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Last week, I spoke briefly about the SIG P320, also known as The Gun That Goes Off By Itself.
Since then, there has been a new development in the case that serves as a flashpoint for the current events that surround it.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/air-force-announces-arrest-related-201251351.html
Allegedly, the event that caused multiple government agencies and private ranges to ban the use of the P320 and its variants is being investigated as a case of manslaughter rather than an Uncommanded Discharge.
This sequence of events is interesting to me, as it seems to be a very concrete example of several trends I've noticed in group thought, regardless of the context or subculture.
With respect to the first point, it's interesting to look back in history. When striker fired pistols first became popular in the form of the Glock, people frequently complained that they were unsafe, with terms like "Glock leg" and "Glocknade" embedding themselves in the lexicon. Even the Beretta M9, looked upon favorably now, was an object of fear, with whispered rumors that the slide would fly off and put a hole through your skull. In both cases there was a kernel of truth to the aspersions, much like how a pre-2018 P320 was not drop safe.
On the second point, my local rod and gun club banned the P320 after the air force did the same. Multiple members have asked for clarification, and the board is pointedly not offering a response. This behavior appears in multiple domains, with sexual misconduct accusations being the most immediate comparison that comes to mind.
The third point reminds me of a book I read a few years ago, titled "When Prophecy Fails". It chronicles the lives of cult members after a rapture-like event does not occur at the specified time. A fraction of the believers harden their resolve and decide that the lack of a rapture only proves that the prophecy was right after all. In the case of the SIG Uncommanded Discharge, I have had extended family members claim that SIG and the DOD are conspiring to frame the arrested Airman to keep their contracts intact.
Regardless of how the story develops long term, the current environment is interesting to observe, if nothing else.
I haven't been following the issue but haven't there been a bunch of cases of it going off in the holster, some of which were caught on camera? A quick search finds this CBS video from 9 months ago that includes footage of a few cases, it's not just the Air Force one from a few weeks ago. Now, maybe the media coverage is misleading and all of those have an explanation that exonerates SIG, but without addressing those prior cases it is hardly "taking refutation of their stance as proof that they are actually right" for people to continue believing there is a problem.
So far, every investigation that I have seen has resulted in one of two root causes:
At this point, I can't rule out a mechanical problem causing uncommanded discharges, or if it's a bad design that encouraged operator error.
From what I've seen, think it's far more likely that the very wide trigger shoe and skinny trigger guard are making NDs too easy.
So since we last spoke, i stumbled across this video which has only reinforced my suspicions that SIG knows they have a serious engineering defect. TL;DW- despite having nominally the same fire control group as the P320, the P365 incorporates a number of changes clearly intended at providing additional layers of safey against accidental discharge, which is why it hasn't been indicted in this whole cluster foxtrot.
As it stands now, while i am happy with my P365, there is no way in hell i would buy or even shoot a P320.
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Yeah, I feel like epistemic uncertainty is still the right state. Some percentage of those accidental discharges will be negligent, but whether it’s 5% or 99% – who knows? And Sig’s P.R. team has not exactly earned a lot of trust here, either.
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