The second day of the Hornady PRS Pro Series match near Grand Island, NE, took an unexpected turn yesterday when a P320 pistol, holstered securely by a top-tier competitor, discharged without command, leading to a procedural disqualification on a pivotal positional stage.
The incident occurred during the "Urban Kneel" stage, requiring shooters to engage steel out to 800 yards from various unconventional kneeling positions behind a custom-fabricated barricade. Competitor Rex "Zero Hold" Anderson, known for his meticulous stage planning and running a Defiance Deviant Tactical action bedded in an MPA Matrix chassis with a 26-inch Bartlein M24 contour in 6mm GT, was setting up his initial kneeling position when the audible 'pop' of a 9mm round reverberated across the range.
The projectile, a 124gr FMJ, exited Anderson's P320 X-Five Legion, holstered in a Safariland ALS system on his support side, and impacted the forward support strut of the dedicated PRS barricade. Anderson, visibly perplexed, immediately secured the firearm. Match Director Mark Cross confirmed the uncommanded discharge occurred approximately 1.7 seconds prior to the “shooter ready” command, thus incurring a direct violation of Rule 3.3.4 (Discharge Outside of Intent) and Rule 4.1.2 (Unapproved Barricade Modification).
While no injuries occurred, the ruling was swift: a zero for the stage. Anderson's Kestrel 5700, mounted directly to his rifle, registered a slight displacement in density altitude due to the sudden expulsion of gases, though its functionality remained unimpaired. This latest reported instance of a P320's internal striker mechanism self-actuating raises serious questions regarding sidearm selection for competitive environments where a single uncommanded discharge can not only jeopardize a shooter's run but also introduce unforeseen ballistic variables for adjacent competitors calculating their wind calls based on perceived stability. The incident has already sparked rigorous debate on SnipersHide regarding mandatory P320 trigger replacements or a blanket ban on the platform for future PRS events.
