OlympicFox
11-17-2012, 12:43 AM
I picked up my new Sig P238 'Extreme' yesterday. This is my take on this nifty Nine.
Features common to all Sig P938's:
Stainless steel slide on aluminum alloy frame
9mm Luger
SAO with ambi thumb safety
Night sights - large & useful
Front & rear cocking serrations on slide combined with a fairly light recoil spring makes for easy slide racking - my wife finds it quite easy, even when the hammer is down
Flatwire recoil spring on solid stainless guide rod
Removable grips
The 'Extreme' model includes three features:
An extended 7-round magazine as well as a standard 6-round magazine
Black Nitron stainless slide over black anodized aluminum frame with black controls
G10 grips with an aggressive texture
Dimensions. Since many of the small pistol manufacturs use creative ways to quote their dimensions, I've measured both the Sig P938 & the Kahr PM9 several ways: (Kahr PM9)
Length: 5.9" (5.5)
Height: 4.0" with std mag, 4.5" with ext mag (4.2, 4.9)
Width:
@ Grips 0.93" (0.93)
@ Slide 0.88" (0.90)
@ Ambi safeties 1.17" (1.11 @ slide stop)
Weight: (Kahr PM9)
Gun only: 15.7 oz (15.0)
with 7-rd magazine: 17.5 oz (16.5)
Loaded: 21.6 oz (20.0)
So, as you can see the little Sig is within a whisker of being as small and light as the longtime standard bearer, the Kahr PM9. Frankly, I'm impressed considering the Sig has a metal frame and a beavertail.
About carrying "cocked and locked" (Condition One):
Some folks are bothered by this. Count me among those for quite a while (years). I carried a 1911 for over 20 years in Uncle's service, however we always carried it in Condition Three: Chamber empty, full magazine in place, hammer down. The plan was to draw, quickly rack the slide and then shoot if the SHTF. Well, not only is that slow, too slow, one of the guys in my unit shot his partner in the knee doing exactly that. Seems that there's a strong tendency to put the finger on the trigger under those circumstances, which results in BANG as soon as the round is chambered and the slide is back in battery regardless of where the gun is pointed during the slide racking drill. :eek:
Then, we got issued the M92 Beretta. At first, I thought it was lunacy to carry with a round chambered and no safety engaged. After a brief time, I got used to the idea of a DA/SA pistol and came to like it - a lot.
Back to the 1911. I started shooting 1911's in IDPA a while back. At first, it was a bit spooky. I was still nervous about cocked and locked and sometimes I even carried both the 1911 and my Sig P238 in Condition 3. But, after a few months of shooting 2K rounds a month from the holster, I got over those concerns as well as getting quite proficient with the 1911 battery of arms. Getting that safety on/off is well ingrained in my muscle memory now.
First impressions out of the box:
Like most Sigs, the P938 just feels good in the hand.
The trigger guard is nicely undercut to give a full 2-finger grip with the standard mag while the PM9 has a 1.9 finger grip. That changes to a very comfortable full grip with 7-round magazine. The extended mag looks like a work of art compared to the dorky looking Kahr extended mag. The 7-round magazine also gives the gun a nice round butt which is not only comfortable, it facilitates drawing from a pocket.
The checkering on the front strap is the best I've seen on any Sig, including my P226 Elite's and X-Five. Like a high-end 1911, the checkering is aggressive without being painful.
The trigger pull is short . . . and on the heavy side. Factory specs are 7.5-8.5#. I measured a pull of 6.91# (average of 20 on my Lyman gauge). Then I measured my Kahr PM9 this evening at 7.05#, so the P938's pull is actually less than the PM9's. That said, the Kahr's trigger is silky smooth compared to the little Sig, but the Sig's trigger will get smoother with use while the Kahr's will unlikely change much with wear.
The slide is amazingly easy to rack for such a small pistol rated for +P.
The G10 grips on the 'Extreme' model are fairly aggressive. Great for holding the gun, but too aggressive for CCW against bare skin under a shirt. While not normally fond of the 'Extreme' look, the grips do soften the outline of the gun making it possibly more difficult to 'make' should it become exposed briefly.
FYI, the Owner's Manual lists an all stainless version @ 21.7 oz with magazine. :)
A Brief Range Report: I took the P938 to the Sunnydell Shooting Grounds, owned by an Olympic Champion skeet shooter. Naturally, it's all about shotguns, but they have one lane inside a culvert for pistols. A little bizarre - and loud - but it's close. I ran 50 rounds of Federal Champion 115gr FMJ straight out of the box followed by a magazine of Winchester Ranger-T 147gr.
No failures to feed, eject or fire.
The magazine did drop prematurely early on, but I believe my thumb hit the mag release.
The recoil is definitely snappy, especially with the faster 115 gr load. It felt very similar to my PM9.
Double taps would be a real challenge for the average shooter. Any day that I feel like the ability to do a Double Tap is a priority is a day I carry a 1911.
The gun never felt "loose" in my hand like my PM9 does. In other words, while the recoil was lively, it never felt like I wasn't gripping the gun firmly enough. I can't quite say the same for my PM9 and there's a reason why my PM40 is covered with grip tape!
Just like on my P238, the extended mag on the P938 doesn't pinch the little finger the way Pearce grip mag extensions do.
Accuracy? I wore the wrong glasses to the range today, so front sight was a total blur. Maybe next time with my shooting glasses.
The Future:
Continue breaking in the P938 with a variety of FMJ and most of my 12+ different types of JHP. As always, I'll run all of my defensive ammo through the chrono before making the final decision on what loads to carry.
Two holsters are on order:
IWB: TTGunleather Mike's Special
OWB: Fist #7 pancake with dropped front, extreme cant and Kydex lining
Smooth Cocobolo grips are on order
An extended single-side thumb safety, just like my 1911's is also on order. The OEM thumb safety is a bit small to work quickly/easily. And I don't like ambi safeties on carry guns because they make it too easy to unintentionally disengage the safety.
As soon as the thumb safety arrives, it's off to the Sig Armorer for a 5# trigger job and installation of the extended thumb safety.
Bottom Line? It's a keeper.
:33:
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6351_800.jpg
Sig P938 "Extreme"
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6354_800.jpg
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6352_800.jpg
Left to right: Sig P238 "Rosewood", Sig P938 "Extreme" Who knew the cost of carrying a 'Nine' would be so little more that carrying a 380?
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6353_800.jpg
Left to right: Kahr PM40 with CT and lots of grip tape, Sig P938 "Extreme"
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6355_800.jpg
Left to right: Sig P938 "Extreme", Dan Wesson "Guardian". A Commander-size 1911 with a 4.25" barrel; also in 9mm.
Features common to all Sig P938's:
Stainless steel slide on aluminum alloy frame
9mm Luger
SAO with ambi thumb safety
Night sights - large & useful
Front & rear cocking serrations on slide combined with a fairly light recoil spring makes for easy slide racking - my wife finds it quite easy, even when the hammer is down
Flatwire recoil spring on solid stainless guide rod
Removable grips
The 'Extreme' model includes three features:
An extended 7-round magazine as well as a standard 6-round magazine
Black Nitron stainless slide over black anodized aluminum frame with black controls
G10 grips with an aggressive texture
Dimensions. Since many of the small pistol manufacturs use creative ways to quote their dimensions, I've measured both the Sig P938 & the Kahr PM9 several ways: (Kahr PM9)
Length: 5.9" (5.5)
Height: 4.0" with std mag, 4.5" with ext mag (4.2, 4.9)
Width:
@ Grips 0.93" (0.93)
@ Slide 0.88" (0.90)
@ Ambi safeties 1.17" (1.11 @ slide stop)
Weight: (Kahr PM9)
Gun only: 15.7 oz (15.0)
with 7-rd magazine: 17.5 oz (16.5)
Loaded: 21.6 oz (20.0)
So, as you can see the little Sig is within a whisker of being as small and light as the longtime standard bearer, the Kahr PM9. Frankly, I'm impressed considering the Sig has a metal frame and a beavertail.
About carrying "cocked and locked" (Condition One):
Some folks are bothered by this. Count me among those for quite a while (years). I carried a 1911 for over 20 years in Uncle's service, however we always carried it in Condition Three: Chamber empty, full magazine in place, hammer down. The plan was to draw, quickly rack the slide and then shoot if the SHTF. Well, not only is that slow, too slow, one of the guys in my unit shot his partner in the knee doing exactly that. Seems that there's a strong tendency to put the finger on the trigger under those circumstances, which results in BANG as soon as the round is chambered and the slide is back in battery regardless of where the gun is pointed during the slide racking drill. :eek:
Then, we got issued the M92 Beretta. At first, I thought it was lunacy to carry with a round chambered and no safety engaged. After a brief time, I got used to the idea of a DA/SA pistol and came to like it - a lot.
Back to the 1911. I started shooting 1911's in IDPA a while back. At first, it was a bit spooky. I was still nervous about cocked and locked and sometimes I even carried both the 1911 and my Sig P238 in Condition 3. But, after a few months of shooting 2K rounds a month from the holster, I got over those concerns as well as getting quite proficient with the 1911 battery of arms. Getting that safety on/off is well ingrained in my muscle memory now.
First impressions out of the box:
Like most Sigs, the P938 just feels good in the hand.
The trigger guard is nicely undercut to give a full 2-finger grip with the standard mag while the PM9 has a 1.9 finger grip. That changes to a very comfortable full grip with 7-round magazine. The extended mag looks like a work of art compared to the dorky looking Kahr extended mag. The 7-round magazine also gives the gun a nice round butt which is not only comfortable, it facilitates drawing from a pocket.
The checkering on the front strap is the best I've seen on any Sig, including my P226 Elite's and X-Five. Like a high-end 1911, the checkering is aggressive without being painful.
The trigger pull is short . . . and on the heavy side. Factory specs are 7.5-8.5#. I measured a pull of 6.91# (average of 20 on my Lyman gauge). Then I measured my Kahr PM9 this evening at 7.05#, so the P938's pull is actually less than the PM9's. That said, the Kahr's trigger is silky smooth compared to the little Sig, but the Sig's trigger will get smoother with use while the Kahr's will unlikely change much with wear.
The slide is amazingly easy to rack for such a small pistol rated for +P.
The G10 grips on the 'Extreme' model are fairly aggressive. Great for holding the gun, but too aggressive for CCW against bare skin under a shirt. While not normally fond of the 'Extreme' look, the grips do soften the outline of the gun making it possibly more difficult to 'make' should it become exposed briefly.
FYI, the Owner's Manual lists an all stainless version @ 21.7 oz with magazine. :)
A Brief Range Report: I took the P938 to the Sunnydell Shooting Grounds, owned by an Olympic Champion skeet shooter. Naturally, it's all about shotguns, but they have one lane inside a culvert for pistols. A little bizarre - and loud - but it's close. I ran 50 rounds of Federal Champion 115gr FMJ straight out of the box followed by a magazine of Winchester Ranger-T 147gr.
No failures to feed, eject or fire.
The magazine did drop prematurely early on, but I believe my thumb hit the mag release.
The recoil is definitely snappy, especially with the faster 115 gr load. It felt very similar to my PM9.
Double taps would be a real challenge for the average shooter. Any day that I feel like the ability to do a Double Tap is a priority is a day I carry a 1911.
The gun never felt "loose" in my hand like my PM9 does. In other words, while the recoil was lively, it never felt like I wasn't gripping the gun firmly enough. I can't quite say the same for my PM9 and there's a reason why my PM40 is covered with grip tape!
Just like on my P238, the extended mag on the P938 doesn't pinch the little finger the way Pearce grip mag extensions do.
Accuracy? I wore the wrong glasses to the range today, so front sight was a total blur. Maybe next time with my shooting glasses.
The Future:
Continue breaking in the P938 with a variety of FMJ and most of my 12+ different types of JHP. As always, I'll run all of my defensive ammo through the chrono before making the final decision on what loads to carry.
Two holsters are on order:
IWB: TTGunleather Mike's Special
OWB: Fist #7 pancake with dropped front, extreme cant and Kydex lining
Smooth Cocobolo grips are on order
An extended single-side thumb safety, just like my 1911's is also on order. The OEM thumb safety is a bit small to work quickly/easily. And I don't like ambi safeties on carry guns because they make it too easy to unintentionally disengage the safety.
As soon as the thumb safety arrives, it's off to the Sig Armorer for a 5# trigger job and installation of the extended thumb safety.
Bottom Line? It's a keeper.
:33:
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6351_800.jpg
Sig P938 "Extreme"
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6354_800.jpg
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6352_800.jpg
Left to right: Sig P238 "Rosewood", Sig P938 "Extreme" Who knew the cost of carrying a 'Nine' would be so little more that carrying a 380?
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6353_800.jpg
Left to right: Kahr PM40 with CT and lots of grip tape, Sig P938 "Extreme"
http://serenitysys.com/shooting/guns/Sig_P938/Sig_P938-6355_800.jpg
Left to right: Sig P938 "Extreme", Dan Wesson "Guardian". A Commander-size 1911 with a 4.25" barrel; also in 9mm.