Posted: 12/22/2025 6:07:06 AM EDT
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I have a M17 that I feel is a bit different from the m17 I had before. The slide is solid and has M17 and has a parts and manufacture code on the slide. The serial is m17a1xxxxx which I assume means it’s a m17a1? I can’t find any info on it. Sorry if it has been posted. Did sig release some sort of updated commercial version for it? |
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There are a fair number of differences between the M17 P320 commercial model and the M17 military model. Images from another forum:      Now there have been plenty of rolling changes in the P320s design, so it is hard to say how many of those have been implemented in the military models. |
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Originally Posted By dalle0001: I have a M17 that I feel is a bit different from the m17 I had before. The slide is solid and has M17 and has a parts and manufacture code on the slide. The serial is m17a1xxxxx which I assume means it’s a m17a1? Originally Posted By dalle0001: I have a M17 that I feel is a bit different from the m17 I had before. The slide is solid and has M17 and has a parts and manufacture code on the slide. The serial is m17a1xxxxx which I assume means it’s a m17a1? The commercial serial numbers all start with "M17A" followed by six numbers. Mine is M17A019XXX, in the first 20K that were produced, so yours shows that they've passed 100K in how many they've made. Originally Posted By dalle0001: Yeah here's what mines appear like on the slide. It seems to share both the commercial and the military versions: https://i.imgur.com/4wSDMFy.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/cG2mmrA.jpeg It does look like yours is a blend of military and civilian parts. SIG decided around spring of 2025 to change the civilian version of the M17 to use the same rear iron sights as the military pistol, with the single screw securing the smaller rear sight. I'm guessing that they initially just used military production slides, but I noticed recently that the current versions of the commercial M17 and M18 only have the SIG CAGE code on the slide, stamped "MFR: 6ZWB1" without the part number like the military slides. Here's a photo of the current version from Proven Arms & Outfitters' website: Attached File It looks like the barrel hood is cut like the military barrel in your photo and the one above. I'm curious whether the current commercial slide is still cut internally like the military slide or if they went back to the internal cutouts that lighten the slide as seen on the original commercial P320-M17 and M18 slides. I was tempted to ask to take one apart at a local shop last weekend, but I know some dealers don't appreciate that. Here are some comparison photos I posted a while back in the Military Production M17 thread that has since been archived. I'll share them again with my comments in case they're helpful. My commercial slide is a darker coyote tan, which I'm sure is just a color variation between batches, but the military version's color is a lot closer to the grip module. It does look like current production commercial slides are closer to the military color now. The military production pistols have a green front night sight dot, while the two rear dots are orange. The commercial pistols have three green dots. The M17 is on top and the P320-M17 on the bottom in each of these photos. Attached File The angled sides of the breech block / barrel hood(?) on the military version are more pronounced, tapering inward towards the loaded chamber indicator as shown in this top view. One additional small difference is the flat spot on the top of the slide for the front sight dovetail. The dovetail cutout is about 0.2mm lower on the military slide, which in turn lowers / widens the flat area around it, so the front sight sits slightly lower. That could be a small production change over time, since my commercial pistol is about a year older. Attached File The difference in the weight of the two slides is noticeable. When I picked up the new M17 at my FFL and handled it for the first time, I could immediately tell that it's heavier. On my postal scale, the M17 slide (without barrel and recoil spring) weighs 13.2 oz, and the commercial slide weighs 11.8 oz. You can see the additional cutouts on the underside of the commercial slide. The deep channel at the rear probably accounts for most of the weight difference. Attached File The military barrel is marked with SIG's CAGE code and what I assume is a part number. Attached File Last small detail, probably insignificant, is that the military production barrel has a white dot on the bottom of the locking lug. Reminds me of the inspection dots on some other weapon components, like M4 bolts. Attached File FYI, the military production M18 and commercial P320-M18 also differ in terms of the cutouts inside to lighten the commercial slide. Here's my military slide (top) compared to my black commercial slide: Attached File The military production M17 and M18 also use the full size slide stop lever, rather than the smaller one on the commercial models. Even the original military issue pistols with the coyote controls used the full size lever, so I'm not sure why SIG chose to use the smaller one on the commercial pistols. |
| Very interesting! I did notice the barrel is just marked 9mm and not the cage or part codes. I guess this is some weird hybrid or something. I was able to shoot it today along with my new spear in .308 and really love it. The trigger feels very nice like my 1911. I had the m17 back in 2018 when they rolled it out and recalled the p320 mark and the cutouts on the slide. I don’t remember much else about it. |
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Originally Posted By dalle0001: Very interesting! I did notice the barrel is just marked 9mm and not the cage or part codes. I guess this is some weird hybrid or something. I think after they released the Romeo-M17 optic, in order to quickly get it into the civilian market, they updated the commercial P320-M17 and M18 by using military production slides with the single screw rear sight. When I bought my black M18 / Romeo-M17 optic combo last spring, it came with a military slide with the CAGE code and part number on the side but a commercial barrel: Attached File I noticed that the product listings for the combo now show the slide with only the CAGE code, matching the commercial pistols I've seen recently: SLIDE & BARREL ASSY, M17, 9MM, 4.7, SIGLITE W/ ROMEOM17, BLK SLIDE & BARREL ASSY, M18, 9MM, 3.9, SIGLITE W/ ROMEOM17, BLK I would have liked to get the black military production M17 slide, but I've spent too much on all these SIGs already. I'm curious to see if the inside of the commercial slides is still cut out like the original P320-M17/M18, or if they're military production slides, just without the part number stamped on the side. |