P238 Opinions

[BCTTU]

What are your thoughts on the Sig Sauer P238 as a daily carry? Is it a good gun?

I know Sig has a solid reputation, but just want to know a little more about the P238 as a EDC.

[G.A. Heath]

The P238 is a small .380 caliber firearm that has had its share of bumps on the road, however those days are behind it and the current production P238s are about as good as they get. You might want to consider it's slightly larger variant the P938 which is chambered in 9mm. With that said I own and carry one as a backup gun daily.

[CEOofEVIL]

If I was going to get a carry .380, I'd get one. The rental at the range fair very well, but I will add that ours seemed rather easy for folks to limp wrist. Most were inexperienced shooters however. Not sure if that is indicative of an overall issue or just the sample of one I have had experience with.

Biggest drawback in my opinion? Price.

[Chris]

Biggest problem with them is you can't get one. My mom ordered one a few weeks ago. The dealer said it was with the caveat that they have absolutely no idea when they'd come in, and to expect a very long wait.

[Salty1]

The Sig 238, in my opinion, is the best 380 on the market. It has managable recoil and even those with weak hands are able to rack the slide. If there is a downfall it is that the trigger is a single action only which means cocked and locked. The 938 is about 3/4 of an inch longer and is chambered in 9mm, a better and less expensive round. The 938 recoil is amazingly managable for such a small gun and easily hidden, I had some come into inventory and liked them so much I bought one for myself and it is now my daily carry gun. One thing to look for if you go that route is find the model with the rubber grips, it absorbs the recoil more and has finger grooves. The extreme and nighmare model grips felt a bit sharp to me. Like others have mentioned if you find somebody who has one grab it quick, we have one left in stock and I am waiting to hear back from 2 regular customers who are considering it, we give our regular customers first shot at hard to find handguns such as this.....

[AEA]

.380 ammo is usually harder to find (and more expensive) than more effective calibers.

[Dave2]

.380 ammo is usually harder to find (and more expensive) than more effective calibers.

Right now, though, it's in stock almost everywhere I've looked, whereas 9mm isn't.

Regarding the P238, it's the only .380 I've shot that I actually like (I haven't tried the LCP yet, but the LC9 wasn't too bad.)

[TejasSd]

My other half carries the P238 daily, she has the SAS version which is dehroned and smoothed out for effective carry. IMHO it is hands down the best .380 on the market. We have had zero issues with hers and it currently has 700+ rounds down the pipe. I sometimes pocket carry it in the evenings when we walk the dog, in a DM Bullard pocket holster it all but disappears. I have been considering the P938 for my summer pocket carry but I have heard more issues with it than the 238 and with the current scarcity of 9mm ammo I'm not sure it's a sound purchase. If you can get your hands on one and ammo to boot then you can't go wrong.

[RottenApple]

My wife carries a P238 every day (she's a home care nurse). I've got one that I carry when I'm working (though I also keep my 1911 in a lockbox in the vehicle).

It's an awesome little pistol. Easily concealable and makes a good carry piece if you need a smaller gun.

[Whisky]

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well, let me tell you about both the p238 and the p938 - my Wife and I have both. these would be wonderful little guns, if they were reliable. I got the 938 1st and have had nothing but trouble with it - FTE problem - I FINALLY got hold of sig on the phone and the customer service[sic] guy said something like "the 938 was built around a 124gr bullet" - to which I asked where it was written, 'cause it's not in the owners manual and it's nowhere on sig's website. the only place I've heard that (the 124gr bullet thing) was on the internet, reading the complaints of other - to which he said....!....."well maybe sig thinks it being talked about on forums is enough".....unreal crap !

my 938 is back with sig for a look-see and (hopefull) some work that'll make it something resembling reliable

then, my Wife was looking for a Glock 26 to use for carry - she couldn't find one but did find a G27 (.40cal - same size as the G26) at a LGS so she rented that and a sig p238 to test fire. she didn't mind the "snap" of the .40 but she didn't like the "heft" of the G27 - but she did like shooting the little 238 - so she bought one then and there

now another problem - when attempting to chamber the 1st round in each new mag, the nose of the bullet hangs-up on the corner of the feed ramp and stops the chambering - the slide must be pulled back fully and released a 2nd time in order to accomplish this. this happens with round-nosed ball, flat nosed and HP ammo - makes no difference. folks have recommended using the slide release lever to rack the slide but that makes no difference - I have noticed this happens less often (not a cure) if the mags are loaded at 1/2 capacity or less - less often, less often - not a cure. but then the thing comes with only a 6 rd mag so you're cutting down to 3 rds, or so - might as well tie a rope on it and toss it at the zombie

these 2 guns were made for 1 (one) purpose - self protection - and if there's a chance of it not performing when needed then what they've become is two expensive paper weights

I would NOT recommend either one of these (unless you wanna buy our 2.....)

[68Charger]

I've had my P238 since Feb 2011. It has the normal recoil spring on it and not the flat one. I haven't had a problem with it. I was so impressed with Sig just from my P226, that when I took it to the range, I shot around 20 rounds before I actually cleaned and lubed her. Ran flawless. Though, everything is very subjective. Some people had problems with them, and some don't. Typical Ford / Chevy dispute. I have about 800+ rounds through her now with various types of ammo with out really any malfunctions. Ran great. She has a lot of holster wear on her now, but is still my EDC and as far as I can see, she will remain just that. Cheers.

[blackgold]

I'm very impressed with both guns. I got the P938 equinox for myself first. I LOVE the gun, I enjoy shooting it. I had a P290 and hated shooting it compared to the P938. The trigger was too long and just wasn't as smooth and had more recoil. The first time I shot the P938 I had a lot of issues. I was using 115 grain ammo and had a few FTFs. I was pretty irritated and called Sig to see what was up. He told me to shoot about 50 or so 124 grn through it and break it in then try the other ammo. He was right. Since then I have not had any issues with it.I bought my girlfriend a P238 Nitron that she loves. We've put about 200 rnds through it with no issues. The day we bought it I met my mother to coordinate sending her new ruger LCP back for repair (happened on 3rd trip to range with less than 150 rnds through it). She played with the Sig and LOVED it. TOld me to find her one. Took me a week to do but I found her the one she wanted (also a nitron). She shot it Saturday for the first time (50 times) then qualified for her CHL with it Sunday. She's very pleased with it so far. Build is much nicer than the LCP. She does still like the LCP though (we just got it back). I've shot both of theirs and really enjoy it. Neither like my P938 though.
Brian

[Whisky]

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if there is even a "hint" of unreliability with a personal protection handgun, why take a chance - find something proven to be a winner

[RottenApple]

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if there is even a "hint" of unreliability with a personal protection handgun, why take a chance - find something proven to be a winner

And for my wife and I (and many thousands of others) the P238 has proven to be a winner.

*edited for punctuation. Siri did pretty good, but I still felt the need to "clean" it up a bit.

[philip964]

If you are looking for a fun shooting .380 to carry, this is your gun. It is a heavy gun, compared to some of the others, but this of course helps with the recoil, which is very manageable. It is very easy to carry in your pocket. (in a pocket holster) it is about the simplest way to carry a gun.

It is small. There are smaller, but it is small, it makes the transition from not carrying to carrying a easy one.

Disadvantage, the .380 is not very powerful. There are not a lot of bullets, so you really need a back up magazine.

Ammunition is not a problem now, cause there probably is no more ammunition for anyone for any gun anymore.