[Skan21]

I don't know how many people actually care about this pistol, but I recently had a chance to fire 100 rounds through a broken in Sig P238. Here's the thing though. I don't know how well this pistol is going to sell. The thing is, some people really dislike the .380. And some people that like the .380, don't like single action pistols. So this pistol, in my opinion, is going to be a niche gun. A cult favorite, like the Colt Mustang. Anyway:

When I first picked up this pistol, I was amazed at how light it is. I think it only weighs in at 14ozs or so. Loaded up with 6+1, it weighs maybe 18ozs or so. I was firing it at my local rental range, so I'm not sure how many rounds had been through it; possibly 1,500 aprx. And they probably haven't cleaned it since they got it! It was extremely fouled up with powder. The magazine was very worn also. I picked up the tiny pistol, and it immediately felt good in my hand. Very natural, and it points naturally, and as quick as a snake. My wife liked the feel also. It really was not what I expected, as I don't like the grips on normal Sigs (although I've never shot their 1911's, so I'm not sure how this pistol compares.).

I really liked it initially, but after I loaded it up, I found a fairly serious problem. The slide is well fitted, with no real play to it, but the same was not true for the ambi safety. It was badly fitted to say the least. On a decent 1911, the safety snaps on and off, with no take up. This safety had take up on the way up, with a positive snap, and it was the same way disengaging the safety. I can't really describe it any better than that. The trigger was very good, with only a very slight bit of creep. My wife had no difficulty chambering a round, which is sometimes the case for women with ultra compact .380's. She can't chamber a round in any of my semi's, but she had no problem here. I shot first, one handed (this pistol is really too small to need both) and found it to be very accurate. At 10 yds, combat distance, the Sig put up groups about the size of my palm. Recoil was very manageable. In fact, the palm sized groups were all rapid fire, one handed. My wife shot it even better, taking her time. She grouped into about 2". She liked this pistol a lot. I shot about 60 rounds, and she (doesn't really shoot more than 1 or 2 magazines normally) shot about 40! It was a miracle! She wants one of these, and once I explained what single action meant, she was more excited. She is all about safety, and I feel that with it being single action, and with a manual safety, she would actually shoot it a lot.

So that's what I think. Oh, and 3 magazine malfunctions. The Sig FTE 3 times, and I was extremely perplexed. All the rounds but the last one would extract and feed reliably. So finally, I inspected it after the last FTE, instead of dropping the magazine to inspect it. And found that the magazine follower was blocking the chamber! The feed lips were probably bent. A decent mag would certainly fix the problem. No failures to feed, and under normal conditions, no FTE. I will be buying one for my wife, probably for Xmas. With a very small bit of fitting, and cerainly sturdier magazines, It will be a fine CCW for my wife, or just fun to shoot, if she decides not to CCW. Recommended for wives everywhere. And I liked the little guy too!