M18 Pistol – After Investigation, Pentagon Unworried

The gun known to the rest of the world as the Sig Sauer P320 is known to the military as the M18 and M19 pistols. The military always has to rename everything, after all, and we should be used to it. However, we all know about the issues around the P320. I’ve written about them extensively.

But the Pentagon? They’re not worried in the least.

In its defense, they did look into the matter, and that’s the reason they’re not worried.

The Pentagon is defending the safety of M17 and M18 handguns — military versions of the controversial SIG Sauer P320 — saying that “there has never been a mechanically caused accidental discharge” involving the service weapon.

The Aug. 7 statement followed a review of the Modular Handgun System, a program led by the Army’s Project Manager Soldier Lethality, initiated after an airman was shot and killed because of an alleged “uncommanded discharge” with an M18 handgun.

…

According to the statement, the Army has investigated all reports of incidents involving MHS pistols discharging without a trigger pull, and firearms mishaps account for less than 0.006% of all MHS pistols issued.

“All investigated incidents of alleged ‘uncommanded discharges’ have been traced back to the trigger being pulled,” Army officials say, adding that they blame “public speculation and online misinformation” for the safety concerns regarding the handgun design.

The incident with the airman was investigated, and it was learned that one of those who claimed the gun just went off actually pointed it at the airman in a “joking” manner, because negligent discharges are freaking hysterical, I guess.

I covered that when it happened.

Regardless, the Department of War apparently sees no issue with the number of uncommanded discharges when compared to the overall number issued. I suppose that’s fair, because the number is ridiculously low.

And when you think of the number of P320s in circulation, it’s possible that the rate is similar to the civilian population.

I suppose it’s also possible that Sig took extra care with the DOW’s guns while not worrying as much about what the rest of us buy, though that seems like something the attorneys who’ve sued Sig would have learned as part of discovery in the multiple lawsuits that have been filed against the company. 

Regardless, the fact that the Pentagon finds it a non-issue will be ammo for the Sig fanboys who have insisted this was, in fact, a non-issue. They’re more than welcome to do so, but I also think people need to consider what they’re dealing with and weigh the risks. Make whatever calculations you need to and live with the result. 

Me? I’d go with something like the P365 that doesn’t have the same reports following it around.

But it’s your money…except when it’s not. These are guns bought with taxpayer money, and while I feel better about it, I’m still curious what the context is for those numbers. I know the military doesn’t just issue weapons to every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, and guardian that reports for duty, so the numbers are going to be lower than many expect.

Are they low enough to give us a false idea of the numbers? Or are the numbers issued enough that the raw numbers would be alarming?

I don’t know, though I intend to do a little asking.

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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