The claimed incident with security footage would be interesting to see, or at least read a detailed report about. I’m curious how they confirmed the safety was on from security camera footage.
Unless I’m missing something, it looks like people who have tried to replicate the problem with repeated tests so far cannot do it. This seems like a goldmine for YouTubers looking to get headlines if they can make it happen.
The M18, the military version of the P320 does have a manual safety though, and there are reports of it firing with the safety engaged. This suggests that the high rate of unintentional discharges of this firearm are not only due to its trigger being easier to pull than its competitors.
Can you share them?
This is the second time I’ve heard the same claim that the videos exist, but then nobody ever has links.
The article refers to one attempt to replicate the issue where the person was unable to make it happen.
https://www.thetrace.org/2023/04/sig-sauer-p320-upgrade-safe...
And the cops are just copying what the army went with. They do not have enough firearms training to be carrying those.
Striker fired pistols dont have a hammer, and basically the 1st trigger pull is just as easy as subsequent ones in a da/sa gun.. So the benefit is you can fire the 1st shot a tiny bit faster.
I have no experience with guns btw, ive just watched loads of "forgotten weapons" lol
Instead, it's easier to shoot accurately with a short, light trigger pull than a long, heavy one. It's also easier to shoot subsequent shots accurately if the trigger pull is the same between every shot. Furthermore, it's easier to teach people to operate a gun if there are fewer states it can be in where it operates differently.
I haven't seen data suggesting that striker-fired pistols that aren't defective have a higher rate of inadvertent discharge than hammer-fired pistols. People had that concern when the Glock became popular, but that was 1982 and it is not a common concern now.
My main point is that in the army, how many instances has there been of someone using their sidearm in combat, ever?.. I think safety should be the priority for them.
Often enough that they carry the extra weight. If it wasn't useful, they wouldn't carry the weight. We can also look at history, such as why the 1911 was selected.
Air Force unit suspends use of Sig Sauer pistol after shooting death of airman - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44674123 - July 2025 (406 comments)
also:
Sig Sauer guns hanging on soldiers' hips may be firing without trigger pull - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41087518 - July 2024 (37 comments)
Due to the nature of the higher spring tension and stored momentum of the P320's striker, when the striker safety fails, it can cause the gun to spontaneously fire.
Other striker-fired pistols (e.g Glocks and S&W Shields) have lighter strikers and/or less tension so even if their striker safety failed, it wouldn't be enough to cause a primer detonation.
This is true of the Glock and some others; the striker is not fully cocked when the gun is ready to fire but the trigger is not being pulled. The trigger must be pulled to fully compress the striker spring, giving it enough energy to fire the primer. It does not appear to be the case for the Shield; the striker is fully cocked before the trigger moves.
Many popular striker-fired handguns operate like the P320 and Shield, including the S&W M&P, Springfield XD series, Walther PPQ/PDP, H&K VP9, and the Sig P365. None of those have a reputation for firing without something pulling the trigger, which suggests that the P365 is uniquely flawed in its design or manufacturing process.
The P320 striker still has more stored energy to dissipate in a striker-safety failure.
Ironically, this was a deliberate feature of its design submission for the M9 replacement program. In theory, this allows for more flexibility in trigger pull design (the trigger has to do less work) for even greater modularity in the FCG and less occurrence of light-primer-strikes.
Ian just posted a follow-up video too: https://youtu.be/rjEhgXAALL8
0. https://youtu.be/eRlzblOE1-c
PS: Both of my grandpas were USAAC/USAF WW2 vets who happened to be competitive pistol marksmen. It was more of a sport for them than anything essential to their MOSes. I OOTH, have Parkinson-like hand tremors and don't trust my aim beyond 5m.
sparrish•6mo ago
They've probably got 90 days to do a recall with a real fix or US soldiers will be carrying Glocks.
reactordev•6mo ago
*edit* I found this: https://youtu.be/NapE4CkWpHk which properly explains that in the line of duty (police for example) the safety mechanism can wear or be flipped while in the holster. It think that’s more a flaw of the holster than the gun. That’s why there’s a safety. So improper cleaning and attention to one’s weapon can lead to “accidental” discharge if you use one of those crappy police style holsters, rub against it a bunch to wear out the mechanics of your safety (which means Russian roulette every time you get in the car), is just stupidity. Just use a normal holster, so it takes you 0.2s longer to draw.
*EDIT OF THE EDIT* So this guy needs some credit. He was able to reproduce it, scientifically, on camera. https://youtu.be/jOMQOtOQoPk&t=1705 So, I stand corrected. This shouldn't ever happen.
everyone•6mo ago
reactordev•6mo ago
philwelch•6mo ago
reactordev•6mo ago
anonymousiam•6mo ago
If the facts stated in the article are all true, then there's something else going on that has not yet been discovered or revealed. Perhaps it's related to a static electric discharge into the primer, or some defect in the 9mm ammunition.
worik•6mo ago
That is not good enough for a gun
philwelch•6mo ago
https://youtu.be/b33AXiuytn0
https://youtu.be/z789IuTQLs8
Aurornis•6mo ago
The first one appeared to be news reports and retellings. The second one is a highly edited music dubbed video (!?)
philwelch•6mo ago
This same footage was in at least one of the compilations, as is footage of other discharges, and I shared the compilations largely to underscore the sheer number of incidents. If it’s not worth your time to watch it’s not worth my time to handhold you through it.
Edit: I should have predicted this. If I share a compilation of videos, I get complaints about the format, and if I share a single short, I get nit-picked. This isn't a good faith disagreement, this is a couple of people playing a shitty game of "winning arguments on the internet" at best. ummonk shared a clearer example in this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44697503
reactordev•6mo ago
mingus88•6mo ago
These are trigger-safeties, yeah? The ones that are marketed as safe unless you pull the trigger?
Or is it
# until you pull the trigger
# or don’t clean it right
# or don’t use the right holster
# or don’t bump it against your buddy
Anything else we should add to the list? Seems like it keeps getting longer.
A lot of posts out there for accidental Glock discharges, too. I saw a video of a police officer walking to her car carrying an armful of stuff take one in the leg.
They aren’t as safe as you think. If your deadly weapon requires perfect maintenance or else it will randomly kill someone then you are fooling yourself
reactordev•6mo ago
So too does the list of reasons why it could happen without video of it. I see some cops on the group after the fact but I don't see any of it happening and then they check the weapon to see that the safety is still engaged. Which you would think investigators would do.
KevinMS•6mo ago