Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Just when it feels like the SIG P320 controversy might finally quiet down, something new jumps out of the bushes.
This time, Washington Gun Law’s William Kirk is back with a look at one of the strangest chapters yet: an alleged unintentional discharge caught on video outside the USAA Insurance campus in San Antonio, Texas.
Yep, actual video. No reenactments. No “a guy told a guy.” This one is right there on camera for everyone to dissect.
Kirk walks through the footage of Charles Surles, a USAA security guard, who was stepping out of his guard booth on March 18, 2025, when his holstered P320 suddenly fired.
Kirk points out the detail everyone keeps circling: Surles’ right hand resting on or near the holstered pistol. But as he notes, security guards and officers all over the country rest their hands on their sidearms while talking to people.
SEE ALSO: Truth About the SIG P320 Continues…
That shouldn’t cause a gun to go off, especially if the holster covers the trigger like it’s supposed to.
Another USAA guard, Matthew Gill, told CBS Austin he was warned about the P320 when he first started the job. He says there were prior incidents (one in September 2021 and another in September 2024), both involving similar discharge claims. (USAA later fired Gill, and he believes it was because he spoke out.)
USAA issued a statement saying both firearms involved in past incidents were checked by the manufacturer, a forensic lab, and USAA itself, and no mechanical failures were found.
SIG echoed that conclusion in their own statement: the P320 can only fire when the trigger is pulled.
Meanwhile, Kirk highlights the irony that USAA, an insurance company that lives and breathes risk assessment, continues issuing the P320 to its officers while multiple law enforcement agencies have pulled the pistol from service.
Kirk leaves viewers with one big question: if the P320 can only fire when the trigger is pulled… how exactly did that trigger get pulled in a proper holster?
As always, he encourages everyone to watch the footage themselves, think critically, know the law, and stay educated.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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For me, just too many occurrences to not have something to it.
It did not look like a trigger was pulled. My guess would be the sear angle is slightly off and it allows the sear to creep every time the pistol’s slide is moved until it finally discharges. He seemed to bump the backstrap with his hand, the it went off and muzzle flip incurred the rest of the movement. The holster may have moved the slide slightly, allowing the sear to travel that last couple or few thousandths to release. The way I would test that theory is to put a casing with a primer only in it and see if racking the slide slightly out of battery multiple times would allow it to fire.
yet it still should NOT discharge even IF that were the case.. There is a striker BLOCK that is supposed to prevent the striker from moving forward if the trigger bar is not pulled back. SO, this means that the block is disabled AND the striker is moving forward at the same time ..
Both of my handguns, a 1911A1 and an IAI Backup are equipped with a grip safety, which would have made an inadvertent discharge nearly if not completely impossible.
I’ve tried everything on YT to produce an ‘uncommanded discharge’ with my P320X Fullsize and it REFUSES to fire without applying direct pressure to the trigger face.
I have no intentions of getting rid of it.
Sig makes a host of firearm platforms and only the P320 is being implicated in unassisted discharges. The P226, 229, 229 and others have never been reported as problematic, even after being subjected to some very harsh environments and usage. Then you have sigs’ response to the matter – not very professional or even helpful.
With so many good weapons out in the market; Glock, S&W, Ruger and FNH to name a few – why take a chance on being part of the problem. I got rid of mine several months ago without looking back.
I’ve never trusted any internal or striker fired, hammerless automatic hand gun. Initially and simply, because I cannot SEE whether it’s cocked or not, with a cursory glance or having to look for a red dot or some other indicator…particularly in the dark. Of course the manufacturer is going to scream bloody murder that it’s operator error, when there’s millions of law suits and recalls at stake over a questionable internal design. The days of…”Our gun is safe because we said so”, are over! You can see that’s not an open trigger holster, it’s covered and he did nothing to engage it…operator error is the oldest CYA lie on the books, like “pilot error”…Sig better come up with a fix and they can start with the truth!
I just assumed it’s loaded and ready to fire until i clear it. Load one in the chamber and it’s ready for action! Glocks are perfectly safe if you follow safe gun handling rules and stay away from doing stupid crap! If you’re happy with yours then i say stay with it and keep practicing to maintain a high level of proficiency!
I agree with sig the trigger is being manipulated somehow someway or another… I can’t help but wonder if it’s the holster pistol fit connection. Or could it be a static electrical discharge? Static is a thing and I have no idea if a primer could be set off through a static arc jumping the gap between striker/firing pin? Just a thought is it possible.
The military should have went with Glock. It’s a tried and true design. More LE departments carry Glocks than any other brand. I have nothing against Sig, I own a P220, but I choose the Glocks for self defense and my daily carry piece. In my opinion, the least gadgets on a carry piece, the better. Simplicity is king. You pick up a Glock and properly pull the trigger it’s going to fire – if it’s loaded. Drop it, drag it behind you ATV through the dirt, sand, rock, etc., and it’ll STILL fire – without worry of an accidental discharge.
I wonder if there is some issue with the holster. It looked like the gun moved in the holster just prior to it firing. Also I noticed his trigger finder appeared to be down by the trigger. I wonder if this may be an compound issue of trigger design and holster design.
It’s telling that SIG has latched onto the phrasing “… the P320 cannot fire without the trigger being pulled.” By design this is exactly how guns are supposed to be designed and built. However, that statement of a design criteria is not sufficient. What about the human machine interface? What about the human gear (e.g. holsters) and machine interface? By design the P320 has one of the shortest trigger take-ups (free travel before “the wall”) of any firearm without a safety on the market. Trigger take-up is a safety feature and provides forgiveness in the system for unintentional trigger movement. Trigger mounted safety levers also provide a level of forgiveness in the event of unintended trigger movement. By design, the P320 lacks a trigger mounted safety on a trigger that requires very little force to cause movement. SIG wants the trigger feel at the shoe, travel, and break to be better than other pistols on the market. SIG made these design decisions of short, light take-up and lack of a trigger mounted safety. These design decision were purposeful, to enhance the shooting experience. These design decisions have removed layers of safety from the human machine and human gear and machine interfaces. The human, pistol, and gear (e.g. holsters) work together as a system. When one participant of the system makes choices to change design criteria that ultimately results in a greater risk of injury, that participant bears significant responsibility for the resulting harms caused by the system. SIG bears responsibility for their design choices. Yet, they refuse to openly admit they bear some responsibility for these harmful outcomes of the system that they are a member. This is an ethically vacant stance taken by SIG.
The 320 existed before the 320 holster.
The 320 existed before it was chosen to be purchased for it’s stated attributes. Maybe those two should sync up with the 320 as it is.
Did the 320 have the unintended discharge issues before holsters came into the system? If so, then it’s still a design problem with the gun and it’s on SIG to fix it so the human and firearm can work properly together. As Tim Yorgan said above, blaming the operator or pilot for errors is an easy CYA scapegoat for a poor design.
If we’re speaking specifically of the holstered discharge problem, no, I don’t believe that was a thing before the holsters existed. They had drop safety problems originally.
Operator error happens all the time with guns and everything else.
To my knowledge there has never been a 320 that has had a holstered discharge that they were able to recreate the problem with the same pistol/holster combo.
Impossible to know what happened inside that holster, with the proviso that it was a proper holster, he clearly moves that firearm within it just as it went off…….
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was there some obstruction inside the holster?…. don’t know……..
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were any trigger mods done on the firearm?…..don’t know……….
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was he manipulating the firearm as he is seen doing in the video because it wasn’t in the holster properly?………don’t know.
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As an owner of MANY P320’s, and with all the training I do EVERY weekend with them, (including dropping on occasion), none have ever gone off on their own……..and I have every confidence one never will.
I would tend to agree. Way too many unanswered questions for any conclusions from this incident.
I’ve tried every sort of manipulation shown on YT in an attempt to induce an ‘uncommanded discharge’ with my P320X Fullsize without achieving such.
well just proves glocks are safer than sigs!
Tell that to all the guys that have shot themselves with glocks…especially the apendex boys that now sing soprano!
I’m a GSSF member and Glock collector, I own 12 of them and shoot a lot. All Glocks have 3 internal redundant safeties. If someone is “singing soprano” as you say from shooting themselves, that wasn’t guns fault. You can’t make a gun completely idiot proof.
A Glock CAN NOT fire without pulling the trigger, along with the trigger spur at the same time as the trigger – period! Do you even own a Glock? I bet not … 😏
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool !
the key point is those guys are shooting themselves, not the gun doing it on it’s own.
You just said this proves Glocks are safer than Sigs…..now you’re saying they’re shooting themselves. Which is it???
my posts must give you a real boner, you lose all ability to read and comprehend! lets also throw in the unusual interest in me.