Bad day with my new Sig P239

[advantage1one]

Please help me get over this...I just took my brand new P239 .40cal to the range yesterday...put 100 rounds of WWB FMJ through it with no problems...another 100 rounds of WWB JHP 180gr again no problems...then, I tried REM Golden Sabre 165gr and every round jammed. Switched to Fed Hydro-shock and the same thing...I couldn't get even one round chambered. On both of these the round would get stuck on the feed ramp coming our of the mag and even jammed the magazine. I had to pull back the slide, while pressing the mag release and force the mag out...anybody have these problems...any body offer any consolation? I have a SP2022 and a 220ST and these will each anything and everything I ever put through them. Your comments are appreciated. Thanks

 

[Malodorousroadkill]

Run a few hundred more FMJs through it. Sometimes brand new guns are don't like hollow points until it gets broken in. A lot of handguns have these problems. Even super duper uber custom jobs. Try some pow r ball if you're really bothered by it. If FMJ works, then they will too. And on a side note, how has that 220ST treated you?

 

[advantage1one]

P220ST is by far the finest handgun I own

Thanks for the reply. The P220ST is probably one of the best guns in the world. Extremely accurate, reliable, and uses every kind of ammo I use in it. The P220ST is my favorite handgun along with my SW1911 .45 cal. Two different animals though. Having said that, my SP2022 is also surprisingly accurate and reliable and if it wasn't just a bit too big, it would be great for CCW. Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Marcus L.]

Yep, run more ammo through it. The P229 recoil spring and guide rod are tight out of the box and need some breaking in. If you still have problems, try running some 180gr JHPs through the pistol. Different brands and grain weights have different bullet lengths and profiles and some feed better than others. If you still have problems, you should call Sig Sauer as you might have a manufacturing error. Also, consider taking it to an experienced gunsmith for a ramp job.

 

[JDGray]

My P239 9mm, was anything but tightly fitted. Dont think its gonna break in. Call Sig, they have great CS Or just carry the Win HPs

 

[gbelleh]

I carry a Sig 239 .40 very frequently and consider it a great gun, so I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Hopefully more ammo through it will fix it, but I don't think I could trust a gun for carry with that kind of performance (especially a pricey gun marketed as having "to hell and back reliability").

Good luck if you do have to deal with Sig's CS. My experience with them was ugly.

 

[Balrog]

Somebody has to say it... you shoulda bought a glock

 

[coney_hatch]

Well, since somebody said it, somebody might as well say "tupperware belongs in the kitchen".

 

[evan price]

First, try a detail strip, and lube it up good. Sigs like to run wet. If that doesn't do it- take some fine steel wool and lightly buff the feed ramp. Don't try to take off metal, just smooth it out. Clean it good to get any debris from the scrubbing out of there.

Then take it out and run about 100 regular cheap rounds through it and try again.

 

[fastbolt]

So, you fired 200 rounds through the P239 without any feeding issues (or issues of any kind), and then it started to exhibit a feeding issue with 2 different major brand HP's?

Was it with a full magazine load, for each and every round, that you experienced a feeding malfunction? Did you try it with a partially loaded magazine, or just when it was full? Was it only when loading (depressing the slide release or manually retracting and releasing the slide?), or did it happen when the pistol was fired, too?

Did it happen with both magazines, or just one magazine, supplied with the pistol?

Did you try to use any of the same ammunition which had previously fed & chambered again?

Did you clean and sufficiently lubricate the pistol before taking it to the range? How 'wet' did the barrel exterior and rails appear? Did you clean out the magazine bodies and remove the factory packing/shipping oil?

Sig Sauer pistols are often described as 'wet' pistols, and for a reason. During the armorer's class we were repeatedly warned to make sure Sig duty pistols are properly lubricated, and that meant that we were able to verify the presence of the lubrication by both sight & feel (in the appropriate spots, of course). It was even a fill-in-the-blank question on the written test.

Here's a couple of links to the Sig website, under Customer Service in the Maintenance Guides section, where you can download their Preventive Maintenance Guide in .pdf format, as well as see some videos.

http://www.sigsauer.com/CustomerService/documents/PREVENTMAINTGUIDE.pdf

http://www.sigsauer.com/CustomerService/MaintenanceGuides.aspx

A dirty magazine (especially if it wasn't cleaned prior to the first range session) and an insufficiently lubricated pistol, can sometimes lend themselves to feeding/chambering problems.

Anything appear damaged on the pistol or the magazine?

Too many folks like to automatically polish feedramps before identifying and confirming a problem exists with the feedramp as it came from the factory. Sometimes it might be a fouling, lubrication, magazine or ammunition problem.

Just my thoughts.

Why not call Sig customer service if you suspect something has happened to the pistol, or if cleaning & lubricating doesn't resolve the condition?

 

[Marcus L.]

Fastbolt does touch on an important point which I sometimes forget that new owners may not be familiar with. Proper lube during breakin. Just like a car engine, the pistol parts will wear into a smoothing point which we call breakin. From there, the pistol will run more reliably and usually with less lube.

In fact, too much lube is a BAD thing in adverse conditions. In the Navy SEALs maintenance manual for the Sig the lube requirements change depending on the environment. In desert conditions with lots of blowing sand or beach landings the pistol is kept almost dry. Oil attracts dust, and dust will stop a firearm from running much faster than just running the weapon dry. If the option is available, the manual also recommends using a drying lube which goes on wet and dries like Tuf-Glide. If a pistol is broken in properly, most will run 100rds through them dry with no problems. However, I still would use Tuf-Glide or something similar on all friction points.