Props to you James for actually asking some not soft-ball questions. I dont think the answer changed my opinion of sig much, but I do appreciate them being asked all the same.
Agree, I think James did great asking the tougher questions, the answers were typical ceo answers unfortunately, I’m impressed with sigs new optic division/line
As a relative newcomer to guns, why does everyone have an “opinion” on firearms manufacturers? Sig, Springfield, Glock etc. People always have something to say about the top dogs. Sig seems to make a great lineup of products. So do a lot of other companies. What’s not to like?
@valenzaplumbing it's human nature. Everyone has an opinion about everything; it's called having a brain. Opinions about car manufacturers, opinions about fast food restaurants, opinions about different Countries, etc. Don't you have thoughts, ideas, opinions?
Like just the quote or the irony of the quote in how the system was very much broken and had to rely on aftermarket engineering to fix the issue? Because in that sense, it's true.
Wow. His answer to the beta testing question pretty much assured I will never buy another Sig product again. "The military doesn't complain so the peons are just Sig haters." Well, Ron, I waited for two years to buy a 365. In the first 100 rounds it tried to eat its own barrel. Front portion of the chamber was making contact with the inside of the front of the slide. Two divots on either side and metal shavings all inside the slide. Being a software product EVP (and a life long quality control professional,) I understand that no process is perfect. So I sent the pistol back to Sig to make it right. Your people sent it back to me with a note saying "works as designed, it has self fitting barrel." I now understand why they felt comfortable showing such utter disregard for a customer. They are following your lead. If any of my support folks had responded to one of our clients like that I would have shown them the door personally. The fish rots from the head.
@@nhynek Being serious for a moment, I personally did not get along well with the Hellcat. Others have different opinions. My current EDC micro 9 is a Shield Plus OR. Love that little thing. As the saying goes, YMMV.
IMO, he kinda came off more like an arrogant, sleezy, tech-bro-scammer than a passionate engineer at a renowned company. Kinda Boeing-like tbh. Not a good look.
I worked for Kimber when Ron was CEO over there. He destroyed that companies quality and work ethic. He's doing the exact same thing at Sig. I don't get on RU-vid to talk trash all the time but in this case I'll make an exception. This man is a world-class scumbag.
SIG 100% does, and they discontinue product support in an unacceptable period of time. They have great marketing, though. And another thing, I’d wager their high capacity subcompacts are less inherently reliable. There’s a reason no other company before them crammed that many rounds into a tiny gun. And that reason isn’t just lack of accessibility to modern 3D modelling software…
I fundamentally agree but TFB has to tread lightly to prevent making permanent enemies. I don’t blame them and would encourage them to continue protecting their business. I would simply encourage their audience to read between the lines here. James did what he could.
sig doesn't care about civilians. they only care about big major contracts. Not to mention they have probably had the most law suits i have ever seen. Old sig kicked ass this sig sucks ass
Unlike Colt or FN, Sig has entire product lines that are civilian centric like the P365. They also push the envelope as far as NFA adjacent products like early brace adoption or a muzzle brake very similar to a monocore suppressor. Few companies their size have taken risks like that and it paid off for them.
Tell that to colt who has said at least once that they will stop selling ar pattern rifles to civilians. That whole company to be sold off because all they cared about was military contracts.
Sorry....I commented almost the exact same thing before reading your's. We shouldn't be shocked that he blames others for his own failures and his own lack of integrity.
SIG.....responsible for single handedly turning every ex SOF veteran into a paid spokesman. And also for putting out 20 versions of the same model. Changing the model so much that its arguably not the same model anymore.
This isn't directed soley at you, and I've owned plenty of Glocks, but isn't every single Glock just the exact same gun in different sizes? Sig at least tries to innovate and make meaningful changes, albeit some of small.
@@kippbolt5449 yea I agree you're not wrong. Glock makes one gun just different calibers. But what I was really thinking about with SIG is the p365. I own 2. They're great. But the whole thing with the p365 was size and capacity was perfect to carry 365 days a yr. Now they got models that are ported and comps and darn near full sized( alot thinner I know) but still prints. At this point it's gotten completely away from what the p365 was supposed to be. And then you have literally the 20 different iterations of the 320. I like sig. But they have gone down a few notches in my book over the past few yrs. And glock....for the love of God please do something new soon...anything.
No one said sig should not innovate, but products should be functional and SAFE before come to the market, don’t treat the consumer as the beta testers. Also, own up the problem, do recalls not “voluntary upgrades”. Until then, they can keep their shit, I will keep my money.
Exactly! S&W, Taurus, Ruger, etc. do recalls and I trust them more because they are being upfront and not trying to obfuscate anything about the safety of their products
They cite innovation as an excuse, but their constant tweaking is just a way to keep their engineers and marketers paid at the expense of the end user. He cites developments in cell phone technology as a comparison to their innovation. SIG products aren’t comparable to electronics, they’re metal and plastic. There’s not as much room for innovation as they claim. For example, they’re just making a rehash of a browning tilting barrel design with their pistols. Theres nothing truly new under the sun in firearms development. A product isn’t better if it’s not consistent or thoroughly vetted, it’s worse. This guy is just doing his job I can’t blame him for that, but he’s just talking like a politician. SIG appeals primarily to new firearm owners. The marketing and military contracts appeal to them. Individuals with experience tend to avoid them.
@@bubbalawrence1 What is the difference between a recall and the Sig VUP program. Aren't both no cost no matter how many owners the gun has passed through? Ultimately isn't the gun owner the only one who can decide whether to send a firearm in? How is this terminology triggering so many people.
Fantastic questions, James. I’m far from an Sig hater, I own a P365X, a MK25 and an actual military contract M18. But man, his answers were pretty crummy. He said exactly what Dead Air did with their giant Sierra-5 crumbling baffle CS fiasco, which lost so many customers: 1. “Everyone’s just a hater because we’re #1, they’re just hating to hate.” - No. Having genuine questions about QC and safety concerns is very valid. Even if you’ve had every court case dismissed. People shouldn’t have to watch Sig Mechanic to third party channels to see why the P320 is or isn’t safe. They need to tackle it head on. 2. “If we were so bad, why have we sold so many units to various police and military units??” - I don’t care how many people own something, how many contacts you have, etc. That’s pure Bandwagon Effect cognitive bias and it was a total bullshit answer to the P320 series handgun issue. I remember first owning a Glock when many police departments were first fielding them. Glock was being sued left and right. But Glock did *so much* to show people how all of the internal safeties worked, how it was impossible for the firearm to go off on its own, etc. They even focused their marketing team towards the three point “Safe Action” of the design. And it worked. They made it very easy to see that it was often poorly trained LEO’s shooting themselves. I have yet to see any official Sig released video that details these safeties, besides an unlisted Sig Armorer course video on the P320. People have to watch Sig Mechanic and other third party sources to find out how the design even works. Wtf. I feel that doing this just makes people even more angry or reaffirms their prior beliefs. Hate to see it. They really should focus part of their marketing budget towards marketing their own firearm’s safety features, like Glock did with marketing their famous Safe Action system. I absolutely love my M18 with its Romeo M17 optic and Brouwer 1811 grip. But I actually carry my P365X or Glock 19X, specifically because I don’t want to worry about the handgun stuffed in my pants. After watching so many videos, my conclusion is that a P320 is safe - but it’s as safe as carrying a cocked and unlocked 1911. IMO, it requires a safety. This isn’t a deal breaker for me as I’m already very used to flipping off safeties on my 2011’s. But still. I just don’t want to even think about it, should I need to draw my handgun. I think that safety lever is exactly why the U.S. Army, Marines and foreign militaries haven’t had any issues with their M17’s and M18’s going off - even when being used with light bearing holsters. Thanks for reading my TedTalk.
I heard the engineers at Sig suggested a trigger blade safety to fix the drop safe issue and the CEO angrily vetoed the proposal based on the fact that Glock implements the same kind of safety. Sounds like ego to me. Ego over safety and practicality.
@@Lungorthin666 We'll never know if that's true or not. But if it is true, that's a very bizarre take -- considering Heckler & Koch, Walther, Croatian Springfield, etc all have trigger dingus safeties. How bizarre, how bizarre.
Best wishes to Sig and though innovation and cutting edge is cool, I value how a company thinks and deals with the small guy and how forthcoming and honest they are. Call me unconvinced for now.
@@guitarthrasher81if they were actually addressing issues it'd be one thing, but they are blaming people for obvious QC shortcomings that keep getting pointed out in videos.
@@guitarthrasher81 When John Coletti was running SVT (special vehicle team) for Ford, this was in the early 2000's, he dragged Ford through the mud and read them the riot act publicly for denying owner warranty claims if the car had been used on a track. Problem was, every SVT vehicle sold came with a complimentary annual SCCA track membership , and most of their advertising for the Mustang Cobra showed the car on a race track. Coletti stood his ground and got Ford to publicly apologize and cover all the disputed warranty claims. That is the type of integrity and conduct I expect from upper-echelon management and ownership. Might be rare now-a-days, but at one point the big dog's at some of these billion dollar corporations did have honor.
The CEO wouldn't even mention a current gun other than a SIG when specifically asked to do so. Only mentioning old designs that he claims has been surpassed by SIG. He is businessman who only cares about the bottom line.
Although the P365X is my favorite concealed carry weapon and it's one of my most reliable handguns. I am so glad to see James Reeves bring up the beta testing question to Sig Because I wanted to hear his response He still never really answered the P320 debacle. But this was a great interview
"What do you have to say about people being critical about some of your products that don't work as intended?" "There's always vultures out there who wanna shit on the big guy. Our clients wouldn't carry them if they didn't work."
@@linkbond08it's not for most people honestly. I want a 365 but honestly I'm not sure I want any sig product after listening to this guy. I'll stick to baretta
@dellman5848 dollar for dollar there are better products by other companies in the market. I own several Sigs. Some date back 30+ years up to recent models. I can say from my own experience that their new "beta" models suck.
Typical executive speak. Asks questions about the p320 and he answers with a different gun. The p320 and the m17 m18 are not the same. One big difference the m series has physical safeties. Throw a physical safety on a p320 and all the issues go away. None of the lawsuits are over a p320 with a safety.
James rocking the pants for this interview…good thing because it was the only way to conceal his balls. Thanks for having a pair James and ACTUALLY asking substantive questions!
I don't like equating innovation with unfinished products. You can innovate but also properly test a product before releasing it. The 365 is great but I held off for 3 years before I bought one because I didn't want to buy a half baked gun as my carry piece. I'll never buy a new SIG at launch. They've had too many problems on release and it doesn't seem like they are in a hurry to change.
Sig is a business and Ron is a businessman. Their existence is to sell their product to make money. My guess is the deciding people have set a pipeline of new products/models and all the worker bees have to meet their quota before the deadline of release. There are small teams in charge of specific projects that design whatever they are told to and have to pass it on to the next team for prototyping, testing, finalizing and production. Maybe they send test units off to departments, RU-vidrs, agencies or military guys, but there is a fixed time for the whole process. It doesn’t matter if there is 6 months for testing or 6 days, it was tested by such and such and any input or fixes will be done in production. They always seem to do batch runs making sure the whole run is sold before making a new run. They also have other products taking up the production equipment which can delay follow up runs. It is all time and money focused. If they don’t sell enough, they won’t make more, and move on to the next phase of either canceling the product line or jumping to the refreshed model. This is how Sig is able to make so many new models (innovation) and apply input from the civi/mil market. My thoughts on the P320 and quality are that the problems mainly stem from the materials used. The grip frame is thin molded polymer and with the vast variety of grip frame types left a lot of room for error. I am guessing they over used they molds and pumped them out faster than they should. I also believe that the FCU is difficult to mass replicate accurately as it is a stamping that gets welded, machined and the rails folded. If you have ever swapped slides and grip frames between a single FCU you will know what I mean. A premium p320 will have a fully milled FCU, and just my preference, longer front rails. With all that said, I don’t know anything and have never had a problem with over 1,000 rounds through multiple slides and grip frames on a P320.
Well, it’s cool that the most prolific arms manufacturer of our time is this open to the public. Unlike Colt & HK, they are reaching out to US (via James) to tell us about their products. We would certainly complain if the didn’t. [I mention Colt & HK since they also had/have huge .gov contracts]
I bought a P938 a year ago and it would drop mags when shooting anything more than FMJ practice loads. Sig knew about the issue and didn't say anything except to those who complained about it. The fix was replacing the mag catch and spring to a revised version, something they wanted me to pay $90 for a warranty service fee. Sold it and bought a glock.
The west Germans are better, but the 226 (for example) isn’t ergonomic, it’s (top) heavy, expensive/hard to find, and low capacity for its size. I’ll pass on “sig” products.
What a great interview, James. This is one of my most favorite interviews on You Tube regarding bang-bangs, if not THE most favorite. Kudos, my friend. Damn fine stuff!
I’ve owned Sigs for 30 years now. I think Sig has done a great job with innovation lately. I do think they are trying to be all things to all people and that the focus on quality has suffered as a result. Sadly this guys answer to a problems with the P320 are ruining Sigs reputation. I don’t think Dig knew about problems with the P320 before they released it, but I think once the word started getting out about problems they really screwed the pooch. Owning up to your problems is a HUGE determining factor in how much people will trust your product. Sig still does a great job with MOST of their products, but it’s time to focus on being the very best on a few people platforms, not all things to all people with mediocre results.
yeah, a MK1 or something like that, that denotes "this will fix issue x" would be nice. but then you'll probably not buy Mk0 that is still in circulation and still has the fault.
Pro tip: buy new Sig stuff the same way I buy new medications. Simply wait 10 years for all the problems and side-effects to shake out, then consider spending your hard-earned cash.
BIG disagree (your nose is a little brown James). ANY of the classic line SIG's are WAY better than the P365 in terms of quality and workmanship. The DA/SA triggers in those pistols are tough to beat!
You know I agree with you! I'm a huge classic line fan. I own other Sigs P320s etc,. The classic line are tough dependable and has more quality. Hopefully they won't mess that up!
Meh. I don't think there was anything particularly interesting. Mostly just corporate fluff. Maybe you can do a video on the anti drone systems. That'd be cool.
He basically said safety doesn't really matter because we have all these militaries and police adopting our products so they may not be the safest but if the military or police are adopting them then who cares it's okay
James, you were respectful and I do appreciate you asking the tougher questions. Ron's response to the P320 now helps me understand why the company was so defensive in its initial response years ago. Ron's lack of humility / ownership cost a large number of military and law enforcement officers their livelihood and health. Now that the Sig P320 class action lawsuit against Sig Sauer has been settled, Sig is now forced to pay money for damages. It's sad to think that this all could have been avoided if they had proper leadership. Take ownership of your victories and your failures!! Own it 100% and ask internally and externally "How do we make this situation right?" Ron, you avoided responsibility and now, you have permanently damaged Sig's reputation. I'm a firearms instructor and talk to other instructors often. We will not encourage anyone to spend their hard earned money with a company that doesn't ensure rigorous product safety but moreover an organization which deflects responsibility if and when a engineering issue does arise. Hats off to the RU-vid community who had to point out the danger in dropping a loaded Sig P320 (Rubber Mallet Test) this should have been enough for Sig to at least start their own thorough investigation or commission an independent engineering firm to conduct drop tests along with other safety tests.
@@wcstrawberryfields8011 lol glad someone picked up the slack. the engineers of the p365 made such a great gun, then the rest of sig seemed to half ass it
Ron’s response to the question about the P320’s problems is the nail in the coffin for me. The immediate statement “This world is surrounded by a lot of vultures.” ( 10:12 ) just shows the inability to take responsibility. after a statement like that I can’t justify putting any trust in a striker fired Sig pistol for the foreseeable future. It would have been a much better move for him to talk about the issues that the P320 platform faced and the solutions that they have implemented, rather than just insulting his customers. I’m not a Sig hater, I own multiple Romeo optics and I have had multiple great experiences with their customer service people, which is a lot to ask from a large gun manufacturer today. I just don’t see a reason to carry a pistol with a known history of safety issues, that is made by a company which is unable to provide adequate explanation. As CEO, Ron Cohen is the voice of Sig Sauer and as of now, the company’s official statement on the P320 controversy is a flippant non-answer.
You did *not* pull any punches with your questions. But you also did not make this a hostile interrogation, and kept it very respectful. Great interview, James.
Heck of an interview. Nice work by all. 👊🏻 There’s a fuse on my nightstand as I type this, my Glock 45 is in the drawer. I feel like I’m cheating but I’m allowing it.
So the Country of Mexico is suing US gun manufacturers because their citizens cant behave. Sig is not included in the lawsuit. Is it because Sig provides weapons for a foreign military? Doesnt Sig have a contract to supply weapons to the Mexican Military aka the Cartels?
Sig has their hands in everything... just look at how many retired military personnel that had a hand in the contract requisitions/decision making process have become Sig employees or "consultants."
I miss the real sig, western european gun companies have their issues with American consumer disconnect, but in the relatively short time since Sig became a basically US only operation they've adopted all the issues big American gun companies have.
Good interview James, you’re gonna a lot of hate from people, but i think you walked a good line from getting hard questions in without coming off as attacking sig. some people need to grow up and stop hoping for a reality tv fight with every sig interview
Thanks Ron Cohen for meeting with James and sharing your background and information about Sig Sauer. I have several Sig guns and I love them all. P938, P320, MCX etc. Keep doing what you guys are doing! I also love many other gun manufacturers and have several guns that I thoroughly enjoy shooting. James, as always, excellent interviews and interesting guests. Your videos are great and they get better and better.
Jesus H. The cop out answers on the problems with the P320 specifically and other issues generally. The P320 explodes to the point that SIG just lost a lawsuit, not to mention the Mil models of the M17 and 18 with irons and optics flying off regularly.
Love the know nothings, the lawsuit was based on the jury the gun was too dangerous as it didn't have a trigger safety. P320s blowing up? I remember those same people throughout the 90s and early 2000s were blowing up Glock and calling them Tupperware garbage.
Except those yearly updates are clearly denoted by the model year, sig does nothing of the sort it’s just word of mouth that the MPX is on its 3rd generation
@@bubbalawrence1 Is Glock any different, look at all the revisions they made even within the Gen 1, Gen 2, and Gen 3 pistols. Glock alone has gone though about 25 magazine revisions since the 1980s. I love the double standard of some people.
Please make the M-lok bayonet mount available in Europe. I can't find it anywhere. 🙏 @James: You wouldn't mind bringing a few over on your next trip? 😉
I wonder if there are many folks in the comments that remember the days of Glocks Ka-Boom issues? Early Glock days people hated Glock. Folks loved to point to the issues with Glocks ka-booming. GlockTalk had dozens of threads at any given time talking about it. Seems Glock survived and it was a miniscule issue. I suspect the same is true of Sig. Couple .000001% issues blown out of proportion on the interwebs.
History repeats itself, Glock days it was "Glocks blowing up" and mostly cops shooting themselves in the leg, aka GlockLeg. Now the same 2 things being brought up with P320s. Which is sad and shows people just get mad and lie when their favorite brand isn't selected for global military LE contracts.
5:20 asking the question about Sig using customers as beta testers was wrong James. It should have been using customers as "FINAL" product testers. SIGS answer seemed to be "Military, military, military says is good, you guys are just haters.
Thanks for doing this interview. Really enjoyed it. I truly believe if sig would throw in a hammered forge barrel and a dlc finish they would be kings of the hill.
I owned a few sigs, the 226 and p365 variants are their current best handguns, i believe the new fuse will replace the p320, maybe a fuse xl with a longer barrel and bigger mag capacity, the 2nd gen mcx is very good no experience with new mcx, i own a 300 rattler and its my bedside gun
This convinced me to get a m&p shield instead of a 365 lol ... The German made 200 series of pistols were great , the budget line of 300's are just not the same , the court cases over the 320 have shown Sig to look like greedy asshxles , and now it's been proven , and they finally lost a court case... He doesn't tell you how many were sent back by the US military for failing , wonder why ? maybe because they never went through the standard military tests lmfao
Can someone clarify for me which SIG is used "by the best of the best" in the U.S. military? Seems like the units that have their own procurement don't touch SIG.
What are you talking about, Delta runs MCXs along with HK416s. And now the SEALs are using P320 X5 along with their Glocks. Other units in SOCOM are running MCXs, P320s as well.
@@great_deception Not saying your wrong, but never seen/heard any of those guys mention the mcx or p320. When I hear recent Army SOF, MARSOC, Seals, etc talk about what they carried its almost always the 416 and G19, with various SCAR, M45, MP5/7's sprinkled in.
