SIG320

[Dagobert II]

Amid much controversy, the Army has chosen it as a duty weapon but owners of SIG320s should be aware of a new controversy which is dogging the weapon, a tendency to fire when dropped.
STAMFORD — A city police officer who was shot in the leg when he dropped his gun earlier this year is seeking more than $6 million in a lawsuit against the weapon manufacturer.
Officer Vincent Sheperis has filed a civil suit in federal court charging that the gun manufacturer, Sig Sauer, sold its P320 pistol with a design defect, falsely represented the weapon would not fire unless the trigger was pulled and caused him emotional distress.
Sheperis, a 10-year Stamford veteran and member of the department’s Special Response Team, was in the SWAT team’s parking bay below the courthouse garage when the incident occurred on Jan. 5.
The suit claims Sheperis accidently dropped the gun while it was in a holster. Without the trigger pulled, the gun discharged a round striking Sheperis below his left knee, according to the lawsuit.
A representative from Sig Sauer did not immediately return a call Friday seeking comment.

Source: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/policereports/article/Wounded-Stamford-cop-sues-gun-manufacturer-11750213.php?google_editors_picks=true
https://pics.me.me/guns-dont-kill-people-people-kill-people-sig-hold-my-26999418.png (https://me.me/i/guns-dont-killpeople-people-kill-people-sig-hold-my-beer-18250917)

[Shotgun Jeremy]

The military P320s have upgrades for durability that just happen to not allow them to do this as a side note.

I still think the P226 reigns king of the handguns.

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[Mestral]

The suit claims Sheperis accidently dropped the gun while it was in a holster.
So... he dropped gun and holster, together?

Well, Sig might be liable for inadequate safety, depending on what statements were made
about the "drop safe" design, before this happened. But I think 6 million is over the top.

[Ludwig]

My suspicion is that the police officer making the claim is doing so to cover up his own blunder in somehow abusing the weapon in question. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

[Dagobert II]

SIG is offering a "voluntary upgrade" (not a recall - cough, cough) to the mechanism Jeremy mentioned that the military is using. Due to the modular design of the gun, this essentially amounts to a whole new gun. It will be interesting to see if the replacement mechanisms have the same serial numbers as the ones they're replacing.

The fact that the military opted for this newer mechanism over the one originally sold to the public makes me wonder if the military learned something about the pistol during testing that was not disclosed to the public by SIG.

[mac]

My suspicion is that the police officer making the claim is doing so to cover up his own blunder in somehow abusing the weapon in question. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

my thoughts exactly.....mac

[Ricky]

SIG is offering a "voluntary upgrade" (not a recall - cough, cough) to the mechanism Jeremy mentioned that the military is using. Due to the modular design of the gun, this essentially amounts to a whole new gun. It will be interesting to see if the replacement mechanisms have the same serial numbers as the ones they're replacing.

The fact that the military opted for this newer mechanism over the one originally sold to the public makes me wonder if the military learned something about the pistol during testing that was not disclosed to the public by SIG.

https://www.sigsauer.com/press-releases/sig-sauer-issues-voluntary-upgrade-p320-pistol/

[mac]

The military P320s have upgrades for durability that just happen to not allow them to do this as a side note.

I still think the P226 reigns king of the handguns.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

no no. in SA, that title belongs to the Walther, in my case, the PPQ....but generally, in SA in any caliber, the Walther......I also have one in 9mm Para (bought from the Berlin Polezei via Rod and Gun Club in '82 (Thanx, Hartmut)) and after all these years and rounds, it still like new, even better than new, smoother......mac

[fchafey]

no no. in SA, that title belongs to the Walther, in my case, the PPQ....but generally, in SA in any caliber, the Walther......I also have one in 9mm Para (bought from the Berlin Polezei via Rod and Gun Club in '82 (Thanx, Hartmut)) and after all these years and rounds, it still like new, even better than new, smoother......mac

I have a HK P7 circa 1985 that is the same way. That will be truly the last gun to go.

[mac]

I have a HK P7 circa 1985 that is the same way. That will be truly the last gun to go.

yeow, they're really sweet....

[Shotgun Jeremy]

The fact that the military opted for this newer mechanism over the one originally sold to the public makes me wonder if the military learned something about the pistol during testing that was not disclosed to the public by SIG.

I've heard this thought be tossed around by a few people. I like to believe that the military has it's standards that it looks for in it's gun purchases to make them work in the most extreme circumstances. So Sig met these standards, but then realized that most average citizens won't be needing these extreme measures met, and sold the gun to the general public with a few cost saving changes to make it more marketable.

I guess it will all only ever be speculation though.

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[Mestral]

I've heard this thought be tossed around by a few people. I like to believe that the military has it's standards that it looks for in it's gun purchases to make them work in the most extreme circumstances. So Sig met these standards, but then realized that most average citizens won't be needing these extreme measures met, and sold the gun to the general public with a few cost saving changes to make it more marketable.

I guess it will all only ever be speculation though.

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Sometimes there are other trade off's besides cost. For instance a sports car designer can tell you that if you beef up the wheels, brakes, bearings and lower control arms on a car's front suspension, to handle rougher road surfaces, there are other things (shocks and tie rod ends) that will wear out faster, due to increased "unsprung weight." It may be that the trade off in the pistol will result in some other part wearing faster (striker spring, perhaps?) on the military derivative.

[Shotgun Jeremy]

That's possible too, but with full time properly trained armorers and a comfortable budget, that's a offset they can take on with no problem.

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[Mestral]

That's possible too, but with full time properly trained armorers and a comfortable budget, that's a offset they can take on with no problem.

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Exactly. What I meant was that what makes the best trade off for the military might
not make the best trade off for civilians, who don't have that full time armorer.

[CenTexDave]

I seriously find it hard to believe that this cop dropped the holster, with the pistol in it, and it discharged. Any evidence to this - like video cam, etc?
More likely he was fooling around and it fired.
Even if this did happen, why wasn't the pistol cleared?
Sounds like a $$ grab to me.

[Mestral]

I seriously find it hard to believe that this cop dropped the holster, with the pistol in it, and it discharged. Any evidence to this - like video cam, etc?
More likely he was fooling around and it fired.
Even if this did happen, why wasn't the pistol cleared?
Sounds like a $$ grab to me.
Well, I agree with the $$ grab conclusion.
I can see why it wasn't cleared, many or most cops carry one in the chamber.
There should be video, considering the location. I too am skeptical,
but by now, I am skeptical of anything a cop says, when the truth
might be inconvenient.

[Dagobert II]

Is the SIG320 unique in the possibility of a drop fire? This video shows that it may well be unique in this possibility from among the pistols tested in the video. As an aside, I'm aware of one other individual who claimed a drop fire from a 1911 pre series 80 and I presume SIG's voluntary "upgrade" has fixed the drop fire problem but as Mestral asked, at the cost of causing what other possible problems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6N15rzP-AA

[Ludwig]

Omaha Outdoors did extensive testing of the P320. Their findings indicate that if the weapon is dropped at just the right angle, inertia will cause the trigger to pull to the rear and the striker then fire the weapon. A lighter trigger all but eliminated the problem and a trigger safety will definitely make this weapon safe. I have never had much trust in striker fired weapons. Now I know why.

[Mestral]

Omaha Outdoors did extensive testing of the P320. Their findings indicate that if the weapon is dropped at just the right angle, inertia will cause the trigger to pull to the rear and the striker then fire the weapon. A lighter trigger all but eliminated the problem and a trigger safety will definitely make this weapon safe. I have never had much trust in striker fired weapons. Now I know why.
After this, I have a great deal more trust in striker fired weapons.