New Handgun Chosen by U.S. Army Goes Off If Dropped
Civilian versions of the Sig 320 fail the so-called "drop test," but the military version appears unaffected.
TexasWarhawk/CC BY-SA 4.0
The handgun chosen to be the U.S. Army's next generation handgun can fire if dropped while loaded. Tests conducted by gun bloggers has confirmed the gun will fire if dropped at a particular angle. The testing followed a multi-million dollar lawsuit by a Connecticut police officer who alleges he was injured after his Sig 320 handgun went off, critically injuring him.
The Sig Sauer P320 was declared the winner of the U.S. Army's Modular Handgun System competition in January 2017. The P320, redesignated the M17 for Army and Air Force use, was picked to replace the Beretta M9 handgun, in use since the 1980s. The Army will issue the M17 to officers, aircrews, weapons crews, medics, and special operations forces. The M17 is chambered in 9-millimeter Parabellum and has a magazine capacity of 17 rounds.
M9 pistol at U.S. Army training range. The M9 will be replaced by the new Sig P320.
Army Reserve Lt. Col. Adam Collett
In recent days, rumors emerged on the Internet that the P320 was not "drop safe"—that is, it would fire if a round was loaded into the chamber. The same action cocks the pistol, and at that point, if the trigger is pulled the weapon will fire. Most modern handguns are "drop safe" in that, if accidentally dropped from waist-high level with a round in the chamber, they will not accidentally fire.
Sig Sauer claimed that the gun had been extensively drop tested, but a report emerged that a Connecticut police officer had been injured by his P320 after it had been dropped while in his holster. That officer has now filed a $7 million lawsuit against Sig Sauer, alleging that the gun has an defective safety mechanism. Last week the Dallas Police Department suspended use of the P320 citing drop test concerns. Gun blogger Andrew Tuohy, in a video for gun retailer Omaha Outdoors, drop tested several versions of the Sig P320 and discovered all but one version would fire if dropped tail-first. Here's the video:
Tuohy's tests were followed up by The Truth About Guns, which came to the same conclusion. It's important to point out that the P320 passed drop tests, including those by the state of California, that test if the gun will go off dropped on its side or nose-first. Still, the manner in which it can be dropped is not unusual. As TTAG noted, "We were concerned that that we might have to construct a fancy jig to get the P320C to fall in the Omaha Outdoors-identified orientation. As it turned out, when the pistol is held by the forward corner of the trigger guard, with the normal weight of an inserted magazine, the P320C balanced in the exact way necessary to land on the top rear of the slide when dropped." The gun fired in 3 out of 7 drop tests.
For its part, Sig notes that it has sold 500,000 P320s since their introduction in 2014, with only four reported negligent discharges by law enforcement. After the Omaha Outdoors and TTAG articles came out, Sig Sauer quickly issued a "voluntary upgrade" notice for civilian owners of the P320 that introduces a trigger that requires less weight to pull. In Tuohy's video, he noted that of the several 320s he tested the only handgun that would not go off if dropped was the one with the lighter trigger pull. Interestingly, M17 pistols destined for military use reportedly already have this new, improved, lighter trigger.
It's unclear how this might affect the Modular Handgun System program. While the M17 won't have the same drop problem, that the handgun had such an easily replicable problem that went undiagnosed by the manufacturer could give the Army pause. The U.S. Army told the Kit Up! blog, "it is inappropriate for the Army to comment on matters of pending litigation."
The U.S. Is Dropping "Cyberbombs" on ISIS
Army Helicopter Goes Down Off Hawaii, 5 Missing
The Army Goes Green
Watch U.S. Army Paratroopers Drop Over the Arctic
The U.S. Army Selects New Submachine Gun
The U.S. Army is Testing a New Sniper Suit