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My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 12:03 am
by G.A. Heath
On Tuesday I took delivery of my Sig P238. Specifically what I purchased is the P238 Blackwood. This little handgun does have it's warts which include the heavy trigger (Sig says 8lb pull) and the lack of an extra magazine. The gun does have some nice advantages over many of its competitors including a thumb safety, real sights, slide lock on last round, ect. After looking at the gun I field stripped it, cleaned it, lubed it, and put it back together.

On Wednesday I took it and my LCP out to the range and shot them. The LCP's trigger is much worse than the P238s, in fact the P238's trigger seems much better than it actually is when fired. I attempted to induce a failure by limp wristing, the only failure was my efforts. Next I tried to induce a failure by shooting the gun in unconventional positions, with the only failure being my efforts once again. Finally I rapidly fired the weapon so quickly that the last round was leaving the barrel before the first piece of brass hit the ground, again no failure. Now I will admit that I only took 100 rounds of ammo to the range specifically for testing the P238, but for an after work shooting session I didn't have time for more than that. Sunday I will once again take it out and continue my efforts to see if it will fail, or if I bought a completely reliable gun. My money is riding on the latter.
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Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:02 am
by Keith
Own the same pistol great gun. Have to love the single action trigger. Thats the one thing I hate about ny lcp is the LONG trigger pull. Its so long that I have to hold my thumb up and out of the way or my trigger finger will make contact with my thumb before the gun goes bang. Good luck with new toy.

Its one of the best pocket pistols IMO.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:05 am
by dicion
After the thread on what was apparently a Lemon 238 a while ago, I had my misgivings on this model.

I was really interested in it as well.

Glad to hear that yours appears to be rock solid. Now I'm definitely interested in picking one up myself someday.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:02 am
by philip964
Only thing that is out of the ordinary so far is where did you find 100 rounds of .380 ammunition.

Continued good fortune with your new gun.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:25 am
by G.A. Heath
The ammo I'm burning through right now was purchased during the Obama Rush, but my FFL dealer literally has thousands of rounds in stock (About 800 rounds of defensive ammo). To be perfectly honest I bought ammo for my LCP before I bought the gun and have never really had an issue finding .380 since December/January.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:26 pm
by UpTheIrons
philip964 wrote:Only thing that is out of the ordinary so far is where did you find 100 rounds of .380 ammunition.
I have been slowly stocking up on .380 as time goes on, since I know we'll have at least one (likely a P238) in the stable before too long. For the last 3 months or so, I've seen .380 on the shelf at Cabela's and Academy. Didn't see any at Bass Pro on Sunday, but I wasn't looking to closely, either. I've already got 500 rounds of Monarch and WWB, plus a box of Hornady Critical Defense.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:23 pm
by Salty1
I really like the 238's by far the best pocket 380 on the market, but they are a bit pricey. I am seeing plenty of 380 around, Academy hd a full shelf of it on Wednesday in Lewisville, Wally World is starting to have it on their shelves on a regular basis as well.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:27 pm
by gwashorn
YUP like in the other thread we love our P238. I have been ordering ammo online and stocking it up. Both practice and critical defense. Wife loves her Nitron with Rosewood grips.

Gary

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:23 am
by G.A. Heath
I will say that there are some issues that I have with Sig regarding this gun, but they are not about the quality. First off, an 8lb single action trigger? Seriously, they could do better than this. Secondly for the MSRP and the actual price this gun retails for they could at the very least include a second magazine. Third $44 for an extra mag directly from the manufacturer, are they serious? Finally why did they include the junky little XD type holster (Its even made in Israel like the XD gear holster). I can live with the trigger, or have something done about that. I can get a Sig made mag for it for less than $44, and I have already have ordered a better holster option for the gun.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:27 am
by The Annoyed Man
Does it accept Colt Government .380 mags?

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:32 am
by G.A. Heath
The Annoyed Man wrote:Does it accept Colt Government .380 mags?
I am told that it does, however they are not as reliable as the Sig magazines in this gun, and the Sig mags are not as reliable in a colt.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:51 pm
by NcongruNt
G.A. Heath wrote:I will say that there are some issues that I have with Sig regarding this gun, but they are not about the quality. First off, an 8lb single action trigger? Seriously, they could do better than this. Secondly for the MSRP and the actual price this gun retails for they could at the very least include a second magazine. Third $44 for an extra mag directly from the manufacturer, are they serious? Finally why did they include the junky little XD type holster (Its even made in Israel like the XD gear holster). I can live with the trigger, or have something done about that. I can get a Sig made mag for it for less than $44, and I have already have ordered a better holster option for the gun.
Yeah, I had to read that twice in your original post... 8 pound SA trigger? That is pretty ridiculous. Let us know if you are able to get this adjusted to something reasonable. I've been interested in this gun since it was introduced, but was never aware of how heavy the trigger pull is. That kinda defeats the point of a SA gun. I understand that it's likely a much shorter pull than the LCP, but that's still the same weight of pull, and an unreasonable jump in cost.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:57 pm
by Dave2
Personally, I want a smooth trigger more than a light trigger, within reason. I've never shot anything with an 8lb trigger though, so I don't know if that's "within reason" for me.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:40 pm
by philip964
My Academy finally got some .380 in, $20 a box, I'm a happy camper now.

Re: My Sig P238 test has begun.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 4:12 pm
by gwashorn
Well, I don't have a way to measure my trigger pull. But it that is an 8 lb pull then my finger must have really developed some muscles as well as my wife in one week. Feels and pulls easy to us both.

Gary