Sig P320 Safety Advisory

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This is an advisory from the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club Safety Committee on the Sig P320 series pistol and its variants (M17, M18, etc.).

The Sig P320 series pistols have received a great deal of attention on social media, and in the news recently due to reports of “uncommanded firing” incidents, within both the law enforcement, and military communities. Most recently, on 21 July, 2025 the U.S. Air Force’s Global Strike Command (AFGSC) ordered an indefinite “pause” in the use of M18 pistols within the AFGSC following a recent fatal incident at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.

This directive comes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) internal memorandum of 9 July, 2025 rescinding approval for carry of all models of the Sig Sauer P320 pistols by its Authorized Officers.

The FBI’s Ballistic Research Facility provided a Technical Evaluation on 30 August 2024 of a Michigan State Police Sig Sauer Model M18 that similarly misfired on July 31, 2024. Their findings indicated “While examination of the subject weapon did not independently provide evidence of an uncommanded discharge it does indicate that it may be possible if sear engagement is lost. The disabling of the striker safety lock through movement and friction creates a condition which merits further exploration to fully assess potential risk.”

Investigations into the causality of these events, and safety of this series of firearm will be continuing for some time. In the interim:

  • The FRGC Safety Committee is strongly recommending *extreme* caution when handling any variant of the Sig P320 family or its derivatives. Attention to safe gun handling, and muzzle awareness is of paramount importance.
  • The FRGC Two Gun community has banned P320 based pistols from matches until further notice
  • The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) has banned Sig Sauer P320 and all its variants from IDPA sanctioned matches effective immediately.

MSP-M18-Pistol-Evaluation_FINAL_Redacted_Outdoor_Life.pdf: (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lelZrE6b4Sajj-9Kctx7hd88S49iz8xI/view?usp=share_link)

ice-is-moving-to-the-glock-19-v0-50.pdf:
(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D1Bp8GRn0UlWgkYsI0cg-AgWK_MQgx37/view?usp=share_link)