P938 with a fair amount of teething issues still like the gun!
New guy here and hopefully you all aren't sick of seeing threads that offer a not so flattering picture of the P938. To soften it up I'll start with the good.
Scene 1
This new to me P938 SAS I believe was built in Early 2016 52B19xxxx. When it shoots its lights out! I am thoroughly impressed with the trigger and the accuracy. While dry firing at home I thought meh ho-hum trigger. At the range though........just about speechless. Shoots about as well as my G21. At 25 yards I am completely happy with about 50% hits on a 12" target. In my mind I'm a passable shooter nothing special. And to me that is pretty good that 'I' could connect on just under half of my shots at that range unsupported with an unfamiliar pocket pistol. So this little Sig definitely lived up to the hype as far as its trigger and accuracy. And it fits the bill as a nice little pocket backup gun.
Scene 2
Bought this from a Local Pawn/Gun shop. Never bought anything from a Pawn shop before and this kinda soured that experience. Read lots of glowing reports from my local Gun Trader forum and figured I'd see what they had to offer. Went in and saw this SAS, it was the only used 938 they had. Also happened to be exactly what I had been looking for. They were asking maybe $100 less than new pricing on the other 938's (side story couldn't find any deals on new 938's anywhere in this town). Got 'em down another $30 and a couple bucks off some 7 round mags. The whole while I kept thinking about all the threads I read where guys were getting these SAS 938's from PSA for $500 during sales. I got over it. Asked if they knew the backstory to the pistol. I was told a guy bought himself and his wife one. She couldn't handle hers and after only a few rounds they brought it back in and he traded it on something else. Plausible? Sure. Truth? Maybe. The gun looked brand new and I bit.
Scene 3
Finally got out to the range and put some rounds through it. Not in this order necessarily.
300 Winchester NATO 124gr (light primer strikes, maybe a couple misfeeds)
50 Blazer 115gr (flawless)
100 Remington 115 gr fmj (flawless)
100 Remington 115gr jhp (nose dives)
150 Federal HST 147 (nose dives)
There were also some random rounds in here of various sorts
Issues:
•Mag drop issue that I now see is a thing only happened a few times. Might be me.
•Slide stop issue.......2 different kinds: slide stop falls out if slow racking turned on side, and with some ammo when a round is coming up into the chamber it 'can' push outward on the slide stop jamming the gun up (possibly the cause of bullets diving under the feed ramp).
•Light primer strikes (but if IIRC it was only with the NATO which I read have hard primers) these did end up firing after re-cocking the hammer and squeezing the trigger again.
I knew about the slide stop lever falling out issue before the range trip. I was sitting in the Lazy boy dry firing and had the pistol laid on its side and had the lever fall out in my lap. Granted if I slingshot the slide and don't ride it forward it works flawlessly. But I bought this to be a carry gun and who can say what sort of position a person may find themself racking a slide one day? That was my first let down with this Sig. The rest all happened Saturday and Sunday. Cleaned the pistol before each range trip. Ran it a little bit wet. Nothing at all extreme. There was never any build up of anything other than light carbon residue. The feed ramp is nice and smooth. The breech face seems pretty good to me, might have a tiny little bit of a burr/blemish in one spot. But it is nothing I can feel. Pretty sure the Extractor looks perfect.
The question
What do I do now? I do not hate this gun. In fact I borderline love it problems and all. I even still carry it (which in and of itself may be a snapshot into what kinda weirdo you're dealing with here).
I am the 2nd owner (as far as I know). So what I have heard/read is that I have no warranty though they (Sig) may possibly cover it anyway. I do not want to send this pistol to Exeter only to have them not fix it and charge me for nothing. And then play a game where we send it back and forth 3 times.
I am not going to foist it off on someone else which I have the sinking suspicion happened to yours truly. But, I don't want to get lip service from Sig while wasting money on a bunch of rounds trying to prove this thing. If you research this forum and others about the same sort of problems I've had you might have the same outlook that I might be fighting an uphill battle with getting this fixed by Sig. Course never know until you try.
Also I was reading on a 1911 forum and this company Evolution Armory specializes in 1911's and the owner IIRC worked at Sig as an Armorer. Saw a post of his where he basically told a guy he would fix his P938 up and make it right.
I am torn.
•Do I order parts and mess with this thing myself? Least expensive route as long as I don't do any damage.
•Let Sig hold me hostage with possibly having to send it back and forth multiple times?
•Or send it to someone that I don't know from Adam, but I just have a feeling will be able to make these issues go away?
I'm not willing to sell it after disclosing the issues and take a hit on it. Anyone see any other options? Suggestions? I just really don't want to get the run around from Sig, but if enough of you tell me they will make it right I may give it a shot
Scene 1
This new to me P938 SAS I believe was built in Early 2016 52B19xxxx. When it shoots its lights out! I am thoroughly impressed with the trigger and the accuracy. While dry firing at home I thought meh ho-hum trigger. At the range though........just about speechless. Shoots about as well as my G21. At 25 yards I am completely happy with about 50% hits on a 12" target. In my mind I'm a passable shooter nothing special. And to me that is pretty good that 'I' could connect on just under half of my shots at that range unsupported with an unfamiliar pocket pistol. So this little Sig definitely lived up to the hype as far as its trigger and accuracy. And it fits the bill as a nice little pocket backup gun.
Scene 2
Bought this from a Local Pawn/Gun shop. Never bought anything from a Pawn shop before and this kinda soured that experience. Read lots of glowing reports from my local Gun Trader forum and figured I'd see what they had to offer. Went in and saw this SAS, it was the only used 938 they had. Also happened to be exactly what I had been looking for. They were asking maybe $100 less than new pricing on the other 938's (side story couldn't find any deals on new 938's anywhere in this town). Got 'em down another $30 and a couple bucks off some 7 round mags. The whole while I kept thinking about all the threads I read where guys were getting these SAS 938's from PSA for $500 during sales. I got over it. Asked if they knew the backstory to the pistol. I was told a guy bought himself and his wife one. She couldn't handle hers and after only a few rounds they brought it back in and he traded it on something else. Plausible? Sure. Truth? Maybe. The gun looked brand new and I bit.
Scene 3
Finally got out to the range and put some rounds through it. Not in this order necessarily.
300 Winchester NATO 124gr (light primer strikes, maybe a couple misfeeds)
50 Blazer 115gr (flawless)
100 Remington 115 gr fmj (flawless)
100 Remington 115gr jhp (nose dives)
150 Federal HST 147 (nose dives)
There were also some random rounds in here of various sorts
Issues:
•Mag drop issue that I now see is a thing only happened a few times. Might be me.
•Slide stop issue.......2 different kinds: slide stop falls out if slow racking turned on side, and with some ammo when a round is coming up into the chamber it 'can' push outward on the slide stop jamming the gun up (possibly the cause of bullets diving under the feed ramp).
•Light primer strikes (but if IIRC it was only with the NATO which I read have hard primers) these did end up firing after re-cocking the hammer and squeezing the trigger again.
I knew about the slide stop lever falling out issue before the range trip. I was sitting in the Lazy boy dry firing and had the pistol laid on its side and had the lever fall out in my lap. Granted if I slingshot the slide and don't ride it forward it works flawlessly. But I bought this to be a carry gun and who can say what sort of position a person may find themself racking a slide one day? That was my first let down with this Sig. The rest all happened Saturday and Sunday. Cleaned the pistol before each range trip. Ran it a little bit wet. Nothing at all extreme. There was never any build up of anything other than light carbon residue. The feed ramp is nice and smooth. The breech face seems pretty good to me, might have a tiny little bit of a burr/blemish in one spot. But it is nothing I can feel. Pretty sure the Extractor looks perfect.
The question
What do I do now? I do not hate this gun. In fact I borderline love it problems and all. I even still carry it (which in and of itself may be a snapshot into what kinda weirdo you're dealing with here).
I am the 2nd owner (as far as I know). So what I have heard/read is that I have no warranty though they (Sig) may possibly cover it anyway. I do not want to send this pistol to Exeter only to have them not fix it and charge me for nothing. And then play a game where we send it back and forth 3 times.
I am not going to foist it off on someone else which I have the sinking suspicion happened to yours truly. But, I don't want to get lip service from Sig while wasting money on a bunch of rounds trying to prove this thing. If you research this forum and others about the same sort of problems I've had you might have the same outlook that I might be fighting an uphill battle with getting this fixed by Sig. Course never know until you try.
Also I was reading on a 1911 forum and this company Evolution Armory specializes in 1911's and the owner IIRC worked at Sig as an Armorer. Saw a post of his where he basically told a guy he would fix his P938 up and make it right.
I am torn.
•Do I order parts and mess with this thing myself? Least expensive route as long as I don't do any damage.
•Let Sig hold me hostage with possibly having to send it back and forth multiple times?
•Or send it to someone that I don't know from Adam, but I just have a feeling will be able to make these issues go away?
I'm not willing to sell it after disclosing the issues and take a hit on it. Anyone see any other options? Suggestions? I just really don't want to get the run around from Sig, but if enough of you tell me they will make it right I may give it a shot
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Thanks for the welcome! And yeah I can see that this little gun may delight and or confound a person in the space of a few shots.
I just hope that story about it is true and I didn't get the shaft. Would have been nice if the original purchaser sent it in and dealt with it.
And it's ever so slightly making me rethink picking up a P220 and P226 of the Stainless Elite varieties.........but not that much
I'll just make sure to buy them new with an intact warranty.
I just hope that story about it is true and I didn't get the shaft. Would have been nice if the original purchaser sent it in and dealt with it.
And it's ever so slightly making me rethink picking up a P220 and P226 of the Stainless Elite varieties.........but not that much
I'll just make sure to buy them new with an intact warranty.
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The first thing I would do is to go to the SIG web site (https://www.sigsauer.com/support/warranty/) and register the pistol as the owner. If the sellers story is true, there's a good chance it was never registered.
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Just did it! Not sure if it took per se, but it spit this out when I was done.
Warranty Registration
Thank you for registering your SIG SAUER product!
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Got my rma email. Thanks for the advice!
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I hope it's a little more than that. Because after I read a thread on here about the slide stop lever contacting the bullets as they come up into the chamber I discovered mine had that issue. I shaved down my slide stop lever and that aided the function considerably but did not make it 100% reliable and also the slide would no longer lock back 100%. So started to smooth out one problem and picked up another. I have a spare new in the package slide stop lever I will be reinstalling and sending with the pistol.
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327 Posts
I didn't try it because I wasn't aware of that specific problem. I picked it up hoping to have it modified by a machinist to accept an o'ring to keep the dang thing from falling out. The machinist just hasn't gotten to it yet.
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327 Posts
Got it back today!
Gunsmith Comments:
-POLISHED FEED RAMP & CHAMBER
-REPLACED RECOIL SPRING
-REPLACED MAG CATCH SPRING
Not exactly what I was expecting but I'll take it. Hopefully the issues got sorted. One odd thing is that the slide lock lever does not fall out if I slow rack it while holding it on the side? I'm not complaining but I see nothing in the comments that discuss having done anything in that area? I mean if didn't magically fix itself.........and it was definitely falling out before. Doubt the mags will be dropping unexpectedly ever again. That dang mag catch spring is stiff! Will probably have to wait until Saturday to go wring it out some. Just hate that I have to burn up spendy carry ammo to check it.
Oh yeah and I was a little worried they were going to mess with my trigger which I LOVE! Came back unchanged.
Gunsmith Comments:
-POLISHED FEED RAMP & CHAMBER
-REPLACED RECOIL SPRING
-REPLACED MAG CATCH SPRING
Not exactly what I was expecting but I'll take it. Hopefully the issues got sorted. One odd thing is that the slide lock lever does not fall out if I slow rack it while holding it on the side? I'm not complaining but I see nothing in the comments that discuss having done anything in that area? I mean if didn't magically fix itself.........and it was definitely falling out before. Doubt the mags will be dropping unexpectedly ever again. That dang mag catch spring is stiff! Will probably have to wait until Saturday to go wring it out some. Just hate that I have to burn up spendy carry ammo to check it.
Oh yeah and I was a little worried they were going to mess with my trigger which I LOVE! Came back unchanged.
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272 Posts
I have over 1500 rounds through my 938 equinox. What I've found with mine goes like this....some range trips I experience zero problems and some I do. I have found if I use 124 grain ammo I have no problems. With 115 and 147 I experience a stove pipe here and there but nothing that makes me not live this little pistol.
With the extended mags it's still hard for me to get all my hand on the grip. If I try shooting it with my whole hand on the grip the mag tries to jump out causing stove ftf / stovepipes. I'm more comfortable with my pinky under the extended mag and have no problems this way. I have 4 mags and they're marked and it's every mag that does this and not just one.
I have 4 other Sig's and this one is the only one that I've ever had an issue with and now that I've put so many rounds through the little pistol I know how to shoot it with very few problems ever coming up.
Oh as far as the slide stop falling during racking I found that if I run it too wet it definitely tries to do this. So when I'm putting it back together from cleaning I always while it off and make the release as dry as possible before reassembly and I've made the habit of holding the gun with the mag catch up during racking to help stop it from falling out.
One of my favorite shooters. I take mine to the range every time I go and sometimes wind up only shooting it and let the rest stay in the range bag. I hope yours will operate the way it should and bring you joy to shoot.
"God created men and Sam Colt made them equal"
With the extended mags it's still hard for me to get all my hand on the grip. If I try shooting it with my whole hand on the grip the mag tries to jump out causing stove ftf / stovepipes. I'm more comfortable with my pinky under the extended mag and have no problems this way. I have 4 mags and they're marked and it's every mag that does this and not just one.
I have 4 other Sig's and this one is the only one that I've ever had an issue with and now that I've put so many rounds through the little pistol I know how to shoot it with very few problems ever coming up.
Oh as far as the slide stop falling during racking I found that if I run it too wet it definitely tries to do this. So when I'm putting it back together from cleaning I always while it off and make the release as dry as possible before reassembly and I've made the habit of holding the gun with the mag catch up during racking to help stop it from falling out.
One of my favorite shooters. I take mine to the range every time I go and sometimes wind up only shooting it and let the rest stay in the range bag. I hope yours will operate the way it should and bring you joy to shoot.
"God created men and Sam Colt made them equal"
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So finally put a few hundred rounds through it. Approximately 100 147gr AE and 200 Hornady Critical Duty 135gr +p........ 1 small hiccup in 300 rounds, the slide didn't go fully into battery. 1 tap and home it went. I'm pretty dang happy!
Kinda odd I shoot pretty much the exact same off a bench supported as standing. First 40 shots at the range today.
Kinda odd I shoot pretty much the exact same off a bench supported as standing. First 40 shots at the range today.
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Thanks for the followup reports.
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Nice work. I'd say that is better than good shooting at 25 yards with a compact carry weapon. I haven't shot my 938 at 25 but pretty sure I'm not landing rounds like that.
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People say these pocket pistols are only good for close range (I'm ignoring the ballistic differences of barrel length here). I think someone who is a better shot than I could get this down to shooting an honest 6" group (maybe better). Obviously I had a few shots that went god knows where, but it ain't the gun its the shooter!
I am ecstatic to have this little piece back in my pocket. Just feels right
I am ecstatic to have this little piece back in my pocket. Just feels right
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392 Posts
I don't consider the 938 a 'range' pistol, I go along with the idea that its for personal defense. Yes, you need to train with it but its not my prefered gun—in fact, I have mine up for sale! LOL!!! I prefer something a bit bigger with a little less recoil, that's why I appreciate my M11-A1.
I agree, in the right hands, the P938 can be very effective at distances over 11 yards, its a very well made micro-compact. Gettin' old isn't nice! LOL!!!!
I agree, in the right hands, the P938 can be very effective at distances over 11 yards, its a very well made micro-compact. Gettin' old isn't nice! LOL!!!!
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