Sig Sauer is a big name in the firearms business, with decades of design and experience in superior weaponry. Military organizations and police departments across the globe rely on Sig Sauer sidearms and rifles, and with good reason; they are generally sturdy, reliable, and modern. We've only ever had one in our gun safe, that being a Sig P225 9mm semi-auto pistol that my wife had for a while, but she found she preferred the grip size and shape of the Glock G43, so she traded.
In 2014, Sig introduced a new sidearm, the P320, a striker-fired pistol chambered in the 9mm Parabellum. It caught on quickly, and in 2017, it won the United States Army's XM17 Modular Handgun System competition. The full-size version was adopted as the M17 pistol, with a compact version designated as the M18; both of these versions included an additional thumb safety. Police departments across the United States and, indeed, the world, looked on the P320 with favor.
Then, the problems started. The P320's striker was designed to be under spring tension while the gun was loaded for carry, which is not common on striker-fired pistols, but the P320 had a vulnerability in that dropping the gun at a certain angle could cause an unintended discharge. The P320 also lacked an external safety, which would have (hopefully) precluded these accidental discharges.
In 2017, after a number of incidents, the Dallas Police Department ordered all officers to stop carrying the P320. Also in 2017, Sig announced a fix for the problem:
The P320® Voluntary Upgrade Program is a SIG SAUER initiative to upgrade P320 pistols at no additional cost.
This will include an alternate design that reduces the physical weight of the trigger, sear, and striker while additionally adding a mechanical disconnector.
There were reported injuries and deaths suffered by service members who, according to accounts, removed their issue holsters containing their M17/M18 pistols, which then discharged; at least one fatality resulted.
Reports from airmen at Warren say a Security Forces airman removed his issued Safariland holster from his leg mount with the M18 still inside, and placed it on a table. Those same reports allege that the M18 fired while holstered and struck the airman in the chest and that the unidentified airman did not survive the wound.
And:
In 2023, a Marine Corps-issued M18 fired while holstered at Camp Foster, Japan. A subsequent investigation concluded that the M18 was not mishandled, and the investigator recommended that an engineering review of the pistol be performed.
Several lawsuits were filed against Sig Sauer on this issue, including:
- Sheperis v. Sig Sauer, Inc.
- Vadnais v. Sig Sauer, Inc.
- Ortiz v. Sig Sauer, Inc.
- Green-Berrios v. Sig Sauer Inc.
- Armendariz v. Sig Sauer, Inc.
- Anderson, et al. v. Sig Sauer, Inc.
On July 29, 2025, Sig Sauer released a statement attesting to the safety of the P320. That statement reads in part:
The P320 pistol is one of the safest, most advanced pistols in the world -meeting and exceeding all industry safety standards. Its design has been thoroughly tested and validated by the U.S. Military and law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels. In addition, the P320 has been rigorously tested, and is currently in use by militaries and law enforcement agencies around the world.
This is where the situation rests today.
A reputation is a hard thing, once tarnished, to regain.
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The Sig P320 is still being built and sold. It remains as it was, a solid, reliable, full-size striker-fired 9mm semi-auto sidearm, now redesigned to address the previously existing safety issues. Our armed forces are still using the M17 and M18, and police departments, as well as the forces of quite a few other countries. The gun's reputation, though, is tarnished, and whether or not this is unfair, it's still the case.
Sig Sauer will no doubt emerge from this in good order; they have many, many years of corporate reputation to fall back on, even if the reputation of one product has been damaged. The P320, now with some design changes, is still for sale. It's still used by police and military forces. It likely will be for some time. But if there's one lesson to be learned from all this, it's that no matter what the firearm, no matter what the holster design, no matter what, the rules of safe gun handling always, always apply. Never allow the muzzle of a weapon to cover a human, unless the intent is to shoot that human. Have control of the trigger at all times. Always ascertain the load status of a piece every time you pick it up, even if you just set it down moments before, always check the chamber. Designs come and designs go, but these rules are immortal; as my Old Man was continually telling me when teaching me to shoot, "The only safety you can always rely on is the one between your ears."
For now, the saga of the P320 continues. As for me, I'll stick with my 1911 - and my six-guns. But that's just a matter of personal preference.
