We had heard some reports of the Sig Sauer P320 not performing as it was supposed to. The gun discharges when the pistol is dropped. The Dallas Police Department recently purchased Sig P320s and then were told to stop carrying the firearm until the pistols have been repaired. Just yesterday, reports surfaced of a Stamford (Connecticut) police officer who was shot in the leg when he dropped his holstered P320. When online gun retailer Omaha Outdoors heard about the Dallas department decision, they halted all sales of the P320.
We were disappointed by this news, but also pleased and surprised that Sig Sauer responded so quickly to the news. Yesterday, they issued a notice:
“The P320 meets U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) / Sporting Arms Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.
The design of the SIG SAUER P320 overcomes the most significant safety concern in striker-fired pistols today: the practice of pressing the trigger for disassembly. This can be performed with a round in the chamber which has resulted in numerous incidents of property damage, physical injury, and death. The disassembly process of the P320, however, uses a take-down lever rather than pressing the trigger, eliminating the possibility of discharge during the disassembly process.
Recent events indicate that dropping the P320 beyond U.S. standards for safety may cause an unintentional discharge.
As a result of input from law enforcement, government and military customers, SIG has developed a number of enhancements in function, reliability, and overall safety including drop performance. SIG SAUER is offering these enhancements to its customers. Details of this program will be available at sigsauer.com on Monday, August 14, 2017.
The M17 variant of the P320, selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), is not affected by the Voluntary Upgrade.
“SIG SAUER is committed to our approach on innovation, optimization, and performance, ensuring we produce the finest possible products,” said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER. “Durability, reliability and safety, as well as end-user confidence in the SIG SAUER brand are the priorities for our team.””
Image of the P320 X-Carry from sigsauer.com
