A report by the FBI’s Ballistic Research Facility (BRF) evaluated a Sig Sauer M18 pistol alleged to have experienced an “uncommanded discharge,” but the test was not conclusive.
The BRF report was published internally August 30, 2024, but it became news in the gun world now because it was made public this week. Outdoor Life and The Truth About Guns both ran stories on it earlier in the week.
Outdoor Life indicated the report was made public “Monday after a public-records request to the Michigan State Police.” The public records request was made by a YouTuber who goes by the handle Protraband.
The M18 is a P320-platform pistol, and the BRF’s findings are significant because they come at a time when the P320 is being targeted with lawsuits based on claims of accidental or unintentional discharges.
The specific M18 pistol in view was the duty pistol for a member of the Michigan State Police (MSP).
From the BRF report:
On July 31, 2024, a MSP motor officer was standing in a squad area with other members when his department issued Sig Sauer M182 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.
The report, which is very detailed, explains how BRF examined certain parts in the gun which are critical to the weapon’s operation and safety system.
The gun was stock–i.e., as it was when manufactured in the factory — except for a “modified trigger” installed by a Michigan State Police armorer.
BRF x-rayed the gun in a search for abnormalities but found no “abnormal observations.” BRF went on to test the trigger — verifying reset — and then inspect the pistol’s parts, including but not limited to the Striker (Striker Pin and Striker Safety Lock Notch), Striker Safety Lock, Striker Safety Lock Spring, Sear, Primary Sear Notch, Secondary Sear Notch, Sear Pin, Sear Springs, Captive Safety Lever, Captive Safety Lever Pin, and Trigger Bar.
They also tested whether it was possible that the trigger of M18 could be pressed to a fire position by inserting car keys between the inside of the holster and the firearm, while the firearm was holstered. The result: “BRF was successful in using keys, both flat and serrated profiles, to press the trigger while the M18 was holstered. (This test was important because, as mentioned earlier in this article, the MSP officer who was wearing the M18 on his hip on July 31, 2024, had keys in hand when the pistol allegedly discharged.)
In the conclusion of the report, BRF noted, “…testing did indicate with movements representing those common to a law enforcement officer 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.”
But in the next to last paragraph of the conclusion, BRF pointed out that the “examination of the subject weapon did not independently provide evidence of an uncommanded discharge.” Then, BRF posited that such a discharge “may be possible if sear engagement is lost.”
Outdoor Life summed up the findings this way: “The results of the August 2024 report were inconclusive.”
Breitbart News reached out to Sig Sauer regarding BRF’s findings. Phil Strader, Sig Sauer’s vice president of consumer affairs, responded:
After the August 2024 FBI Ballistic Research Facility’s report commissioned by the Michigan State Police was submitted, SIG SAUER consulted directly with the FBI BRF to discuss their findings. Our engineers worked directly alongside the FBI and Michigan State Police multiple times during their investigation, providing detailed engineering samples and materials, testing equipment, and information on the safety mechanisms of the P320.
“Several months later, the FBI BRF sent a follow-up report along with an email to SIG SAUER with their updated testing results. This follow-up report and its findings have not been made public,” Strader added, “but subsequent testing of about 20EA P320 striker assemblies resulted in zero failures in over 560 attempts of forcing the sear downward (and subsequently moving the trigger rearward). Michigan State Police still currently carries the M18, and SIG SAUER stands behind them.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at
