The Dallas, TX PD has issued a recall on the Sig Sauer P320 pistol, due to possible safety issues.
I'll admit, this article is a little hard to write. I am an ardent fan of Sig Sauer, and personally carry a Sig Sauer P320 Compact every day. However, I'm sure it's harder for the Dallas, TX, police officers who purchased a Sig P320 and now have been told to stop carrying the firearm on duty until the pistols have been repaired.
Accuracy testing the P320 full size. Photo by author.
A recall has been issued based on the possibility of the P320 discharging when the pistol is dropped. This report is surprising, as it comes hot on the heels of the U.S. Army adopting the P320 platform (as the M17 Modular Handgun System) as its new standard sidearm. The Sig Sauer P320 is a striker-fired, polymer framed pistol that has been making headlines since its 2014 introduction. The P320 is renowned for its modularity; barrels, grip modules in different sizes, and calibers can be swapped almost to the user's content.
The Sig Sauer P320 utilizes a stainless steel serial numbered chassis that contains the firing control group (trigger, safety mechanisms, etc) that can be placed in different grip modules to create differently-sized pistols. This enables the purchase of one firearm; with the changing of a grip module or other parts, the operator can use that one pistol for a variety of missions.
Photo by author.
However, though the pistol has been adopted by the US military and several police departments who have certainly performed function tests, Sig Sauer has identified the aforementioned drop malfunction. According to an interdepartmental memo shared on The Firearm Blog:
"The Sig Sauer P320 is no longer approved by the [Dallas] Police Department for any use.
Those officers that currently have a Sig Sauer P320 as a primary duty wespon will have the following two options:
Option 1 - Go to the Firearms Training Center on Monday, July 31st, during business hours, to be issued a city Sig Sauer P226 and qualify with that weapon.
Option 2 - Purchase another city approved weapon and respond to the Range on Monday, July 31st, during business hours, to qualify with that weapon."
HOWEVER, and this is a big however, according to the Dallas PD, "There have been no reported incidents of an accidental discharge involving this weapon because of the defect." Dallas PD is erring on the side of caution and recalling the firearms until the issue has been resolved, before an incident has the possibility to occur.
It is not known at this time if this is a malady to all Sig Sauer P320s, (I hope not!), or a certain production run of the pistols. Sig Sauer has a reputation for high quality firearms and excellent customer service. Personally, I'm quite certain Sig Sauer will make things right. We will update as further information is available.
NEXT: WHAT'S THE BEST CALIBER FOR LONG-RANGE HUNTING?
