The SIG Sauer P320 – scion of the Army’s new M17 MHS pistol – is the only handgun out of eleven different weapons to fail a comprehensive test released today by Omaha Outdoors. The testing protocol involved dropping the handguns at different angles with a primed case in the chamber (no bullet or propellant). None of the ten other handguns – which included four Glocks, two H&Ks, two S&Ws and a 1911 – tested after the P320 fired when dropped. The video released by Omaha Outdoors describing the tests is embedded below:

Besides the P320, ten handguns were tested. These were:

• Glock 17 Gen 2
• Glock 17 Gen 3 modified by Zev
• Glock 22 Gen 4
• Glock 43
• Heckler & Koch VP9
• Heckler & Koch VP9SK
• Polymer80 PF940C Glock kit with all stock Glock parts
• Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0
• Smith & Wesson M&P45
• Springfield TRP Operator 1911

The results of this test publicly confirm what many – like myself – already knew: The SIG P320 appears to have a particular weakness in drop testing not exhibited by virtually any other modern handgun against which it is competing. This weakness is almost certainly caused by a lack of a trigger safety: The inertia of the trigger itself is enough to cause it to move rearward and discharge the firearm. A simple, inexpensive piece of plastic on a hinge is enough to prevent this malfunction.