First time on the range with my P238

[rwg3]

As stated in an earlier thread a new pistol (Sig P238 SAS) was a Christmas present. It took a while to get to the range but I finally made it out there today and ran 100 rounds though it in short order. In anticipation of the event I had purchased two additional magazines for it. One is the Sig 7 round with the pinky extension and the other is a Mustang 7 rounder with extension also. In the first 50 or so rounds I had six FTF situations. The Tap,rack bang worked for all but one and it worked when I dropped the Mag out and racked it to clear. By the last 40 or so rounds it had settled down and was feeding ok. I am not sure the issue is the equipment solely. In fiddling with my grip on the smaller gun I now wonder whether I was accidently hitting the magizine release just enough to have it drop slightly out of position?

The gun was very fun to shoot and the recoil was not much to deal with. Still working on the sight picture and getting a feel for her but, she is going to be a lot of fun. The short barrel is kind of a challenge. I looked like I knew what I was doing out to about 15yds, but by 25 yards I was happy to hit the darn target anywhere on the paper. I can tell that this will take several boxes of ammo and maybe some coaching to bring the longer range targets into the fold.

In any event I am happy with the new kid and would certainly recommend one to anyone who is looking for a smaller pistol. The cleaning process is a little more awkward then for my p226, primarily due to some awkwardness in removing the slide, but with a few more cleanings I am sure that will become an non-issue also.

[Shinesintx]

I "think" your FTF issues were due the slide getting sticky. Would the trigger not work?...but the hammer was back?

Shot 200 rounds a few weeks ago and I am convinced the slide was not going all the way forward. Whatcha think?

[G26ster]

In anticipation of the event I had purchased two additional magazines for it. One is the Sig 7 round with the pinky extension and the other is a Mustang 7 rounder with extension also. In the first 50 or so rounds I had six FTF situations.

Mustang magazines are known to cause problems in the P238. Not always, but a significant amount of the time. The original P238 mags were duplicates of the Mustang mag, and they were done away with in short order. The P238 is on its 3d mag follower deign. Before I suspected hitting the mag release, I'd be sure to know which mags was in the gun at the time of the feed failures. Not saying you might not have hit the release, just commenting on known issues with mags.

[rwg3]

I "think" your FTF issues were due the slide getting sticky. Would the trigger not work?...but the hammer was back?

Shot 200 rounds a few weeks ago and I am convinced the slide was not going all the way forward. Whatcha think?

I don't think my slide was sticky. When it jammed the round had not been pushed out of the magizine and was not lined up with the chamber. In fact as the day went and the FTF rate lessened, a simple tap on the bottom of the mag popped the round into the correct alignment and the slide closed, good to go. In fact it seemed like the spring and follower were sticky. i will disassemble them make sure there is no gunk in them and relube them.

In anticipation of the event I had purchased two additional magazines for it. One is the Sig 7 round with the pinky extension and the other is a Mustang 7 rounder with extension also. In the first 50 or so rounds I had six FTF situations.

Mustang magazines are known to cause problems in the P238. Not always, but a significant amount of the time. The original P238 mags were duplicates of the Mustang mag, and they were done away with in short order. The P238 is on its 3d mag follower deign. Before I suspected hitting the mag release, I'd be sure to know which mags was in the gun at the time of the feed failures. Not saying you might not have hit the release, just commenting on known issues with mags.

I appreciate the information. The gun shop swore they would work even though the follower seems to be set at a steeper angle than the sig mags. Unfortunately the worst mag was the sig 7 shot x-grip model, followed by the 6 shot standard mag. The mustang actually worked beter than I thought it would and has a far more comfortable grip extension than the sig model. It is a pain to load and seems to be waiting to cut my fat thumbs at any opportunity. As the session went on things improved I started to think maybe, just maybe, operator error was rearing it's ugly mug.

[Shinesintx]

I was thinking that FTF was Failure to Fire and not Failure to Feed. Oops. I was having some Failure to Fire from a trigger issue and not Failure to Feeds.

[Shinesintx]

I "think" your FTF issues were due the slide getting sticky. Would the trigger not work?...but the hammer was back?

Shot 200 rounds a few weeks ago and I am convinced the slide was not going all the way forward. Whatcha think?

I don't think my slide was sticky. When it jammed the round had not been pushed out of the magizine and was not lined up with the chamber. In fact as the day went and the FTF rate lessened, a simple tap on the bottom of the mag popped the round into the correct alignment and the slide closed, good to go. In fact it seemed like the spring and follower were sticky. i will disassemble them make sure there is no gunk in them and relube them.

In anticipation of the event I had purchased two additional magazines for it. One is the Sig 7 round with the pinky extension and the other is a Mustang 7 rounder with extension also. In the first 50 or so rounds I had six FTF situations.

Mustang magazines are known to cause problems in the P238. Not always, but a significant amount of the time. The original P238 mags were duplicates of the Mustang mag, and they were done away with in short order. The P238 is on its 3d mag follower deign. Before I suspected hitting the mag release, I'd be sure to know which mags was in the gun at the time of the feed failures. Not saying you might not have hit the release, just commenting on known issues with mags.

I appreciate the information. The gun shop swore they would work even though the follower seems to be set at a steeper angle than the sig mags. Unfortunately the worst mag was the sig 7 shot x-grip model, followed by the 6 shot standard mag. The mustang actually worked beter than I thought it would and has a far more comfortable grip extension than the sig model. It is a pain to load and seems to be waiting to cut my fat thumbs at any opportunity. As the session went on things improved I started to think maybe, just maybe, operator error was rearing it's ugly mug.

I had to dremel part of my Mustang mag to make it look like the Sig mags. Part of the front lip had to be cut off.

[Divided Attention]

Sigs - LOVE MINE - like to run a little "wet". Keep it lubricated well. I can count on both hands any feed/fire/eject issues I have had with mine in the past year and over 600 rounds through it. I even had a broken recoil spring for a bit and didn't know it. I found out when I went to clean it after going to a class and putting almost 150 rounds through it. I had one of the older "round" springs, called Sig to order my new one and they sent me the "flat" spring at no charge to me. Customer service was awesome.

I do wish the mags were not quite so expensive, but do like the "factory" mags the best in how they work with my little Liberty P238. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine.

[Shinesintx]

Just a heads up on P238 mags: Academy has the +1 with the pinky extension for 30 bucks. 20 bucks less than my LGS. They are OEM Sig.

[rwg3]

Excellent price on the mags. thanks for the heads up.

[Shinesintx]

Excellent price on the mags. thanks for the heads up.

I was staying at the Embassy Suites in Norman...and theres an Academy close by. Something to do while out of town. Anywho, discovered the mags there, they may have been $35. I really cannot remember...but whatever they are, they are cheaper than at my LGS.

[DocV]

When it jammed the round had not been pushed out of the magizine and was not lined up with the chamber. In fact as the day went and the FTF rate lessened, a simple tap on the bottom of the mag popped the round into the correct alignment and the slide closed, good to go. In fact it seemed like the spring and follower were sticky.

Remove the extractor and clean it. Also clean the extractor tunnel and breech face. Use a tooth pick and get rid of every bit of carbon possible in and around the tunnel. When a cartridge is chambered the cartridge ridge is fed up into the extractor hook. Dirt and grime can prevent the rim from engaging the extractor and interfere with proper chambering.

[Liberty]

Sigs - LOVE MINE - like to run a little "wet". Keep it lubricated well. I can count on both hands any feed/fire/eject issues I have had with mine in the past year and over 600 rounds through it. I even had a broken recoil spring for a bit and didn't know it. I found out when I went to clean it after going to a class and putting almost 150 rounds through it. I had one of the older "round" springs, called Sig to order my new one and they sent me the "flat" spring at no charge to me. Customer service was awesome.

It doesn't sound very reliable or robust.
A more than 1% failure rate is higher than any gun I would want to rely on. Which I suppose might be a question for another thread. What is an acceptable failure rate for a carry weapon?

[wgoforth]

I have only had one FTF with my 238 and it was due to the ammo. Do NOT use those mustang magazines or you will be getting a new barrel... it eats up the feed ramp, causing feeding issues in time which is why Sig quit using them. The Sig extended can be ordered from CDNN for $32.

The biggest reason for failure to fire on these is if the slide has not closed 100% it will not fire. The biggest reason for failure to close 100% is using the slide release to close it. ALWAYS use the "sling shot method" on these to close the slide. You get another 1/2 inch of inertia to strip and feed the ammo. (This was the advice direct from the Sig Armorer in NH). Without the ammo being forced into the right spot, these will not fire. My wife did this a few times and this took care of the problem. Usually it will be furst round that will not fire and that will be your clue. It will look closed, but do you see a fraction of your recoil rod protruding out? My wife and I carry these, and I will not tolerate any FTF/FTE on a carry gun. I run 500 flawless before I carry. If it burps at 499, it resets back to 0 again. Use grease on these rather than oil. You have metal on metal. I will shoot hundreds of rounds without needing to clean or lubricate.

IF this continues, send it back to SIG (they will pay shipping) and they will polish feedramp and parts and it will shoot more smoothly anyway, which isn't a bad thing.

Liberty, these are VERY reliable and robust.

[johncanfield]

Do NOT use those mustang magazines or you will be getting a new barrel... it eats up the feed ramp, causing feeding issues in time which is why Sig quit using them.

Exactly. I had nothing but trouble with the extended mustang magazine and took it back to the gun shop and exchanged it for a standard Sig mag (he didn't have any extended Sig magazines in stock.) Also there are three generations of factory magazines, be sure you are using gen 3. Gen 1 and gen 2 magazines will cause random feed issues.

We have put maybe 800 rounds through our P238 and it is an extremely reliable performer (except for ejecting a casing in our face every 100 rounds or so .) Wife and I really love shooting it and it is a permanent member of the family.

[wgoforth]

Do NOT use those mustang magazines or you will be getting a new barrel... it eats up the feed ramp, causing feeding issues in time which is why Sig quit using them.

Exactly. I had nothing but trouble with the extended mustang magazine and took it back to the gun shop and exchanged it for a standard Sig mag (he didn't have any extended Sig magazines in stock.) Also there are three generations of factory magazines, be sure you are using gen 3. Gen 1 and gen 2 magazines will cause random feed issues.

We have put maybe 800 rounds through our P238 and it is an extremely reliable performer (except for ejecting a casing in our face every 100 rounds or so .) Wife and I really love shooting it and it is a permanent member of the family.

Ah yes...the case face! Yup, Called Sig and told them about it...and asked them if they would polish the feed ramp while they had it open. They said "no problem." AND sent me an extra free magazine to boot! Send her back and let them service you!