Sig Sauer Hits Back At Claims Of P320 Issues
Sig Sauer released a strong statement today disputing the current narrative around the P320 pistol. The Statement, entitled ‘The Truth About the P320’, puts the bottom line up front: “The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull – that is a fact.” Let’s take a look at the statement, the back story, and what this may mean going forward.
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The Statement
The full statement is posted on Sig Sauer’s website and social media pages, but is worth repeating here:
“NEWINGTON, N.H., (March 7, 2025) – The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull – that is a fact. The allegations against the P320 are nothing more than individuals seeking to profit or avoid personal responsibility.
Recently, anti-gun groups, members of the mainstream media, trial attorneys, and other uninformed and agenda-driven parties have launched attacks on one of SIG SAUER’s most trusted, most tested, and most popular products – the P320 pistol. In all cases, these individuals have an ulterior motive behind their baseless allegations that the P320 can fire without a trigger pull; they have no evidence, no data and no empirical testing to support any of their claims. They instead choose to misrepresent clear, negligent discharges as a “design problem.”
In the decade since its introduction, the P320 has undergone the most rigorous testing and evaluation of any firearm, by military and law enforcement agencies around the world. It consistently delivers a proven record of performance and reliability through state-of-the-art engineering, and documented quality control at every stage of its production. Claims that unintended discharges are anything more than negligent handling and/or manufactured lies to support an anti-gun, anti-SIG agenda are false. Furthermore, lawsuits claiming that the P320 is capable of firing without the trigger being pulled have been dismissed in courtrooms around the country. In addition, multiple plaintiffs’ so-called experts have conceded, it is not possible for the P320 to discharge unless the trigger is fully actuated.
The rhetoric is high, and we can no longer stay silent while lawsuits run their course, and clickbait farming, engagement hacking grifters continue their campaign to highjack the truth for profit. Enough is enough. From the courts of law to the court of public opinion we will combat the lies and misinformation with the truth. SIG SAUER stands behind the quality, safety, and design of all our products – especially the P320.
Industry, take notice; what’s happening today to SIG SAUER with the anti-gun mob and their lawfare tactics will happen tomorrow at another firearms manufacturer, and then another. Today, for SIG SAUER – it ends.”
Background
We have previously covered P320-related litigation on the blog, but a recap of this saga is worthwhile. Back in August 2017, Sig Sauer began offering a “Voluntary Upgrade Program” for P320 pistol trigger mechanisms. That was not a recall. Recalls are when manufacturers admit there was a problem with a product and take steps to fix the product. Instead, Sig’s position can be summed up as: the original trigger is fine, but it could be better. The voluntary upgrade program continues and Sig Sauer will still change out the trigger mechanism for anyone with the old-style trigger. That upgrade program started after videos started circulating of the P320 discharging if dropped at a very specific angle.
But the story did not end there. In the intervening years, numerous lawsuits have been filed against Sig Sauer alleging that P320 pistols experienced “uncommanded discharges.” Those lawsuits claim that pistols in various settings, including inside of holsters, had fired without a person pulling the trigger. Those lawsuits are reaching the trial stage and there are now two verdicts against Sig Sauer, but those suits are being appealed.
Many of the P320 lawsuits also share a common participant: Attorney Jeffrey Bagnell. He brought the first P320 lawsuit for a client and has been involved in many of the other cases as well. Sig Sauer sued him for defamation in March 2022 and that case is still ongoing despite a venue change.
Sig’s complaint in that case focuses on an animation used by Mr. Bagnell to demonstrate his theory of the uncommanded discharges. Mr. Bagnell filed an affidavit in that case summarizing his involvement with the P320 cases (including a statement on page 2 of the document that he has a carry permit, is a gun owner, and supports the Second Amendment), and sharing his side of the story with the animation. That affidavit also contains close-up images of the inner workings of P320 pistols that allegedly had uncommanded firing incidents.
Sig obviously disagrees with that description of events, and the lawsuit continues (with fun wrinkles like the ACLU filing an amicus brief opposing Sig).
What Comes Next?
It seems very clear that Sig Sauer is not backing down from confronting the allegations around the P320. The company remains forceful in its defense of the pistol, particularly around claims that it is unsafe. Sig contends that there is more at play than run-of-the-mill product defect lawsuits, using terms like “lawfare” and alleging that anti-gun groups are targeting both Sig Sauer and the P320 pistol. In my opinion, this is the first move in a new act. I would anticipate a public-facing messaging campaign by Sig to rebut the claims made against the P320. It also appears likely that there may be lawsuits against “clickbait farming, engagement hacking grifters” for defamation, tortious interference, or other claims.
In any case, there is more to come in the saga of the P320. We will keep you informed as this story develops.
