Quote:
Originally Posted by CoppertopT/A
i need to head down there p238 are hard to come by up here.
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I tried the P238 a while back, but I couldn't get it to run reliably enough for me. About 4 to 5 rounds out of 100 had issues.
I had always been leery about reliability when it comes to these little pocket semi-autos, but I figured if Sig was offering one, they probably had the bugs worked out of it. That ended up just being wishful thinking. After actually owning one for about 500 rounds worth of shooting and trying different things to get it to run reliably, I traded it in on a Glock G26 that I know for a fact will run when you absolutely need it. Everything I did to the little P238 to get one issue fixed just created an issue with another function of the feeding cycle.
After having my hands on a little pocket pistol to study firsthand why they tend to be rather finicky, I can't say I can really trust any of them. There is hardly any mass to the slides of these little guns so action timing is primarily dependent on spring tensions. Of course, we all know that springs age and relax over time, so there will always be the question of if it will really run when you need it to. Larger guns with more mass to their slides are a whole lot more tolerant to varying spring conditions.
In my opinion, if you want a super reliable lightweight pocket pistol, stick with the ultralight 5 shot revolvers. When loaded they come in around 18 ounces and they will go bang everytime. The only fat part of their width is across the cylinder, while the rest of the frame is pretty slim. Having one in the pocket just looks like a set of keys for the most part.
On the subject of the P232, it is a reliable platform worthy of the Sig name. It is big enough to have enough mass to its slide to make it inherently reliable. The sad thing is, it is just as big as some of the smaller 9mm guns out there, so why not step up to a 9mm if you are not recoil sensitive?