Military M18
SIG SAUER

A Closer Look at SIG SAUER's Civilian Version of the Military M18 Handgun

SIG SAUER is now producing a civilian version of the MHS, their own SIG SAUER P320-M18 handgun.

Due to popular demand, SIG SAUER is now introducing a civilian version of their P320 handgun, also known as the U.S. Military Modular Handgun System or MHS.

You may recall how the SIG SAUER M17 design beat out its competition from Glock, FN Herstal and Beretta two years ago to become the new service sidearm of choice for the U.S. Army. The gun is replacing the iconic Beretta M9 in the line of duty.

Since SIG SAUER won that contract, they have also developed variants of the handguns, including the M18. This gun is a slightly smaller version of the full-size M17.

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The M18 has proven immediately popular and is now the handgun of choice for the U.S. Marine Corps and other all other branches of the U.S. military such as the Air Force and Navy. That's a strong endorsement for any firearm!

Obviously, since the compact version of the M18 pistols were tough enough for the Army, that meant they instantly garnered a great deal of interest from the commercial civilian market as well.

SIG SAUER has heard the demand and have just announced a new handgun, the P320-M18 variant.

The new M18 is a semi-automatic, 9mm striker-fired gun very similar to the military's models. It has a barrel length of 3.9 inches and an overall length of 7.2 inches.

The weight is 28 ounces, which means this could easily be a concealed carry gun with the right holster.

The military contracts with SIG SAUER, Inc. specified a removable night sight rear plate and comes ready to be fitted with fiber optics. The gun's other sight is a "SIGLITE" front night sight.

This gun looks just like the military version of the firearm with black controls and the unique tan color.

Running out of ammo shouldn't be an issue. Once nice touch here is that SIG is packaging the compact M18 with a 17-round magazine and two 21-round magazines. It has an ambidextrous manual safety, a coyote-tan grip module and coyote PVD finished slide.

The P320-based M17 and M18 are among the most tested handguns in history and the pair has been proven to be unmatched in both accuracy and reliability," SIG SAUER Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Taylor said in a press release. "We are very proud that with the P320-M18, civilians can now own the same innovation and versatility that has made either the M17 and M18 the handgun of choice for all branches of the U.S. Military."

We're betting this firearm will prove a hit on the commercial market, especially with concealed carriers looking for military-level quality in their guns. SIG SAUER says this gun is already available in store, so go check out your local gun store to see if they've got them in stock yet!

For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels

NEXT: 8 MILITARY SURPLUS GUNS EVERY SHOOTER SHOULD OWN

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