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- The P320 is turning out to be one of the biggest successes for SIG in every conceivable market. It may yet benefit from an upgrade.
(Photo: GunsAmerica)
SIG Sauer is issuing a voluntary upgrade package for their popular line of P320 striker-fired service pistols to improve their reliability and safety. The P320 is one of the most prominent next-generation polymer pistols. The U.S. military just selected the P320 to replace the bulk of Beretta M9 pistols in service today.
Recent testing shows that unfortunately, “dropping the P320 beyond U.S. standards for safety may cause an unintentional discharge.” This particular issue does not affect the M17, the P320 going into service with the Army and Air Force as a part of the Modular Handgun System (MHS) program.
The SIG P320 is one of the pistols most tested to see service today. “The P320 meets U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Sporting Arms Ammunition Manufacturing Institute (SAAMI), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies,” said SIG in a release.
The P320 has been in use publicly and privately for years. It’s only been in recent tests where people have been able to produce conditions where the pistols may discharge when dropped.
“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,” highlights the release. “SIG Sauer is offering these enhancements to its customers.”
SIG will update their website on August 14 for P320 owners with all the details about the upgrade.
See Also: Springfield Armory XD-S Recall: Update and Review
“SIG Sauer is committed to our approach on innovation, optimization and performance, ensuring we produce the finest possible products,” said SIG CEO and president Ron Cohen. “Durability, reliability and safety, as well as end-user confidence in the SIG Sauer brand are the priorities of our team.”
SIG maintains that even with this issue the P320 is the safest striker-fired pistol on the market. Of all of the accidental and negligent discharges, by far the most common is during disassembly. Most striker-fired pistols require the user to pull the trigger for cleaning and maintenance.
The P320 employs a different kind of take-down system that disengages the trigger from the striker without pulling the trigger. That alone makes the gun safer to use, especially for military and departmental use.
Still, the current problem with the P320 is clear. When dropped at just the right angle — or wrong, in this case — the trigger may have enough inertia to trip the striker without a human pulling it.
Like many upgrades or recalls, the nature of this problem is not insignificant. If you are a P320 owner you should absolutely get in touch with SIG about their fix next Monday.
SIG has not released details of their upgrade options. It could be as simple as a lightweight polymer trigger that doesn’t have the mass to fire when dropped.
In any case it’s clear that SIG is getting behind this issue as quickly as possible.
Gotta love the cooperate lawyer gerrymandering speak “Voluntary Upgrade” Meaning we need to get these firearms back in here and check them before we get our A&&*& sued off and a mandatory recall is issued, then we’ll look real bad to purchasers!
one of the comments above was I don’t have to worry . the owner said I don’t keep one chambered anyway. then that person should not be carrying a weapon until they have training. having a ccp does not make you a trained operator. get training first if you carry a weapon you need not be scared of said weapon. if you don’t know the internal workings of your weapon leave it at home.
I own the P320 great gun shoots really well
Hope to find out more on the fix
Glock forever. I’ve carried one my whole 20+ yr career, and it has NEVER failed to perform. I’ve also carried H&K and Sig, and both have been problematic.
I was looking to get the Signed 320 RX, so when will it be safe to order one?
Hate spell check Sig not signed Sorry.
I suggest wait before you buy. The reasons; if SIG doesn’t cover shipping expect to pay at least $50.00 one way. A non FFL holder may expereince difficulties shipping a handgun becasue they have to be dropped off at the UPS or FEDEX depot. There are some reports of people trying to ship a handgun and encountering a worker at one of these shippers inisisting that it is illegal. Also the SIG p320 may have or may be going to take a deppreciation in value. Overall in my opinion SIG has been screwing up too many gun in last years. Do what you want, but to summerize buying this gun is going to require you to ship it back, maybe at your expense, and wait for it to return however long that will take, do you really think its worth it?
Sig has been selling guns all over the world. I’ve owned and shot just ever Sig made that’s hammer fired. Probably the most used guns by foreign militaries, special forces and over all gun enthusiasts than any other manufactured. I feel the best way to prevent an accidental gun discharge is to carry a hammered fired(single or double action) made after 1970. Not like a stricker fired gun. You get to visually see what the gun is doing. And with the decocker there’s no chance of accidental discharge should you prefer to go in hammer only mode and then decide not to fire. No excuse the hammer slip out of your sweaty hand.
If it was a Perfect Gun World there would still be someone bitchin about that.
Firearms safety is Everyones responsibility this aint bloody England or no fly over France this is America !
I wonder how many in the military are going to try to see if their shiny new M-17 handguns can go off if dropped or struck on the back of the slide? This isn’t to belittle them, but as everyone comments about making something “soldier proof”, so far the pistol isn’t and since we don’t have an actual M-17 to test (only Sig’s “assurances”), who knows how good it is.
Voluntarily my a**. They had no choice. Short of a mandatory recall on a major design flaw and possibly and probable lawsuits (AccidentalDischarging when dropped on its slide backplate.
A you-tuber not only discovered the flaw, but also figured out that an aftermarket trigger with its lighter trigger pull alleviated the problem down to 10% of the time. Sig owes that person big time! He may have saved that company from going under, when you consider the damages awarded or agreed-upon in the Steyr lawsuit -regarding their trigger patent(s)- which have yet to be determined.
I could only guess !!! Half or maybe over half of the people on this website don’t own a Sig product.
That said. I think that an American manufacture!! Yes American manufacturer in New Hampshire USA should have a chance to fix a problem with their product that is made in the USA with the utmost importance on SAFTEY!!
I’m saying this because their are a lot of jobs that are at stake in this kind of situation and we should be supportive in this kind of situation knowing how our economy is in this day and age.
I realize that management of a company is 99.9% of the blame for what is said media wise but the average worker takes the brunt of what happens.
That said I own a lot of different kind of American made firearms!!
Let them fix it and we can move on.
Everyone has their opinion and that is mine and I respect everyone’s else’s .
Keep that in mind and I don’t work for Sig.
Voluntary recall means that the customer has to pay for shipping and handling and that way Sig doesn’t have to put out a ton of money on this “recall”
Voluntarily my a**. They had no choice. Short of a mandatory recall on a major design flaw and possibly and probable lawsuits (AccidentalDischarging when dropped on its slide backplate.
A you-tuber not only discovered the flaw, but also figured out that an aftermarket trigger with its lighter trigger pull alleviated the problem down to 10% of the time. Sig owes that person big time! He may have saved that company from going under, when you consider the damages awarded or agreed-upon in the Steyr lawsuit -regarding their trigger patent(s)- which have yet to be determined.
the reason clock lost the contract to replace the baretta was their bid was a million dollars more than SIG!
Glock was $100 million more for the entire contract. Perhaps the Glock was the better gun and simply costs more to produce. SIG originally lost to Beretta because of cost.
And you failed to mention that glock was late with their new generation pistol and the fact that they didn’t have a modular design that the US Military was looking for ,,,,shall I go on???
I’ve had my P320 for 6 months. I’ve been to the range once a week with my best friend, a glock, vp, s&w and more owner. We both clean our guns thoroughly after each use. I without exaggeration have never jammed or misfired, but his glocks have done both.
I lost all confidence in SIG firearms. I glad I never bought one of these. I believe the people who go around saying “H&K hates you” ought to rethink that slogan.
I am just so glad I haven’t bought this gun as I was just about to go get it.
Sig is not being honest about this situation. Firearms safety is a really big deal and can’t be compromised.
I guess I’ll rather stick with glock.
I submitted a SIG P320 in .357 Sig back to them with a blown case. Perfect primer showing low pressure, and a case that was blown around the base. It destroyed the frame and SIG lied through their teeth blaming the ammo. Coy Getman, the lead ammo guru of Speer took one look at the picture and stated “That is an EARLY EXTRACTION ISSUE, note the intact primer in the case”. So my SIG P320 sits in the safe and on occasion I take it out and shoot it as a .40 BECAUSE I DON’T TRUST IT. And I’m not so sure I trust SIG anymore with a Customer Service that will not own up to a REAL issue. I wonder how many more SIG P320 owners have had the issue but it was simply brushed under the rug.
What part is SIG not being honest about?
SIG’s Issueing a Voluntary Upgrade for Improved Safety?
Sounds like a Recall to me!
They had a fix ready the day the Omaha drop test video was posted. SIG knew about the problem, especially after the cop was shot by a dropped P320.
I’ve never dropped my P229 Legion and don’t plan to. That said, the user doc with it says any firearm might discharge if dropped. Not having a round in the chamber means I don’t have to worry about that. BTW I still plan to buy a P320.
He’ll Remington 700 rifles have been firing for no reason since they first made them, switching it on or off safty it would fire, drops it would fire, he’ll police snipers said with out even touching them they would just go off, they just fixed this in the last few years. I have a Ruger,Glock and sig sauer p320, I love my sig much better than my other 2 guns. They are fixing it as soon as they got reports, unlike many other gun makers who wait years before they do anything at all.
And yet, I have fired many a round from 700’s and have never had an issue. I would also point out that the two most ‘significant’ examples of these alleged AD’s were very questionable AT BEST, and frankly I don’t buy into the 700 AD bullshit.
When the 700 issue came up, I tested mine for several hours at end.
I did every thing I could to get my 700’s to AD, no go.
When it comes to money and lawsuits, I trust no one to tell the truth.
And now, I question this one to. And I don’t own a SIG, never liked ’em.
The thing is most people that carry a pistol for defense, especially LEOs carry it ready to go. There isn’t time to do a two handed draw. Much of the time the officer is fighting with the bad guy.
Huh..next time buy a Ruger
A Ruger???? Bahahahahahahahh…or maybe a Raven Arms…like comparing a K car to a Pagani Zonda.
Yea, right. SIG made a name through ADVERTISING, not quality. I own about 12 SIGs and they are all in my questionable firearm category. I’ve seen too many blown cases in P250 from early extraction to just let it slide. I’ve had one blow in a P226 chambered in 357 SIG. Nice fine primer, still intact but the case is blown.
12 sigs and you question their quality? How many Ford Pintos did you buy?
Ruger? you mean the king of RECALLS?
Just like buying a new car. The sales person tries to sell you an extended insurance policy. My question to him. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH IT THAT IT NEEDS AN INSURANCE POLICY. IT’S NEW! Same thing with this upgrade. Something must be wrong!
I fixed this on my own weeks ago. I installed a .45 ACP Nighthawk Kestrel 1911. Works like a champ.
“Voluntary upgrade”…..I love how they come up with these new soft worded B.S. (yes with a capital BS) phrases for a RE-CALL More than one of these detonated at my LE Agency’s range & one sent pieces flying, almost injuring the operator. BRAND NEW GUNS, which a silver tongued Sig salesman convinced our department to pull our Glock order. Now, a possible AD when dropped. What a joke. Good job Sig, just get the gun sold & in their hand, & then offer a “voluntary upgrade” instead of a refund. This is potentially life & death, not some spoiled food product that might get you sick. Ridiculous.
So I’m NOT the only one that has had these blow up. WOW! And here according to SIG I was to believe that it was just me, with some lousy ammo. Rather than good ammo and a lousy design.
One of the car companies had an issue in the 70’s. Some dude by the name of Ralph Nader accused them of building death traps. He said that when using their products at 65mph and hitting a wall, you had a reasonable chance of survival. Then at 100mph, you had less than a 9% survival rate. He wanted the mfg to provide a safety fix. They did and called it a governor. It was optional and nobody really talked about it.
So from 1 dumba$$ to a bunch of others, be careful what you ask for.
That was the Corvair, dangerous at any speed according to Ralph. Funny thing is, it couldn’t go 100 mph if your life depended on it.
Wow…if this isn’t a doublethink puff pro-Sig puff piece I don’t know what it.
I agree..
And the winner for biggest Marketing Spin for an unsafe product goes to….
-Voluntary upgrade (yeah right, we volunteer to fix an issue that could potentially kill our customers)
-“Recent testing shows that unfortunately, “dropping the P320 beyond U.S. standards for safety may cause an unintentional discharge.” ” if by this they mean dropping from waist height, where many people actually carry their CCW’s, then it is a brilliant dodge of reality.
Sure glad this beat out the competitors for the Army modular handgun. I would hate to see how unsafe the loser’s pistols were.
Sluf
Geez. I still dont have my Sig MCX back from its safety recall.
I Don’t buy the so called reason the gun is firing.
The reason I don’t buy the cause is their is a YouTube video showing the drop failure when the gun is dropped on its trigger guard and NOT its beaver tail !
Someone needs to test the P320 Fully ! Remove the trigger completely and then drop it.
Uhhh, how many times do you carry a handgun without it’s trigger? And no, the UD WAS caused by the firearm landing on the beavertail, NOT the trigger guard. In fact, the beavertail of one test gun broke completely off.
That sure is a weird way to word it? Upgrade? Its a recall, and the prices Sig sale at, along with the kinda quality Sig brand name claims its a pretty embarrassing one! Sounds like they had to get ahead of this kinda recall?
UPGRADE??? THIS IS A SAFETY RECALL. THIS GUN IS UNACCEPTABLY DANGEROUS AS ISSUED. WHO SELECTS A HANDGUN THAT CAN DISCHARGE WHEN DROPPED FOR ITS MILITARY SIDEARM? HOW COULD THE EVALUATION PANEL MISS SUCH A DANGEROUS DEFECT? “UPGRADE” MY A**!
Maybe, just maybe this could be part of the “Hate Sig” campaign. The age of fake news.
If you read all of the 9000 articles out you would see that the Army version of the 320 is not affected by the upgrade or recall ,, whatever you want to call it, and also the replacement trigger from what I understand is going to be even better making the 320 more superior than what it is now.
And YES I have shot some of the competition pistols.
Totally agree! This is nothing more than a recall, and also calling it “voluntary?” What a ton of crap. Yeah, sure; I choose not to “upgrade” my gun so it won’t fire when I accidentally drop it. As far as the panel missing this issue, I’ve served on several similar evaluation panels; the drop test was most likely made quite a few times with no discharge. They missed nothing. If their testing criterion was 500 drops, it will be the 501st that will jump up and bite you in the butt. Can’t predict that.
The military version has a manual safety, the standard P320 does not. It meets standardized testing.
Now if there were just a standard dropped pistol.
What do you work for another gun co.? Any side arm could fire if dropped from high enough or thrown down hard enough.
It is called mistreatment. The gun was tested at normal drop distance. Only when people started pushing the envelope did the gun go off. Can’t you read or do you thing every company or person lies about everything they do or write. I find that mistrust comes from a person that can not be trusted.
Vincent, It is worthwhile to watch the video that describes the testing that Omaha did. There are a lot of other evangelists of other gun platforms that are going to be enraged that theirs wasn’t picked in the latest major DoD purchase. This testing is going to prove to them that they were obviously right and the Sig is a piece of junk. The Omaha video states that they couldn’t even get the X5 model to discharge facing upwards no matter what they did (including breaking the beaver tail) and attributed it to just the trigger, though another gun did fire with that trigger.
As a note, I own 4 Sig metal frame external SA/DA hammer pistols, but it isn’t the name on the side that makes me buy it. It is how it fires and how my hand reacts to it firing. Most or all of the polymer grip pistols out today, and in particular Glock, transmit enough vibration into the nerves of my hand that my hand will go numb after a few shots no matter what my grip is. As such, since it has a polymer grip, I have no interest in the P320.
I’m guessing SIG paid a deciding person at the pentagon a little money to get selected?!?!?!
I notice that when firing the 320 very slowly, the trigger will fail to reset, regardless of how you handle the recoil. I wonder if they’ll fix that.
Alton Moore is correct. I canceled an order I had for the P320 after I test fired a friend’s gun and found the trigger would not reset if a great deal of slow trigger control was used. I went to the store and was able to demonstrate the reset failure over and over they refund my deposit. SIG claims this will not occur if you pull the trigger fully all at once like in a combat situation. Sorry I don’t target shoot with my pistols like that. Just a bad habit I picked up somewhere during my 40 plus years of being a firearms instructor.