In the wake of the news that the P320 has failed when drop tested by independent sources, Sig Sauer has offered to upgrade P320 pistol in the wake of the failures. Note that Sig Sauer is not issuing a recall of any kind, just that they are offering a program to upgrade the existing pistols with parts that Sig may have already developed.
Just 4 days ago, Sig reassured us that the P320 was safe and did not indicate that they were aware of a problem. They even stated, “All SIG SAUER pistols incorporate effective mechanical safeties to ensure they only fire when the trigger is pressed.” in the press release 4 days ago, recent independent testing indicates that this may not be the case after all. While I am not saying that Sig concealed anything from us, I do find it interesting that Sig seems to indicate in the most recent press release that the parts needed to upgrade the P320 have already been developed.
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Sig Sauer has not returned our request for further comment at this time.
Sig does state that the upgrade program details will be released on their website on Monday, August 14, 2017 but does not indicate how the program will be run and what parts will be replaced. I have pasted the whole press release below.
SIG SAUER Issues Voluntary Upgrade of P320 Pistol
P320 pistol meets requirements for industry and government safety standards;
performance enhancements optimize function, safety, and reliability.
Newington, NH (August 8, 2017) – The P320 meets U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) / Sporting Arms Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI®), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.
The design of the SIG SAUER P320 overcomes the most significant safety concern in striker-fired pistols today: the practice of pressing the trigger for disassembly. This can be performed with a round in the chamber which has resulted in numerous incidents of property damage, physical injury, and death. The disassembly process of the P320, however, uses a take-down lever rather than pressing the trigger, eliminating the possibility of discharge during the disassembly process.
Recent events indicate that dropping the P320 beyond U.S. standards for safety may cause an unintentional discharge.
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. SIG SAUER is offering these enhancements to its customers. Details of this program will be available at sigsauer.com on Monday, August 14, 2017.
The M17 variant of the P320, selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), is not affected by the Voluntary Upgrade.
“SIG SAUER is committed to our approach on innovation, optimization, and performance, ensuring we produce the finest possible products,” said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER. “Durability, reliability and safety, as well as end-user confidence in the SIG SAUER brand are the priorities for our team.”
Does this confirm that there is a problem with the P320? My personal opinion is that it does. I don’t believe that a manufacturer would offer a voluntary upgrade program for a problem that does not exist if there wasn’t some truth to the claims that the P320 is not drop safe. But again, that is merely my opinion.
I do find it interesting that the M17 variant of the P320 is not going to be upgraded like the rest of the guns, I wonder if the contract will not allow for any changes to the design after it has been adopted. I would like to see ALL P320s upgraded to include the M17 models, but that is not Sig’s current plan.
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