Improving on the Already Improved

Even after more than half a decade, the Sig Sauer P365, with all its variants, remains one of the hottest platforms on the pistol market. It only makes sense that it gets a lot of love from the aftermarket. This includes makers who offer their own versions of the pistol with custom touches. Wilson Combat has been doing that for a few years now and has recently introduced the new WCP365X 2.0. It is a pistol that refines the company’s custom treatment of the P365 platform and enhances the feature set and performance more than ever.

The Wilson Combat WCP365X 2.0 and Then Some

It’s worth noting that when I mentioned the new WCP365X 2.0, I wasn’t talking about just one pistol. Wilson Combat is actually introducing a multitude of new entries. These include the WCP365 2.0, the WCP365X 2.0, the WCP365XL 2.0, and the WCP365 Macro 2.0 in both normal and short barrel lengths.

Aside from that, the company also has grip modules in various colors for even more personalization. Those colors include black, gray, green, and tan.

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Personally, my favorite variant of the Sig P365 is the P365X. It retains the short barrel but extends the grip a bit for a better purchase on the pistol. Likewise, it allows for a couple of extra rounds in the magazine, bringing the total to 12 rounds.

So, when I contacted the folks at Wilson for a review pistol, I asked for the WCP365X 2.0. It only took the company two days to get the pistol to me so I could take a look at what’s new.

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Before we get into the general features offered by Wilson Combat for the WCP365X 2.0, I thought I’d cover the changes made since the original WCP365 was released. The main change with the 2.0 version is the newly profiled and configured slide.

Wilson Combat gets blank slides from Sig Sauer to do its own custom treatment. With the new 2.0 version, the company got really aggressive with the changes.

The WCP365X 2.0 Up Top

The slide still features Wilson’s fiber-optic front sight along with its serrated and blacked-out rear Battlesight. However, just about everything else is different.

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First, Wilson’s proprietary X-TAC serrations were put aside in favor of more aggressive front and rear slide serrations. The front serrations are significantly deeper than the rear ones for easy press checking. Also, instead of standard top serrations, the 2.0 version has more aggressive serrations that run perpendicular to the slide’s length and closely resemble the texturing you might see on a file or a rasp.

Another significant change is the inclusion of lightening cuts in the slide. They add a little visual pizzazz and reduce the amount of reciprocating mass on top, helping with better recoil mitigation.

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For an upcharge over the base price of $1273, the buyer can order any WCP365 2.0 pistol with the slide milled for their preferred optic. Options for direct milling include the RMRcc, 407K/507K, or the Sig ROMEOZero/RMSc footprint. This add-on will run you an extra $149 at the checkout screen.

Dialing in Perfection

The other optional add-on for the WCP365 2.0 pistols is the Action Tune package. This package includes a Grayguns straight trigger, as well as custom spring modifications performed by the smiths at Wilson Combat before the pistol is shipped. The Action Tune package significantly improves the feel of the trigger over the standard Sig trigger. However, it will run you around $175 more to get that extra upgrade.

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With a base price of $1,273 for the WCP365X 2.0, if you just throw caution to the wind and go for the Action Tune package and the direct-milled optics cut upgrades, the pistol will max out at $1,602.

Now, bear in mind that what I’ve discussed so far aren’t the only things you get with the WCP365 2.0. I’ve only discussed the changes from the original and the optional upgrade packs. But there’s still a lot more that goes into a WCP365 2.0 pistol.

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The first thing, of course, is Wilson Combat’s own custom grip module. It offers excellent texturing with proprietary Starburst design on the sides and fairly aggressive stippling on the front and backstraps.

For the slide, Wilson includes its Armor Tuff finish, and there’s a custom DLC finish on the barrel. Further, the WCP365 2.0 also includes Wilson’s carry cut and multi-angle slide beveling. This delivers better concealment, greater visual appeal, and easier re-holstering.

Finally, there’s the inclusion of the company’s proprietary battlesight arrangement, which allows co-witnessing with an optic if one is installed.

Range Talk

Having shot a multitude of P365 pistols and a couple of Wilson Combat’s WCP365 pistols in the past, I pretty much knew what to expect with the new WCP365X 2.0. However, that didn’t stop me from wanting to get out to the range with this new version ASAP.

So, at our first opportunity, I met with my shooting buddy, Jamie, for an afternoon of serious gunplay and testing.

Right out of the gate, my initial impression of the 2.0 version was extremely favorable. It’s important to note that the real change with the new version is just the re-profiling of the slide. Everything else pretty much stayed the same, but why fix it if it’s not broken?

The texturing on the grip module is fairly aggressive and really locked into the hand as soon as I picked up the pistol. That texturing also made the WCP365X 2.0 easy to control during recoil. This made it very manageable for a pistol of its size.

The trigger on the WCP365X 2.0, with the Action Tune package, is also the same as the original. However, it is still much nicer than the standard trigger on a factory P365. No, it’s not as nice as a custom 1911, but the break weight was slightly reduced. Likewise, a lot of the sloppy mush was removed, allowing for a relatively clean and positive break.

The trigger on my sample pistol broke at an average of 5.25 pounds. Likewise, the break was much more distinct than that of a standard P365. The reset wasn’t as short as I normally like, but it’s not bad for the average shooter.

The WCP365X 2.0 Delivers a Flawless Performance

When it came time for doing our warm-up shooting, running drills, and even doing the accuracy testing, the reliability of the WCP365X 2.0 was exactly as predicted—flawless. We shot just about every type of common ammo available on the market through the new 2.0 model. We shot FMJs, TMJs, hollowpoints, copper-solid projectiles, and everything in between, including a bag of rounds I’ve had sitting around more than 20 years.

There were just no malfunctions of any sort with over 650 rounds fired. That’s exactly what we want in a defensive pistol of this type.

The WCP365X 2.0 uses a standard Sig Sauer barrel with no special modifications or replacement with a custom Wilson barrel. This means that the accuracy is going to be on par with a standard P365.

Even so, we still did the accuracy testing to keep things honest. That testing was done with an RMRcc mounted directly to the slide. It’s much easier to get a precise point of aim with a red dot than try to align iron sights the exact same way repeatedly. This advantage was revealed with the test results.

Because of the use case and the shorter barrel, we typically test this type of pistol at 7 yards. Overall, the WCP365X 2.0 was incredibly accurate with all the ammo tested. There was a very close race between Federal’s 147-grain +P HST load and Remington’s 147-grain Golden Saber Bonded round.

In the end, Federal took the prize by a hair with the HST load. It had a three-group average of .54 inches at 7 yards and a single best group of .44 inches.

Taming the Recoil

What surprised me about the WCP365X 2.0 was how well it handled recoil, especially with +P loads. I’ve shot Wilson’s previous model of the WCP365X, but not with +P ammunition. At least I don’t recall shooting any +P rounds.

My friend, Jamie, is a LEO of almost 20 years after serving as a sniper in the Air Force. He felt the grip texturing was just a bit too aggressive and sharp in the hand. However, I personally thought it was perfect.

The aggressive texturing provided plenty of traction for excellent recoil control even with hotter +P loads. I could definitely feel the extra thump of the +P rounds. But the recoil wasn’t even close to abusive and was easily managed as far as I was concerned. With as many rounds as we fired through the WCP365X, I still didn’t change my mind when we were done.

Interestingly, during the velocity testing, the Remington Golden Saber load averaged only 1 foot per second slower than Federal’s +P HST load with the same bullet weight. This illustrates the differences between manufacturers and the variances that can be found between what one company considers “+P” and what another regards as just a standard-pressure load.

The WCP365X 2.0 Delivers a Better Overall Experience

In all honesty, the P365 platform is already pretty sweet right out of the box from the factory. You can do just about everything with it that you can with Wilson Combat’s upgraded WCP365 models. However, the enhancements provided with this custom package let you do those things just a little bit better.

The Wilson grip-frame texturing is a solid step up for more positive recoil control. The aggressive texturing on the slide not only looks good but also provides a more secure purchase on the slide for manual cycling, press checking, or other manipulations. Finally, modifications to the trigger make for a slightly lighter pull that offers a much cleaner break, eliminating much of the mush.

Whether or not doing things just a little bit better is worth the $1,273 to $1,605 price tag is up to the end user. Aside from the performance enhancements, I think the WCP365X 2.0 offers more visual appeal than a standard factory model. But that’s just me. Even with aesthetics aside, the Wilson versions certainly do stand out from the rest of the crowd. Many of us aficionados like that in our guns.

If you’re looking for an incredibly reliable and accurate micro-compact that’s got some style and squeezes out every last bit of performance possible from that form factor, then the WCP365X 2.0 models should be at the top of your shopping list. You’ll pay more for the cost of admission. But you most certainly will not be disappointed when you pick it up at your favorite local gun shop.

Wilson Combat WC365X 2.0 Specs

Performance

Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in feet per second from the muzzle by a Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph, and accuracy in inches for three, five-shot groups at 10 yards.

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