Sig Sauer P365 XMacro Review: Best High Capacity Carry Gun?

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Of all the things Sig Sauer is known for (good and bad) their constant innovation in creating new firearms and upgrading their current models cannot be understated.

As exciting as the P365 was when it was initially released, I think it’s fair to say none of us could have ever imagined what the gun would evolve into.

Boasting a 17-round capacity at only 1.1 inches thick and 22 ounces unloaded, does the P365 XMacro have what it takes to dethrone full-size guns as the best high-capacity carry option?

We took the P365 XMacro to the range to put it to the test. So, keep reading as we dive into its specs, features, and performance.

How We Tested the Sig Sauer P365 XMacro

For our testing, we ran the base model Sig Sauer P365 XMacro with the non-compensated slide and standard XMacro grip module. (If you’re interested in the compensated version, check out our review of the Sig P365 XMacro Comp.)

To remove shooter errors and ensure unbiased accuracy measurements, we conducted our testing at 7 yards using a Ransom Rest on a tripod, shooting 5-round groups with both practice and defensive ammo, including:

• AAC 115g FMJ
• Blazer 124g FMJ
• Federal HST 124g
• Sig V Crown 124g

We used USPSA open targets at 7 to 10 yards and C-Zone steel at 20-25 yards. A Lyman Digitial Trigger Gauge was also used to accurately measure the average trigger pull weight over three trigger pulls.

Sig Sauer P365 XMacro Specs & Features

Specs

• Caliber: 9mm
• Capacity: 17+1
• Barrel Length: 3.1 inches
• Overall Length: 6.6 inches
• Height: 4.8 inches
• Width: 1.1 inches
• Weight: 27 oz (fully loaded)

Features

• XRay3 Day/Night Sights
• M1913 rail
• P365-XL length optics ready slide

Sig Sauer P365 XMacro Background

The P365 XMacro is the direct evolution of the P365XL/X, and it brings many unique changes and upgrades to the P365 platform.

Sporting an integrated compensator, optics-ready slide, and 17-round flush magazine capacity, the XMacro grew beyond the P365 sub-compact but wasn’t quite a full-duty-size firearm. I like to call it a “mid-compact.”

At only 1.1 inches thick, the carry footprint of the XMacro is quite small but offers a legitimate full-size grip that even the largest hand will be able to utilize well. The full-size grip and 17-round capacity beat out the compact capacity and even grip surface availability.

These characteristics allow the XMacro to punch above its weight class, claiming many of the benefits of a sub-compact while offering an actual shooting performance that can rival full-size duty pistols.

Who Is the Sig Sauer P365 XMacro For?

The XMacro would fit well into a concealed carry or home defense setup, so long as you are okay with a slightly larger gun than the base P365.

Competitive shooters will also be interested in the P365 XMacro.

Some competitive shooters will be restricted to having a non-compensated or ported gun, depending on the division and sport, but I personally have run variations of the XMacro in various competitive matches and have done well.

I don’t feel limited or handicapped utilizing the XMacro in a competitive environment, which I couldn’t say with my Glock 43X or Sig P365X. The XMacro just shoots so predictably and easily. I know any lack of performance is going to be on my end, not caused by a mechanical limitation of the gun.

Ergonomics: Fit & Feel

Before I delve into describing the ergonomics of the P365 XMacro, I have to be honest. I have a bit of a personal bias towards this gun. A highly customized version of the XMacro is my daily carry gun and my favorite pistol.

It’s difficult to describe through the medium of words on a screen, but if you’ve been shooting long enough, you can relate to the feeling when a handgun seems to just fit perfectly in your hands. This is exactly what I experienced the first time I shot an XMacro, shortly after its initial release in 2022.

At that time, I had already been carrying the P365X for quite some time and shot thousands of rounds through the gun, but the XMacro absolutely ruined that gun for me.

Grip & Texture

The ease with which shots land exactly where I want them to with the XMacro probably comes down to the addition of extra material along the back portion of the frame. Adding material to the lower back end of the frame allows the gun to fill one of the most important parts of your firing hand grip much more effectively.

As a result, a bad trigger press or even slamming the trigger altogether affects your accuracy to a significantly lesser degree, as the frame is able to bury into the bottom portion of your palm.

I believe the engineers and designers at Sig Sauer knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish when they set out to design this improved grip module.

Additionally, the support hand has much more room to vice into the frame while shooting the gun with the increased grip dimension. Many shooters with even medium-sized hands struggle to shoot the 365 X/XL well due to the little surface area available on the grip for the support hand.

The XMacro solves this problem and gives most shooters ample room to anchor their support hand into the frame.

The grip texture is similar to what you will find on the 365X/XL, albeit with more of it since the grip is much longer. As with the previously listed models, the texture certainly resembles an aggressive stipple-type texture that adheres well to the hand during recoil.

As with every grip texture assessment, the “best” texture is going to be highly subjective to the user. Some find the texture on the XMacro to be a bit aggressive for carry against bare skin, but I don’t find this to be the case.

As good as the grip texture is, I do wish it continued higher onto the frame of the handgun. With a proper support hand grip, you will immediately notice a large portion of your support hand thumb is going to be contacting nothing but bare, smooth plastic!

This is definitely a letdown for the overall performance of the gun, but it is an area Sig can and probably will choose to improve in the future.

Controls

The magazine release is exceptionally well-designed and intuitive. In many cases, magazine releases fall into a Goldilocks dilemma — too small, too large, or just not right. The XMacro is a perfect middle ground in this regard.

Its ridges and raised height make reloading the gun intuitive and easy. Even with my medium-sized hands, I can depress the magazine release without a major shift in my firing hand grip. Of all the handguns I have ever shot, the XMacro probably has one of the best magazine-release designs.

In my opinion, the slide lock lever design is geared more towards locking the slide to the rear and less towards dominant-thumb speed reloads.

It’s not a bad design by any means. I just can’t reach the slide lock lever with my thumb to send the slide home during an empty reload. While this is not a deal-breaker for me in any regard, users with smaller hands will run into this issue as well.

Interestingly, Sig has already demonstrated that they can overcome this issue. The Slide lock lever on the P365 Fuse is a great example. I can easily depress the lever with my dominant thumb.

Hopefully, Sig will implement this design in all new XMacros and other P365 variants, but only time will tell.

P365 XMacro Slide

The slide on the non-compensated XMacro is essentially identical to the slide on the P365XL. Sporting front and rear slide serrations, you will be able to load, unload, and press check the gun without much trouble.

I do wish the slide serrations on the front of the pistol extended higher onto the slide, though. During press checks (or front loading), a large portion of your thumb won’t come into contact with the serrations.

As with all the current P365X and beyond models, the XMacro is optics-ready with the Shield RMSC footprint. This has basically become the default footprint for every manufacturer’s subcompact optic-ready pistols.

For this review, we utilized the Sig Romeo-X enclosed for the duration of testing. The iron sights included on the XMacro are the same XRAY sights on most P365 models (except the Fuse).

I personally think the XRAY sights are the best non-fiber-optic sight for a carry pistol on the market. The black rear and bright green front allow for a quick, simple sight acquisition. That said, the Tritium vials help you reference the position of the sights in low light or just see where your gun is on the nightstand.

It’s a nice addition for those who don’t want to run an optic or simply haven’t made the switch yet.

Sig P365 FCU

If you already own a P365XL, you should be jumping up and down for joy, as all you have to do to create an XMacro is buy the grip module and magazines!

The P365 FCU is easily interchangeable between the different frame sizes, and your slide will fit right at home on an XMacro frame.

One thing to note, however, is that your P365 XMacro will not fit into Kydex-molded holsters for your P365XL. This is due to the addition of a section of 1913 rail on the frame of the XMacro that allows you to mount a larger weapon light.

How Does the Sig Sauer P365 XMacro Shoot?

All of the combined ergonomic features mentioned above lend to an incredibly strong shooting performance for a carry gun.

Its longer and wider grip makes it much easier to reliably get a solid grip out of the holster. This is one of the most important factors in deciding on a carry gun, as the initial grip out of the holster can make or break the ability to land a first-round hit quickly and accurately.

The recoil impulse on the XMacro is tame for a shorter-barreled carry gun, as the 3.7-inch barrel sits comfortably between a 4-inch compact length and a 3.4 or smaller micro-compact length.

Its bore axis also sits incredibly low in the hand. Handguns with a lower bore axis tend to be more consistent and reliable for me.

Picking up the red dot off the draw is very natural and consistent with the XMacro. I found the beaver tail does an excellent job of preventing slide bite while not inhibiting my ability to quickly draw the gun from AIWB.

Utilizing the longer grip allows the gun to shoot incredibly quickly, as the dot returns to the original point of aim without hesitation.

If you are used to a Glock grip angle, the XMacro’s presentation will be a bit different, as it sits more upright in your hand than a Glock. That said, I find the shooting experience to be much more comfortable on my wrists. I have to put less input into the gun during the draw to acquire my dot.

With all my practice at this point, I feel the most confident with my XMacro compared to any other pistol on the market. If you are seeking a softer recoil impulse, there are endless customization options to add compensators or ports to the XMacro that can sit flush with the frame or extend past.

XMacro Trigger

The XMacro Trigger is my least favorite part of the pistol. To be frank, it’s a letdown and nothing to write home about.

It has a flat-faced design that breaks around 4 pounds. But the trigger’s pull weight is not the issue; rather, it’s the grittiness that comes with the pull.

There is an initial amount of slack that is pulled until you get to the wall of the trigger, which is where the real fun begins. As you press through the wall, depending on the trigger you get, you will get somewhere between 1-3 fake walls before the striker drops and the gun actually fires.

While not a big deal slamming the trigger on open targets, the mush and creep of the trigger are frustrating when trying to group the gun well for a zero or taking longer range/lower percentage shots.

It’s usable, but I hope that Sig will work on triggers with a cleaner break for future models.

Accuracy

As with all our reviews, we do our best to eliminate shooter error. This means testing the accuracy of the P365 XMacro while it sits on a Ransom Rest. We begin our testing at 7 yards, then back out to 100 yards, utilizing five-round groups to gauge accuracy.

We also test with four kinds of ammunition to see how it handles target and defensive ammo. For this review, we used AAC 115g FMJ, Blazer 124g FMJ, Federal HST 124g, and Sig V Crown 124g.

Accuracy results for the Sig Sauer P365 XMacro were excellent! With each type of ammunition, we got an average grouping of 1.5 inches or less.

From a personal standpoint, I have shot my own XMacro out to 100 yards with hits on C-Zone steel. So, I can confidently say the XMacro is an incredibly accurate handgun.

Reliability

In my experience, the XMacro has been an incredibly reliable platform. Since its initial release, I have fired well over 5,000 rounds through various XMacros with everything from high-end ammo to the more budget-friendly Blazer brass. I have no issues cycling, and the performance has been near perfect.

However, it’s not without the occasional issue. Namely, the magazine springs tend to wear out quicker than other guns. I recently had to send one of the 17-round magazines back to Sig. The magazine spring had become so weak that the gun wouldn’t cycle reliably. I will add that particular magazine had several thousand rounds through it.

With healthy magazines, I have not experienced a single malfunction of any kind with the P365 XMacro.

I follow the somewhat aggressive recoil spring swap schedule at around 3,000 rounds, which is just a tad higher than Sig’s recommended 2,500 rounds.

Ultimately, the XMacro has proven to be a very reliable platform.

What Sets the XMacro Apart?

The XMacro stands out to me as the best shooting concealed carry gun.

Some folks will shy away from the XMacro due to its higher capacity and assume they won’t be able to conceal the longer grip. If you can comfortably and effectively conceal carry a Glock 43X/48, Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro, or Smith & Wesson Shield Plus with the extended magazine, I would venture to guess you will probably be able to conceal the XMacro.

My personal XMacro with an optic weighs 27 ounces fully loaded, only 2 ounces heavier than a fully loaded Glock 48. Weight and width are the two dimensions that most affect my ability to carry a gun, and the XMacro maintains a razor-thin 1.1-inch slide width and similar weight to other guns in its class.

Another consideration for the XMacro would be the flexibility in multiple roles. If you want one gun that can transform from a longer grip, better-shooting gun into a deep concealment gun, there is none better than the P365 Series.

Simply purchase an XMacro, an additional Sig P365X/XL frame, and a magazine, and you have all you need to quickly transform your carry gun to your specific needs.

I have this exact setup that I can easily travel with, and that allows me to adapt my gun to exactly what I need it for that day. No other carry gun on the market can transform so quickly and easily.

By the Numbers

Ergonomics: 5/5

The P365 XMacro fits nicely in the hand with controls that are fairly easy to reach for most shooters. Its grip texture is nice, and the larger size helps mitigate recoil.

Accuracy: 4/5

I was able to average 1.5-inch groups or less with the P365 XMacro at 7 yards. Not too bad.

Reliability: 5/5

While magazines can wear it out over time, the gun itself is solid and reliable.

Customization: 5/5

Using the P365 FCU, the world is your oyster. Not to mention, there’s plenty of aftermarket support for the P365.

Value: 4/5

It’s not as budget-friendly as other carry guns, but it does offer some elevated features that some shooters might be interested in paying for.

Overall: 4.5/5

Upgrades & Accessories for the Sig Sauer P365 XMacro

It wouldn’t be a carry gun without a holster, so we recommend grabbing one to tuck your P365 XMacro in. Hidden Hybrid Holsters is a comfy hybrid design that we’ve tested and really like.

Since the XMacro is optics-ready, why not toss a red dot on its slide? We kept it in the family with a Sig Romeo-X red dot.

Finally, if you’re going to be training, which you should be, we recommend a good pair of eyes and ears. We might be biased, but we think our own ShellShock Protection is a great way to keep safe at the range!

While you’re thinking of training, grab some AAC ammo.

Why You Should Trust Pew Pew Tactical

Behind the Sig P365 XMacro in this review is Preston Hughes, a former emergency room and trauma RN with plenty of shooting experience. He attended the North Texas Police Academy before having to leave due to a shoulder injury. Preston is a competition shooter and owner of the Citizen Response channel on YouTube. His expertise lies in pistols, concealed carry, and competition shooting. Preston led the research, testing, and evaluation of Sig Sauer P365 XMacro. He personally owns and carries one daily, so he’s very familiar with this platform, its capabilities, and its shortcomings.

Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings runs our experienced team of reviewers and edited this review. She is an NRA-certified Basic Pistol Instructor as well as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Jacki has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years. With 2,000+ articles to her name, she uses her professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards for Pew Pew Tactical. Jacki personally owns a Sig Sauer P365XL Rose and carries it daily.

Final Verdict

The Sig Sauer P365 XMacro is an excellent choice for a high-capacity handgun that can still easily slip into a concealed carry setup.

While the trigger is a little meh, everything else about the P365 XMacro excels.

What do you think of the Sig Sauer P365 XMacro? Let us know in the comments below! Want to see more P365 models? Check out our list of Sig Sauer’s P365.