New Sig P238 Two Tone, advise.

Marshall · Dec 4, 2011

My Ex wife came to me wanting advice about a new Sig P238 Two Tone with N/S's.
She is getting trained on whatever she buys and is submitting for CCL. Already became a member of a local range.

I have my thoughts about this gun, but I've never shot one so they're truly just thoughts.

What are yours?

Reliability?
Balance?
Toughness?
SAS Trigger?
How does it shoot half-way dirty?
Field strpping /cleaning ease for a woman that's never had a semi-auto?
Shooting to point of aim?
Does it need a ton of break-in or is it good right out of the box?
Etc.?

Anything to watch for?

Thanks All!

357 Terms · Dec 4, 2011

How ironic; my ex now has my 238, and she is welcome to it.

I had a lot of FTE and the gun chewed up a good percentage of the brass it did eject.

That is my only experience with the 238.

I did like the way it felt and the recoil was not bad at all, still, I dont miss them.

167 · Dec 4, 2011

My wife carries a P238, personally I think it is an okay gun. I have heard some of the early P238's had some issues, but you know how that goes. For the one that I speak for, it has been 100% so far, but only about 300-400 rounds through it.

Link to a 50yd shot with a P238. This was my first round through the gun. I would definitely say they are shootable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GKgS6_dbD_0

Peter M. Eick · Dec 4, 2011

I carry a 238HD. It was an early one and had to do the loop to Sig for repairs, but since then 100%

Reliability? 100% now
Balance? seems fine. it is easy to pocket carry but usually I IBW in a Galco
Toughness? VERY Tough. Solid little gun and a lot of metal in the HD.
SAS Trigger? A bit heavier then I would like for target work but for point and pull it is perfect. It is not a gun to try and do 25 yard groups with. 15 yrds is about my max for it.
How does it shoot half-way dirty? Works great. I have shot up to 400 rnds down mine with 4 grns of Unique and lead bullets. No problems. I stopped because I got fed up with the way it flails brass around. As a reloader, you cannot heave my brass everywhere so I lose it.
Field strpping /cleaning ease for a woman that's never had a semi-auto? Easy. Comes apart and goes together very simply. The only key is to flip the ejector down but the springs are light so no big deal.
Shooting to point of aim? It does for a 90 grn JHP at around 950 FPS.
Does it need a ton of break-in or is it good right out of the box? Mine was an early soft slide HD so it took SIG 2 tries to get the slide right. This was a while back and I understand that the problem was solved. My shooting buddy has two (one a bi-tone) and his were 100% out of the box.
Etc.? Night sights work well! Very easy to see because they were big.

I carry mine and have no real concerns about it. I did not like the cocked and locked early on so I carried at a while cocked and locked but no round in the chamber. Never had a problem so I switched to fully loaded and locked.

I would add that my Galco IWB holster is a bit soft and makes it hard to reholster inside the belt. The Galco in the pocket is fine though. I would suggest a different brand for the IWB with some boneing or support along the rim for holstering when wearing. Mine sort of collapses.

cfullgraf · Dec 4, 2011

I agree with Mr Eick.

To add...

Current production models are quite reliable. they have a flat recoil spring and the latest generation follower in the magazine.

Do not buy a used one. You will have no idea whether it has been brought up to date and if it is still a lemon. Remember, things are used for a reason, maybe not a bad reason but still a reason.

Do not use a Colt Mustang magazine. They work, sometimes. Get Sig magazines only. Top Gun Supply carries Sig magazines at a reasonable price.

In my opinion, some of the failure to feed and failure to eject are due to the smooth, hard grips that come on many of the P238s. The gun moves in your hand on recoil and kind of simulates limp wristing. Not everyone experiences this and Sig has lots more grip options for the pistol than when I bought mine. I bought a set of Hogue neoprene grips for mine and performance got alot better.

Jamesk · Dec 4, 2011

Mine has been good. Easy to clean and at 100% even with my reloads. Mine is also the HD model an a early 2010 but I changed the reoil spring to the new style even though I never had a problem. Recoil is very mild compared to the LCP

EsCrasston · Dec 4, 2011

I have never had any problems with mine either. I love it, especially since I put the VZ grips on it.

M2 Carbine · Dec 4, 2011

Even after multiple trips to Sig and installing every new part that was supposed to correct the reliability problems my P238 was still unreliable. I spent the gun's cost in ammo trying to get it reliable, with no luck.
I finally sold it for a third of what I paid for it, (with full discloser of it's problems) and was glad to get rid of it.

Of the about 300 guns I own or owned, the P238 is in about the 10 worst, and that's saying a lot.

2wheels · Dec 4, 2011

The P238 is probably the sweetest shooting pocket .380 out there. Pretty darned good sights for such a small gun, decent single action trigger, recoil isn't bad at all mostly due to the fact that it's slightly heavier than the competition.

Mine's been 100% reliable with good ammo. I've had problems with light primer strikes on cheap russian steel cased crap. Didn't seem to need any breaking in.

Field stripping is similar to a 1911, not really difficult once you've done it once or twice.

I like mine alot, though because I hate buying .380 I don't shoot it as often as my .38 Special or 9mm carry guns.

TheProf · Dec 4, 2011

I had the earlier ones....the ones with problems. Ended up selling it. Here's my take on the gun.

1. Easy to carry. Super accurate for gun that size. A fun gun to shoot. It's "cute".

2.But.... if it gets dirty for any reason...... I would not bet on its reliability.

3. And I don't subscribe to the "carry gun" vs. "range gun" distinction. Your carry gun needs to rugged enough to be a range gun too. (Not every range gun can be a carry gun...but every carry gun should be rugged enough to be a range gun.) After all, you want to practice with the gun that you carry. Shouldn't that be the gun that you use most often?
I don't believe that the Sig238 is rugged enough for that purpose.

4. And... I prefer a DA for a gun that small. The smaller the gun, the more "simple" it should be. Less parts to break. Less controls to deal with. (SA with manual safety for a gun that small may be to small to manipulate under stress. And like I said, little guns with little parts are more likely to break.)

5. For a gun that small .....go with an LCP (as a last resort). Better yet...go with a revolver (SW642).
Or for slightly bigger gun, Glock 26.
YMMV

richardKatts · Dec 4, 2011

Peter M. Eick said:
I carry a 238HD. It was an early one and had to do the loop to Sig for repairs, but since then 100%

Reliability? 100% now
Balance? seems fine. it is easy to pocket carry but usually I IBW in a Galco
Toughness? VERY Tough. Solid little gun and a lot of metal in the HD.
SAS Trigger? A bit heavier then I would like for target work but for point and pull it is perfect. It is not a gun to try and do 25 yard groups with. 15 yrds is about my max for it.
How does it shoot half-way dirty? Works great. I have shot up to 400 rnds down mine with 4 grns of Unique and lead bullets. No problems. I stopped because I got fed up with the way it flails brass around. As a reloader, you cannot heave my brass everywhere so I lose it.
Field strpping /cleaning ease for a woman that's never had a semi-auto? Easy. Comes apart and goes together very simply. The only key is to flip the ejector down but the springs are light so no big deal.
Shooting to point of aim? It does for a 90 grn JHP at around 950 FPS.
Does it need a ton of break-in or is it good right out of the box? Mine was an early soft slide HD so it took SIG 2 tries to get the slide right. This was a while back and I understand that the problem was solved. My shooting buddy has two (one a bi-tone) and his were 100% out of the box.
Etc.? Night sights work well! Very easy to see because they were big.

I carry mine and have no real concerns about it. I did not like the cocked and locked early on so I carried at a while cocked and locked but no round in the chamber. Never had a problem so I switched to fully loaded and locked.

I would add that my Galco IWB holster is a bit soft and makes it hard to reholster inside the belt. The Galco in the pocket is fine though. I would suggest a different brand for the IWB with some boneing or support along the rim for holstering when wearing. Mine sort of collapses.

I could just about match what Peter said.

I found mine performs better with quality USA ammo and use nothing else.
Just make sure she understands the cocked and locked condition 1 that you have to use with this pistol. Also, range practice by flipping the safety on and off if this is her ccw.
Might consider another pistol with a de-cocked if this bothers her.

Mine is a daily carry but lately I've been carrying my new PX4sc.

New Sig P238 Two Tone, advise.

Marshall

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357 Terms

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167

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Peter M. Eick

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cfullgraf

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Jamesk

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EsCrasston

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M2 Carbine

member

2wheels

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TheProf

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richardKatts

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