Sig Sauer P938 - Carry Method

I don't own a 938 but own the P238 and the earlier version of the Colt Mustang .380 (built from the same Star design as the Sigs). I have carried one or the other off and on for over 25 years cocked and locked in a pocket holster. Carried the P238 today. BTW, I also carry my 1911s the same way but in a belt holster.

IMO, if you don't feel comfortable carrying the P938 cocked and locked, you should get another gun to carry that you feel safe with a round in the chamber.
 
Need to feel confident with a carry gun... if not, get a different gun.

I've had a few friends say how they would never carry a cocked/locked gun, but the ones that have gone that route have picked up P938s. Very sound design, if you carry it right.

One of my friends started off carrying it with no round in the chamber, safety on, and hammer down. I really had to talk to him, being the slide wouldn't cycle if he needed to get the gun ready to fire. He started carrying it in the same condition, just with the safety off... but stressed to him that you'd waste time you probably wouldn't have cycling the gun when you can just train to flip the safety off each time you draw. He eventually got to that point, and now dismisses anyone carrying in a way other than cocked/locked.
 
One of my friends started off carrying it with no round in the chamber, safety on, and hammer down. I really had to talk to him, being the slide wouldn't cycle if he needed to get the gun ready to fire.
Click to expand...

The slide on a 938 can be manipulated with the safety on. Not that it matters to the discussion but it can be.

Edit: See below. My statement, as pointed out by Loosedhorse, is incorrect. With the safety on and the hammer down the slide cannot be manipulated as was originally stated. For clarification the slide can be manipulated with the safety on if the hammer is cocked.
 
Last edited:
Lohman, when the hammer is down with safety on, the slide on the P938 cannot be cycled. The slide of course can be cycled if the hammer is back, safety on (though this is not true of 1911s).
 
Loosedhorse is correct (my bad). I did not think this was the case but just tried it. With the hammer down and the safety on the slide cannot be manipulated. Guess I was not as familiar with my own carry gun as I thought I was.
 
Since the P238/938 and their cousins from Colt and Kimber are going to probably be much more popular with 1911 owners than with any other demographic, I find the ability to rack the slide with the safety engaged to be of very dubious value.

One, nobody expects to be able to do so.
Two, it creates the possibility of having the gun loaded, UNcocked and locked, and what a surprise that would be if you needed the gun?
Three, the shape and positioning of the thumb safety are much compromised relative to ease of use, in order to allow racking with the safety on.

I'd gladly give up the load-with-safety-engaged feature for an improved safety lever; higher and wider.
 
I carry mine cocked and locked in my pocket or I use the holster that was supplied with the gun. I actually prefer the holster. No frills but it does work.
 
One, nobody expects to be able to do so.
Click to expand...
You get used to it pretty fast. I like the feature. After cleaning or dry firing, you cock it and put the safety on, then load a magazine, chamber a round, and it is ready to go without ever taking the safety off.
Two, it creates the possibility of having the gun loaded, UNcocked and locked, and what a surprise that would be if you needed the gun?
Click to expand...
Not sure how you would get there without lowering the hammer with the trigger. Maybe you missed that the slide doesn't move with the hammer down and the safety on? If I understand your concern correctly, that obviates it.
Three, the shape and positioning of the thumb safety are much compromised relative to ease of use, in order to allow racking with the safety on.
Click to expand...
I have no problem manipulating the safety. I feel like it is kind of in proportion to the rest of the gun, and thus feels like I expect. I'm not sure how the racking feature affects the shape and positioning of the safety lever. What am I missing about this argument?
 
The safety is located and shaped seemingly with the primary concern that it doesn't get in the way of racking the slide; it's horizontal when engaged, and below horizontal when disengaged.
I'd prefer that it be up when engaged, where it easily falls under the thumb on the way down to a firing grip, and no lower than horizontal when disengaged, so that it doesn't have to be depressed lower than my thumb rides naturally when shooting.

If I'd never owned a handgun in my life, I might be thinking, "Wow, cool, you can unload and load with the safety engaged!", but my take is, "What's the value in that - compared to the safety being handier to my thumb - when my finger is off the trigger when I load and unload??"

I accept that anyone might prefer anything that someone else doesn't like (pickles, for instance), but still don't see advantages to the non-1911 aspects of the manual of arms, while conceding that it might only an issue for me because of my familiarity with the 1911; you make a gun that looks and generally operates like a 1911 and you're bound to get yeah/nay regarding changes.
 
Loosedhorse said:
Condition 1, cocked and locked. The way it was designed to be carried.

Train to make sure the safety is taken off "automatically" as the gun comes on target.
Click to expand...

Actually, the original design wasn't meant to be carried locked and cocked. 1911's were designed to be carried with the hammer down (Condition 2). The by-product of use is how we evolved into Condition 1.

I love my P938; my favorite sub-compact semiauto and one that gets carried the most. There's a video floating around about a tragic story where a father and his son were killed because he was carrying his pistol without a round in the chamber and he couldn't get it into action fast enough. If you don't carry with a round in the chamber, you might as well not even carry. The time it takes you to draw and rack, you could just leave or find cover; however, when you need to draw immediately to engage or engage from an awkward position, you will need that first round chambered.

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
Actually, the original design wasn't meant to be carried locked and cocked. 1911's were designed to be carried with the hammer down (Condition 2). The by-product of use is how we evolved into Condition 1.



I love my P938; my favorite sub-compact semiauto and one that gets carried the most. There's a video floating around about a tragic story where a father and his son were killed because he was carrying his pistol without a round in the chamber and he couldn't get it into action fast enough. If you don't carry with a round in the chamber, you might as well not even carry. The time it takes you to draw and rack, you could just leave or find cover; however, when you need to draw immediately to engage or engage from an awkward position, you will need that first round chambered.



ROCK6
Click to expand...



As has been pointed out, the P938 isn't exactly a true 1911, so what was the original carry method for a 1911 isn't necessarily the case for the P938. In guessing if you call SIG or check in the manual either would say to use cocked and locked. But it would be interesting to check for certain.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the elaboration, RickB - I understand your concerns better now. My only real answer is that the comparison to 1911s is overstated. I don't honestly think it was meant to be a "miniature 1911" like people describe it, and it in fact is not. It is a SA only pistol meant to be carried cocked and locked, but the comparison largely ends there, as you have aptly pointed out. I find the safety to be pretty intuitive in clicking down as I take my grip, but I am not a dedicated 1911 guy, so my initial bias is different than yours. My affection for my little Sigs is undiminished, but your observations make sense from your somewhat different perspective. Both points of view should be considered by someone considering a purchase.
 
In guessing if you call SIG or check in the manual either would say to use cocked and locked. But it would be interesting to check for certain.
Click to expand...

Manuals usually say things like, "don't load the gun until you are ready to shoot", being more concerned about the gun discharging when you don't want it to, then the gun being in an appropriate ready condition when you do!

Some years ago, Galco redesigned all of their thumb-break holsters for single action pistols so that the break would snap closed on a lowered hammer, and though they will still work with the hammer cocked, the fit isn't as good; I can't imagine that they got a lot of customer feedback begging for the change, and more likely it's to be consistent with, "don't load your gun until you are ready to shoot".
 
I have pocket carried the P938 for about three years. I use a Galco pocket holster and have used a Soft Armor by Mil-TECH U.S.A. with a velcro retention strap. Neither is perfect.

I carry cocked and locked.

I have a Don Hume that I use for a Glock 27 and they make a pocket holster for a Sig p238. If they made an ambidextrous pocket holster that would fit a P938 and cover the safety and mag release I would buy one.
 
Love my P938, there isn't another gun in that size that I can shoot as accurately as my SIG. It took some time to convince myself that carrying "cocked and locked" was safe, because it DOES look a little unsafe with the hammer back.

But after a lot of trigger time I'm convinced that it's more safe than a striker fired firearm. I'm sure you've all heard the stories of someone re-holstering their M&P or Glock and shooting themselves in the leg because the leather was old and got caught on the trigger. That's not going to happen with a gun with an external safety.

Additionally, for being a single action firearm the trigger pull is still pretty high.
 
I am a big advocate of carrying with a round chambered. But at the same time, I think it's important to consider what actions are required to fire the weapon if it's to be considered for concealed carry.

If you are carrying outside the waist band, then a 938 or any 1911 is probably going to be fine to be carried cocked and locked. But I think carrying cocked and locked inside a pocket or inside the waist band is a recipe for disaster.

Regardless of how strong and positively the safety lever engages in the safe position, there is always the possibility of it being bumped off. Once it is off, the weapon isn't far from a negligent discharge if something gets inside the trigger guard.

I've always carried SA/DA pistols with a round chambered, hammer down. It takes a long, hard deliberate pull of the trigger for these pistols to fire. Could they still be accidentally discharged? Sure, anything is possible. But I think the probability is much lower than with a cocked and locked pistol.

Take a 1911 style pistol in cocked and locked, with a round chambered and set it next to a SA/DA pistol with a round chambered and the hammer down and ask yourself which is closer to being able to fire as it sets. It's going to be the one with the hammer back. I think it's worth thinking about that if you're going to use the pistol for concealed carry. I carry my CCW pistol appendix, IWB. Not a place for a pistol that has any probability for an accidental discharge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top