It's ultra-compact (it literally fits in the palm of my hand) so it's ideal for any situation where carrying something more bulky isn't practical. In fact, most people who carry this and other guns this size simply carry them in the front pocket. I prefer the tiny inside-the-waistband holster option shown here:
As far as how this little firearm performs, my impressions on the key aspects are set forth below. In sum, I had high expectations for the SIG, and they were mostly met or exceeded.
Trigger Feel. The trigger has a short, crisp pull. It's in no way on par with my Kimber 1911 (nor would I expect it to be), but for a gun this size, it's VERY nice. I think it might be a teeny tad heavy for my liking, but not so heavy it affects accuracy much.
Sights. Bright and easy to find on follow ups. Nicely done SIG. If ever I need it, they glow like crazy in the dark.
Fit in the hand. Well, it's a small framed auto, so it's going to feel a little awkward on the pinkie to some. Just picking it up, it doesn't feel as comfortable as say the Bodyguard on the pinkie. However, it does feel great near the thumb, especially while shooting.
Shooting Feel. Here's where this little gun starts to stand out. The recoil is incredibly light and smooth. I know what you're thinking -- it's a friggin' .380, OF COURSE the recoil is light and smooth. True -- no .380 is going to vigorously roll back the hand of any half-grown man (or most women and children for that matter), but compared to peer offerings such as the S&W Bodyguard and the Beretta Tomcat (I've shot both in recent weeks), it's a dream to shoot. The contrast between the SIG and those guns is striking. I was sort of surprised by the discomfort I experienced shooting the Bodyguard, and downright angry with the Tomcat after about 100 rounds. [NOTE: Regarding the Tomcat, emptying a mag from that little .32 ACP beast was like having someone hit me 7 times with a ball peen hammer between the thumb and index finger -- I couldn't WAIT to stop shooting it.] The SIG on the other hand, felt like pushing tacks or staples into soft corkboard. Hard to describe -- it was just very smooth and controlled, and comfortable.
Accuracy. In a word, surprising for a gun this size and caliber. I easily hit center mass at 15 yards, and shot groups at 7 yards that I would have a hard time duplicating with my full size M&P (4.25" bbl).
Other considerations. I did experience 3 failure to feed's in the 100 round outing. Obviously his failure rate is unacceptable for a CCW application. However, I learned with my Kimber that this can happen during the break in period and completely disappear after a few hundred rounds. The last 150 rounds have been flawless, so I'm hopeful she's broken in to the point where future failures won't occur. Also, SIG sort of ticked me off with the decision to include only a single magazine. This gun is one of the most expensive in its class, and Sig can't throw in a single extra magazine? Come on guys, really? More importantly, however, fully securing the mag into the mag well (to avoid having nothing happen when you pull the trigger) is not as easy as it should be. It's hard enough to secure a flush .45 mag (which is why I like the tac mag extensions on my Kimber) but on the tiny .380, it's a whole other level of not-easy. SIG has figured out a fix for two of my complaints with their new extra round, pinkie extended magazine. However, I can't seem to find one in stock anywhere on the planet. Moreover, I think at least one of them (together with another flush mag) should be included with every P238.
All things considered, I'm very pleased so far.
Rating: **** (of *****). You're probably figuring out by now that you won't find too many guns which are still in my collection that are rated less than ****. If I don't really like it, it goes bye bye.
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