The truth about the P320

Somewhere between Hellbender and Bigfoot (Updated 7/26/25)

With the recent prohibition of P320 pistols at my alma mater — Gunsite Academy — which I consider the foremost authority of firearms training, I felt this topic was worth revisiting.

Gunsite Academy: 23 July 2025

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While playing the seventh hole during the 2020 Wyndham Gold Championship, Rafael Cabrera-Bello took a 19-foot putt for birdie and the ball stopped right on the edge of the hole. For 25 seconds the ball rested, precariously, right on the edge of the hole, and then, seemingly just like it had intended to do so all along, it fell in. Such is the world of gravity, physics, and chance that we all live in, including everyone who owns/shoots a Sig Sauer P320.

Here's the thing that gets me with the P320 issue. A lot of folks claim the P320 can go bang without someone or something pressing the trigger. We have everything from sworn testimony to video. (The videos are never great, but there are lots of them.) But no one seems to be able to explain why it’s possible. After all, there must be a simple mechanical answer, a P320 is a hell of a lot less complicated than a watch. The number one reason guns go bang is because someone or something presses the trigger, so, without proof otherwise, what do we have left. This reminds me of a quote from the Sign of the Four, where Sherlock Holmes said, "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

I started to not even address the mysterious case of the P320, but that seemed negligent on my part, especially since I make a living writing about guns, have written about the P320, and since I have access to folks who might know the answer. Also, it is a firearms safety issue and some folks have died and been seriously hurt. So, I talked with two experienced and prolific pistolsmiths, both with vast experience with the P320, and I asked if it is possible for the pistol to go bang without someone or something pressing the trigger.