Used Sig P232 Could use some advise

I suspect one of the reasons for a soft market for p232 is the .380 caliber. I seem to see a lot of comments on the gun forums saying 9mm is a marginal round, anything less is close to unacceptable. Those comments could sway a lot of buyers.

We used to kill hogs in the winter/late fall and dress them for the smoke house. I never saw anyone use anything other than a .22 round to the head. Makes me think a well placed shot can be fatal, even a .22 round.

However, I do carry 9mm most of the time. But, my p232 gets some carry time too.
 
condition

That sounds like a good price to me. And it probably has NOT been shot alot either. Most of the pocket .380's aren't has been my observation.

When SIG had a decent chunk of the SA market, several Fed agencies declared the P230 family as approved off duty and backup guns. My outfit was one, and the P230, despite the diminutive cartridge, had a good rep for reliability and were accurate and fairly easy to shoot well.

If you do buy, and start to experience reliability problems, suspect the magazines early on, that popped up occassionally with our guns, old mags, or mags not maintained. Also, because the P230 gets carried in all sorts of odd locations due to stainless construction and compact size, they can build up a lot of crud.

A detail cleaning got mine running right when it began to balk. But take that job to an armorer, as I find the P230 family a bear to detail strip.
 
Have any of you SIG guys ever physically handled and/or shot a P230 in .22LR. They were advertised in Gun Digest a number of years back, but I have never seen one for sale or talked to anyone who has shot one.
 
I don't know about a unicorn per se, but Gun digest listed them available in .380, .32 and .22LR. ???

Maybe they only were sold in Europe???
 
rt11002003:

Your point seems to parallel mine. I know of a few incidents in the Memphis/Tunica area which involved an attempted home invasion, two with a car parked next the owner's car, and two guys who were closely follewed by robbers in cars.

In two situations, both victims had no time to reach for a weapon. In one of those (two thugs quickly quickly into the garage), yelling from the garage into the house "Go get the gun"! worked-she responded "I'm getting the gun!". They ran away. The potential home invasion victims bought our Memphis house.

In three of these, the potential victims either displayed a gun, including the doctor (left office at midnight), who called ahead to a roommate, who emerged from the house in Germantown TN with guns held high in Both hands!

For those who somehow don't see the point, making a gun visible or telling somebody to get it is what worked-Not what the gun's chambering was.
 
Last edited:
I recently started looking for one , I have seen two online
One is a stainless says new asking over 1000. Says it was made in
2009. I wonder if it was made in 2009 why is it just now being sold.
Any advice on this.

Other gun is a nitro finish. Asking 500. Says it is certified used.
What does certified used mean. Any one know
 
Sig sells used guns that they certify and probably go through to make sure function is good and everything is up to par....so I would assume that is certified used.

I used to own one 230 and two 232s and sold all three eventually...I go through a lot of guns, so it isn't uncommon to buy and trade a bunch. I really wished I kept the 232s. They are great and shoot really well. I used to use one as a carry gun with a Phantom Concealment Holster and the combination was great. The P232 is big for a modern .380, but it makes a good range gun too, and many of the really small .380s don't.

I saw a new all stainless 232 in Gander mountain for $750, which seems expensive to me. Great gun that I would buy if it was $150 cheaper.

If someone is asking $1000 bucks for one used, that guy is a fool.


the price the Op quoted is a fair price for a good condition used P232. I would snag it up if I was looking at it.
 
When I decided to buy my p232 last year, I wanted the stainless model. The LGS owner said SIG was out of stock; that it would be at least three months to get one. He had a blue one which I bought for $573. I had an order in for a p210 Legend Super Target and shortly after buying the p232 we found out SIG wasn't importing from Germany.

I suspect a few new p232's still exist, in gunstores and in individual hands. Good used ones are likely still available at a decent price.
 
rt11002003 said:
The LGS owner said SIG was out of stock; that it would be at least three months to get one.... I suspect a few new p232's still exist, in gunstores and in individual hands. Good used ones are likely still available at a decent price.
Click to expand...
+1. The P232 is one of those pistols that seems to be imported in batches, and there are periodic supply droughts. The trick is NOT to be fooled into buying at an artificially inflated price near the end of such a drought. :rolleyes:

Two other things...

First:
JLK said:
What does certified used mean. Any one know
Click to expand...

This: http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/certified-pre-owned-sig-sauer.aspx Basically, rebuilt and refinished by SIG to near-new-gun standards, and offered with a one-year warranty that's nearly the same as their new-gun warranty. (I recall there's a minor difference in the terms, but I don't recall what exactly.) If it has night sights, they will be new ones.

Be aware, however, that a bona fide factory CPO SIG will come in a red case with a "Certified Pre-Owned" red paper band around the grip. This is shown in the SIG link. BEWARE of supposedly "certified" used SIGs that don't have these; I've seen unscrupulous sellers post misleading ads for such pistols, sometimes with a weasel-worded explanation. ("Yeah, it's certified by my gunsmith, not by SIG. Well, he is a certified SIG armorer.") :rolleyes:

Second:

The blue and two-tone P232 have a major advantage over the stainless version: they have alloy frames and are consequently a good deal lighter. I've found that a surprising number of dealers don't adequately explain this, especially considering that the stainless model is heavier than almost every commonplace .380 pistol except the Walther PP.
 
That's a very good price.

I have had dozens of 380s over the years and the only one I kept is my 230SL DAO.

They are sweet shooting little guns.

My%20.380%20ACP%20SIG%20P230SL%201_zpsy7a2hmza.jpg

My%20.380%20ACP%20SIG%20P230SL%203_zpssfdmzxya.jpg
 
I have the 232, not the 230, but they are some of the most striking guns made.

Personally I would grab it if you like it. I do. It is a classic handgun that is very enjoyable. It simply fits me.
 
Not directly relevant but of historical interest, the late Stephen Camp reported on his website, hipowersandhandguns.com, some years ago that:
The only loaded handgun in Uziel Gal’s (inventor of the Uzi SMG) home at the time of his (natural) death was reported to be a SIG-Sauer P230 loaded with FMJ ammunition.
Click to expand...
I always found that interesting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top