Anyone have any experience with the Sig p238?

If you like the P238, you may want to consider the Colt Mustang. We originally got a p238 for my wife. Then when the mustang came out, she liked the feel of the Mustang grip better. It is slightly thinner than the P238.
 
If you like a Mustang you will love a Kimber Micro, same pistol finished better and better sights. My Mustang, SigP238 and Micro magazines all interchange.
 
Sig P238

I have one. Very reliable. Recoil is nothing. Very easy to rack. You just have to be ok carrying cock and locked which is the way you should carry it. If your ok with that it's a great .380. Lots of choices to as far as grips and finishes.
 
The alert mentioned was after the first few production pistols were released in 2009 and had to do with the thumb safety, corrected at that time. To my knowledge there have been no other concerns by Sig.
 
I love my p238. It's easy to shoot, manipulate, and conceal. There isn't much in the way of a lot of recoil. It's an excellent platform and definitely made to be carried in the "locked and cocked" position. I've dropped mine a few times on concrete and other hard surfaces in that position and the world didn't end. :)
I don't carry mine that often anymore, (mostly I carry my G19 or G26 off duty and Beretta on duty) but on days I want to pocket carry in a pair of 5.11's, I'll pull her out and in she goes in a DeSantis holster. I rarely purse carry but we attended a formal event a couple of times and she fit perfectly, in her pocket holster, down inside a small, sequined, clutch. (Gun, ID's, lipstick, you know, the essentials).
I always tell the people that hate on .380's to come stand in front of me and let me shoot them with it. I've yet to have any takers. :D They are great for what I call a "get off me gun".
 
My wife has a P238. I agree with the many who have said it is a soft shooter. Very nice pistol, with excellent sights, and very accurate and easy to shoot for its size. The safety clicks on and off decisively, but it is not what anyone would call difficult or stiff - just about right, IMO. The trigger is a bit heavy as SA goes, but pretty crisp. It is not the lightest of the .380s around, which of course helps with recoil management. My wife says she can tell the difference when it is in her purse, and she doesn't carry small purses. We mere males don't get it about purses, I am convinced. She also carries it IWB, and it doesn't take much to hide the little bugger.

Overall a fine little pistol, and nicely suited for the way a lot of women carry. I pretty much like everything about it except the price.
 
The p238 would be perfect for her, imo. I own two, the SS and lighter desert model. Their both great but slide is like butter on SS model and a little more weight so super low recoil. The safety is very positive too. Wouldn't slip on or off with good holster. Hogue rubber grips are great on it too. It won't beat her up practicing on range with it like other .380's.
 
Agree with the above folks who say the P238 has mild recoil and is very accurate.

Agree also that single action is a bit of a challenge and may not be the best idea for someone not dedicated to it and not having a dedicated holster which prevents the gun from moving around.

I remember practicing at the range and drawing and pulling the trigger on my P238 at least a couple of times and wondering why it wouldn't fire. You have to LEARN to snap that safety off.

Incidentally, I don't think the safety slips off easily, it has a pretty positive detent.

My two P238s were also a bit finicky in their feeding, a bit too much for me to rely on with confidence.

I have read bad things about the CCP here. Not really a Walther.

Not sure if Ruger is still offering the LC380. It's an LC9 rechambered for the milder caliber, with the idea that it would be easier to shoot and easier to rack the slide. The heavy trigger could be an issue. If Ruger ever introduces an LC380s that would be your answer for sure. Doubt they will
 
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After trying it out at the range, my wife has fallen in love with the P238. She finds it easy to rack the slide and the recoil is very soft and tame. The grip size is perfect for her and she is petite. Her hands are too small for a traditional 9mm including double stacked mags. We'll have to work her up on the Condition 1 carry, but she'll be fine.

Bob
 
The 238 is perfectly safe to carry hammer fully down on a live round (contition 2,) and thumb-cocked when ready to shoot.
If you choose this method of carry rigorous training is a must.

Now, someone will jump in and say condition 2 is dangerous- you have to lower the hammer on a live round.
Learning to properly lower the hammer is part of gun safety. If you don't know how to do it, or are scared to do it-you shouldn't be handling a single-action firearm.

Then, someone will say the gun was designed to carry cocked. It wasn't. The gun was designed to be carried whatever (safe) way you want.

Do not carry with the hammer on half-cock, as this is very unsafe.
 
Bill you are right on the money, so many folks go into meltdown if a properly engineered firearm is carried with a round in the chamber and hammer down. With an inertia firing pin there is no contact with the cartridge primer, also some designs have the pin blocked until the trigger is drawn all the way to the rear adding a modicum of safety. I normally carry my P238 cocked and locked but that certainly is not the only safe way.
 
lefty620 said:
She doesnt have the hand strength to pull the trigger on a DA revolver and she cant rack slides on compact guns.
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Kudos to you on helping your girl to find a gun suitable for her and also for knowing enough to ask for advice.

The best advice I have for you is to have both of you check out the web site "CorneredCat.com". It is the creation of Kathy Jackson (who posts and moderates here as "Pax") and is an excellent resource for people new to shooting (male and female) and is written with the female perspective in mind. Pax has excellent advice for how people with limited hand or upper body strength can manipulate slides by using adaptive techniques.

“I’m not strong enough to do the slide …”

If I had a nickel for every time I have heard variations on that theme, I’d be a wealthy woman today. Despite this, it is my contention that healthy adult women who really-and-truly cannot be taught to rack a slide are very, very, very rare. I’m almost tempted to say there are none at all.
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Read the whole article here:
http://www.corneredcat.com/article/running-the-gun/rack-the-slide/

My second-best advice is about a Sig P238 I made the mistake of showing to my friend's wife when he was talking to her about having her own gun. Totally unsuitable for this particular person for reasons I will not go into (hand strength not being one of them). I am embarrassed every time it comes up.

Lost Sheep
 
Like mine a lot . . .

I've had a Sig p238 for a couple months now and have about 300 rounds though it. For a short barreled gun I've been very surprised at the accuracy. I get very tight groups at seven yards. If I "work" at it I can get a six shot group in about three inches. Will try to remember to take some pics next time I go.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
 
Barrel length has nothing to do with inherent accuracy.
Short sight radius makes a gun harder to shoot accurately.
If you were to Ransom Rest that gun to remove human error, you would probably find that those groups wouldn't be much bigger at 35 yards.
 
The P238 is safe to carry cocked and locked, the safety is the Spanish "lift and block" design. Actuating the safety lifts the hammer rearward off the sear so that even with the sear broken it cannot drop the hammer while the safety is engaged.

At the same time it is lifting the hammer off the sear it simultaneously blocks the hammer as well, the only way the hammer can drop is if the safety is pushed off.
And, further, though I'm not a fan of them in a 1911, in these little pocket pistols the firing pin block is another barrier against an accidental or negligent discharge.
If that were not enough (I don't know why it wouldn't be) they also incorporated an "Accidental hammer drop" ledge. If you have your finger pulling back the trigger so the FP is not blocked somehow, and somehow jar it so it knocks the hammer off the sear but don't actually pull the trigger all the way back, the hammer will fall to the ledge and it won't fire.
Between the original designers in Spain back in the 60's and the FP block I just cannot imagine having a ND with these guns.

But history proves that there is nothing that is fool proof.
 
How about a slightly larger gun, but smaller than a 19 like the classic Browning and Beretta 380's? Beautiful guns. Not sure is the models, maybe someone can chime it.
 
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