Sig Sauer P238--opinions

[noyo55]

I have been thinking about buying my wife a 380. What experience have people had with this pistol? Is there much "snap" to the recoil? Upside--downsides?

[deadcoyote]

Another shooter at the range let me put a few mags through his p238. The recoil was reasonable for a 2" barreled 18oz pistol. The accuracy was really impressive. All in all it seems like a high level if fit and finish for the price tag.

I just wanted to add now that the P938 is out it seems like the better option. Same thickness and height and only .5" longer slide. It seems like a good trade off for a 9mm over .380, IMHO.

[Tiberius]

Upsides - one of the best pocket pistols out there. Good sights, good trigger, accurate and reliable. Some of the early P238s had issues so get a new one. Excellent fit and finish.

Downsides - single action, so must be comfortable with cocked and locked carry. Also, .380, which to some is a downside.

I don't find the recoil at all objectionable, and it seems lighter than a Bersa Thunder or maybe even a Sig 232, due to the different mechanisms.

The general consensus on these is very positive. You might also consider a P938 - same gun but slightly bigger, but shoots 9mm. Both the 238 and 938 are off roster so the acquisition issues are the same. I dry fired a 938 and thought it had a trigger much worse than the 238 I've shot, but it could have been that particular one.

Probably the closest competitor to the P238 is the Kahr P380, which has no safety but a long smooth trigger pull. Both are good; I prefer the Sig.

[Farmertran]

I don't have much experience with SIG P238 but what I remember from playing with it at Turner's is that the trigger guard dropped wayy too low. Low enough that it made it uncomfortable for my middle finger. That's about all I have to say about this gun. I'd suggest trying to find one locally and handling it first.

edit: Oops sorry I thought P238 was P239. I have no experience with P238.

[Miltiades]

Excellent gun

I've had a Sig P238 for about 6 months, buying it used from a person who moved into California from elsewhere. I have put maybe 500 rounds through it at the range.

It seems like an excellent gun, and has been perfectly reliable so far. It is very thin and lightweight, having an aluminum frame and weighing about 15 ounces empty. It is very well made and nicely machined, showing a high level of quality. The safety is firm, so there is little fear of it going from "on" to "off" accidentally. It seems quite accurate at the shorter ranges I shot it. My only objection is that the trigger, at 8 pounds single action, seems heavier than I like. I might do something about that.

[dls]

The P238 (SAS model) is my usual carry gun now, very easy to conceal and a very accurate little pistol.
I'm only at about 200-250 rounds through it,no issues at all.
I really like it.

The Kahr P380 was my second choice,but I'm a 1911 fan so...

[nickel plate]

I have a Sig Sauer P238 HDW. It's the heavier all natural matte finished stainless steel model with rosewood grips. Very pretty pistol but unfortunately with only 206 rounds through it, it's in the process of being returned to Sig for failure to eject issues. I have confidence in Sig to make it right as others have posted similar FTE issues with happy factory endings, just a PITA and shouldn't have happened in the first place.
O.K. now the good stuff-it is spot on accurate out of the box shooting 3/5/7/yards, that's as far as I've taken it.
Being the heavier model, the recoil is quite minimal compared to it's small frame.
Slide racking is light and butter smooth so for folks of slight stature and small hands, this feature will impress you.
The only general downside is that the trigger pull is 7.5-8.5 lbs. which seems like an eternal struggle but be glad you don't live in Massachusetts where as I understand it is set at 10 lbs by law.
Search the sigtalk.com forum as there is a ton of P238/P938 information.

[NRai2001]

I got mine last year as SSE.. it just feels awesome when you hold it. Very high quality.. I m very happy with it.. I even later bought the p938

Sig P238:


Sig P938:

[Suhleen]

I have a Sig Sauer P238 HDW. It's the heavier all natural matte finished stainless steel model with rosewood grips. Very pretty pistol but unfortunately with only 206 rounds through it, it's in the process of being returned to Sig for failure to eject issues. I have confidence in Sig to make it right as others have posted similar FTE issues with happy factory endings, just a PITA and shouldn't have happened in the first place.
O.K. now the good stuff-it is spot on accurate out of the box shooting 3/5/7/yards, that's as far as I've taken it.
Being the heavier model, the recoil is quite minimal compared to it's small frame.
Slide racking is light and butter smooth so for folks of slight stature and small hands, this feature will impress you.
The only general downside is that the trigger pull is 7.5-8.5 lbs. which seems like an eternal struggle but be glad you don't live in Massachusetts where as I understand it is set at 10 lbs by law.
Search the sigtalk.com forum as there is a ton of P238/P938 information.

What ammo are you using? I had a bunch of FTE's with Magtech ammo and they all went away when I used PMC or Winchester.

[NRai2001]

Yes it may have a 7.5-.8.5 trigger but its hardly noticable because its a SA and the trigger pull is very short.

Short trigger pull and great sights make it really accurate. No point in a gun you cant hit anything with.

[dpop24]

I love mine and find it to be very accurate for such a small, light pistol. I actually gave it to my wife after much nagging me to take it and ONLY because I didn't want to CCW it cocked and locked since my other carry guns have no external safety to worry about.

My wife does find it a bit snappy, though I never did. I think it's pretty manageable recoil-wise even for smaller shooters.

[reefer_bob]

I've put maybe 30 rounds through a friends. GREAT little gun. It's currently number one on my want list.

Quite accurate, very manageable recoil, super comfortable.

[darmog]

I have the Nitron model. Everything pretty much stock except for custom G10 grips from Larry Davidson and a Hogue checkered mainspring housing. Mine started over 7.5 lbs but breaks now around 6.5lbs.

[NRai2001]

I have the Nitron model. Everything pretty much stock except for custom G10 grips from Larry Davidson and a Hogue checkered mainspring housing. Mine started over 7.5 lbs but breaks now around 6.5lbs.

Ya I got hogue grips on my dessert tan p238.. Feels awesome in your hands with it!

[noyo55]

Our intention is for her to use this as a CCW firearm. Right now she has a S&W 432PD but the trigger pull is such that her accuracy suffers and in fact I have a hard time hitting targets with it and I shoot a model 17--19 and 28 and I'm dead on with them and I shoot double action. We have a Makarov amd a Beretta 9000s(40) and she shoots them fine but racking the 40 cal./ is tough for her and try buying ammunition for the Makarov. We do have a bunch of 380 in the safe. . Most of her practice rounds are shot from her Colt Huntsman so a sidestep to another single action would be an easy transition.