Yes, I share your concerns and see the concerns shared by others who've encountered a way to high percentage of malfunctions with these guns. No other offering by SIG has a higher number of complaints than the 238/938. According to my LGS - an authorized SIG dealer - those two guns are by far the ones that get sent back to SIG the most; almost exclusively.

Carry the P290RS. Its 9mm, a tank, reliable, and accurate and I absolutely stake my life on it carrying it on occasion while working. (Mostly suit and tie meetings.)

Other gun makers have nice offerings in the size you're looking for.

 

No other offering by SIG has a higher number of complaints than the 238/938.

I'd like to see some data on this. I would hesitate a guess that the 1911 .22 would give them a run for their money in the complaint department.

 

I have a P938 & two P238's. Also bought my Daughter a P938. Both P938's, and 1 of the P238's have each fired hundreds of rounds with no issues of any kind, both are great, reliable guns.

The other P238 I just bought this past week. I took it to the range and put 100 rounds through it without issues. Sweet shooter...

For every issue you hear of, there are many more people that have not had any issues. Looks to be hit or miss on reliability. I'm one of the lucky ones it seems.

I do hear great things about Sig's warranty & repair department. And they have solved issues for people also.

In reference to self defense. I'd advise anyone to put a couple hundred trouble free rounds at the very least through a gun before depending on it to defend yourself. If there are issues you need to find out at the range !

 

For pocketable 9mm and .380 autos, I chose the Ruger LC9s Pro and the Ruger LCP. I ended up not keeping the LC9s Pro for personal reasons, but the LCP is an absolute winner for pocket carry!

I bought a first generation right after they were introduced and put many rounds through it over the years, carried it constantly in a wallet holster in the summertime, got it all sweaty and dirty, and it never failed me once. Even with rather poor maintenance on my part, it still looked almost new when I traded it in several years later on my first LC9s Pro, and at that time I had never had the first hiccup or failure of ANY kind out of it! Yes... 100% reliability out of hundreds of rounds of various range ammo and self-defense ammo!

Fast-forward to about 5 months ago. I really missed "Elsie", and my LGS was having a killer sale on them; $249.00 for the two-tone stainless slide 2nd generation model. That was all I needed to see! One became mine immediately, and upon the first trip to the range, I was in love all over again! The improvements to the trigger and sights were readily apparent as I was reliably hitting 20oz drink bottles at 20 yards, hand-held. The people on the opposing lanes could only stop and gawk because you're not supposed to be able to do that with a pocket pistol!

To sum up: I personally love my Rugers in the roles you are looking at... replacements for the P238 and P938.

Here are a few pics of my new LCP and the wallet holster I made to carry her in...

 

How many issues have been attributed to late-model P938 and P238? I know that the initial release models were a mess... But Sig has done a great deal of updating to them.

More directly - Are perceived reliability issues based on old data?

 

That is an excellent question! If I knew the issues had been resolved, AND the little things had been upgraded with a grip safety, I'd surely be on-board with trying one! However, reliability issues aside, I have serious qualms about pocket carrying a cocked-and-locked SAO pistol that does not have a grip safety like typical 1911 design. Just my personal feelings, but it would bug the heck out me! To each their own though...

 

And yet, there are people who think carrying like that is scary, while they think carrying a DAO with no safeties whatsoever is no problem.

 

I too was apprehensive of carrying cocked and locked, as my other carry piece is a M11-a1. I researched the heck out of the P938, and learning that the safety physically captured the hammer independent of the sear, and having the firing pin block convinced me it was as safe as any other pistol to carry in condition 1. I bought a Houge gripped model P938 manufactured in May 2014, have fired around 500 rounds through it with no issues at all. Fantastic pistol, no regrets.

 

Bought mine in early 2011 ,sold it to a friend . Just bought it back . Its been flawless all these years !
The two shops Ideal with swear by them ! Now the down side, expensive , mags are costly !
Cocked and locked and hammer down with safety on are the two carry modes . Also you can empty the chamber with the safety on . Colt Kimber and Sig all make them too .
Great choice for Ccw .


Jack

 

Thanks the shops I go to they are in the forty range, But they are top quality for sure .
When I bought mine it only came with one. But the show I was at had them for 38 .
I have never shot it with the seven round mags .

Jack

 

My aluminum frame P238, with 1K rounds through it, is fully reliable. A couple of early-on cycling issues, but none in the last 800 rounds.

 

What other options exist that might be good alternatives?

Just got a Kimber Micro Carry .380 for my wife about 2 weeks ago. Went to the range a couple of days ago and shot it for the first time. It shoots very well. Very comparable to the P238.

 

Everyone has an opinion, and everyone has a different comfort level about carrying a loaded gun.

To each his own, and I respect everyone's opinion. I'm not the all knowing expert on anything...just ask my Wife...lol.

Stay safe guys whatever you choose to carry !

 

I would imagine that when Sif engineered and designed the miniature 1911 we now know as the p238/938 they carefully considered encorporate get a grip safety into the finished product. I do not claim to have any real knowledge of the 1911 design as my total exposure has been my Ruger SR 1911 cmd. It is my understanding that the big challenge for Sig was to not make the gun so complicated that it would be unreliable. This is most likely where the "half glass full" group chime in to report their problems. My p938 Equinox was built 10-14 and it has been absolutely issue free.

 

Those LCPs look like polymer Seecamps. So small.

 

The Seecamp is smaller but heavier , been carrying one since 03
And the seecamp has a magazine disconnect on them


Jack

 

I too have a P238 and an LC9s Pro. The 238 is by far the better weapon. That is not to dig the Ruger, but they really are two different qualities. I love them both, but the Sig is really the " Cadallic" and mine has been flawless. I'll be getting a 2nd gen 938 as soon as my LGS can find a "Scorpion". No problem with C1 carry for me.

I shot a friends LCP, and with the black sights and the long, soft trigger pull, I'm not even sure where a couple of rounds even went.

Just my 2 cents. Love my Sigs.

G

 

I owned a Ruger LC9s before I got my p938 Equinox. There is nothing wring with the LC9s - I actually sold it to my brother In law and HD still has it. Not sure you can really compare the LC9s to the p938 other than that both are small and 9mm. Polymer vs steel - Stryker vs hammer - different manual of arms. My daily carry weapons is a generation II Ruger LCP - small - extremely light - simple. What can I say - I'm lazy.

 

The 238 has not had the sordid history that the 938 has. I've owned and carried mine for 3+ years now, with no issue. I had a dead sight when it was brand new, which Sig took care of. Otherwise, it has run flawless, with anything I've put through it.
I've put about 400 rounds of FMJ through it, and about 200 HP's.

 

I got my p938 in Nov 2014 just before Calif changed the state law on 1-1-15 to eliminate the single shot exemption. That was the only way you could buy a p938 in Calif since they have never been on the Calif Handgun Roster. I personally only know one other person who has a p938. Mine performs flawlessly after about 700-800 assorted rounds fired. If it wasn't for this forum I would assume they all work as well as mine does. I suspect that a few people's problems are over shadowing the true picture - this is typical of any forum discussion - be it Harley Davidson motorcycles or Apple iPhones - most people who are happy with their purchase do not bother to post.

 

The P238 doesn't have a grip safety because SIG paid Colt for the rights (and tooling) to make a version of the Colt Mustang – which didn't have a grip safety.

The P238 has a firing pin block – it won't fire unless its trigger is pulled, and its frame safety is in the FIRE position. Given that, a grip safety wouldn't make the P238 significantly safer – it would just add unnecessary complexity.

I like the P238 just the way it is.

 

I recently started carrying a 238 and 938 (depending on situation). I've yet to experience an issue with either. However I also have a LCP (380) and LCR (9mm) just in case. I've NEVER had even a hiccup with those guns. If you want to mitigate potential failure, go with a revolver.

 

Not so fast. I had a Ruger LCR9mm. I can report first hand that crimp jump is a major unresolved issue with this gun. There have been extensive reports in this subject and some have even attempted to compile lists of what ammo is and is not ok for use in the gun. Ultimately I experienced a squib load which I suspect was crimp jump related. The bullet was lodged in the muzzle end of the barrel. To Ruger's credit they paid to have the gun returned to them. They elected not to repair it and offered to send me a replacement revolver. After my experience with the crimp jump issue I elected to have Ruger send me a Stainless GP 100 4" 357.

 

Yes, I should retract my remarks by including the P238. That's long since been corrected and I humbly apologize. But I stand by the disparagement I assign the P938.

 

I've never heard the expression "crimp jump." Could someone explain what that is, please?

 

Bullet separating from the case prior to being fired. Not normally a factor in a semi auto. Comes into play with smaller refolvers when firing higher powered ammo. Especially prone to happen when ammo primarily designed for semi auto guns is fired in a revolver - Ruger LCR 9mm. The gullet can come partially out of the casing or can completely separate from the case.not a good situation.

 

It probably means the heads are walking forward. A roll crimp will stop them from walking but a taper crimp isn't very effective, especially when the sizing of the brass isn't tight.

 

Thank you.

 

I don't think it's very fair to lump the 238 & 938 together.
It certainly seems like the 938 has had many more complaints than the 238. That is the exact reason why I went with the .380.

I've had well over 1000 rounds of many types of ball & hollowpoint ammo through mine without a single failure.
From what I've read, other than some issues at the beginning, I think an extremely high percentage will echo the experience I've had with mine.

It is without a doubt one of the most reliable and accurate .380's you can buy...imo, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable saying the same about the 938.

 

I can say exactly the same thing about my p938 which was built 10-14. Never an issue and approaching 1,000 rounds.

 

I'm probably going to add a similar comment to a post I made elsewhere, but I just wanted to relate my own experience.

My first P938, purchased new in November, 2015, had a born-on date of 2013. Within the past two weeks I've been experiencing a high number of FTE. Today, I went to the range and had two within the first two magazine. So, I put it aside and pulled out a brand new P938 (born on 18-Feb-2016) and proceed to feed it the remainder of the 100 rounds, and it executed flawlessly.

The first has now exhibited a new problem: I cannot remove the take-down lever. I cleaned the new P938 with no problems, but the old one's slide lock lever appears to be stuck. I've tried using a metal punch to push it out, and a brass blade to pull it out, to no avail. I even managed to scratch the frame a bit trying to free it. :-(

I guess the bottom line may be that older ones had issues (it seems everyone who's had to send one back has had the main spring housing replaced). While I don't have a history with the newer one, at least I have the confidence to carry it, while I don't with the older one. At least not until Sig "blesses" it in Exeter.