Sig 938 vs Kimber Micro 9????

Vinnie Harold · May 20, 2017, 01:32 PM

Hi.

I have been up and down this forum for about 2 hours, and I am still confused.

Does anyone have any negatives, or any bad experiences with either of these 2 firearms. I have read reviews in gun magazines and both are loved. On this forum they are both recommended highly.

If you had to make a choice, which way would you go...and why?

Both are almost equal in price.

Any recommendations as to where to go to buy the firearm? If I use Gunbroker, does anyone know of a seller that they have used and are happy with?

Thanks, and I hope I have not broken any rules with the last part of this post.

TunnelRat · May 20, 2017, 01:42 PM

One site worth browsing is this https://gun.deals/. They post deals in different categories every so many hours (they're posted both by users and the retailers themselves). You can also search for specific pistols and it will come up with a list of retailers selling that pistol and for what price. If you're unsure of a retailer do a quick Google search to see if there are repeated negative experiences.

Theohazard · May 20, 2017, 02:30 PM

I don't have any personal experience with the Kimber Micro 9, but if they're anything like the other small Kimber guns I've seen, I'd recommend the P938. I work at a gun shop/range, and we see a disproportionate amount of problems with Kimbers compared to other guns in that price range. Especially smaller Kimbers like the Ultra 1911s or the Solo; those Kimbers tend to be even more finicky and problematic. However, we have a whole lot of customers with the SIG P938, and those guns tend to have far fewer issues from what we see.

Take my info for what it is; non-scientific observations. I'm sure there are plenty of Kimber customers who are happy with their guns, but we had enough issues with them that we stopped carrying them in our shop and stopped buying rental ones for our range.

PSP · May 20, 2017, 06:50 PM

I bought a Micro 9 not long ago and took an instant dislike to it. Recoil was heavy and the safety wore a hole in my thumb. My small polymer 9mms seemed so much more enjoyable. It fed and fired and was accurate enough. Just didn't turn me on.

Wish I hadn't bought it.

My range has a rental 938 that I tried one on one with the Kimber. I liked it better; better grip, less felt recoil, but I wouldn't buy one. Two guns from the same pea pod... a little different but the same.

mk70ss · May 20, 2017, 07:29 PM

My wife has Micro9 and loves. It is her everyday CCW. No malfunctions and no problems after about 300 rounds.

Targa · May 20, 2017, 09:24 PM

I would get the Sig simply for the standard night sights.

EEL92fs · May 20, 2017, 10:49 PM

I have owned the p938. I got it and took it out to test fire and started shooting it and loved it. It was accurate, the recoil was light, easy to see sights and the slide was so easy to work. I thought my wife would like it for all the reasons already stated. So I asked my wife to come shoot it and I hand her the gun and she tilts the gun to the left to rack the slide and the slide stop fell on the ground

I was like....what did you dooo =). So I took it and fixed the gun and put it back together handed it to her and she did it again. Needless to say she said I don't like it and left never even shooting it.
This gun was brand new and I had not taken it apart yet. When I had shot it I racked the slide with the gun straight up and had no problems but after seeing how she did it I tilted the gun to the left and I made it happen every time.

I got online and it seems like this is a normal problem. It ends up there are two problems you find when you look up a p938 slide problem.

First is there is a little spring that is under the slide stop on the frame and there is a little lip on the backside of the slide stop that must go under the spring. If it does not go under the spring then when you shoot the slide stop can jump up on the recoil and lock the slide back.
Second is that if the slide stop is under that spring but the spring is loose or worn out and not holding the slide stop down then wile the gun is tilted to the left and you rack the slide, the stop will fall right out.

Everything I found was that sig will send you a replacement spring but I don't think I can trust this gun or the design anymore never knowing if the spring is "good". What I did do to fix it is take my pliers and bend down the end of the spring to pinch the top of the slide stop down. I tested with 100 rounds and had no problems. But I will not buy another p938. I plan to buy the kimber micro9 by the end of the year but have never shot one and don't have any first hand info to give.

Like I said.. I so wanted to love the p938 and I know there will be people that will say they have never had a problem but after seeing this weakness in the design I suggest going a different way.

RickB · May 21, 2017, 03:48 PM

I prefer the more 1911-like look of the Kimber, but when it came to buying, the P938 that I wanted was priced at $680, while the Kimber I wanted would need to have $200 spent on adding an ambi safety, and I just couldn't see spending almost $1000 just to get the appearance that I wanted.

I now have 500 rounds through the SIG, and it's become one of my favorite guns.
Literally, the only issue I have had is one of my four mags not locking the slide back when empty, once.
The factory trigger specs are 7.5# - 8.5#, and if mine were that heavy I would do some work on it, but mine is 5# - 5.5#, and perfectly satisfactory even for a finger accustomed to nice 1911 triggers.

Badgerstate · May 21, 2017, 04:46 PM

I hate to say it but Id have to go with the Sig. I really want to like Kimber but you hear of soooooo many problems with them.
I dont know how Kimber can talk about quality when you have to tinker with a new gun just to get it to work properly.

Ibmikey · May 22, 2017, 09:22 AM

I believe there was a problem with the wire spring that retains the slide stop which was quickly repaired. I tried my Micro last night and could not make it fail as noted in EEL92fs post. My Micro is well made and easy shooting, I like my Sig P 938 just a bit better but certainly feel confident with either holstered under my shirt.

RickB · May 22, 2017, 11:24 AM

I spent quite a bit of time on youtube before buying my SIG, and the majority of the video reviews were done in the 1012-2014 period when the gun was still new.
The common complaints were unscrewing of the two-piece guide rod, unscrewing of the grip screws, mags dropping mid-string, the mainspring housing mounting of the sear spring wearing and allowing movement of the spring, and the small wire spring associated with slide stop (one guy pried the spring out of the frame as part of his disassembly demo

).
SIG introduced various fixes for all of those problems, and my late-2016, or early 2017 gun has none of those issues.

deerslayer303 · May 22, 2017, 11:30 AM

This thread had been awesome. I've enjoyed reading it. Thank you to all who contributed. My wife's little P238 has me really wanting it or the 938 something bad. Such a nice and accurate shooting pocket pistol.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Sawyer.N · May 22, 2017, 02:47 PM

Sig p938 - Just discovered an issue that pisses me off to no end but has a simple fix... On some p938's, the mag catch spring wears so quickly, that the recoil of a fired round can actuate it thus releasing the mag during a string of fire. Pisses me off, and I think its stupid I have to replace this spring with a better one 500 rounds into the gun. Beyond that I love my sigp938!

deerslayer303 · May 22, 2017, 03:21 PM

Sawyer, is this one of the problems that Sig has corrected on newer models? How old is your gun?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Sawyer.N · May 22, 2017, 06:19 PM

I dont know manufactured date, but I purchased it new about a year ago. Just purchased a new "heavy" spring to replace mine, because I have no confidence in stretching my current spring to be a solution. Glad to here it has been addressed, guess mine must have sat on a shelf for a long while

Ibmikey · May 22, 2017, 08:18 PM

Sawyer N, Production date is on the end of the box, mine was made late 2015 and has not experienced any malfunctions.

Sawyer.N · May 22, 2017, 08:37 PM

Ibmikey, lol. I just had a DUH moment when you said that. To deerslayer, my p938 manufacture date is july 27th 2016. The only issue I have had with it is my mag release. Not to mention that the grip screws are threaded directly into the frame and were impossible to get out with a dremel and a flathead to install my houge grips..

With this mag release issue fixed, I absolutely love this little gun and have learned to shoot it as accurately as my glock 19.

Laz · May 23, 2017, 09:50 AM

Don't mean to veer off-topic but the more I read of various quirks and issues, small and large, with alloy-framed tiny 9s like discussed here, the more I wonder if the platforms aren't just a wee bit too small and too light for a full power service cartridge. Right on the ragged edge of too much crammed into too little.

RickB · May 23, 2017, 10:46 AM

I'd say they're definitely not the gun for weekend training classes in which you will shoot 1000 rounds of +P in two days, but, they're not intended for that.

I'm probably going to put 800-1000 rounds through my gun this year, and then maybe 200-300 a year to maintain familiarity, after that.
I expect it to outlast me.

TunnelRat · May 23, 2017, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Don't mean to veer off-topic but the more I read of various quirks and issues, small and large, with alloy-framed tiny 9s like discussed here, the more I wonder if the platforms aren't just a wee bit too small and too light for a full power service cartridge. Right on the ragged edge of too much crammed into too little.

That's an opinion that's come up many times since longer than I've been alive. I think at times there's some truth to it.

Quote:

I'd say they're definitely not the gun for weekend training classes in which you will shoot 1000 rounds of +P in two days, but, they're not intended for that.

Not sure why you'd need to shoot +P in a course, to me that's just an exaggeration for exaggeration sake. As far as, "Well this isn't a pistol I train with," to me that's it's own problem. If you're taking courses with say a full size SIG 1911 but then carrying a SIG P938 I think you're doing yourself a disservice. Of course certain skills and lessons will translate regardless of platform, but I think there is something to be said for training with the pistol you carry. I have seen guys use a SIG P938 in a 400-500 rd a day course. It can be done.

RickB · May 23, 2017, 12:05 PM

I'm sure it CAN be, and has been, but such guns - pocket gun, mouse gun, hideout gun, back-up gun - are of the classic "carried much, shot little" variety.
They are not service pistols, and should not be expected to be as robust and durable.

I have an alloy-framed 1911, and in ten years I've probably put 2000 rounds through it. In that same time, I've put 20,000 rounds through an all-steel gun.
The Commander would surely last 20k, but why wear it out?

bassJAM1 · May 23, 2017, 03:28 PM

My P938 has been flawless. I admit, I probably only have 300 rounds through it, and the previous owner said he only put a magazine through it (don't they all say that?). But I have no reason to believe it won't hold up to many more rounds. I actually find it a joy to shoot at the range, the recoil is less than other sub-compact 9's I've shot, and it's more accurate than its small size would lead you to believe. The only reason I haven't shot it more is I'm in the middle of a pretty big hardscaping/landscaping project at my house, and I realized yesterday that I haven't shot a gun since March since I'm working every weekend the weather is nice. I told my wife she needs to stop getting on Pinterest, it's ruining my range time!

The Kimber came out after I bought the SIG, but I have no buyers remorse. Seems I see more issues with Kimbers on the gun forums than I do with SIG's.

May 20, 2017, 01:32 PM	#1
Vinnie Harold Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2009 Posts: 115	Sig 938 vs Kimber Micro 9???? Hi. I have been up and down this forum for about 2 hours, and I am still confused. Does anyone have any negatives, or any bad experiences with either of these 2 firearms. I have read reviews in gun magazines and both are loved. On this forum they are both recommended highly. If you had to make a choice, which way would you go...and why? Both are almost equal in price. Any recommendations as to where to go to buy the firearm? If I use Gunbroker, does anyone know of a seller that they have used and are happy with? Thanks, and I hope I have not broken any rules with the last part of this post.

May 20, 2017, 01:42 PM	#2
TunnelRat Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2011 Posts: 12,212	One site worth browsing is this https://gun.deals/. They post deals in different categories every so many hours (they're posted both by users and the retailers themselves). You can also search for specific pistols and it will come up with a list of retailers selling that pistol and for what price. If you're unsure of a retailer do a quick Google search to see if there are repeated negative experiences. __________________ Know the status of your weapon Keep your muzzle oriented so that no one will be hurt if the firearm discharges Keep your finger off the trigger until you have an adequate sight picture Maintain situational awareness

May 20, 2017, 02:30 PM	#3
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	I don't have any personal experience with the Kimber Micro 9, but if they're anything like the other small Kimber guns I've seen, I'd recommend the P938. I work at a gun shop/range, and we see a disproportionate amount of problems with Kimbers compared to other guns in that price range. Especially smaller Kimbers like the Ultra 1911s or the Solo; those Kimbers tend to be even more finicky and problematic. However, we have a whole lot of customers with the SIG P938, and those guns tend to have far fewer issues from what we see. Take my info for what it is; non-scientific observations. I'm sure there are plenty of Kimber customers who are happy with their guns, but we had enough issues with them that we stopped carrying them in our shop and stopped buying rental ones for our range. __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."

May 20, 2017, 07:29 PM	#5
mk70ss Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,598	My wife has Micro9 and loves. It is her everyday CCW. No malfunctions and no problems after about 300 rounds. __________________ Say when.....

May 20, 2017, 10:49 PM	#7
EEL92fs Senior Member Join Date: July 10, 2007 Location: Dayton OH Posts: 155	Sig p938 wanted to love but lost faith in it. I have owned the p938. I got it and took it out to test fire and started shooting it and loved it. It was accurate, the recoil was light, easy to see sights and the slide was so easy to work. I thought my wife would like it for all the reasons already stated. So I asked my wife to come shoot it and I hand her the gun and she tilts the gun to the left to rack the slide and the slide stop fell on the ground I was like....what did you dooo =). So I took it and fixed the gun and put it back together handed it to her and she did it again. Needless to say she said I don't like it and left never even shooting it. This gun was brand new and I had not taken it apart yet. When I had shot it I racked the slide with the gun straight up and had no problems but after seeing how she did it I tilted the gun to the left and I made it happen every time. I got online and it seems like this is a normal problem. It ends up there are two problems you find when you look up a p938 slide problem. First is there is a little spring that is under the slide stop on the frame and there is a little lip on the backside of the slide stop that must go under the spring. If it does not go under the spring then when you shoot the slide stop can jump up on the recoil and lock the slide back. Second is that if the slide stop is under that spring but the spring is loose or worn out and not holding the slide stop down then wile the gun is tilted to the left and you rack the slide, the stop will fall right out. Everything I found was that sig will send you a replacement spring but I don't think I can trust this gun or the design anymore never knowing if the spring is "good". What I did do to fix it is take my pliers and bend down the end of the spring to pinch the top of the slide stop down. I tested with 100 rounds and had no problems. But I will not buy another p938. I plan to buy the kimber micro9 by the end of the year but have never shot one and don't have any first hand info to give. Like I said.. I so wanted to love the p938 and I know there will be people that will say they have never had a problem but after seeing this weakness in the design I suggest going a different way.

May 20, 2017, 06:50 PM	#4
PSP Senior Member Join Date: June 2, 2006 Location: Bowling Green Virginia Posts: 4,487	I bought a Micro 9 not long ago and took an instant dislike to it. Recoil was heavy and the safety wore a hole in my thumb. My small polymer 9mms seemed so much more enjoyable. It fed and fired and was accurate enough. Just didn't turn me on. Wish I hadn't bought it. My range has a rental 938 that I tried one on one with the Kimber. I liked it better; better grip, less felt recoil, but I wouldn't buy one. Two guns from the same pea pod... a little different but the same.

May 20, 2017, 09:24 PM	#6
Targa Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Posts: 2,084	I would get the Sig simply for the standard night sights.

May 21, 2017, 03:48 PM	#8
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	I prefer the more 1911-like look of the Kimber, but when it came to buying, the P938 that I wanted was priced at $680, while the Kimber I wanted would need to have $200 spent on adding an ambi safety, and I just couldn't see spending almost $1000 just to get the appearance that I wanted. I now have 500 rounds through the SIG, and it's become one of my favorite guns. Literally, the only issue I have had is one of my four mags not locking the slide back when empty, once. The factory trigger specs are 7.5# - 8.5#, and if mine were that heavy I would do some work on it, but mine is 5# - 5.5#, and perfectly satisfactory even for a finger accustomed to nice 1911 triggers. __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

May 21, 2017, 04:46 PM	#9
Badgerstate Member Join Date: March 17, 2017 Posts: 71	I hate to say it but Id have to go with the Sig. I really want to like Kimber but you hear of soooooo many problems with them. I dont know how Kimber can talk about quality when you have to tinker with a new gun just to get it to work properly. __________________ Its better to be a warrior in a garden than to be a gardener in a war.

May 22, 2017, 09:22 AM	#10
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	I believe there was a problem with the wire spring that retains the slide stop which was quickly repaired. I tried my Micro last night and could not make it fail as noted in EEL92fs post. My Micro is well made and easy shooting, I like my Sig P 938 just a bit better but certainly feel confident with either holstered under my shirt.

May 22, 2017, 11:24 AM	#11
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	I spent quite a bit of time on youtube before buying my SIG, and the majority of the video reviews were done in the 1012-2014 period when the gun was still new. The common complaints were unscrewing of the two-piece guide rod, unscrewing of the grip screws, mags dropping mid-string, the mainspring housing mounting of the sear spring wearing and allowing movement of the spring, and the small wire spring associated with slide stop (one guy pried the spring out of the frame as part of his disassembly demo ). SIG introduced various fixes for all of those problems, and my late-2016, or early 2017 gun has none of those issues. __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

May 22, 2017, 11:30 AM	#12
deerslayer303 Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2011 Location: Leesville SC Posts: 2,653	This thread had been awesome. I've enjoyed reading it. Thank you to all who contributed. My wife's little P238 has me really wanting it or the 938 something bad. Such a nice and accurate shooting pocket pistol. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

May 22, 2017, 02:47 PM	#13
Sawyer.N Member Join Date: January 25, 2017 Location: Washington state Posts: 86	Sig p938 - Just discovered an issue that pisses me off to no end but has a simple fix... On some p938's, the mag catch spring wears so quickly, that the recoil of a fired round can actuate it thus releasing the mag during a string of fire. Pisses me off, and I think its stupid I have to replace this spring with a better one 500 rounds into the gun. Beyond that I love my sigp938!

May 22, 2017, 03:21 PM	#14
deerslayer303 Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2011 Location: Leesville SC Posts: 2,653	Sawyer, is this one of the problems that Sig has corrected on newer models? How old is your gun? Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

May 22, 2017, 06:19 PM	#15
Sawyer.N Member Join Date: January 25, 2017 Location: Washington state Posts: 86	I dont know manufactured date, but I purchased it new about a year ago. Just purchased a new "heavy" spring to replace mine, because I have no confidence in stretching my current spring to be a solution. Glad to here it has been addressed, guess mine must have sat on a shelf for a long while

May 22, 2017, 08:18 PM	#16
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	Sawyer N, Production date is on the end of the box, mine was made late 2015 and has not experienced any malfunctions.

May 22, 2017, 08:37 PM	#17
Sawyer.N Member Join Date: January 25, 2017 Location: Washington state Posts: 86	Ibmikey, lol. I just had a DUH moment when you said that. To deerslayer, my p938 manufacture date is july 27th 2016. The only issue I have had with it is my mag release. Not to mention that the grip screws are threaded directly into the frame and were impossible to get out with a dremel and a flathead to install my houge grips.. With this mag release issue fixed, I absolutely love this little gun and have learned to shoot it as accurately as my glock 19.

May 23, 2017, 09:50 AM	#18
Laz Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 1999 Posts: 1,278	Don't mean to veer off-topic but the more I read of various quirks and issues, small and large, with alloy-framed tiny 9s like discussed here, the more I wonder if the platforms aren't just a wee bit too small and too light for a full power service cartridge. Right on the ragged edge of too much crammed into too little. __________________ Laz I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, about Somebody, who can save anybody.

May 23, 2017, 10:46 AM	#19
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	I'd say they're definitely not the gun for weekend training classes in which you will shoot 1000 rounds of +P in two days, but, they're not intended for that. I'm probably going to put 800-1000 rounds through my gun this year, and then maybe 200-300 a year to maintain familiarity, after that. I expect it to outlast me. __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

May 23, 2017, 12:05 PM	#21
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	I'm sure it CAN be, and has been, but such guns - pocket gun, mouse gun, hideout gun, back-up gun - are of the classic "carried much, shot little" variety. They are not service pistols, and should not be expected to be as robust and durable. I have an alloy-framed 1911, and in ten years I've probably put 2000 rounds through it. In that same time, I've put 20,000 rounds through an all-steel gun. The Commander would surely last 20k, but why wear it out? __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

May 23, 2017, 03:28 PM	#22
bassJAM1 Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2017 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 147	My P938 has been flawless. I admit, I probably only have 300 rounds through it, and the previous owner said he only put a magazine through it (don't they all say that?). But I have no reason to believe it won't hold up to many more rounds. I actually find it a joy to shoot at the range, the recoil is less than other sub-compact 9's I've shot, and it's more accurate than its small size would lead you to believe. The only reason I haven't shot it more is I'm in the middle of a pretty big hardscaping/landscaping project at my house, and I realized yesterday that I haven't shot a gun since March since I'm working every weekend the weather is nice. I told my wife she needs to stop getting on Pinterest, it's ruining my range time! The Kimber came out after I bought the SIG, but I have no buyers remorse. Seems I see more issues with Kimbers on the gun forums than I do with SIG's.