I found a Sig P938 in stock at Top Gun Supply. I called my local guy and asked when it would be possible to put my hands on one locally. He said it would be a while for him to get one, and to buy it if I wanted it. I ordered it on 5/31. The FFL was faxed on 6/1 and I received it today. It comes with one magazine. At this time, spare magazines cost $700 and come with a free Sig P938.

The gun has a sticker on the box with a �born on� date of 5/24/12. It has a prefix and 3 zeros and 4XX, which makes it the earliest serial number of any gun I ever have owned.

I knew the P238 had birthing pains, and I knew I was going to be a beta tester and did not expect perfection. I drove straight to the range with a scrounged box of 115 gr. Winchester White Box (WWB) and some 124 gr. Speer Gold Dots. Because I was expecting trouble, I did something I never do. I stripped the gun and cleaned and lubed it. I noticed that the recoil spring was very stiff, and I had a hard time getting it back on the guide rod and settled in the correct position. The magazine spring was very stiff and it was difficult to load the sixth (last) round.

I took some pictures with a P238. The P238 has about 250 rounds through it and is pretty slicked up. The P238 feels like a toy next to the P938. The recoil spring on the P238 is very loose compared to the P938. A three year old could probably rack the P238 but not the P938. After dry firing the P238 for several hundred rounds, it has a much lighter, smoother, trigger pull. The P938 is heftier, and the sharply checkered G10 grips grab the hand much more firmly than the smooth Lego grip on the P238. The P938 also has very sharp checking on the frontstrap and the backstrap, as opposed to wide grooves on the P238.





I fired the first 6 shots at 10 yards with WWB. I had 3 failures to eject. In each instance, the fired round remained in the chamber and the next round was trying to feed. I figured it would be a return trip to the factory tomorrow. However, I have read that WWB isn�t really hot stuff, so I loaded 6 Gold Dots and fed them from slide lock. In the P238 I had a few instances during break in where Gold Dots would hang up on the ramp and needed to be bumped or fed using the slingshot. I tripped the lever on the P938 and it felt like it had a slight hesitation but it fed the first Gold Dot. Those 6 fired fine. I went back to WWB and shot some more. The magazine spring loosened up and maybe the recoil spring. I did not experience another malfunction with either WWB or the other 6 Gold Dots I fired. I also tried my standard �limp wrist� test that involves holding the gun with one hand as loosely as I dare (to avoid dropping it) with broken wrist and elbow and firing it. I only shot 6 that way, three with each hand, but no trouble. The wind was blowing very hard and it the target was giving me fits, so I could not shoot as much as I wanted. I figure I shot about 70 rounds. Again, the only problems were with the first magazine.

The recoil is stiffer than the P238, but it was not unpleasant in the least. With the P238 I could lock up and hold the gun and cycle through a magazine very fast and stay on target after taking one sight picture. The P938 would take more work and this technique may not be possible, at least for me, with the P938. The P238 is easily a 25 yard gun. The P938 probably is one also, but I have not gotten the sights regulated, and it also needs to be dry fired a bunch more to smooth things up.

One common problem for me is that I usually have to dial sights to the right. This gun was no exception. (The P238 actually was an exception, but upon inspection it appears to be drifted more to the right from the factory than the P938). I used a punch and rubber mallet and moved the sights and the groups, but I still need to do a little more work on this, and I tread lightly when doing this with night sights. The gun did not shoot way low like those 2 guys experienced in the C&R Reviews on You Tube.

The gun did fit in the Sig Sauer pocket holster made for the P238, but it would not be practical for the P938 because the fit was very tight. It fit fine in a DeSantis ankle holster marketed for the P238 but the thumb break would have to be adjusted differently. The dinky "Fobus-like" holster that came with the P238 would not work at all. I misplaced the Nemisis I bought a couple of weeks ago, so that test has to wait. If I put the guns in my pocket without a holster, the P238 definitely is less noticeable, but the P938 still does not appear to weigh as much as a steel S&W Centennial 5 shot revolver. You get the print of the edge of the rear bottom of the grip as opposed to the cylinder.

I like the ambidextrous safety on the P938 because it allows me to carry in either pocket or on either ankle in a backup capacity, and the safety can easily be manipulated with the weak hand. Of course, lefties should really love it. One feature about the 238/938 design is that, if the hammer is cocked, you can retract the slide with the safety on, so you can load it or clear it without taking it off safe. (If the hammer is down the safety locks the slide when activated.)

Measurements

I know a lot of people want to know measurements in addition to the ones on the spec sheet. The overall dimensions don�t really help because a brick could have the same overall dimensions and would not feel the same in the hand or ride the same in the pocket. I took calipers to the P238 and the P938, and put them both on an old school analog postal scale, and here are some of the differences (P.S. I am not an engineer, so don�t hold me to this stuff):

Grip length from frontstrap to backstrap halfway between the trigger guard and the bottom of the frame:
P238 1.74�
P938 1.9�

Height from top of slide to bottom of dust cover:
P238 1.23�
P938 1.26�

Width of grip (difference could be the material used):
P238 .908�
P938 .912"

Slide width near muzzle:
P238 .816�
P938 .882

Weight empty with magazine:
P238 15 ounces
P938 17.5 ounces

Weight loaded with 6 rounds:
P238 Slightly over 17 ounces
P938 approximately 19.5 ounces

These dimension differences may look negligible on paper, but they do make a difference in heft, weight in the pocket, and printing in the pocket. On a belt or an ankle, I doubt it would make the slightest difference, making the P938 the obvious choice.

My overall impression is very favorable. This gun is a keeper and, at least when spare magazines become readily available, it renders obsolete the S&W Centennials unless you think you may be firing while the gun is in your pocket. I think that someone trying to decide between one or the other needs to consider the mission. If it purely is a backup, the carrier may be willing to give up some power and take the P238, although the lack of an ambidextrous safety on a standard model is a limiting factor. I may choose to replace the P938 grips with something smoother, which would aid in pocket carry with, I suspect, no appreciable difference in shootability.

In the end, the difference may come down to this distinction:



Wtxj jumped on one of these as well. So, hopefully, within a few days, we will be able to read his impressions.

very nice review,thanks!!

Thanks for the review; I want one!

I really, really want one...

Thanks for all the trouble of the report, I won't be getting one but it is nice to know they are decent guns.

interesting report, thanks. My P238 needed adjustment to extractor tension, so perhap your P938 might need tweaking as well in that regard.

I just put another 83 rounds downrange, consisting of the left over 115 WWB, a few 115 Blazers, about a half box of some Federal hollowpoints (probably 115s) and a measly three 124 gr. Gold Dots.

I tried to burn through the WWBs that didn�t work so well my first trip out to the range. On round 21, I had another failure to eject of the same kind as the first 3, but the case partially extracted. There were no other problems with any ammo. The hollowpoints all fed well, including from slide lock. I wish I had brought more Gold Dots. I know when I am shooting them, and the cases of the three I shot ejected pretty far. Two were 4 paces away and 1 was 8 paces away. The others all ejected all over the place, most near, a few far, but the Gold Dots kicked out.

I am not sweating it because I wouldn�t dream of carrying it before getting spare magazines. Further, if the Gold Dots work, that�s all I need to know. I need to bring a lot more to the range next trip.

I still am not used to the trigger. It needs a lot more dry firing to lighten up.

The safety on the right side now rattles when the safety is on. It is not as bad as some magazines rattle. It does not do that when the safety is disengaged.

My Sig P938 came in today and is in my possession.
Cheyenne, Thanks for the tip about where to order the p938.

Going to be fun. No time to shoot it until next week sometime.
As far as the looks, feel, weight etc. same as above. Fits in the same pocket hoister as yours did.
Mine is in the low 400's numbers also as far as serial #.
First impression of the trigger is different than the 238 model. Will see what range time will do to lighten it up a might bit.
The process will be lots of fun.
Going to start with WWB, found one 100 box and will let you know if I have any FTF's or other problems.

Thanks for the write-up Cheyenne. I really liked the Sig 238 I had and it looks like the 938 is a real winner. Colt is getting one-upped in a serious way by SIG these days!

30/35 rounds down range so far. Used WWB and found out the box is not worth a cra-. Was standing in 107 index temps, at Rogers deer/hog lease to shoot this pistol. Bent over to pick up the box and it feel apart. 80 on the ground in the dirt. Had not had a FTE for the first 15 shots but they started after that. Had 3, one in each mag after the box fell apart.
Will give it a good cleaning then told Roger I will take it to a indoor range where standing in the humid heat is not a factor.
Fun to shoot, not too much recoil and it fits in my pocket just as well as the P238 does. In fact this p938 is easier to pull out of my pocket than the 238 is/was.

Will try to get to the range in the next several days, with clean WWB and a cleaned pistol. Well give a better test at that time.

Thanks for the report. You may want to look on Sig Forum too, as there are some threads there including my cross post with some commments from others. It appears to me that people are not having trouble with the full strength carry loads as much as with the cheap practice stuff. Also, you may want to try lubing it with the grease Sig supplies in the box. The gun is pretty tight right out of the box.

I have noticed that the trigger has some repeatable creep that I do not have in the P238. I am suprised to learn that you find it easier to draw than the P238, because I don't.

I backordered some spare magazines from Sig yesterday, and was told approximately 3 weeks. You can order them for $46 a piece for 6 or 7 rounders, plus shipping, or 3 for $110 shipped. No brainer on that decision.

This afternoon, on the second round of the second magazine of 124 gr. Gold Dots, I had a failure to fully eject. I fired a total of 48 Gold Dots and a couple of magazines of 115 Federal JHPs, with no other trouble. It may be going back for a check, but I am too busy to send it off right now. I'll probably shoot a bunch of 124 Blazer and Gold Dots next week and make a final decision. It's a cool little gun, though.

I'm a bit surprised at the FTE malf's you've been having, as every SIG I've had has been Germanically perfect right out of the box.

However, this small frame gun almost sounds like a new Kahr pistol... Kahrs are notorious for needing 200+ rounds through them to "dial in". I wonder if the tighter tolerances in small pistols leads to this issue?

In any event, I'd fire a good 200-300 rounds thru this pistola before sending it back to the factory, and I'd lube it until it drips down your wrist while shooting. That's what works with Kahrs and tight custom-made 1911's, in my experience.

I did have one mistake in my prior post. I did have one other malfunction, but it basically was self-induced. I fired 3 strong hand and 3 weak hand 124 Gold Dots in my "limp wrist" test, which is basically holding the gun as loosely as possible, with as few fingers as possible, bent wrist and bent elbow. On the second round weak hand, I had a failure to feed. The spent case had ejected, the extractor was not engaged, and the case had fed about half way. That one was not the gun's fault. It also was the first failure of that kind.

As for your particular comments, the gun is well lubed using Break Free and the TW whatever stuff they put in the gun box. I have learned that Sigs like to run wet, so I indulge it. It is a tight gun by traditional 1911 standards, but maybe not by newer custom and semi-custom standards.

I am not giving up on this one. At worst, it seems like it may need an extractor tweak.

I don't want to go into my one Kahr experience.

Any chance of a picture in your open palm and then another of a pistol with some size to it (like a glock, 1911, or whatever)?

Like this?

Here you go:

Sig P938


Glock 30 with standard 10 round magazine


Sig P938 vs Glock 30 with standard 10 round magazine


Sig P938 vs. Glock 30 with optional 9 round magazine (discontinued from what I read)


Side by side comparison Glock 30 and Sig P938


I realized after doing all this that I should have cocked the hammer on the Sig, but I did not have time to do it again.

Fair enough. Keep at it then, brother.

Thanks

Shot about 50 down range.
WWB 2nd and third mag had FTE, I gave up on WWB in a P938.
Went to American Eagle 115's. Shot 5 mags (25) had no FTE.
Otherwise pistol worked just fine. Need more mags (backordered)
Trigger is not the P238 or P226 trigger, guess I'm spoiled on that end. Trigger works fine, just different than the others I have shot.
Going to be a great pistol after I receive the extra mags, IWB, and figure out and shoot whatever defensive load this weapon eats the best.

Very hot at the in door range, no AC, so I just shot and left.
Finished up the box of WWB in my P226, it will eat anything.

Well, Doc, I took your advice and ran it extra sloppy tonight with Break Free and TW whatever, and it ran a box of 124 Blazers with zero issues and very positive ejection including shooting from retention and rapid fire. I have the hang of the trigger and it was IPSC A zone accurate at 25 yards with reasonable speed. The other thing I did was leave the chamber loaded for a day (duh, I didn't think about it until yesterday) because the external extractor tension seemed a bit tight compared to traditional internal extractor 1911 type guns (including the P238). The slide to frame fit has loosened up as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Total round count 250 to date.

The left grip screw has loosened and had to be retightened. I don't like the sharp checkering all around and I probably will wrap some electrical tape around the handle until aftermarkets show up.

[bleep] any self defense pistol that has to be carried with a safety. Safeties and having to cock a hammer can get you killed.
Assaults are quick and very violent, often they have one hand on you or multiple perps have their hands on you. Multiple perps may be closing in on you fast, and don't expect them to announce their intentions. You may have been battered or about to be shot or stabbed, or your loved one.

I was so scared in one robbery that I forgot that I had a Model 60 S&W 38 special in my waist band.

A friend that owned a Jewelry store called the police after he had been shot and left for dead after the perp smashed the glass on the jewelry case and cleaned it out. Police found him with a 45 auto in his hand but my friend said that the pistol would not fire...he was so scared that he forgot to take the safety off. Having to remember to take the safety off when you have been hit in the head, shot, stabbed, trying to retrieve your pistol during an assult by multiple perps, or just having seen a loved one get hurt is a tall order for most people.

For those that can hear, let them hear....no [bleep] safeties

I hear what you are saying, keith, but I do not share your point as an absolute truth. Police use retention holsters everyday, and frequently have to perform 2 distinct actions before removing the gun from the holster. If that was an insurmountable problem, there would be a lot more dead cops Most people have multiple vehicles with different handling characteristics and have to be able to pull a quick maneuver when a kid darts into the street. The key is training plus experience with the safety equipment.

I feel the way about Kahrs that you do about external safeties. To each his own. There are no absolutes.

That little Sig reminds me very much of the old Star PD pistols.

I have a Star 45, the little sig sure looks like a clone. The Star is a house gun that is in the arm of my recliner. House circumstances will allow me time to disengage a safety.

Cheyenne, I hear what you are saying. Most civilians rarely if ever practice, and surely do not get any kind of training in self defense at all.

Like you said, there are no absolutes...be forever vigilant!

Cheyenne thanks for an excellent write up. Actually it's far better than the gun rags.

I've been interested in one of these since they were announced.

Thanks. Another 75 124 gr. Gold Dots and 15 Federal JHPs including a 50 round qualification course with Gold Dots that is 70% rapid pairs, triples and 1 quad at close distance while moving or from the retention position. I was using 3 spare magazines that I received on Wednesday and never shot until this morning. No problems. It appears to be broken in. I am done with this review unless something unusual pops up.

Great review.

I went out and bought several different defensive load brands the other day. 124 gr gdhp, win bonded 147 gr jhp,then a 50 count box of something made by asym precision, these are 115 jhp match style.
Going to try these out and see what they'll do.

My mags, 3 7 rounds are on back order with Sig. May have to get one more 6 rounder from Top Gun, they say they are in stock as of yesterday. We will see.

So don't leave your great thread yet. I have/am sick with whatever, so that has slowed me down a few days.

Cheyenne,

Being out of the loop, so to write, due to rehabbing too damned many injuries, I wasn't aware of the introduction of this weapon. I'll disclose up front that I believe it's difficult to beat Sig factory weapons for self-defense. I carry a .40 S&W P-229 for self-defense when I do carry. So I checked Sig's Website for info on this piece. I came away thoroughly impressed. It appears to be perfect size for everyday carry. I prefer single action weapons. While I am not much a 9MM fan, I would buy this weapon in 9MM.

Cheyenne, I think you have a winner.


Take care,

R

Made it to the range today.

Win 9mm NATO 124 gr FMJ: 25 shot, no problems
American Eagle 115 gr : shot 50 no problems
Rem 115 gr mc cheap stuff. 5 shot one FTE
MFS 9's 115 gr FMJ cheap stuff: shot 20 no problems
ASYM precision 115 gr JHP match: no problems 20 shot. I really like this stuff.
Gold Dot 124 gr GDHP: shot just 8. Loaded up the mag, inserted the mag, used slide release, FT Load. Round for some reason caught on the ramp, this causes the mag not to want to release. Reloaded mag use a slam release on pistol, round loaded, fired the mag.
Win 147 gr JHP bonded PDX1: shot just 4. no problems. I used the slam release on first round to make sure I got a ready to fire. Recoil was not bad at all on the 147's, pistol sure can handle them.

The last two are a $1.00 a shot to me, so I'm kind of cheap with those.

Trigger is very solid, releases same place each time, pistol is very controllable, even with this poor shooting civilian as the operator. At this time only certain cheap brands are to my P938's liking. Will stick to the American eagle 115's but really liked for some reason whatever these ASYM's are. Just found them at Cabala's and bought them.

I picked up a P938 Extreme last weekend.
Haven't shot for accuracy, just stuffing various rounds for break-in.

It has fed everything from 115 gr.fmj to 147 gr. hp Feds without a hitch.

Only issues; hard to cock, trigger is stiff(it is getting better with use and the mags are the stiffest I've ever tried to load.

It's all about what your shooting at the time.
Years ago I carried only my BHP or a .45 or a revolver.
So every automatic had a safety and the first thing one did was sweep it down.
Different story now, Only the wife's Walther .380 has one.
And I often "click " it a few times before I remember the safety.

One reason why I don't carry it.
But she does and as it was her first carry gun, I wanted her to feel comfortable with it at hand.

Great report Cheyenne, looks like a great package to carry concealed. jorge

[quote=Wtxj]Great review.

I went out and bought several different defensive load brands the other day. 124 gr gdhp, win bonded 147 gr jhp,then a 50 count box of something made by asym precision, these are 115 jhp match style.
Going to try these out and see what they'll do.

My mags, 3 7 rounds are on back order with Sig. May have to get one more 6 rounder from Top Gun, they say they are in stock as of yesterday. We will see.




WEll today the 7 round mags came in. They are nice. Pistol fits my little finger now.

Take Doc's advice and run it really wet. The last 250 50/50 mixture of 124 Blazers and Gold Dots all ran well except that it prefers that it be fed Gold Dots from slide lock by pulling back on the slide and releasing.

I liked that grease so much, I ordered a big bottle of it from Midway. Use it on all of my slide type pistols and the old M1.

I'll probably buy one, when the price comes down some. The only one I've seen locally was ~$850, but the deeper discounting dealers sell for ~$700.

I did an analysis on the recoil spring of a P238, when mine was having feeding issues, and found that they really push the limit on the spring stress in the space available.

I paid $700 for mine in early June from Top Gun. May be top Gun.com. Great Co. Recommended by Cheyenne. They do ship fast on products.

My P238 and the P938 both are headed on vacation later this afternoon to Colorado. Like em both, but carry the P939. In the old front pocket of the relaxed fit jeans.

Heads up.

I obtained two Sig P938's for myself and my best friend. I'm an FFL so I was able to pass it along to him. His preceeds mine by 95 digits. His extractor is about 1/10th" in width, if that much. Mine about .25". I've got over 300 rds through mine with both 115 and 124 FMJ, 124 Speer Gold Dots and 115 gr Barnes TAC-XP. Not a single hiccup. Yet his has about 200 rds of just FMJ's with about 14 Fail to Extract. His skinny little extractor just simply pulls over the extractor groove. He called Sig and with no questions asked nor any cost, sent him a new, wide, extractor. My buddies gunsmith just installed it and he will test it tomorrow with about 100 rds of 115 FMJs.

Alan

What is the serial number range? Sig made some changes after the first 3 or so months of production.

I wasn�t going to resurrect this thread, but it got resurrected, so here goes. After about 160 rounds, my P938 was rocking along until around 600 rounds. It would feed anything from a 6 round magazine after the first round was chambered, but it had some feeding problems from slide lock using either method. 7 round magazines would unlatch during strings of firing, resulting in an empty chamber on the next round. The grip screws walked out after every range session, even after applying blue Loctite. I sent it back. Sig paid for the round trip. They did a great job polishing the ramp and replaced the extractor and some other internal parts I don�t remember. The entire turnaround time was about 2 weeks.

I received the gun back with the most problematic grip screw missing, but with a bag of 4 replacement grip screws. I put a screw in with Loctite. On the first range trip, I fired 50 124 grain Blazers and 25 124 Gold Dots rapid fire. Everything fired well but the 7 round magazine problem had not been fixed, and the problematic grip screw disappeared again. I tried to put another screw in but the frame stripped out.

I decided to send it back again just because I thought the gun should work with 7 round magazines because it is marketed that way. I figured they would blame me for stripping out the frame. Sig paid for the shipping to Sig. A few days later I was told that Sig was replacing the gun at no cost. I e-mailed FFL information. My FFL got it a few days later. He didn�t charge me a transfer fee, even though Sig never covered that. The whole deal was done in 2 weeks.

I had sent a 7 round magazine with the gun, but the new gun had the standard 6 round magazine that ships with a new gun. I was ok with that because I prefer the 6 rounders anyway.

The new gun came with the most lube on a new gun I ever have encountered. That certainly reinforces my own experiences with the gun. I took it apart. When I put the barrel back in the slide, it got slightly canted and locked into the slide and I couldn�t get it undone again. The slide also would not go back on the frame with the barrel in that position. I finally got the barrel unstuck, but it stuck again when I was putting the recoil spring in. I finally got it back together. This sometimes happens with other guns, but minor fiddling usually unsticks it. I debated whether to send it back before firing or to sell it, but I decided to go shoot it. Anyway, once the assembled slide goes back on the frame, it cycles smoothly.

I fired 100 rounds using the new 6 round magazine and two 7 round magazines. I fired 30-124 gr. Blazers, 50-115 gr. JHP handloads, and 20 factory 115 JHPs, and all functioned fine. There were no problems with the 7 round magazines. I took it apart to clean it and had the barrel/slide lockup problem again, but I finally got the slide back on the frame.

If I can go another 100 rounds before it pukes, I will clean and lube the gun and run through my remaining stash of personal Gold Dots and call it good. The barrel/slide thing is a pain, but I can live with it if the gun functions 100%.

The new gun serial number is in the 51,000 range, and the prior one had a 3 digit serial number. So, a lot of people are buying these things. By the way, I put a large rubber band around the grip frame and it is a lot more comfortable to shoot that way.

Call me crazy, but I like the little gun. If it pukes one time, though, I am going to get rid of it and try to make the slightly larger Beretta Nano work as my pocket and ankle gun.

Thanks for the continued writeup, it is very helpful.

I guess I will add that I tried mine, after polishing the breech face and other surfaces on the slide, that should have been polished and not peened. All seems well except I was having a lot of trouble with misfires due to light firing pin strikes. Of course, one can re-cock the hammer and try again, but that's unacceptable in a defensive weapon. Reckon I'll try cleaning out the firing pin channel and make sure no debris got it there that might hinder its movement.

My serial #, the one with the large extractor is 52A031120.

My buddy had a bit of a hiccup with his the other day. After a local 'smith swapped out the smaller extractor for the new large extractor, it would fire fine for about 2-3 mags full of 115 fmj. Then it would fire one and have one with a light firing pin strike, over and over. The 'smith took a look at it and he found where the internal firing pin "tunnel" ends at the firing pin hole; was all buggered up and out of round. Basically, shoddy manufacturing of the firing pin tunnel. He called Sig. They were pretty rude to him, stating they would not replace the gun. No return auth # nor offering to pay for return shipping of the gun. Just send it to them at his cost so they could "look at it". The firing pin stop was very loose too, effectively turning it in to a one shot gun.

Pretty dissapointed with Sig's CS!

Alan

mine is 52A014XXX.

I don't recall any light firing pin strikes the first times I shot it, but it was not doing well last time. I did note that unlike a 1911, the firing pin stop CAN be installed backwards. I'm wondering if that might have been the problem. I did confirm the pin can protrude far enough past the breech face, assuming it's getting hit hard enough.

To follow up, I shot mine again last weekend; it shot without misfires this time, and no jams, either. I think I did have the firing pin stop in backwards previously.

So I guess I will cautiously say that some polishing fixed mine, though I need to do more testing before calling it ready for defensive use.

Now I just need to find/load more 9mm ammo

This is an update of my post of March 3. My replacement gun has fired over 230 rounds, consisting mostly of 115 grain JHPs, with some 124 grain Blazers and, lastly, about 3 dozen 124 grain Gold Dots, without any hiccups. The rounds have been fired through 6 and 7 round magazines, and I have tried to induce malfunctions strong hand only and weak hand only by holding the gun low with a weak grip and unlocked wrists and elbows. The grip screws also remain tight. It appears that every issue that I had with the early model gun has been resolved in the latest iteration.