Official Statement :SIG Sauer Reaffirms Safety of the P-320 pistol./ DPD Is In The Process Of Giving The Ok To Again Allow Officers To Carry The P-320.
There has been a big uproar over the last several days concerning the SIG P-320. We’ve all seen a lot of rumors mixed in with some facts. Much to my satisfaction SIG has addressed the situation with a just released official statement.
While the Dallas PD emailed us to say they are not allowing their officers to carry the P-320 they don’t elaborate the reason. They also stated there have been no instances of malfunction or other problems. So, the reason remains unclear.
UPDATE:
I just spoke with Jordan at SIG who clarified what started this whole ball rolling downhill. An armorer at Dallas PD read an old outdated user manual which SIG has since edited. The language was confusing but caused this officer concern for the safety of the officers. DPD halted all officers from carrying the P-320 until they could contact the right person at SIG. Since the person at SIG was not in the office DPD issued the do not carry internal memo.
The SIG P-320 will now be placed back on the authorized carry list.(as soon as the powers that be approve and statement issued). The PD took this action after speaking with SIG about the language in the outdated manual and coming to an understanding once the correct information was passed to the PD. Dallas PD will take a few days to ok the P-320 for carry. DPD will issue a public statement in a few days.
So boys and girls this is what started this whole ordeal which is now resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. This should be the end of it. It certainly is as far as I’m concerned!
10:53pm 8/4/2017: I was able to confirm through a reliable anonymous source at DPD the events within DPD that lead up to the temporary order to cease carrying the P-320. The DPD events I explained above are now confirmed.
This is what SIG tells us:
Newington, NH (August 4, 2017) – In response to social media rumors questioning the safety of the P320 pistol, a variant of which was selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), SIG SAUER, Inc. has full confidence in the reliability, durability and safety of its striker-fired handgun platform. There have been zero (0) reported drop-related P320 incidents in the U.S. commercial market, with hundreds of thousands of guns delivered to date.
The P320 meets and exceeds all U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI), as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.
All SIG SAUER pistols incorporate effective mechanical safeties to ensure they only fire when the trigger is pressed. However, like any mechanical device, exposure to acute conditions (e.g. shock, vibration, heavy or repeated drops) may have a negative effect on these safety mechanisms and cause them to not work as designed. This language is common to owner’s manuals of major handgun manufacturers.
As a result, individual attempts to perform drop tests outside of professionally controlled environments should not be attempted.
“SIG SAUER is committed to producing only the finest products,” said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER. “Safety and reliability have been and always will be paramount to the SIG SAUER brand.”
Retired police officer with 30 years of service. Firearms instructor and SRU team member. I still instruct with local agencies. My daily carry pistol is the tried and true 1911. I'm retired as associate editor since December 14th 2017. My replacement is my friend Pete M email: pete.m@staff.thefirearmblog.com you can reach Pete for product reviews etc.
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Is there a reason you keep deleting my posts - that linked to a video showing someone who tested several guns and was able to repeat the drop-fires? You don't want an opposing view to your post?
So it may fire if dropped...... but since it has passed the required drop test, everybody is OK with that? I say this believing that Sig produces fine firearms, some of the best in my opinion. I own multiple Sigs as well as multiple Glocks and FNs. In the past 10 years I have spent on average 140 days a year on the firing range. I have witnessed dozens of times that firearms have been unintentionally dropped on the ground (I'm probably being conservative with that number), and have never been overly concerned, concerned, but not overly, about the remote chance that one of our issued firearms may discharge. I have always trusted the track record and had a working knowledge of how the safeties on our issued Glocks work. When training other agencies who were issued Sigs I also assumed that they had the same level of safety, including some device that prevented the trigger from traveling to the rear from inertia, but I guess I was wrong. This certainly doesn't mean that I'll be sell any of my Sigs, probably because none of them are striker fired. But when it comes to striker fired weapons, I guess I'll take my chances with Glock Leg and the Sig boys can take their chances with Sig Face.