The SIG Sauer P320 Has Never Been Good

From the Air Force Times regarding the death of the airman involving an M18 pistol. A lot of questions remain as the investigation continues.

The Air Force has arrested an airman in connection with the July 20 death of another airman, which involved a Sig Sauer M18 and led the service to suspend the use of the pistol following the incident.

In a Friday statement, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson said that the unidentified arrested person is accused of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice and involuntary manslaughter."


Full article. Remove the space. Not sure if I was allowed to link.

htt ps://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2025/08/08/air-force-makes-arrest-in-airmans-shooting-death-involving-m18-pistol/

P.


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OCanada said:
From the Air Force Times regarding the death of the airman involving an M18 pistol. A lot of questions remain as the investigation continues.

The Air Force has arrested an airman in connection with the July 20 death of another airman, which involved a Sig Sauer M18 and led the service to suspend the use of the pistol following the incident.

In a Friday statement, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson said that the unidentified arrested person is accused of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice and involuntary manslaughter."


Full article. Remove the space. Not sure if I was allowed to link.

htt ps://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2025/08/08/air-force-makes-arrest-in-airmans-shooting-death-involving-m18-pistol/

P.


"
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Yep, replies on this news is wild. A lot of people suggesting that Sig bought a fall guy lol
 
Based on all these striker fired revelations, I have at least been able to use this amazing debacle to rediscover how much I really like my "old" da/sa Beretta 92s! With all springs at rest until I pull the trigger to give it the energy it needs to be able to go off, it can't. A p320 situation cannot occur with a da/sa design.
 
ffolkes said:
Based on all these striker fired revelations, I have at least been able to use this amazing debacle to rediscover how much I really like my "old" da/sa Beretta 92s! With all springs at rest until I pull the trigger to give it the energy it needs to be able to go off, it can't. A p320 situation cannot occur with a da/sa design.
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That's why I got a few HKs, still have M17.
 
Well the wind sure got taken from the sails didn't it? Seems the pitchforks and torches are put away where Sig is concerned, though obviously something is still afoot with the US militarys present interest in being able to secure huge numbers of a specific Glock model.
 
I've owned my P226 for twenty years. I've likely put 20 000 rounds through it in that time. Other than a new extractor, the gun has been remarkable. I would never touch a 320. As much as I love Sig, this one falls short.
 
greentips said:
https://www.military.com/daily-news...rearm-death-of-airman-prompted-m18-probe.html

Looks like the gun may not go off on its own at least in the USAF case. someone was arrested and investigated for manslaughter
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ffolkes said:
Well the wind sure got taken from the sails didn't it? Seems the pitchforks and torches are put away where Sig is concerned, though obviously something is still afoot with the US militarys present interest in being able to secure huge numbers of a specific Glock model.
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Was it? There are still all those videos of the gun discharging under control conditions and of course the long list of random incidents that happened in the field.
 
ffolkes said:
There is a pdf link in this article to the court document showing how Sig was cataloging the various failure modes they said cannot happen as far back as 2017

https://smokinggun.org/court-records-reveal-sig-sauer-knew-of-pistol-risks-for-years/
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I'll ask again. What in your opinion is so controversial about this document (you have linked to twice across threads)? How does it compare to risk analysis (with accompanying mitigation) of similar devices? Might it not be more alarming if no such process and document(s) existed?
 
If there are other companies presently involved in multi million dollar courts settlements with discovery evidence published that self document their own pistols failures as Sig has been able to do, I will be delighted to link to them. Which other firearms company is that?
 
ffolkes said:
If there are other companies presently involved in multi million dollar courts settlements with discovery evidence published that self document their own pistols failures as Sig has been able to do, I will be delighted to link to them. Which other firearms company is that?
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On topic - I've read it multiple times. It's a typical risk matrix (routine and familiar to those who deal with similar things). If anything it is pro Sig, which is no surprise because it is authored by Sig. Whereas the blog articles linking to it suggest that it is bad, a smoking gun, but then fail to be specific on how or why (maybe they realise nobody will read it or understand the context?). I got a similar impression from your posts, but did not wish to presume, so I asked you what you saw in it that was particularly concerning. I get the whatabout reply, Sig bad.

Overall this topic is rich with clickbait and tribal opinion while low on objectivity.
 
Ffs, "there is no video", when there is now over 10 years of video of cops having them go off when carry boxes, when escorting prisoners, when exiting vehicles.

So we go to "there is no way to repeat it", followed by a hundreds of repeatable failure videos.

Where is the line for you? If it caught fire in your damn hand would you believe there was an issue then? Where is this line where it is so hard to just cross it and say this platform is f'd up? What or who are you still defending?
 
Sig M18 Pistol Returned To Service By Air Force Global Strike Command (TWZ)

Sig M18 Pistol Returned To Service By Air Force Global Strike Command
Use of the Sig Sauer M18 pistol was paused after the death of an Airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
Howard Altman Aug 25, 2025 11:50 AM EDT

The Air Force Global Strike Command has reinstated the M18 pistol after a pause following the death of an airman.

Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) has returned the M18 Modular Handgun System pistols back into service. The command paused use of the sidearm to inspect them starting on July 21, following the death of an airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, which TWZ was first to report. A week later, some units in Air Combat Command (ACC) instituted a similar pause, though the status of that is unclear. We’ve reached out to ACC for comment.

The M18 and the larger M17 are used by all the U.S. military services, widely replacing the Beretta M9. The weapons, as well as their civilian P320 counterparts, have been fraught with controversy, with a drop-safe issue early on in its adoption, which is now fixed, and allegations and lawsuits over the guns going off without the user pulling the trigger with their finger.

AFGSC “has completed a comprehensive inspection of its 7,970 M18 Modular Handgun Systems, following a directed pause on July 21, 2025,” AFGSC said in a release. “Air Force Global Strike Command Security Forces Defenders are resuming arming with M18s that have successfully passed inspection – deeming them safe and reliable for use – on Aug. 25, 2025.”
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[excerpt]
 
Air Force Global Strike Command Security Forces Defenders are resuming arming with M18s that have successfully passed inspection

Interesting in bold...not all?
 
4star60 said:
Air Force Global Strike Command Security Forces Defenders are resuming arming with M18s that have successfully passed inspection

Interesting in bold...not all?
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“The inspection process identified discrepancies with 191 weapons across the command’s M18 inventory,” the command explained. “The primary discrepancy was related to component wear. The most frequent issues centered on problems with the safety lever, striker assembly and sear. Weapons exhibiting these discrepancies were immediately tagged and are undergoing necessary repairs.”
 
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