As optics on pistols become more common, there are lessons that we and manufacturers are learning. One lesson that I have had the opportunity to learn is that “Loaded Chamber notches do not play well with optics.”
My P320 X5 Legion came with a barrel that has a notch on the rear of the barrel hood, where the barrel meets the breech face of the slide. The notch is for the purpose of seeing if a round is in the chamber. As far as I am aware, there has not been a reason not to have this simple loaded chamber indicator.
Until now.
It turns out that the loaded chamber indicator becomes an optic-window-fouling machine when the weapon is fired. The above picture was after only 100 rounds.
I decided to call Sig Sauer and ask them about this. After all, this particular pistol came from the factory with this optic cut, and I was even using a Sig Sauer optic. It turns out that Sig Sauer has already addressed this problem, and they agreed to send me a new barrel, for free. It’s hard to complain about that.
When the new barrel (on the left, above) arrived, there were other changes in addition to just the now-absent loaded chamber indicator. The area on the right (ejection port) side of the old barrel that had worn shiny from rubbing against the slide has now been relieved on the new barrel. This was an improvement that I didn’t even know I needed, and cycling the slide is now smoother.
I know that optics get dirty. However, this simple improvement, and great customer service from Sig, will help me to continue enjoying my pistol and optic, which have both been completely dependable.
Now, does anyone know how to make that red dot quit wobbling?
