Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
by Susan Katz Keating
An engineer who once worked at SIG Sauer has devised a way to address an “incomplete and unsafe design” in the SIG P320 pistol, according to claims on an application for a U.S. patent. The application was filed in 2024 amid allegations that the pistol can fire without the trigger being pulled – a charge the company vehemently denies.
The engineer, Brian McDonald, appears to have worked at SIG while the P320 was being developed. He is listed as the inventor on a 2024 patent application that now is assigned to Angled Spade Technologies LLC.
READ MORE: SIG Knew P320 Could Fire Without Trigger Pull, Lawyer Says
The patent application echoes issues that the gun community has brought to light over the past several years, according to a 2023 statement from Angled Spade.
“There have long been questions surrounding unintended discharges experienced by users of the Sig Sauer P320 manual and non-manual safety handguns,” the company wrote in a 2023 statement.
According to the patent application, the existing P320 design allows a critical component – the sear – to rotate and release the firing pin even when the safety is engaged. Under that scenario, if the pistol is dropped or struck, the sear can rotate and release the firing pin, causing the weapon to fire without a trigger pull.
“In this way, the prior art is an incomplete and unsafe design,” the application reads. “This is further evidenced by multiple lawsuits which have been filed alleging that the P320 model firearm will have accidental discharges even when securely stored in a holster with no action being taken to manipulate the trigger, safety or any other component of the firearm.”
The lawsuits have been filed in jurisdictions around the country, and have been challenged by SIG. The gun is safe, according to Phil Strader, the company’s Vice President for Consumer Affairs. The gun cannot fire uncommanded, he said.
“Any and all P320s can only fire when the trigger is pulled,” Strader told Soldier of Fortune when first contacted regarding the lawsuits.
The patent application nevertheless presents a kit that is described as imposing better control on the sear. The drop-in kit will offer improved components to replace the factory-installed safety lever, the application reads.
The kit will “dramatically improve the safety of the platform,” the application reads.
Soldier of Fortune did not immediately obtain a response from SIG regarding claims in the patent application.
Susan Katz Keating is the publisher and editor in chief at Soldier of Fortune.
