Military, police, and private gun users have seen problems with the Sig P320 series — which includes M18s — for years now, Laramie-based gunsmith Brian Dimoff told Cowboy State Daily in a July interview.
Dimoff did not immediately respond to a Monday morning voicemail request for a follow-up interview.
Dimoff said last month that he believes the issue is that Sig Sauer tried to design its striker system without infringing Glock’s patent of that same system, and so made an ill-fitting design that may slip over time.
The internal pieces are under spring pressure and a block keeps the firing action at bay. If the pieces don’t fit together well, they’ll loosen over time and be prone to jolts.
“If one part begins to slip off another part, it’s a matter of time before it moves all the way down and you’re going to have a striker hit the primer,” Dimoff said.
As for Dimoff, he owns a P320 and says it’s a “great gun,” but he’s had it both customized and tested to the point of comfort.
It’s difficult for me to see how any striker fired gun can be “great,” but I’ll leave it at that.
This is an interesting hypothesis. I’ve always thought (and have said so over these pages) that the problem stemmed from tolerance stacks and parts wear. He’s adding to it by saying the specific design was to prevent patent infringement.
I’ve also read that the project began as a hammer fired gun (they should have left it at that) and evolved to a striker fired gun. Because big army: “We want a striker. Give us a striker.”
First, I don’t agree with him that bolt action rifles are old and passé. Most sniper rifles in use in militaries around the world are still bolt action rifles (for tolerance issues, seating near the lands, etc., things that a semiautomatic doesn’t do as well).
Second, I like wheel guns for the same reason I like walnut furniture on rifles and lever action guns. The elegance and beauty of the thing, as well as the tip of the hat to older times. There’s just something about being connected to your heritage.
Third, I still think wheel guns are a valid and viable carry firearm. Semiautomatics haven’t replaced wheel guns, just supplemented them.
He makes good points, but unsaid is the difference between static lines of conflict versus fire and maneuver warfare, and especially expeditionary warfare (US Marines).
Ammunition and weight matter more than anything else.
First, Tim Sundles explains how to chamber a round. And then next, why chambering the same round over and over again can shorten the cartridge. I found this to be very educational.
Next up, the Sig P320 absolutely, positively, without any shadow of a doubt cannot discharge a round without a complete pull of the trigger. And it certainly can’t do it twice. Understand that, boys and girls? Got it?
On the lighter side, if you want a multifaceted gun that can do other things by itself, keep watching.
Next up, Ben Stoeger has some not so kind things to say about the CZ Shadow 2. For the record, I love the CZ Shadow 2. His preferred gun over the Shadow 2? The Atlas 2011, a $6000+ gun. LOL. I think I’ll stick with the Shadow 2.
I don’t think so. As I understand the failure mode, the FCU (fire control unit) is allowing the striker to go forward without rotation of the sear. This modification will not fix that problem. Not, by the way, that’s the only problem with the Sig P320.
I have yet to see a complete, full, uncompromised and unbiased FMEA of the Sig P320.
Via WiscoDave.
The SIG P320 saga continues!
A SIG engineer filed a patent to fix the "unsafe" P320 in May. It seems they knew.
Search for US-20250164203-A1 to find the document in the United States Patent and Trade website. pic.twitter.com/JW0lVp4TP6
First up, Wyoming Gun Project does an update to answer some questions. This may or may not be related to one of the root causes of the failure, but this is a design problem either way.
Next, Protraband updates us on his recent findings concerning actions by the AF after the airmen was shot by laying his Sig P320 down on a table.
Next, Liberty Doll updates us on recent leaked documents from Sig lawyers. It does appear, after all, that there was a failure modes and effects analysis, and it isn’t good. Here are the source document(s).
Next, some clarifying (and bracing) information.
Finally, here is a list with linked documents that outlines some of the Sig P320 incidents. At this point, if you’re carrying a Sig P320 (especially IWB and Appendix carry), I don’t think you’re really thinking through this thing.
CHARLOTTE — Police said 71 guns were stolen while being moved from Bessemer City to Alaska and the safes they were locked in were later found busted open along a road in north Charlotte. One of the stolen guns has already been recovered from a convicted felon, but the gun owner says he’s praying the rest don’t end up in the wrong hands.
The gun owner hired movers to get his things from Bessemer City to Fairbanks, Alaska.
He said he doesn’t know how it happened.
Police found the empty safes on Vance Davis Drive earlier this month.
The safes had dozens of firearms in them.
“Oh, I was devastated,” said the victim who didn’t want to be identified.
The victim is a gun collector. The safes were supposed to be stored in public storage off West Arrowood Road until they could be sent to Alaska.
However, they were found dumped nearly 20 miles away along an industrial road.
“I tried to do everything right by the law,” he said. “I kept them all locked up all the time and then, this happens, so now, it’s pretty bad actually.”
The police report lists all 71 guns with an estimated worth of nearly $40,000.
The moving company told police they hired two movers from Craigslist.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers pulled a car over in south Charlotte weeks after finding the emptied safes on the side of the road.
Sylvester Miller, a convicted felon, was in the car and officers said he had a gun.
The firearm was traced back to one of the stolen guns from those safes.
He’s now facing charges, but it’s not clear if he’s being investigated as a suspect in the theft.
That sounds awful. Seventy one guns. So much for Craigslist.
I’m not sure how I would do it if I had to move that many guns that far away. I’d like to hear suggestions in the comments.
This is probably what’s happening to the P320. By the way, I don’t have a single pistol in my locker named Sig, and I don’t have a single pistol in my locker that has the tolerance issues between the slide and frame that the P320 does.
For those of you that say, “Well, he’s using a screw,” you’re missing the point. Watch the whole video before commenting or I’ll delete the comment. It’s getting hung on the sear if pre-tension has been applied as pointed out in the FBI report. Or there are manufacturing tolerance issues that could do the same thing.
Either way, this is a horrid, awful, terrible design. I would be ashamed to have my name on it. But not Sig, who has sued in court to block Washington’s police academy ban on P320s.
1 week, 1 day ago
