Did the American Obsession With Triggers Lead to the SIG P320’s Problems?

For those who have been living in a cave for the last few years, there’s a nationwide debate and some serious controversy regarding the SIG SAUER P320 and whether or not even holstered pistols can and do go off in an “uncommanded” fashion. 

The truth is that I never heard the term “uncommanded discharge” used until P320 pistols became the center of attention for making loud noises when the owner didn’t want or expect them to. To be completely up front, I have tested, used, and carried SIG products for at least 25 years or so. I proudly own a P226 9mm that was made in West Germany and that gun is still a tremendously accurate and reliable firearm. 

I have trained at the SIG Academy several times, though admittedly not in the last decade. When the P250 SIG pistols came out, I ran thousands of rounds through two different pistols and I really liked that gun. I know…all of this sounds like there is a big BUT coming. I will instead simply use the term ‘nonetheless’ or ‘however’….

What Happened to the P250?

For those of you who are just now paying attention to this huge kerfuffle, you might now even know that there was a SIG P250. Introduced in November 2007 and highlighted at SHOT Show 2008, the P250 was SIG’s first mass produced handgun with a removable fire control unit. The P250 “2Sum” combo package came with a full-sized pistol slide/frame set and a compact pistol slide/frame set along with corresponding magazines, and one FCU. The end user could easily swap the FCU between the full-sized and compact setups. 

During the early 2000’s, SIG worked hard on the double action only trigger that they called the DAK. I used guns with these triggers and they were good, but not great. The standard DA/SA, such as found on the P226 was superior, in my opinion, but the guns were perfectly serviceable and reliable.

The P250’s FCU was a DAO design, but folks, it was one of the best DAO triggers that I had ever encountered. The P250 was hammer-fired — not striker-fired — and it had a built-in firing pin block. No external safety levers or de-cocking levers were used.

As I said, over a period of a couple years, starting in 2007, I ran thousands of rounds through two sets of P250 pistols. Keeping with the SIG tradition — at the time — of “hell and back reliability” I found no flaws in the P250 design. The trigger, despite being DAO, was smooth and the guns were tremendously accurate as was the standard for SIG handguns at the time.

The end user could also change the magazine release button in the P250 from right hand configuration to left hand on their own kitchen table or workbench. The pistols had an accessory rail and could be easily disassembled for maintenance and cleaning. In short, it was a great gun. So what happened? 

The American Trigger Obsession

Going back to the old days when GLOCK pistols were new, people — primarily 1911 shooters — made snide comments about trigger feel and design. Yes, polymer-framed, striker-fired handguns are “assembled” from bins of parts. They aren’t “built” by master gunsmiths. When the trigger components on a G17, for instance, are put together, there isn’t a trained gunsmith with a jeweler’s cloth and set of files meticulously fitting all the parts together.

The original GLOCK triggers were a bit rough or stiff when you took them out of their black tactical Tupperware boxes, but you know what? The more you fired them, the better the trigger began to feel. The trigger parts and firing components meshed together and smoothed out with use.

But there was the problem. You had to actually train and practice with your guns. You had to shoot them, not just talk about them.

When I first encountered the Smith & Wesson M&P9, the striker-fired trigger was aptly described as “mushy” with no real discernible reset. Guess what? After 500 to 1000 rounds, the M&P trigger broke in nicely and a crisp reset could be felt. The trigger broke in and worked just fine. 

Ah, but Americans, being Americans, wanted a quick fix. The aftermarket trigger business exploded with “matchgrade” “drop-in” triggers that promised to “fix” the “problem” with factory triggers. This wasn’t rally all that new. Americans have been screwing with and screwing up M1911A1 triggers on their workbenches since I was in short pants. 

Rather than take their newly acquired pistol to a training class and learn how to really run it, Americans instead attempted to purchase their way around a well-trained trigger finger…by buying new triggers. They told themselves, “This gun would be more accurate if it had a new trigger.” Bullsh*t. 

People who talk about guns, as opposed to people who shoot guns, convinced themselves that the trigger safeties, found on 99 percent of striker-fired pistols, negatively affected their “accuracy” or the trigger press.

But what about the older DA/SA guns, the ones with a longer, heavier DA pull for the first shot and a shorter, lighter SA pull for successive shots? Again, rather than taking the time to master the tool, Americans tried to shortcut the process and buy their way around training and practice. Were some of the DA/SA guns tough to master at first? Sure. But it wasn’t impossible, it just required effort. 

During the era of the M9 Beretta service pistol, my training command put through thousands and thousands of military students who were “handicapped” by the heavy DA trigger pull of the M9. You know what? In every class we had, some shooters fired “Expert” with the M9 and only rarely did any of the students fail. I have a friend, one who I see in the mirror every time I shave, who broke the range record using a stock M9 that he drew from the armory that morning. 

The Lack of a Doober

Polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols in our modern era are no longer rare, they’re the rule. Every major gun maker has one, if not several models in their catalog. That being the case, how is it that the striker-fired P320 is getting all this heat for “uncommanded discharges” when GLOCK, FN, Smith & Wesson, Beretta, H&K, and the other striker-fired guns aren’t? The answer might be simple. The SIG P320 does not have the “trigger doober” that all the other guns have. 

Why is that? Great question. I was reading an article today about the P320 and how the lack of a trigger safety, the blade doober, contributed to a more smooth, precise and pleasing trigger press. Did SIG, in an effort to address the American obsession with the trigger pull, leave out that part in order to please people who talk about guns but don’t have the time or inclination to shoot them to the point of mastery? 

It’s not just the American shooting consumer who constantly tries to purchase their way around training. That malady is rampant in both law enforcement and the US military. You see, training cops and soldiers requires purposeful and dedicated time and effort. Money has to be spent for training hours and ammunition. 

Was the P250 supplanted by the P320 because the DAO/hammer-fired trigger wasn’t “good enough”? Did SIG fall into the trap trying to make such a good trigger that the reliability and redundant safety, provided by the blade doober, became an afterthought? 

Could the addition of a doober fix all the issues that the P320 has allegedly had with uncommanded discharges?

If that’s the solution, it might be as easy as pushing a camel through the eye of a needle. That would require a redesign, a massive recall and an admission that the P320 FCU wasn’t a perfect design. Are the folks in New Hampshire willing to go down that road and incur that expense? Only time will tell.

Regardless, as long as stock P320 pistols remain out there, it’s highly unlikely that the issue of the “holster bang” is going to go away. Love SIG or hate them, the American trigger obsession could be largely to blame for what is going to be an ugly and expensive future for SIG SAUER.     

 

Paul G. Markel is the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades. He is the author of numerous books and is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran.