HAS ANYONE ELSE NOTICED…

 HAS ANYONE ELSE NOTICED…

Bob McMahon

August 2022

That all the uncommanded discharges alleged to have plagued the once popular Sig P320 only happen when either reholstering or while in the holster?

The P320 was an extremely popular firearm. With millions sold, in 2016 Sig Sauer entered 2 versions into the selection process to replace the military’s then current sidearm, the Baretta M9. After the military completed its testing, they selected the Sig Sauer M17 and M18 as the next sidearm. (full size and compact size). For quite some time, the adoption of the M17 and M18 boosted the sales for Sig Sauer P320. Until some uncomfortable events repeated, seemingly over and over, involving the P320.

For months, it seemed we couldn’t go a week without hearing about another un-commanded incident happening. So much so that many law enforcement agencies decided to abandon the P320 and adopt another sidearm.

Many of these alleged incidents have resulted in lawsuits against the firearm maker, Sig Sauer saying that the handgun design is unsafe and is responsible for the damages with the plaintiffs seeking a favorable judgement and financial compensation. In those cases, some of the plaintiff’s attorneys allege there are over one hundred such un-commanded discharges, while others say there are between one hundred and two hundred such cases, while others claim there are up to four hundred cases of the P320 discharging without pulling the trigger.

Now, I am not familiar with the details of even one hundred such cases. In fact, when it comes to details, how many of us have all the details of any specific case. Details such as:

 1) How many rounds had been fired through that particular P320 before the questionable incident occurred?

 2) Had the trigger or any other part of the fire control system been altered by the user (or previous owner, if purchased used) in any way?

 3) What was the serial number of the firearm and how does that compare to other incidents?

 4) Is there a pattern of these incidents within a certain serial number range?

5) Is there a pattern of a certain series of the P320? (X series, Legion). Or have these incidents involved all series?

And what holster(s) were involved?

1) Was the holster used made specifically for that specific model of the P320?

 2) Was it a holster from a less expensive brand?

 3) was it a holster made for a different handgun all together and forced or altered to give the appearance of fitting the P320?

4) Have there been any incidents involving an inside the waistband (IWB) holsters?

5) If only duty or competition holsters, what makes their safety so different than IWB holsters?

6) Were all involved holsters made to accommodate a weapon mounted light?

After many of these incidents, a very popular and respected holster manufacturer announced that they updated their original holster design for the P320.

Many of us have seen YouTube videos of people attempting to duplicate the un-commanded discharge. From squeezing the slide at just the right spot, to inserting a screw into the trigger guard. All this in an attempt to prove that the P320 was an unsafe design. 

According to an article by Todd Bookman and published on the New Hampshire Public Radio website (NHPR.org) after a horrific tragedy at F.E. Warren Air Force base that resulted in an airman losing his life, the Air Force paused the use of the issued M18 handgun pending a safety review. Days after the incident, it was determined that one Airman pointed his M18 at another “in a joking manner” and pulled the trigger. As a precaution, the Global Strike Command unit of the Air Force which has over 33,000 personnel and approximately 8,000 pistols, paused the use of the issued M18 pistol until a review of all pistols could be concluded. That review found less than 200 pistols were found to have unexpected wear marks on internal components including the safety lever, striker assembly and sear. As a result, the Air Force said it would conduct inspections on a semi-annual basis. The Air Force inspected the pistol that involved this tragic loss of an airman’s life and found it to have no defects. 

On July 31, 2024, a Michigan State Trooper motor officer was standing in a squad area with others. According to reports, his department issued Sig M18 fired uncommanded while secured in his department issued Alien Gear Rapid Force level three holster. Statements in the reports indicated that at no time was the trigger pressed intentionally or inadvertently. The officer had items in his hands, including keys. The M18 was equipped with a Surefire weapon mounted light. The firearm was kept secured in the holster and removed from the officer’s duty belt without any weapon or holster manipulation. They were packed up and sent to the F.B.I.’s Ballistic Research Facility (B.R.F.) to be thoroughly examined, tested and evaluated. According to the B.R.F., when M.S.P. took delivery of the weapons, they were experiencing “dead trigger” issues. Sig Sauer determined the triggers were out of spec and ground off 0.020. The upgraded triggers were largely installed by Sig Sauer. However, an M.S.P. armorer trained in the P320 platform installed the subject weapon’s modified trigger. The B.R.F. did not specify if Sig Sauer provided the upgraded trigger, or if the M.S.P. armorer made the modification. The review of the holster revealed that the only wear was from the takedown lever contacting a shelf inside the holster. A quick search of Alien Gear Rapid Force holsters revealed they were released for retail sales in early spring of 2023. And interesting to note is that they did not appear to be popular in the Law Enforcement community, often resulting in social media commenters recommending a Safariland holster as a replacement.

And about the Safariland holster for duty use. The once popular 6000 and 7000 series holsters were criticized for having too wide a gap on each side of the trigger guard on light bearing holsters. Some claim the under the right conditions, a user could put a finger on the trigger while still in the holster or allow a foreign object to pull the trigger.

Although many commentors online claim the issue is Sig Sauers problem and not Safariland’s, the holster maker changed their 6000 and 7000 series so the gap around the trigger guard is smaller.

A Google search for “Why hasn’t the P320 been fixed?” revealed a reddit post by the same name. That post includes information regarding the nominal Safariland 7TS holster flex and if the holsters locking fork cams the slide high, there could be a shift in the trigger bar.  This, combined with possible tolerance stacking within the P320 itself, the flex could cause the handgun to fire. Safariland has quietly updated their holsters to address these issues. However, many commentors still place the blame on the design of the P320.

Additionally, one poster on pistol-forum.com (screen name HCM) P320 and Safariland interface issues, describes how his agency (not named in the post) transitioned to RDS, many if the made in Mexico Safariland 6000 series WML/RDS holsters were slightly warped and would hang up with a TLR-1 in place. He went on to say that a few of the holsters were so warped they were unusable. All holsters were brand new, out of the bag. The post included 4 photos.

While doing research for this article, I came across a video on YouTube from North Wind Aerial. The video is titled “I lost a testicle to an accidental discharge”. In the video, he describes his level of firearms handling as “at least 15 years of professional experience with firearms plus many, many years of training and safety with firearms beforehand. I was in the military for four years including a year as an armorer. He claims to be, and most likely so, to be meticulous about firearm safety. In the video, he describes that up until a week prior to making the video, he appendix carried his CCW and always carried his CCW with one in the chamber. He is specific to clearly state that this incident occurred during an official training event, not something that happened at home. As he prepared for the course of fire, he went to draw the weapon from the holster and it went off in the holster. He stated that he can’t say that he didn’t accidentally finger the trigger because he doesn’t know. He doubts that he will never know what caused it. The round went through his holster, through his penis, and through his left testicle. I waited anxiously for him to say it was a Sig P320. It took 5 minutes and 12 seconds to find out what gun it was, it felt like an eternity. It was a Glock 23 in .40 S&W. Although he does not mention the brand of the holster, the photo showed the lower portion, including the bullet hole. The photo showed it was not for a weapon mounted light.

Several months ago, the P320 X Compact was my favorite CCW. I carry in a Tier 1 IWB holster. However, after hearing the stories and viewing the videos, one after another, about the P320 firing while in the holster, I have had to reconsider. I have since put my favorite carry gun in the safe and replaced it with a P365 X Marco comp, again in a Tier 1 holster. Considering a Walther PDP Pro “F” 4 inch.

About the Author:

Bob McMahon is a friend and trusted expert on all things law enforcement; he is retired Law Enforcement Officer with 31 years of experience. He will be contributing to the blog going forward.

Firearm Factory of the Month: Spiller & Burr

When researching this gun company, I found a lot of conflicting information, I will post what I have found and hopefully someone with solid info can correct it.

In 1861 Edward N. Spiller and David J. Burr both of Richmond, Virginia were wealthy businessmen tapped to supply arms for the Confederate States. They teamed up with James H. Burton, who had been trained in the manufacture of firearms and had recently been commissioned as a Lt. Colonel in the Confederate Army, tasked with setting up factories in the south to make guns.

Some say the team purchased the Robinson Revolver factory in Richmond, others say that the first guns were built at the Richmond Armory (where Burton was the supervisor) yet others say they set up a factory at the Atlanta Steam Flour Mill in Atlanta.

Either way they set out to build copies of the .36 cal Colt model of 1836 Navy revolver (which the Confederacy had standardized on).

Burton, however, thought the 1854 Whitney revolver (also a 36 cal) would be a better choice and after approval set out to build them. 

Some changes were made to the Whitney design, for better or worse it was to save time and money. Most notably was the brass frame, this was done to save precious steel, as the south had little ability to produce steel.

Below is a picture of the Whitney (top) and the Spiller & Burr (bottom).

Near the end of 1861 the Confederate Government thought it wise to move the manufacturing of arms deeper into southern territory. Some say the factory was moved to Atlanta to the Atlanta Steam Flour Mills (now the site of the James H. Floyd Veterans Memorial Building) other say they moved to the Macon Armory, yet still others say the move was to Savannah. One thing for sure, the Richmond factory (and the Spiller & Burr company) was taken over by the Confederate Government in January of 1864.

All told there were somewhere around 1,250 of these revolvers made, making them quite rare.

What Remains:

The old Robinson Revolver Factory sat at the corner of 9th & Arch streets in Richmond, just a block or two from the James River. The river probably provided power. The address no longer exists and is now the site of these high-rise office buildings.

The Confederate Richmond Armory was not far away, sitting between Canal and Carey and 4th & 6th streets, it is now the site of a parking garage and parking lot.

The old Atlanta Steam Flour Mill site is now the James H. Floyd Veterans Memorial Building, at 200 Piedmont St SE in Atlanta

The old Confederate Macon Armory was in the Tindall Heights neighborhood, near the Mercer University campus in Macon.

Resources:


Database of USA Gunmakers (earmi.it)

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/c-s-arsenal-macon-the-last-of-the-poor-old-confederacy.69653/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40550193?seq=1

http://forum.gon.com/threads/georgia-gun-manufacturing.129365/

http://www.littlegun.info/arme%20americaine/revolver%20confedere/a%20revolver%20confedere%20spiller%20gb.htm

https://whitneyrevolver.com/http://www.littlegun.info/arme%20americaine/revolver%20confedere/a%20revolver%20confedere%20spiller%20gb.htm


https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/confederate-revolvers-spiller-burr/

http://www.csarmory.org/spiller/page4.html

http://www.csarmory.org/spiller/spiller.html

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/8/11/a-look-back-at-the-spiller-burr-revolver/

https://books.google.com/books?id=3fsSZbrQFYUC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=spiller+%26+burr+macon+ga+armory&source=bl&ots=G2APQ1C3V6&sig=ACfU3U3Cu4JPJ8gHrhDlmTEbVTZ6dT9AYg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiCipLKqqzmAhXCpZ4KHUuOCo4Q6AEwBHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=spiller%20%26%20burr%20macon%20ga%20armory&f=false

Featured Gun: The RPD Machine Gun

 

The RPD Machine Gun

By Randy Chamberlain

The RPD machine gun holds a unique place in military history. Designed in the final years of World War II, it became one of the most recognizable light machine guns of the Cold War era. Known for its reliability, simplicity, and effectiveness, the RPD served in dozens of countries and appeared in conflicts across multiple continents. 

During World War II, the DP-27 was one of the most widely used automatic rifles. It was valued for its reliability, portability, and rugged design. However, its bulky magazine-fed system limited sustained fire and was slow to reload in combat.  The ammunition was heavy which limited how much a soldier could carry with them and the weapon also produced a substantial recoil.  Combat experience at the time showed that most firefights occurred at shorter ranges than previously expected. Militaries began favoring lighter weapons firing intermediate cartridges. 

In 1944 early production began on the 7.62×39mm intermediate cartridge (aka M43).  The cartridge was intended for a new generation of infantry weapons, then under development.  The 7.62×39mm was among the first successful military intermediate cartridges to see massive worldwide adoption.  Its development directly enabled new weapon designs of lighter and more efficient weapons, influencing military small-arms design for decades afterward.

One weapon that spawned from the development of the 7.62×39mm cartridge was the RPD (Rucho Polemist Degtyaryova, translated to English: Degtyarev Light Machine Gun).  It was designed in the 1940s by Soviet weapons designer Vasily Degtyaryov to fire the new cartridge and became the precursor to most squad automatic weapons.  After World War II, the RPD was used to provide infantry squads with a portable and sustainable automatic weapon with the power of traditional rifle rounds and the controllability needed for automatic fire.

 One of the defining characteristics of the RPD is its belt-fed ammunition system. Unlike magazine-fed light machine guns, the RPD uses non-disintegrating ammunition belts stored in a drum attached to the weapon. This design helps maintain a steady rate of fire while reducing the need for frequent reloads.  It’s belt-fed design allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition than other automatic rifles, increasing sustained fire capability on the battlefield.

The weapon features:

• Gas-operated action: When a round is fired, the cartridge ignites and the bullet travels down the barrel. As the bullet passes a small gas port near the front of the barrel, some of the high-pressure gas is diverted into a gas cylinder through a three-position adjustable value. This gas pushes a piston connected to the bolt carrier rearward. The rearward movement unlocks the bolt and extracts the spent cartridge case. A return spring then drives the bolt carrier forward. The next round is fed from the ammunition belt into the chamber. The cycle repeats as long as the trigger is held and ammunition remains available.
• Air-cooled barrel: As the barrel heats up, heat transfers from the barrel surface to the air. Moving air carries that heat away, allowing the barrel to gradually cool between bursts of fire.  Soldiers were trained to use short bursts of fire to prolong the life of the barrels.
• Wooden stock and handguard: Wood is helpful because it does not transfer heat as quickly as metal. It remains comfortable to hold longer than steel parts and it reduces the risk of burns during sustained fire.

 

• Bipod for improved stability: Supporting the front of the weapon, this reduced the amount of weight that the shooter must hold, stabilizing the barrel during automatic fire.
• Belt-fed ammunition system: On the belt, each round is held in place by metal links. The belt is stored in a circular drum attached to the weapon.  As the gun fires, the mechanism pulls each round into the chamber one by one.  The Russian, Hungarian and Chinese RPD belts are all interchangeable and can be linked together without interrupting the feed.
• Open Sights: The sights include a front post and a notched rear sight mounted on tangent.  Both front and rear sights are adjustable for windage and elevation.

These features made the RPD relatively lightweight and dependable, especially in rugged environments.

Variants of the RPD were produced by the Soviet Union, as well as other Warsaw Pact countries, under license, such as China (type 56 and 56-1), Egypt (Maadi RPD), North Korea (Type 62), East Germany (IMG D) and Poland (run D).

 

The RPD saw extensive service during the Cold War as well as in the Vietnam War. It was supplied to allied nations around the world and was used in conflicts throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.  Its reputation for reliability made it particularly valuable in harsh conditions such as jungles, deserts, and mountainous terrain. Even after newer machine guns entered service, many military forces and irregular units continued to use the RPD due to its durability and ease of maintenance.

 

The RPD does have some limitations.  The fixed barrel design limits prolonged continuous firing as the barrel heats up.  There is no quick change barrel option.  The older ergonomics compared to modern machine guns, makes the RPD less adjustable to fit the individual solder.  It reflects a time when weapon design focused more on durability and battlefield function than on human factors and modular customization.  Despite these limitations, the RPD remained highly respected by soldiers who valued practical battlefield performance over technological complexity.

Although many armed forces eventually replaced the RPD with newer machine guns, its influence remains significant. The weapon demonstrated the effectiveness of intermediate-cartridge machine guns and helped shape future infantry support weapon designs.  Today, the RPD is remembered as one of the classic firearms of the Cold War period. Its long service life, global use, and reputation for reliability have secured its place as an iconic military weapon in modern history.

 

The RPD machine gun stands as a testament to practical military engineering. Combining durability, simplicity, and effective firepower, it served generations of soldiers around the world. Decades after its introduction, the RPD continues to be studied and appreciated by military historians and firearms enthusiasts alike.

 

Sources:

www.Wikipedia.com: RPD Machine Gun, 2026

www.youtube.com: RPD The LMG Adapts to Modern Combat, @ForgottenWeapons, 7/30/21

About the Author:

Randy has been a decades long member of the NRA, the Civilian Marksmanship Program and Washington Arms Collectors; he began collecting weapons in the 70's and has owned more than 500 weapons including the subject gun above. He will continue to contribute his vast knowledge of surplus and collector weapons.

 

Theme Guns #46

 It's been a few months since we looked at any theme guns, here is another round:

Interesting Firearm Photos #99

 

Golden Poop Awards: Worst Gun Company Mistakes

 

Today we are looking at the Worst Mistakes made by a gun company

This post is brought to you by the following sponsors

Bud Light, the Queen of beers

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Gillette, The Best a Maam can get

Here we have gun companies who made disastrous mistakes

Bren Ten

The company set out with the lofty goal of building the ultimate combat pistol, they may have succeeded, but a few mistakes were made. One mistake was not making their own magazines, and many guns were shipped sans magazines, and some owners never got their magazines.

As it goes the guns didn't sell as well as expected and the magazine issue didn't help. A couple of plans to resurrect the gun failed as well.

The mistake was getting too far ahead of themselves. They should have made sure that magazines would be ready ahead of the guns. This is especially important when you are selling a gun for ten times what a typical combat semi-auto handgun sold for.

Whitney

The Whitney Arms Wolverine were built by a company called Hillson, which was Robert Hillberg, the designer and Johnson, the machinist. The guns were well made, very attractive and even sold pretty well, but a deal made with an unscrupulous distributor killed the company's profits and thus the company.

The gun was brought back once by Olympic Arms (with a polymer frame) and rumors are Samson Manufacturing is going to bring the original back.

The mistake was not having a plan to distribute the pistols in the beginning and then choosing a crook to do business with.

Ruger

This mistake was not by the company itself, but rather its founder Bill Ruger. While Bill was alive Ruger would not sell magazines with a capacity higher than 10 rounds to civilians, they would also not sell the Mini-14 factory folding stocks to civilians.

Bill Ruger stated publicly that magazine limits and waiting periods were a good idea. 

Many people boycotted Ruger products for these comments/policies. Once Bill Ruger Sr. passed on, those policies were thankfully reversed. Was Bill Ruger speaking his mind or losing it?

The mistake was Bill Ruger letting his personal or delusional feelings direct company business. 

USFA

United States Fire Arms Company was a producer of very good, if not the best made copies of the Colt Single Action Army. They even produced them in a rented space in the old Colt Hartford factory.

For some odd reason the owner decided to sink the resources of the company (including selling the old machines used to make the SAA clones) into a new .22 pistol called the "Zip Gun". The gun did not sell, not very many were made and USFA went out of business.

The mistake was selling the tooling and spending an inordinate amount of money on a gun no one wanted.

Smith & Wesson

I think the Wesson family made a mistake when they sold or allowed Bangor Punta to take over the company, everything started to go downhill after that.

In 1987 a British firm: Tomkins PLC bought S&W as an investment, not with the purpose of making better guns. 

In the year 2000 the Clinton Administration proposed new gun restrictions; Tomkins made a secret deal to be exempt from the restrictions in trade for putting a lock on their revolvers. A boycott followed and the company's stock price fell to 19 cents per share by the end of 2000. Six months later S&W was sold for 10% of what it should have been worth.

The mistake was making a deal with the devil to save your own skin....

44 Automag

The 44 Automag was a revolutionary design for several reasons, one it was all stainless steel, two it was a 44 magnum in an automatic. The problem was the cost, the gun cost so much to make they could not sell them for a price that provided a profit. It doesn't take a CPA to know that losing money is not a winning strategy. Despite internal efforts to convince the owner to build the guns from mild steel, the owner insisted the guns be made of expensive stainless.

The mistake was not redesigning the pistol in order to make it more economical to produce.

J. Kimball Arms

Magnum automatic handguns require a delayed action, thus ported gas is usually the best way to go.

John Kimball thought he had a better way, by making a chamber that would allow the brass to expand into a ring, the case would stick in the chamber and assuming the extractor held onto the case, would slow down the extraction and thus the rearward movement of the slide.

The idea failed, the ring would get fouled with debris from the combustion and the slides would be sent backwards at high velocity, the pin stopping the rearward movement often cracked or broke.