The P320 Shake Awake Trigger?

SIG Sauer has been getting a lot of flak over their P320 series pistols in recent years over perceived safety concerns and a new video just poured gas on the fire.

Written By

Michael Crites

Licensed Concealed Carry Holder

Reviewed by

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Updated

Aug 2023

SIG Sauer has been getting a lot of flak over their P320 series pistols in recent years over perceived safety concerns and a new video just poured gas on the fire.

Two short soundless clips made public by the Montville (Connecticut) Police Department– a small agency of just 29 officers– shows what appears to be a holstered pistol discharging while a group of officers are going hands-on with a bendy subject in the lobby of the agency.

In coverage of the incident by local media reported by Police One an officer’s handgun “spontaneously discharged” while he was arresting a suspect and, three days later, Chief Wilfred Blanchette said the agency has placed an order for $20,000 worth (?!) of Glock 9mm handguns after the “incident raised safety concerns over the Sig Sauer P320s carried by officers.”

The video and the article spread like wildfire across the Gunwebs spanning SIG fan pages, ARFCom, Facebook, and virtually every gun and gun-adjacent Reddit group — with thousands weighing in.

SIG, confronted with something of a cottage industry with a Philadelphia law firm carving out a niche in filing lawsuits against the firearms giant over P320 accidental discharge cases over the past few years– all of which have found little success it should be noted– hasn’t commented on the Montville incident but has generally maintained the safety of their P320 design.

The Yankee Marshall, who has often come to the P320’s defense in the past despite avowing he doesn’t have a horse in the race, posted a decent rebuttal of the event arguing that the rush to slam the gun as unsafe is inconclusive.

It should be pointed out that Glock just a decade ago was slammed with dozens of similar lawsuits over their trigger design with many arguing the trigger pack was too light and allowed for too many negligent discharges, especially in officers who had learned their trade on DA/SA S&W “Wondernines” with manual safeties and revolvers.

The late Bob Owens of Bearing Arms even opined in the LA Times that police officers shouldn’t even use Glocks for that reason. Such concerns led the NYPD to order heavier “New York” triggers, tuned for more revolver-like trigger characteristics, installed on their Glocks.

So, has this all been seen before? Time will tell.

Update: SIG has posted its response to the incident.

Meet the Experts

Written By

Michael Crites

Licensed Concealed Carry Holder

Michael Crites has served as executive editor of AmericanFirearms.org since 2016 and previously held positions as associate editor and range correspondent dating back to 2000. He discovered his passion for precision shooting at age 12 during his first visit to his grandfather's shooting range, eventually earning an Expert classification in three different shooting disciplines before age 18. During his studies at University of Wyoming, he earned four varsity letters on the collegiate rifle and pistol teams, serving as team captain for three consecutive years. He became the first UW student to complete the NRA Range Safety Officer certification while maintaining full-time student status. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Communications. His diverse career has included roles as Range Safety Coordinator for the National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry 2001; editor-in-chief, Precision Shooter Quarterly; series editor, Modern Firearms Handbook collection; managing editor, National Shooting Sports Foundation Newsletter; editor, Competitive Shooter Magazine; operations director for Western Arms & Ammunition Co.; senior editor for the Shooter's Reference Annual (Cheyenne); content director for The Firearms Report, published by the American Shooting Coalition in Billings, MT; firearms correspondent for Hunting & Shooting, produced by Outdoor Sports Media Group in Jackson, WY; and publisher for Wyoming Shooting Sports Journal in Casper. He has contributed as a regular columnist for American Rifleman (NRA Publications), technical editor for Precision, a publication of the National Bench Rest Shooters Association (Phoenix, AZ); and as firearms specialist for the Gun Owner's Annual. As a digital content creator, he has written more than 400 articles on AmericanFirearms.org, developed shooting technique coverage for the Brownells Shooting Blog (Montezuma, IA) and Federal Premium "Range Notes" platform (Anoka, MN), and served as lead content strategist for International Defensive Pistol Association (Berryville, AR). Beyond Tactical Firearms, his current endeavors include content development for the Wyoming State Rifle Association (Cheyenne, WY) and technical manual production for High Plains Publishing of Laramie, WY. He has contributed to the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of Modern Sporting Rifles Guide and edited The Complete Guide to Tactical Shooting and Competitive Shooter's Reference Manual (Gun Digest Books).