Back in the early 90s, the Louisiana State Police bought a bunch of SIG handguns, and used them for a year before finish problems became an issue. The finish on the Sigs to that date siply couuld not stand up to the humidity of the Louisiana roads. LSP went to Glock and never looked back.
Couple of years ago, my grandson was in the Army and attended 93F (Small Arms Repairer) training at Fort Lee, VA. He worked with the then new M17 and M18 pistols. He liked then well enough but was not at all a fan of the modular fire control group in those pistols.
More recently, the P320 has gained a reputation for un-commanded firing of the pistol. They just go off, occasionally. I dropped down that rabbit hole today and it seems to be quite the problem, including one death of an Air Force member. I went to the Sig website and can't seem to find where Sig is addressing what is becoming a huge problem. Whether the problem is poor design, out-of-spec parts, poor quality control, a statistical anomaly, or simply an internet perception, the idea that Sig is not addressing it is the main problem.
A problem with perception is still a problem. As Ian McCollum pointed out, there are people who still refuse to shoot Springfield 1903s because of a perceived heat-treat problem from 100 years ago.
Ignoring the problem won't make it go away. I, for one, have my pistols. I won't be buying any Sigs, simply because I don't need one.
Here is Brian Herrera's take on it.
4 comments:
Same here.
In the Airman's case, it might be a booger hook on the bang switch then lie about it situation, but that's just ONE case where the gun might not be at fault among MANY where it sure seems like it is.
I own a P320 (civilian model without the manual safety) and like it very much. The modular fire control group might be difficult to work on (don't know yet, haven't needed to), but it's a selling point for me.
If someone comes out with a fancy new grip with doodads and thingamabobs galore (and they have), I don't have to buy a whole new gun and go through the whole transfer it to an FFL, pay a fee, get a background check, etc rigamarole, I can have it sent to my house, move the fire control group, barrel and slide over and be ready to go.
Can easily switch between calibers (9mm, .40sw or .357sig), can change between compact, carry or full size versions.
The idea has a lot going for it and in my experience, the P320 does it well.
As far as the "uncommanded discharge" issue. I remember when Glocks first came out and that was one of the big arguments against them. People got used to the right way to use them safely and the issues died down.
Not saying that's the issue with the P320. They did have a legitimate issue with it going off when dropped *just* right, and sig addressed that with an upgrade to new models and "voluntary recall" for already sold units.
I've also read somewhere that part of the problem is with ill fitting holsters that pinch the trigger and cause it to be moved rearward as the gun is inserted.
But some of it can be attributed to the age old "it just went off" excuse in cases of negligent discharges. For many older, tried and true firearms, the excuse is dismissed out of hand because those guns have a track record of safety and "it just went off" is not believable on its face.
But when the gun in question already has a reputation for "uncommanded discharges", the excuse becomes more accepted and many cases of negligent discharges get added to the "evidence" that the guns are unsafe when in reality it was operator error.
One of the instances you mentioned specifically is a case in point:
"including one death of an Air Force member."
Not too long after the story of the "uncommanded discharge" resulting in the death of an Air Force member made its way around the world, the truth got it shoes on:
https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2025-08-08/m18-pistol-air-force-arrest-18702982.html
He lied. It wasn't an "uncommanded discharge" it was negligence and he has now been charged.
In short...I think the jury's still out on the P320. There are some legitimate concerns, but I also think that it's become a bit of a scapegoat...just like Glock used to be back when they were new and unique. To this day, as far as I know, there hasn't been a single credible engineering or mechanical explanation as to how the guns are going off without the trigger being pulled. Sig's engineers have provided several explanations as to how that's not possible, and no one's been able to counter them as far as I'm aware.
At any rate, while I understand the concerns, and agree that it's hard to ignore all the anecdotal evidence, I'm not going to be getting rid of my P320 any time soon.
turns out it is a "booger hook on the bang switch" issue...as are nearly all of the "Uncommanded discharges"
Post a Comment