SIG P238 Problems

[Flint]

Have you tried slowly hand-cycling the gun to see what the FTF issues are? Are the rounds dragging on the front of the mags? Some of the brass looks like it is dragging on the magazine and that would cause a FTF. If the chamber is generous enough, they might still chamber, but would result in some of the lips being folded a bit. The others that seem more dented, that isn't what I'm referring to. That type of dent is usually caused during ejection.

What type of mags are you using? Does this happen with all of them? Number them and try hand cycling and just shooting the pistol. This should point to a mag problem if that is what it is.

JZ

Headed out of town a few days. Will try to see with the slow hand cycling. Will look closer this time, have tried to see it before with no luck. I can envision what you're saying with the mags.

Seems like I have had some that literally the rim of the round being fed will possibly catch the rim of the brass below, as it is headed up the ramp.

Just using factory mags. As the pistol has never been reliable I have not poured good money into a stack of mags. So I have tried 2 factory ones, no real improvement with the latest.

Just sick and tired of it I guess. No fun, never was fun after the first mag. Sig Customer Service has been pathetic. OK happy thoughts.

[Flint]

Back to Sig it goes again. Hope they either fix it, give me a new one or lose it in the mail. 1,100 rounds and not better, finally got ahold of Sig. Don't even think about emailing them.

[R A Miller]

Back to Sig it goes again. Hope they either fix it, give me a new one or lose it in the mail. 1,100 rounds and not better, finally got ahold of Sig. Don't even think about emailing them.

Flint,

Please keep us apprised of how Sig addresses the problems you are having. I have a Sig P238 and I'm having similar problems.

Rick

[Flint]

Well R A Miller, I finally talked to Sig and sent it off late last Friday and it arrived back late this Friday, so that is pretty quick turnaround time. They replaced the recoil spring and tossed another one in the box (nice) they also really polished the ramp and around the chamber. Sorry I have not been able to shoot it yet. I had a glimpse of 40 degree temp and had everything loaded, getting ready to head out - my Bride felt it imperative to chat about my schedule for the month of MARCH. Anyway her folks happen by, "Look we have company"...

So if I can I will try it tomorrow. Won't care how cold it is I want to put 50 - 100 down it and see what happens. Oh they also replaced slide due to cosmetic issues and adjusted extractor.

Wish me luck.. Otherwise Kahr P380 here we come.

If you have problems just send it back don't wast the ammo. Call them, stay on the phone, they have never returned a message of mine and ultra rare to respond to an email.

[R A Miller]

Flint,

If you have problems just send it back don't wast the ammo. Call them, stay on the phone, they have never returned a message of mine and ultra rare to respond to an email.

Thanks for the update. That was a surprisingly fast turnaround. Yeah, I'm going to call Sig as I'm still having problems and I'm all I'm doing now IS wasting ammo.

Wish me luck.. Otherwise Kahr P380 here we come.

I bought the Sig P238 for my wife. It's the only small pistol that she says she'll carry. I wish you luck but.......I have a Kahr P380 that I carry. It has run flawlessly since day one. The P380 is a great little gun. But I am partial to Kahrs in general.

Rick

[Flint]

I was able to get out Sunday when it was 22 degrees or so with about a 20mph wind in my face. So I just got 50 rounds done and called it quits, not found of that biting wind. Getting old I guess makes my eyes water.

However, Sig had replaced the slide for cosmetic reasons, adjusted the extractor, polished the heck out of the ramp and about 3/32" inside the chamber (?) from about 3 o'clock around the bottom up to around 10 o'clock position. If that does not feed nothing will. They put a new recoil spring in and tossed in an extra as well, so that was nice.

Started shooting and made it through 50 rounds, no issues at all. That is the first time ever. Even did some rapid fire, mild recoil WWB and easy to get back on target. Nice, really nice when this thing runs it is Great. So I will have to clean it up and put 100 through it and see what happens, but for now I am cautiously optimistic. I still may get the Kahr P380 as well, looks very nice, smaller, lighter, better pocket gun. How has yours been R A Miller?

So call Sig, stick on the phone, have your facts ahead of time and get it right. Really nice 1911 style pocket gun, accurate, exceptional sights and love the SA trigger, it really smooths out when you have 1,100 rounds on it.

[R A Miller]

That's great news Flint. Glad Sig made it right. I've not come close to 50 rounds through my P238 without a malfunction.

The Kahr P380 is a great pistol IMO. Mine has run perfect straight out of the box after an initial clean and lube. Easy to shoot, 5.5# trigger. I use it for a pocket gun.

Rick

[Flint]

That's great news Flint. Glad Sig made it right. I've not come close to 50 rounds through my P238 without a malfunction.

The Kahr P380 is a great pistol IMO. Mine has run perfect straight out of the box after an initial clean and lube. Easy to shoot, 5.5# trigger. I use it for a pocket gun.

Rick

Well went out to the range again and had several Failure to Return to Battery and it is developing chatter marks on the top of the barrel/chamber as the slide moves over it. Not using proper term, but the square part, shiny and visible when slide is closed.

[Flint]

Back to Sig it goes again.

[Duane Thomas]

Well went out to the range again and had several Failure to Return to Battery and it is developing chatter marks on the top of the barrel/chamber as the slide moves over it. Not using proper term, but the square part, shiny and visible when slide is closed.

Barrel hood. Bummer.

[Duane Thomas]

Edited the topic title to be more descriptive.

[GrumpyOne]

Have you tried polishing the breachface? It could be getting dirty, causing the headstamp of the case to "drag" on it.

Edited February 27, 2010 by GrumpyOne

[Joe4d]

Look at the ejector, this could be a case of early as in ejector too long or wrong angle on the face of the ejector.

[Flint]

Well, thanks for the extra thoughts as far as it being dirty, it gets cleaned after every outing of 100 - 150 rounds.

I thought about polishing the breach face as well, but that is a warranty buster, so I have to take a handoff approach in the hopes that I will just get a new one that I can sell and be rid of this.

The extractor has been adjusted twice by Sig. That obviously does not mean they got it right, as witnessed by the continual trouble. The ejector is super clean and lubed and I have not messed with the angles.

Sorry just kind of tired of the whole ordeal. Need to find something different I guess.

[CutterH]

That's a shame you're having nothing but problems. I have put about 500 rounds through mine, all different kinds of ammo, and haven't had a malfunction yet [knocks on wood].

[Duane Thomas]

Interesting. Possibly a "this particular SIG P238" problem rather than a "SIG P238" problem. Good to know.

[Flint]

Interesting. Possibly a "this particular SIG P238" problem rather than a "SIG P238" problem. Good to know.

I think the quality of these seems to be improving (mine is post recall), and the problem frequency of new ones seems to be down.

With most anything made by man some will have issues, fewer will have multiple problems and a rare few of the Sigs will be chronic pains taunting their owners. So I may have one of the worst ones of them all. So some solice in that I have taken the hit and somebody else is not cursed by this evil device. It was designed as a carry weapon, but has never been carried. Imagine the folks that just buy something, load a magazine and never use it.

When it returns I will waste another pile of factory ammo and see what happens.

Thanks guys.

[R A Miller]

My P238 must have been built near the same time as yours Flint. It's also post recall. I went through my notes from each range trip: 400 rounds, 18% malfunctions. The malfunctions are the same as you've described with your P238. I've shot American Eagle, Hornady, Magtech and Double Tap ammo.

That's a shame you're having nothing but problems. I have put about 500 rounds through mine, all different kinds of ammo, and haven't had a malfunction yet [knocks on wood].

That's good to hear, they can run. TXAG, how does your spent brass look? Mine is chewed up like Flint's in his photo in Post #1.

Rick

[cyclone336]

Interesting. Possibly a "this particular SIG P238" problem rather than a "SIG P238" problem. Good to know.

I certainly hope that this is the case - I just bought a P238 on Saturday.

[Duane Thomas]

Oy.

[tpcdvc]

Interesting. Possibly a "this particular SIG P238" problem rather than a "SIG P238" problem. Good to know.

I certainly hope that this is the case - I just bought a P238 on Saturday.

For what it is worth I've had no problems with mine in 300+ rounds.

[MT_Bear]

I also have one, and have shot over 250 rounds, in cool weather (mostly Magtech) without problems. I have notice about 20% of the brass had dents on the top of the case (probably due to impact at the ejection port). Will be putting more rounds downrange this week, and will advise if any problems show up.

One other note: Despite several magazine reviews that indicated that the grips are aluminum, they are plastic. A friend told me that VZ now makes their grips for the P238 and I picked up a set - they have a finer texture than the ones on my SA EMP, and are a great addition to the P238.

[CutterH]

That's good to hear, they can run. TXAG, how does your spent brass look? Mine is chewed up like Flint's in his photo in Post #1.

Well honestly, I've never really inspected it, as I don't reload. The ones that I've seen looked fine, but I'll definitely keep a lookout next time. I guess this gives me a good reason to go burn through more of my quickly-dwindling stash of .380.

One thing that I have noticed, however, is that my gun has a hard time throwing out loaded cartridges. Quite a bit of the time they get stuck lengthwise as they're ejecting. This is mainly with JHP's with their flat nose. FMJ seems to come out easier. I've never considered this a serious issue though, because the gun goes BOOM each time you pull the trigger.

[R A Miller]

I also have one, and have shot over 250 rounds, in cool weather (mostly Magtech) without problems. I have notice about 20% of the brass had dents on the top of the case (probably due to impact at the ejection port). Will be putting more rounds downrange this week, and will advise if any problems show up.

One other note: Despite several magazine reviews that indicated that the grips are aluminum, they are plastic. A friend told me that VZ now makes their grips for the P238 and I picked up a set - they have a finer texture than the ones on my SA EMP, and are a great addition to the P238.

Okay, that's some good information. A properly operating P238 dings up some of the brass.

Rick

[R A Miller]

Thanks for the feedback TXAG.

Rick