Just put a P238 on layaway

Ryan H

New member
I guess we will see how it goes? I've read some good and bad reviews, but I've always wanted a full-featured pocket pistol and this fits the bill! I have a big fat paycheck coming this week so I'll either have it this week or next. It will be my first Sig! I have shot a P220 full size, loved it. Shot a P226 full size, hated it. That is the only experience I have with them... What are your thoughts/opinions? I would love to hear them!:cool:
 

My wife bought this gun yesterday.. Hope to go shoot it on Saturday...
Noticed one issue when we got home that the front sight was too far to the right.. I could have drifted it, but hey, It's a brand new gun.. Let the dealer fix it.. They did..
Purchased two additional magazines for it over the internet..
 
Where are you at in FL? I do my shooting at Jay's Guns & Accessories in Panama City. Do you know of any good outdoor ranges?
 
Haven't had a chance to finger the P238 yet, but I carry a P250 9mm compact as my everyday weapon. I love my Sig. I am going to get the sub compact conversion kit when it is available so I can make it a little smaller for those deeper cover areas I amay want to carry in. Let us know how the 238 shoots when you get it to the range. I ahd been looking at it as a pocket gun also.

Semper Fi
 
Took my P238 to the range for the first time on Monday. It ate up 100 rounds of Blazer 95 grn TMJs without a single hiccup. I decided to break-in this gun with ball ammo only after reading about issues with loading 6+1 and problems with feeding some kinds of hollow-points. By the way, my sights are off a bit too...about 2" @ 7 yards.

The sight issue aside, I'm very pleased with this gun. I usually shoot a 1911 so the P238 felt somewhat familiar. My groups were noticeably tighter when I used a Colt Mustang magazine with the pinky extension. I also liked that I could load the Colt mag with 7 rounds. I wouldn't use the pinky extension mag for pocket carry but I might with a belt holster.
 
I'm very happy to read some positive reviews from you guys here, as opposed to some of the other reviews out there on the net. I plan on bringing 100 rounds of FMJ and 20 rounds of Hydra-Shoks with me when I pick it up. I'm going straight from the sales counter with it into the firing range. I plan on field stripping it at my booth, giving it a quick cleaning, get familiar with it, and RUN it! I will definitley let everybody know what is going on with this fine looking little gun. :)
 
P238

Took the wife's P238 out for a spin today...
Went thru about 70 FMJ's and 6 JHP's
The gun shot almost flawlessly.. (Had one issue that the slide did not lock back on the final round.
At 25 feet - I was able to shoot a group of six within about 5 inches.

Very impressed with this gun. :yu:
 
Well, I got mine today! Turns out it feeds range ammo fine, but will not load Hydra-Shoks at ALL. Not even the first round. From slide release or by racking hard. It just won't load them. Gonna pick up a box of Gold Dots and see how they do. :( I hope to shoot it tomorrow.

DSC_0727.jpg
 
thats one nice looking hand gun. i was fondling one in a gun shop the other day then i looked at the price tag, and almost droped it on the gournd. Six hundred dollars for a .380 auto is just amazing to me. Im sure thier great guns ,and i hope u guy's have good luck with yours. maybe if i win the lottery ill be able to afford one.
 
Why dont u try to polish the feed ramp ryan. then see if it'll feed the hydra shock. This always works on 1911's, and i heard the sig 238, is supposed to be simmilar in design.
 
I guess we will see how it goes? I've read some good and bad reviews, but I've always wanted a full-featured pocket pistol and this fits the bill! I have a big fat paycheck coming this week so I'll either have it this week or next. It will be my first Sig! I have shot a P220 full size, loved it. Shot a P226 full size, hated it. That is the only experience I have with them... What are your thoughts/opinions? I would love to hear them!:cool:

Why did you hate the sig 226?
 
The 226 has the most felt recoil out of all the handguns in .40 I have ever shot, and thats a lot! The recoil was very snappy and muzzle lift was high. It shot a little low and to the left also at 15 yards, confirmed by other shooters and the owner of the gun. It just so happened to be a police duty weapon as well... not my idea of a department gun. I'm sure most of the 226s aren't this way, but I just didn't like it.

The 220 on the other hand, was a work of art!
 
OK well here is a real update! The gun was kind of gritty, so I detail stripped it and cleaned everything out real good (MAN what a PITA!). The design is similar to the 1911, but not quite. The SIG frame varies slightly from the Mustang frame in that the tolerances inside are definitely tighter. This was realized when putting the leaf spring back in, I had to trim some of the bottom of the ejector hook to get it to clear the frame. How SIG got that in there, I don't know. Must be a special tool, but I got it to go right in after trimming off a sharp corner that was catching the frame.

I loaded it up with the Hydra-Shoks, gave it a good hard rack and BAM! Loaded right up. Cycled a few mags worth of them until I was satisfied and headed over to my buddy's house. We fired a full mag of the Hydra-Shoks without issue, and a mag of range ammo. His neighbors get pissy with firearm sounds so we stopped there but what I do have to say is: Old window A/C unit (0), SIG P238 (14). :)

It fired flawlessly for the simple 14 rounds that we fired. POI was POA at 15 feet. Little to no felt recoil, and the trigger, while being a single action, still probably has a good 6.5-7# pull. I'd still keep the safety on though, obviously.

For those that want to know, the slide strips just like a standard 1911. There is a firing pin safety that prevents the pin from travelling forward without the trigger being depressed, much like the Swartz safety used in the Kimbers. As far as detail stripping goes, you are in for a LOT of surprises and possibly a malfunctioning eyeball if you are not careful. Lots of things go flying so do it in a heavy duty Ziploc or similar bag. A very careful note entails removing the safety. Once the grip and slide is off, the safety rotates upward for removal. FACE THE FRAME DOWNWARD WHEN REMOVING THE SAFETY, AS THE PLUNGER IS UNDER EXTREME (AND I MEAN EXTREME) PRESSURE. It will go flying with literally enough force to stick into your damn ceiling!!!! I am really glad it wasn't aimed directly at me or especially my eye, because it would have absolutely taken out my eye!!!
 
thats one nice looking hand gun. i was fondling one in a gun shop the other day then i looked at the price tag, and almost droped it on the gournd. Six hundred dollars for a .380 auto is just amazing to me. Im sure thier great guns ,and i hope u guy's have good luck with yours. maybe if i win the lottery ill be able to afford one.

If your interested, keep looking.. List is $500, and we got ours for $450..
 
The 226 has the most felt recoil out of all the handguns in .40 I have ever shot, and thats a lot! The recoil was very snappy and muzzle lift was high. It shot a little low and to the left also at 15 yards, confirmed by other shooters and the owner of the gun. It just so happened to be a police duty weapon as well... not my idea of a department gun. I'm sure most of the 226s aren't this way, but I just didn't like it.

The 220 on the other hand, was a work of art!

OK, my 226 is a 9mm. I have never shot a 226 .40

I was just curious. thanks for the reply
 
I have a sig 229 and it happens to be pretty sweet. i bought it used and i didn't even have to break it in. Ive never shot a 226 so i was amzed that u didn't care for it ryan H.
 
When we first got the P238, I took it apart and cleaned and oiled everything.
I did not have a problem getting the hook under the slide (other than remembering to do it), nor a real issue with the spring tension...
I found the instructions on HOW to get it apart not worth the printing, and the pictures were worth about 2 words instead of a thousand...
There is a little half moon cut out of the slide on the left side.. You slide the slide back where the half moon alignes with the rear side of the slide lock, then push the pin for the slide lock on the right side and out the pin comes.
 
I need to correct myself, I didn't trim the ejector hook, but rather the ejector hook spring. There is a square shaped recess in the frame for it to slide back into place, and the spring just didn't want to fit. I trimmed the bottom corner of it off and it popped right in. Detail stripping this pistol isn't hard once you take the time to figure it out. Being able to detail strip my Kimber without any guidance is a lot of help, though.
 

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