sig p238 vs ???

[Nullifier]

So I have decided to get a new "summer" gun. Now before you laugh and say summer almost over just remember I live in Tampa, Fl and it can be 85 in January. I have started my search for the perfect ultra compact ccw. I was hoping to like the glock 26 or 27 but too large. looked at and shot the smith bodyguard. Miserable triger just hate it. the Keltec does not fit my hand well. The ppk just has to many sharp edges on it, the lc9 and the rest of the poly guns are to narrow and just feel....cheap. This is funny since my preferred semi is a glock. I really like the Sig 238. Obviously feels like a gun should. solid and fit my hand really well with the plus 1 mag, and the real sights are fantastic. I like the sas version which has had all the edges smothed over from the factory. I looked at the sig 938 but to long. I want it for my cargo shorts pocket when I.m out and about on a hot day either hiking, paddling, or taking a bike ride in the hood with my kids.

I cannot find a p238 to try shooting. Non of my local ranges have one to try and I'm concerned about switching from a glock style to a 1911 based gun. The safety on the p238 is smartly laid out, intuitive and I like how you can maipulate the slide with the safety engaged unlike a true 1911. So feed back on this from those that have one would be appreciated before I drop $650 on a gun I have never fired in a style I have never owned. Also for those of you running one of these how is the weight. Do you wish you had one of the lighter poly guns for true pocket carry? Also what pocket and waistband holsters do you recomend for it. Is there some other gun I am missing that is high quality and similarly sized.

 

[FellowTraveler]

So I have decided to get a new "summer" gun. Now before you laugh and say summer almost over just remember I live in Tampa, Fl and it can be 85 in January. I have started my search for the perfect ultra compact ccw. I was hoping to like the glock 26 or 27 but too large. looked at and shot the smith bodyguard. Miserable triger just hate it. the Keltec does not fit my hand well. The ppk just has to many sharp edges on it, the lc9 and the rest of the poly guns are to narrow and just feel....cheap. This is funny since my preferred semi is a glock. I really like the Sig 238. Obviously feels like a gun should. solid and fit my hand really well with the plus 1 mag, and the real sights are fantastic. I like the sas version which has had all the edges smothed over from the factory. I looked at the sig 938 but to long. I want it for my cargo shorts pocket when I.m out and about on a hot day either hiking, paddling, or taking a bike ride in the hood with my kids.

I cannot find a p238 to try shooting. Non of my local ranges have one to try and I'm concerned about switching from a glock style to a 1911 based gun. The safety on the p238 is smartly laid out, intuitive and I like how you can maipulate the slide with the safety engaged unlike a true 1911. So feed back on this from those that have one would be appreciated before I drop $650 on a gun I have never fired in a style I have never owned. Also for those of you running one of these how is the weight. Do you wish you had one of the lighter poly guns for true pocket carry? Also what pocket and waistband holsters do you recomend for it. Is there some other gun I am missing that is high quality and similarly sized.

While the SIG P238 is an excellent auto pistol I never liked the performance of the 380 I prefer the Walther P22 w/stinger or quick shock its lighter and the .22 LR will switch off any entity when deploying into T-zone quickly. Keep in mind that only the two (2) types of rounds mentioned will do the job efficiently and not foul the chamber as non copper clad rounds will, its light and holds up well to body sweat. As for carry, I use the old Schwinn grip which is a bicycle inner tube cut to make a tacky grip over the hand grip reduces pistol sliding down past the waste band too.

The next choice would be a high quality 1911 super compact in 45 cal. w/recoil reduction system and use the fastest and lightest hollow point round (extreme terminal performance) you are comfortable with shooting.

I smith my own arms to include full auto weapons the two (2) aforementioned choices are based upon my my carrying concealed in most states of the union and never ever aim just use my instinct shooting ability which I've honed for better than 50 years now. :ylsmoke:

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

If you take the time to learn to shoot it right you'll be selling all your Glocks in lieu of 1911's Also take a look at the EMP from Springfield it comes in 9mm and .40S&W. Just remember the barrel is the easy part to hide. It's the grip that gives them away. I've got two 1911's that I carry both in .45ACP. One is a Officer sized model, 4in barrel with the short grip. The other is a Government sized model, 5in barrel with a bobtailed full size frame. As long as you have at least shorts and a shirt on they are both easily concealed. The most important part is the holster though. I use a Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe, and there are several others that would conceal just as well. One mistake people make is trying to get a $5.00 belt from Wally world to hold up their pistol. You'd be much better served with a good gun belt. Good luck

 

[NothingClever]

All the reputable brands are good.

Make the brand a secondary focus and get what fits your hand and intuitively feels right when manipulating the controls.

Sounds dopey but I recommend taking an aircraft sleep mask to the gun store and lay out the weapons you think fit the bill. Have the sales clerk scramble the weapons and then pick them up and use your hands as your eyes.

Buy what feels right. Don't forget to account for grip customization if required to get it just right.

Then train with it until you can put holes in the black everytime you draw from multiple positions with a shooting buddy controlling your target arrayal & presentation. Mushy couch, tall bar stool, half-open doorway, LOS obstructions, overpenetration considerations, mounted on a bicycle, you get the picture.....train like that and you will very likely beat the pants off the next guy with thousands of dollars in boutique brands, trinkets, gee-gaws and doo-dads.

The threat will be dead all day long and the brand won't matter (as long as it's reliably engineered and built). It's the painter, not the brush.

 

[FellowTraveler]

Gotta love them 1911's

If you take the time to learn to shoot it right you'll be selling all your Glocks in lieu of 1911's Also take a look at the EMP from Springfield it comes in 9mm and .40S&W. Just remember the barrel is the easy part to hide. It's the grip that gives them away. I've got two 1911's that I carry both in .45ACP. One is a Officer sized model, 4in barrel with the short grip. The other is a Government sized model, 5in barrel with a bobtailed full size frame. As long as you have at least shorts and a shirt on they are both easily concealed. The most important part is the holster though. I use a Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe, and there are several others that would conceal just as well. One mistake people make is trying to get a $5.00 belt from Wally world to hold up their pistol. You'd be much better served with a good gun belt. Good luck

I see you know your pistols my fave 1911 is a custom para ord steel frame I had built long ago in .45 Super one of ACE's first licensed to a consumer I had built a captured dual recoil dual buffered full length guide rod for it did full Teflon coating then finished it off w/Clark 6" custom bbl and AWC nexus can, sweet indeed.

 

[1911]

... I've got two 1911's that I carry both in .45ACP. ... As long as you have at least shorts and a shirt on they are both easily concealed. The most important part is the holster though. I use a Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe, and there are several others that would conceal just as well. One mistake people make is trying to get a $5.00 belt from Wally world to hold up their pistol. You'd be much better served with a good gun belt. Good luck

+1 on all counts. I carry either a full-size or a Commander-size 1911 every day of the year in Texas or wherever I am, and the vast majority of the time I'm just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. A good semi-custom holster and sturdy belt to hold it up is the key as Hillbilly has said. People who haven't tried it often don't believe how concealable even a full-size 1911 pistol is.

 

[Nullifier]

Appreciate all the feedback everyone. I know all the info on calipers and stuff I just do not want to carry a full side or a "compact" full size gun anymore. Just to heavy for my likes. Especially now that I have a 1 and 3 year old in tow most of the time. Gotta carry all their crap too lol!

So it definitely a 380 of some sort for me cause by the time you factor in a cell phone, knife, wallet, pen, sharpie, multi tool, pepper spray and money clip ya got a lot of stuff on ya already.

I really don't know anything about Kahn but saw they make a small 9 that it really the size of the p238. Anyone know anything about Kahn?

 

[ArmchairRacer]

Do you mean Kahr? If so, they have a long break in period but they're good little shooters. Kahr also has a 40 in that size, if you really want to pack a pocket cannon :elkgrin:

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

There is a P238 in my house, and I've only shot it once, so take my review with a grain of salt. I like Sig. And I like the way this gun looks. I wanted to love it and make it a carry gun. But I was not that impressed with it out on the range. Had a real hard time zeroing it in at 20ft. Granted, it was a pretty windy day, so I haven't given up on it yet. Its just too darn hot here to go out to our local range to try again.

I've also been looking at the new S&W Shield for carry. I've held one, but not shot it. I really like the size and I think its a good compromise of more firepower and less weight than the boat anchor I carry now.

I think bottom line is for you to try and shoot the Sig before purchase, there has to be somewhere you can rent one in your area?

 

[sett]

Unlike the 1911 diehards that seem determined to convince you that anything is better than a well made pistol, I actually own and shoot a P238. The pistol is excellent. Very accurate. Very concealable. The 3 examples I've shot have been flawless from the start. I understand that there are a few folks who don't mind wearing trench coats to conceal their beloved antiques, but if you actually intend to carry in that wretched climate, the P238 should serve you well. Mine has quite a few rounds through it (1800) and is going strong. I think you can buy with confidence. You need spend the time to work out how you are going to carry and holster it. For my purposes it works well.

 

[FellowTraveler]

Unlike the 1911 diehards that seem determined to convince you that anything is better than a well made pistol,

? What, who said the pistol in question was not well made?

 

[robert]

Well he specifically requested info on pocket pistols, not larger framed guns. While I don't have a Sig, I do have the original, a Colt Mustang. I tried to like it for a pocket carry, but I never really got used to it. When I'm not working I wear shorts most of the year including the winter; the Mustang is blockier and heavier than I was comfortable with bouncing around while I walked. The safety has an unnerving tendency to get knocked off too (this is fairly common on the Mustang) and with it's light trigger I just wasn't comfortable with it riding near the boys or my femoral artery, even in its holster. I went back to a S&W 642. While lots of folks swear by the J framed revolvers for pocket carry, I find the 642 to really be too large for my taste and instead use a pancake style holster with it. To be honest, I really don't like anything in my pockets.

Being open minded, or more likely stubborn, I kept looking for a good pocket gun for those occasions when I wanted something really small. Suffice to say I tried a couple of other guns, but had pretty much given up until Kel-tec introduced their P32 then the P3AT. I wanted to like them, but Kel-tecs have their issues to put it politely. Then Ruger introduced their version; after the bugs were worked out I bought a second gen. Carried in a Desantis Nemesis it meets most of my expectations for a pocket gun. Decent caliber, decent round count, easy reloads, very light weight, thin so it doesn't print and accurate enough for short range work. The sights could be better as could the trigger, but you get used to it and the trigger gets better with use. It's a purposefully long trigger pull as the gun has no other safety (and Ruger, like all manufacturers, is highly conscious of the number of idiots who will sue due to their own stupidity). There are several aftermarket companies making or planning on making improved triggers. Recoil is snappy as you'd expect in a very lightweight blowback operated gun and it's thin width can make the gun rotate in your palm while firing if the shooter isn't aware of it; the finger extension on the magazine helps a lot with that. Pocket pistols are by their very nature a compromise but the Ruger fills it's very narrow niche very well.

That said, I prefer a larger gun and usually carry a lightweight Commander sized 1911 when out and about. The LCP is for those times when a larger gun just doesn't fit in to my plans.

 

[Metcalf]

Smith and Wesson Shield? Its a small frame single stack m&p.....

I have been trying to get my hands on one to play with, love the m&p for most things. The Shield would just make it better for ultra small CCW.

 

[eviltwin67]

I also live in FL so I can relate to the OPs concerns. I used to CCW my Sig p228 for about 2 years before I decided I really wanted something more compact so I bought a Springfield XD 9SC. I love this as a daily CCW and is so compact and enjoyable to shoot that I bought an XD 40SC so that I can use the same holsters. I still own my Sig but will only CCW with my XDSubCompacts from now on.

 

[phxtoad]

I held the 9mm Shield and I really liked the way it felt. Not sure if I'd consider it a pocket gun by any means though. As for the LCP - I really like mine. 850 rounds through it to date. It's not perfect, but it's so easy to carry/conceal.