SIG P-238, Is it fussy about ammo? Failure to feed/fire ssues at the range

[gearchecker]

I'm having trouble with a SIG P238 I bought for my wife. I've never experienced this issue with any of my other pistols, so I'm at a loss trying to figure out what's going on with it.
We took my wife's P238 to the range this past weekend for the first time since I got it for her. I'm hoping it's just an ammo issue.

We're having problems with the pistol not properly feeding or firing ammo in it.
We've had nothing but trouble with it over the weekend. We only had 2 types of ammo with us, so we couldn't check out if it was caused by the ammo, or if the pistol is having mechanical issues.

Is the P238 fussy about ammo in it?

We have 4 magazines for it, and we had the same problems with all 4 mags, so I've pretty much ruled out mag issues for now.
We started out with Remington UMC 95 grain FMJ ball ammo.
When the slide is released to load the first round into battery, the slide stops right at the back of the bullet. If I try to rack the slide again the slide sometime loads the round about 95% into the chamber. I can then tap in the slide to full battery. I pull the trigger and the hammer stops just before it hits the striker. If I cock the hammer again it'll fire, but the next round won't fully into battery unless I tap the slide again. As before I would pull the trigger and it would drop and stop just before the hammer strikes. If I cock the hammer again it fires.

I changed out all 4 mags and had the same result with all of them.
I decided to change ammo. I had a box of Remington Golden Sabre Hollow point and it all fed and fired parfectly.
I have 6 different brands and types of .380 ammo I can troubleshoot this with, so I'm hoping to find out it's the ammo and not the pistol. We plan to take it back to our shooting hole this coming Saturday to get some more range time in with it and hopefully figure out what's going wrong.

Does anybody here have a P238 that will be able to give some advice on how to handle this issue? Is this something I might need to have SIG look into to get it resolved? Any help we can get on this one will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Gearchecker

 

[M2 Carbine]

My P238 gave me nothing but trouble.
Trips to SIG, multiple "upgrades", latest magazines, newest recoil springs, hundreds of dollars in ammo shot in it, etc, did no good. The gun was way too unreliable to carry. Finally I sold it for a third of what I paid for it to a man that said he would give it a try.

I really liked the gun to.

I hope you have better luck.


I bought the Ruger LCP (actually bought 3), that work fine.

 

[Effigy]

Have you tried using a lighter bullet? The 95gr loads might be part of the problem.

 

[WinThePennant]

When a gun is new, it's not uncommon for it to have trouble with a particular brand of ammo.

Try cleaning it. If you did clean it, then try cleaning it again.

Use TW25B on the rails. A little goes a long way.

Any noticeable rough edges on any of the moving parts or feed ramp?

When the metal parts have had a chance to slide across one another after a few hundred rounds, I suspect it should smooth out.

Also, Sig did have trouble with the mags. How old is this gun? If they are all the same type mag (the one's with problems), then it could still be a mag issue.

Have you made any modifications?

 

[AK103K]

Instead of wasting any more of your time and ammo trying to figure it out, call SIG and get them to send you a shipping label.

 

[gearchecker]

I have 2 Sig mags (1 new, 1 original used) and 2 new Metalform mags. All 4 failed exactly the same way. I replaced the recoil spring with a SIG OEM spring. I'm still thinking it's the ammo. I'll try some different types this weekend. Trying to figure out what's going on and then resolving it is part of my enjoyment of my firearms. Once I'm past my level of abilities I normally ask for some help. If it doesn't function after all that it goes to SIG.

I have a P6 that's been flawless. I expect pretty much the same from this P238. I might take a while, but I'll get it working right, or my wife gets a new pistol of her choice.

I'm still hoping for the best.
GQ

 

[gearchecker]

I bought this pistol used a couple of months ago. My pistol is dated June 21, 2009. It has been modified from the recall. I'm going to order another Recoil and firing pin spring. Any advice on wwhich spring to buy and where to get it? A link will be a huge help.
Please PM me with your leads.

Gearchecker

 

[richardKatts]

Instead of wasting any more of your time and ammo trying to figure it out, call SIG and get them to send you a shipping label.

+1

I had the same problems UNTIL I replaced the recoil spring.
FTF's were more common with Russian/foreign ammo, since the new spring I vowed to only buy ammo made in the USA. I've since shot 1000 plus rounds without any problems.
Mine is cleaned after ever range visit and it's my CCW.

Call Sig.
Good luck

 

[mopar92]

3000 rounds of training through mine, only about 6 ammo related failures. Shoots anything

 

[_JD_]

OK...CALL SIG.

The 238s have been problematic, your gun is an '09 gun? They are on their 3rd or 4th generation of magazine since the 238s release date and they changed the recoil spring as well to a "flat" spring, make sure that's what you're using for that other OEM spring. If you want a non-Sig spring, check out Wolff Gunsprings.

Sig will send you a new recoil spring and you may be able to exchange your mags for new ones or at least get new followers.

First things, first. CALL SIG.

While my 238 was somewhat problematic, it fed all sorts of ammunition, it was just extracting/ejecting mine had issues with and that has been resolved.

 

[Gasitman]

I had issues on the last round, not sure why. But I ordered one of the 7 round mags and problem was solved.

I am not sure why they had so many problems, but it is a simple copy of the colt mustang. I love carrying mine, but if it fails when I need it the most.........

 

[wally]

Mine was a POS initially, unable to go through a complete magazine without a failure to go fully into battery, it came with the new "flat" recoil spring. I was about to call SIG to send it back, but I noticed a lot of finish wear up front on the frame. I put some JB bore shine in that area and cycled the frame & slide many times, then cleaned and lubed normally. No more failures to go fully into battery!

But its still not got my confidence for actual carry due to too many failures to fire with some brands of ammo. It is by far the most fun to shoot at the range of all the mouse guns.

But for carry, I don't see ever using it even if the light strike problem gets solved or is confined to only a few brands of ammo, because its too close in size/weight to my Kahr PM40 (which is way more powerful!) and not very left hand friendly. If the Kahr is too much I'll use my S&W BG380 or Ruger LCP instead.

 

[Branden967]

Personally, I think your mags still might be the problem. Depending on how on yours are SIG has changed the follower completely. Does your mag look exactly like this?

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=457940

 

[w2fnt]

There seems to be a good amount of discontent with Sig lately that I have picked up here on the gun blogs. I know from personal experience that their customer service really sucks. I will never buy another one after I sell off the 3 I have.

 

[WinThePennant]

There are a lot of people who would like to have a Sig, but don't want to spend the money on them. A lot of people splutter on about how much they hate Sigs... But don't own one!

 

[richardKatts]

I know from personal experience that Sig's customer service is excellent.

Love my Sig.

 

[1SOW]

I have an older Sig, needed customer service and got it with free shipping---fast.

CALL SIG.

 

[MICHAEL T]

When the new pocket lite Colt Mustangs hit the market be a lot of used sigs around.

I agree call sig and they will either want sent in on their dime or send you what you need . They are a good company. But to many problems with the Mustang Copy.

 

[Dr_B]

They are on their 3rd or 4th generation of magazine since the 238s release date

Really? I haven't heard about that. I wonder if that is the problem with mine. I have the SAS model. It had failure to feed issues that were solved by changing over to the flat spring. Now the slide locks back at least once per magazine (which I have two of). I am suspecting there is something about the magazine that makes that rounds hit the slide lock inside the well. I also suspect that, because of the pistol's size, my hand might be occasionally hitting the slide lock.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

My 238 with real sig mags could not care less about the ammo. It feeds and fires everything.

Yes I did have to send it back to Sig 3 times, but now it is perfect. No complaints.

 

[Tungsram]

When/if I found myself having issues, I would use only one magazine, and several different ammo brands/types. I would also strip/clean it several times during this exercise. Take notes. Which ammo was worse? Which was best? After I narrowed that down, I'd take the best ammo, and feed it through another mag. Same? Better? No difference? Then I'd use the lowest scoring ammo in the second mag. Same? Better? No difference? I do this over and over until I can really narrow it down.

As much automation that goes into manufacturing, the final product is still a human creation, and therefore prone to imperfections. Any quality firearm will have a good company and support behind it. I've never had to call SIG, but with their reputation I can't imagine they are anything but fantastic. Call them.

 

[Gasitman]

I did not read all the posts, but my sig p238 is at sig right now for the same reasons. This time, my extractor broke. I have gone through all 4 series of mags they have put out. To be honest, when this one comes back, it is going up for sale. I have had enough.

It is great for a pocket gun, I love the way it mimics a 1911, but if my life depends on it, I am scared to death.

I looked real hard at a glock 26 today. I think I will use the funds from the sale of the sig to buy the glock.

I will say they sent me a overnight sticker to my email, and the guy I talked to Joshua, was very helpful over the phone. From my experience, I think their customer service is great.

Years ago I sent in my p220 for blueing problems, they sent it back with their sigcoat (whatever it was called, their version of a cerakote) at no charge to me.

You want to see bad customer service, go buy an HK and call them. You might get your pistol back in 6 months. If your email does not have .gov at the end, you are at the end of a very long line.

 

[baylorattorney]

I just shot one of these day bf yesterday and it had that same ftf issue due to the slide not being fully forward and engaged. I can't offer any insight tho. But u r not alone with that issue.

 

[WinThePennant]

Two things: One, I don't blame you for wanting to sell this gun. A long standing position of mine is to never buy used guns because people are often times selling a headache.

Two: Glock subcompacts are EXCELLENT carry guns. If only Glock would make a single-stack, then they'd own the deep concealed carry market.

 

[mopar92]

I just don't see all of these problems with my pistol or the few I've seen at Ranges... I'm sorry to see the issues. It's a great pistol.