MisterMike
Member
I picked up a new P238 a few days ago (Nitron finish, rosewood grips and night sights) and took it to the range today. I thought I'd write a quick report. First, it's a darned purty little piece of work. I typically carry Glocks and there is something a little less industrial about the little Sig. It seems nicely put together, and the appearance is alluring.
The range experience was very good, but less than perfect. First, I'll note that, in thousands of rounds through my Glocks, I have never had a single malfunction . . . zero. The little Sig wass a little more finicky, at least least through the first 120 rounds (mostly FMJ and about 20 JHPs). But let's talk about the good stuff first. After perforating the target pretty horrifically through the first box of FMJ rounds, I decided to see if I could be accurate. At close range (5-7 yards), I surprised myself, placing all but two or three of the remaining rounds within a 2" circle. This thing is amazingly accurate! . . . at least at the modest ranges for which it is intended. I do not claim to be a marksman, but the Sig made me feel like one. Double taps fall easily into place, since there is minimal muzzle flip. I'm amazed that such a small pistol can be so easy to shoot accurately.
Now the, uh, less than "perfection" thing. It's a new gun, I know. But I experienced probably 6-8 instances of the slide locking open prematurely, usually on the 3rd or 4th round into a magazine. It only happened with the Winchester FMJs and, while it's a little annoying, it's not particularly troublesome. As soon as I figured out what was happening, It was easy enough to deal with . . . simply click the slide release and continue firing . . . but it's at least a little annoying.
This seemed to diminish as the round count increased, and I know that some guns take a fair number of rounds to break in. Still, I wonder why it did this; any guesses? I did do a thorough cleaning afterward and placed a wee bit of lithium grease on the slide rails. We'll see if this problem recurs, or diminishes over time.
Anyway, it was at least a B to B+ experience. As I mentioned, the P238 is great fun to shoot . . . it's small, easy to handle and darned accurate. I'm hopeful that the problem with the slide locking open in mid-magazine will either work itself out or can be easily rectified by a gunsmith. Again, I'd appreciate any insight as to why this occurred and how I might address it. If I can figure this out, I'll raise the P238's grade to an "A."
The range experience was very good, but less than perfect. First, I'll note that, in thousands of rounds through my Glocks, I have never had a single malfunction . . . zero. The little Sig wass a little more finicky, at least least through the first 120 rounds (mostly FMJ and about 20 JHPs). But let's talk about the good stuff first. After perforating the target pretty horrifically through the first box of FMJ rounds, I decided to see if I could be accurate. At close range (5-7 yards), I surprised myself, placing all but two or three of the remaining rounds within a 2" circle. This thing is amazingly accurate! . . . at least at the modest ranges for which it is intended. I do not claim to be a marksman, but the Sig made me feel like one. Double taps fall easily into place, since there is minimal muzzle flip. I'm amazed that such a small pistol can be so easy to shoot accurately.
Now the, uh, less than "perfection" thing. It's a new gun, I know. But I experienced probably 6-8 instances of the slide locking open prematurely, usually on the 3rd or 4th round into a magazine. It only happened with the Winchester FMJs and, while it's a little annoying, it's not particularly troublesome. As soon as I figured out what was happening, It was easy enough to deal with . . . simply click the slide release and continue firing . . . but it's at least a little annoying.
This seemed to diminish as the round count increased, and I know that some guns take a fair number of rounds to break in. Still, I wonder why it did this; any guesses? I did do a thorough cleaning afterward and placed a wee bit of lithium grease on the slide rails. We'll see if this problem recurs, or diminishes over time.
Anyway, it was at least a B to B+ experience. As I mentioned, the P238 is great fun to shoot . . . it's small, easy to handle and darned accurate. I'm hopeful that the problem with the slide locking open in mid-magazine will either work itself out or can be easily rectified by a gunsmith. Again, I'd appreciate any insight as to why this occurred and how I might address it. If I can figure this out, I'll raise the P238's grade to an "A."
, last I checked it was being processed.
