WASHINGTON, D.C. (Michigan News Source) – Following an accidental discharge of a SIG SAUER M18 by a Michigan State Police trooper in July of 2024, the FBI’s Ballistic Research Facility (BRF) conducted an investigation and issued a report in August of 2024. What they found should’ve sent alarm bells ringing throughout Lansing.
Trigger-free discharge.
The FBI report described the incident as follows: “On July 31, 2024, a MSP motor officer was standing in a squad area with other members when his department-issued SIG SAUER M18 fired uncommanded. The firearm was reportedly secured in the department-issued Alien Gear Rapid Force Level 3 holster at the time of firing. According to the MSP motor officer’s statement and the statements of others present, at no time was the trigger pressed intentionally or inadvertently. The MSP motor officer had objects in his hands at the time of the event, including keys.”
FBI tests revealed flaws in SIG SAUER’s P320, while experts point to design and quality control nightmares. However, as we reported in part one of this story, MSP continues to use the M18 pistol as their primary sidearm.
According to records obtained via FOIA by the military media outlet We Are The Mighty, FBI testing confirmed the M18 pistol could, under normal police motion, have the potential to fire without the trigger being touched. In the conclusion of the report, it said that under common law enforcement movement, “it is possible to render the Striker Safety Lock inoperable and ineffective at preventing the striker from impacting a chambered round if complete sear engagement is lost.”
The We Are The Mighty article went on to say about the defects found in the FBI report, “The lab found that the striker safety lock spring was not fully seated and only captured at the top of the striker housing. The sear experienced uneven wear, and the primary and secondary sear notch edges showed signs of wear. Additionally, the bottom of the striker pin hook had a ‘ledge’ instead of being flat.”
The FBI report went on to say that BRF recommends that MSP “weigh the content of this report with the outcome of the internal investigation in making its final determination related to the SIG SAUER M18 as an issued firearm within the department.”
Quality control – or lack thereof.
YouTube host Dick Fairburn, a law enforcement veteran with more than 40 years of experience, explained on his “Lock and Load” show that the problems stem from what he believes to be both design and manufacturing shortcuts. “It’s a bad design with a fully-cocked Stryker system,” Fairburn said, “and it is quality control of a lot of those MIM [metal-injection-molded] parts that are in that fire control unit.”
Fairburn went on to say that poor quality MIM parts within the system seem to be a problem – but they save a lot of money.
Is it all about cost?
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SIG SAUER won a 10-year contract with the Army worth up to $580 million in 2017 to supply their soldiers with M17/M18 pistols, ammunition, and accessories. The Air Force, Navy, and Marines later joined in using the pistols. The M18 is now the official sidearm of all branches of the U.S. military
In winning the Army contract, SIG undercut Glock by roughly $102–103 million in the evaluated total cost according to the E-commerce marketplace guns.com. In addition to the cheaper cost, other reports say that SIG SAUER won the contract because of its modular design, interchangeable grip sizes, better adaptability to different hand sizes and missions and proven performance in testing.
Defective pistols and failed safety tests.
But lower cost and modularity mean little if the pistols fire on their own – or doesn’t fire at all. Fairburn emphasized that many of the pistols MSP received had “dead triggers,” a condition where the trigger fails to fire the weapon. SIG SAUER attributed this to out-of-spec components. Fairburn also noted a “total lack of test firing of these pistols before they were shipped to the Michigan State Police.”
In FBI testing, the striker safety failed 30% of the time according to Fairburn’s reading of the FBI report – and a new pistol failed on the second test.
SIG SAUER’s strategy: “lie, deny, and threaten”?
Fairburn didn’t mince words when criticizing SIG SAUER’s handling of the situation, arguing that unlike other manufacturers who often go out of their way to support law enforcement, SIG has fallen short. “I’ve seen none of that from SIG SAUER,” he said.
Fairburn also summed up the problem this way: “Bottom line: cheaply made parts that do not necessarily meet specifications, dead triggers, ledges on safeties, poor quality control, no test firing apparently…so they (SIG SAUER) are using the ‘lie, deny and threaten’ type of customer support – the exact opposite of what the American gun industry is known for.”
SIG SAUER, for its part, maintains the P320 is safe and continues to reject claims that the firearm can discharge without a trigger pull. They also point to ICE extending its contract – though ICE has not released any confirmation or independent testing.
Can it be fixed?
Fairburn believes only a complete redesign can save the P320 line – and SIG SAUER’s reputation. He says they’d have to replace every fire control unit in every M17 and M18 out there – and fast.
Are Michigan State Police officers using an unsafe gun?
With other law departments tossing the P320 aside, Michigan is moving ahead with them. The question now isn’t just whether the pistol is safe – it’s whether the state is listening to the experts. And if it’s not, who’ll take responsibility when things go wrong?
