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Sigh. My back is slowly getting worse and worse and my beloved Sig P239 is getting heavier and heavier. Dear wife carries a P238 (great mouse gun) and I just noticed Sig now has a P938 which seems to be a highly regarded Sig roughly the size of the 238. Any thoughts or recommendations? (Other competitors? )

I have both the 238 and 938. Both are nice shooters. The S&W Shield is nice too.

My wife has the 938 and loves it. If I want something light, I usually grab the XDS 9mm (or 'borrow' her 938...haha)

G43 may be a good option to look at.

pbwalker wrote:...

G43 may be a good option to look at.

This is my “lighter” day pistols with a TLR6.

Flightmare wrote:I have both the 238 and 938. Both are nice shooters.

The 238 is a powder puff. The 938 is only a tiny bit bigger and the 9mm makes it snappier.

Even though I'm wearing a Rock Island compact .45 (officer's size 1911) right now, my 938 is in my pocket too.

I sold my P239 which was a great gun. I had a P938 for a year or so but ended up with a Walther PPS with after market sights.
The P928 is surely a reliable gun and can be considered for pocket carry, it is light, a bit snappy but accurate shot placement is possible.
I personally decided to keep the Walther PPS because it is a better fit for my hand and still relative light weight.

Yup, 9mm in a light gun is going to be "snappy" and not a bunch of fun to shoot more than 50 or 100 rounds. Thank you everyone for the advice!

I suffer with back issues as well. I used to carry a Glock 19 everyday but even with a proper gun belt and holster it still hurts. I have scoliosis so It’s always something I have to consider. I still carry the Glock every now and then but most days it’s my 45 shield or Ruger LCR 357. I would recommend looking at J frame style revolvers. The LCR in 38 only weighs 13.5 ounces and the 357 weighs 17 ounces. Plenty small enough to pocket carry and on the belt it basically disappears.

For what it's worth, I love my 9mm Shield with the 8 round magazines. It is the only gun I carry now. There is also a 2.0 version coming out.

I carry a 1911 of some sort as my primary EDC. However, a couple of years ago, we got my wife a 938 for her EDC and all was good until it "bit" her at the range. Not the normal slide bite but the safety caught the side of her trigger finger at the joint and cut it. I am guessing she was holding it differently than she normally would because she had shot it several times without incident. Tried to get her to lower her hand a bit but she was having none of that. After renting a few, she decided on an XD9 sub compact. At least until she went to a ladies night out at the range with some friends and realized that with her arthritis, she couldn't rack the slide (I usually loaded her gun at the range and all she had to do was release the slide). So, that got traded in on a revolver.

Long story short, the 938 is now my pocket BUG.

First off, sorry about your back. I think I’m right behind you. The good news is, as others have stated, there are lots of great choices in lighter single stack 9's. The 938 is awesome but there’s also the XDs, Glock 43, Kimber Micro 9, Ruger LC9S, PPS, Kahr CM9, Shield and on and on. I think they’re all great guns. Heck I’ve even had good luck with the Taurus 709 and you can pick those up for around $175. As always, just find what fits you best and go with it knowing you can always change your mind later. Let us know what you decide and good luck.

Almost any of the polymer single-stack 9mms will do the job for you and probably weigh less than that Sig. But before you try buying a new gun, have you considered simply changing how you carry it? I have a bad back which sometimes flares up and makes belt carry very uncomfortable, with the gun pressing against my hip or back. That’s when I go to either shoulder holster carry, or pocket carry. Even appendix carry alleviates the pain sometimes. Of course, it means an investment in holsters, but that might cost you less than buying a new gun, and if you really like that Sig, why get rid of it if simply changing how you carry it fixes the problem?

Here’s one of my posts about appendix carry: http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewtopic. ... 7#p1165287

Here’s another: http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewtopic. ... 0#p1157420

I have two pistols I appendix carry on occasion - a Glock 43 and a Glock 26. The 26, even though noticeably larger than the 43, still carries fairly confortably that way. The trigger is covered, the gun is secure, and the draw stroke is fast. And it conceals better than you think it would....despite my “prosperous” dimensions. The holster for the 26 cost me about $40 IIRC, and my son made me the one for my 43. I believe he’s made one or two others for other forum members. With a single stack gun, it is a VERY comfortable way to carry.

The CYA Holster for the G26 (these are both lefty holsters):



The one my son made for the G43:

Another back pain sufferer here... a possible consideration is the belt... going to a reinforced stiffener in my leather belts is overkill for anything not all steel but it spreads the weight out so far that I noticed a big difference on my own back when I went reinforced- that a 1911 no longer felt "heavy." I wear it daily and literally can't feel a poly 9 hanging there.

Not sure it will solve your problem but may be worth a try before scrapping a gun you like! Worst case scenario- you have a great belt to go with the new gun. ...lol

No offense to the Beltman, I was a customer for years but talking about something more like AG Gun leather with stiffener. (there is a big difference between them) http://agcustomgunleather.com/

If you want light, and aren’t really concerned about size, consider the Kel Tec PMR 30. I carry mine when my back is bothering. Loaded, and with a spare mag, it weighs the same as my Glock 26 does empty. 30 rounds of .22 WMR Speer Gold Dots in the pistol and a 30 round spare mag make me feel more than adequately prepared.

Thank you all so much for the help! I do use a steel insert Bullhide (maybe I forgot the name) gun belt which helps spread the load. TAM - that's a good idea to try a different carry methods. I have two bags full of various holsters, might as well add a couple more .