Why is the slide so heavy on my Sig P239?

[Macchina]

My Sig P239 is my largest carry gun and also my heaviest. I always thought it was heavy because it's an all metal gun, but I just compared my disassembled Sig to my friends disassembled Glock and the frame is actually lighter on my Sig, while the slide is far heavier. On a carry gun, you assume every ounce is there for a reason, so what's the reason for all that mass on the slide? Had anyone ever looked into lightening that slide?

 

[holdencm9]

More mass for short recoil system? Were calibers the same?

Maybe a different grade metal with less strength is used in the sig, therefore more material is needed to achieve the same durability.

Interesting question. I always think SIGs look like higher bore axis guns, and glocks are relatively low bore axis, so it could just be that there is more material there, inherent in the design.

 

[JDGray]

Stainless is heavy, and sigs have beefy slides. That was my only complaint when I owed a 239, top heavy and low capacity.

 

[deejai]

I dont know if its related but SIG went to a heavier slide instead of using a stiffer spring on the P229 to make racking the slide easier.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

What caliber? The .40/.357 models have a larger slide than 9mm models. For those cartridges in a small gun, they probably need it. I had a 9mm P239 and its slide didn't seem especially outsized or heavy to me.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Had anyone ever looked into lightening that slide?

The only way to do that would be to remove metal from it.

 

[Macchina]

Mine is the .40 P239. The Glock was also a .40. I understand having a beefy slide, but it if just SO much beefier than something like a Kahr.

Don't take this thread as a complaint about the P239, I've never had a single FTF with it, so they certainly did things right in the design. I'm more just curious as to what I get in performance due to the weight.

 

[holdencm9]

Well, between the mass of the slide and barrel combined with the compression of the recoil spring, they both have to apply (more or less) the same force to the bullet as it gets shot. So as was also mentioned, maybe due to the heavier slide they can get away with a lighter spring?