Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns My Sig 938 doesn't go bang every time

I had not done any shooting in over a year until recently and with both factory loads and handloads I am experiencing some occasional failures to fire with my Sig. This has not happened with my old Browning High Power.

Each time it has happened with the Sig I have pulled the hammer back and pulled the trigger again and then it has fired.

I did send the gun back to Sig several years ago. If I remember correctly I think it was because it was not always feeding and cycling properly.

I wonder what the problem is and how to fix it. As it is I don't trust it as a carry gun which is why I bought it. Maybe it just needs a new, stronger hammer spring?

Send it back again with a note explaining the issue.

Fixed it for you.......you can thank me later!

That was my thought as well.

Does the primer of the (failed to fire) cartridge have a weak or off-center mark from the firing pin?
No mark at all?
My guess is it isn't going fully into battery.

A slightly short firing pin or a weak spring I'd wager

I had a 938 also, that was unable to get through a full box of ammo without a failure to fire, also a weak primer strike. After a trip back to Sig Saur, and them telling me there was nothing wrong with it, I took it to my gun smith who tried a few fixes, springs etc. He was also unable to make it dependable. I then traded it away.

Every manufacturer turns out some lemons, but how each reacts is different. Ruger will say "Send it back. We'll fix it." And they do.

Sig Sauer is at the other end of the spectrum. They deny, deny, deny, and then try to make you feel guilty for falsely accusing them of less than perfection. It's like they hate their customers or something. Weird...

I just called SIG and they wanted my credit card info before they would even email me a return shipping label. Cost for round trip on the gun to them is $55. I sure hope they can fix the issue unlike they did for gnnrsig40. Not the greatest customer service by any means. The guy said that they would fire 50 rounds and if it fires every time then they will probably just send it back to me.

I would sell this gun and buy something reliable. It has already been to the manufacturer for service so there should be no guilt involved in passing it to someone else.

Another thing I noticed is that the guide rod is sticking out a bit from the front end of the gun. So I did some research and found that this is a common problem- the 2 piece guide rod can unscrew and eventually go "shooting" out of the gun. Some folks have success with using Loktite while others do not. I found a company that sells 1 piece stainless steel guide rods so I might get one of those if Sig has not come up with a 1 piece replacement. Pretty screwy deal.

At least I have the newer Main Spring Housing design as discussed here:

https://sigtalk.com/p238-p938-pisto...-vs-revised-new-main-spring-housing.html

Mine was made in 2016, so I'm good.

What changes did they make in 2016?

It might be a fluke or Sig might be able to fix it if it's not a fluke. I wouldn't risk my life on either choice and, if you're going to sell it, now's the time.

Sorry for the delay...

Starting with 938s produced in July 2015 the main spring housing and sear spring were a new design, specifically to prevent the issues mentioned by the other posters.

This is explained in the link you put in your post just above mine that the above quote is in reference to.

Since mine was made in 2016, it has the newer parts... just like you said yours is.

Mine has the old parts, is hammer reliable, and more precise that any Glock.


This^^^.




GR

If it's been sitting unused for a year or more, my first thought is that it may have been "lubricated" at some point with WD-40 or something similar that has gummed up while sitting around unused. That might be slowing down the hammer strike and/or firing pin. First thing I would do before any heroics is give it an overnight soak in Kroil. blow it off, run a dry patch or two through the chamber and bore ant try it again. If that didn't fix it, before I did anything costly or heroic, I would get a carry pistol that works every time. There are too many of them out there these days to dick around with anything questionable.

Get a Glock 48. Ditch the factory mags for aftermarket 15 rounders. Change out the mag release for a steel one.go kill schit.

Have you tried different ammo?

It's a necrothread, but.....yeah.