burring tool and took off a tiny burr or maybe a small piece from driving a roll pin into a hole a little off center. Anyways it was so small I really didn't think anything about it and threw it in the trash.
I met my friend out at the range and he gave me his P365 and told me to have at it. I shot 3 full mags through it without a hitch which told me it was not my grip causing the previous malfunctions.
I then loaded up 4 mags with Winchester white box and started shooting. Shot all 40 rounds without a hitch. Loaded up again and shot another 30 with no problems. I was originally going to try some 124gr Federal Hydroshock just to see if it was an ammo related problem but I decided to hold off on that. I'll go back out with another couple hundred rounds of Federal and Winchester and see how that turns out.
So what was the difference? That one small piece of plastic? Maybe, so when I got home I thought I'd dig it out of the trash for a closer inspection but I forgot I had a couple of thousand spent primers in there along with the rest of the trash from the reloading room and after a little digging I called off the search. I'm hoping that the problem is fixed but I'll need another 2 or 3 hundred rounds and some defensive loads through it before I feel confident enough to start carrying it.

 

[LVSteve]

Plastic FOD in the slide rail area? Sounds plausible.

How do you like the feel of the gun?

 

[BARgunner]

Plastic FOD in the slide rail area? Sounds plausible.

How do you like the feel of the gun?

I don't think it came out of the slide area, which I had cleaned throughly before the first outing. I had read about making sure the striker channel was free of oil to prevent light primer strikes and I did that also before the first shooting session. I think it came out of the FCG but I didn't see it come out so it could have been anywhere.
I like the feel of it, it is small but is easy to hold on to and is accurate and shot to point of aim. I really like the front sight, a big green circle that is easy to see and re-aquire while shooting. It easily fits in my front pocket so if it proves to be reliable from now on, I'll be looking for a nice pocket holster.
I'm headed back to the range in about an hour to run a couple of hundred rounds through it.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Interesting update. Keep us posted . . .

 

[BARgunner]

I had a good time at the range this afternoon. I shot two hundred rounds of mixed Winchester and Federal 115gr using all four mags and not one malfunction. I also shot a box of Winchester Defender 124gr and a box of Federal 124gr HydroShock without a hitch. That's 310 rounds with no malfunctions! A far cry from the first outing.
I think that small piece of plastic was in the FCG because of the failures to fire. Of the five, four didn't show any signs of the striker hitting the primers and one had a very light mark like you'd see on a round that's been chambered in an AR-15. After looking at the mechanism, it appears that if something got under the sear trip it could cause the slide from going into battery and cause the striker to malfunction. That's just my best guess because unfortunately I didn't see where the piece fell out from.
I'll run another couple hundred rounds through it in the next couple of weeks and if all goes well, I'll start carrying it.
I'm going to start looking for a pocket holster so if any of you P365 owners have a recommendation for a good pocket holster, please chime in.

 

[Macinaw]

Vedder pocket holster

 

[safearm]

I use one of these inside a vest pocket; it's a little too big for jeans pockets.

J&J Custom Fit SIG SAUER P365 MICROCOMPACT Formed Wallet Style Premium Leather Back/Cargo Pocket Holster

$38 at Amazon.