Question about the Sig P238

[dansgotguns]

So i bought my wife the Sig p238 in the rainbow titanium finish(Idk shes girly, dont ask) a few months back. She absolutely loves it, only thing is she says its hard to pull the hammer back. Any suggestions how to make the hammer a lighter pull?

 

[Dave Doehrman]

So i bought my wife the Sig p238 in the rainbow titanium finish(Idk shes girly, dont ask) a few months back. She absolutely loves it, only thing is she says its hard to pull the hammer back. Any suggestions how to make the hammer a lighter pull?

Um..... the P238 is a single action with a safety, just like a 1911. Chamber a round, engage the safety and carry it "cocked and locked". She won't have to cock the hammer; just release the safety and pull the trigger.

If she's not comfortable carrying cocked and locked, she could carry with and empty chamber (I can hear all the replies and snickers on this) and just use the slide to chamber a round and cock the hammer.

Carrying with an empty chamber is standard procedure for the Israeli police and military. Muscle memory allows the shooter to draw and chamber a round as fast as drawing and releasing a safety.

BTW, I have 3 of the P238s, and one of them is the rainbow titanium model. I bought it to match my Kershaw Leek with the rainbow titanium finish. My wife was proud of me. She said it was the only time I went shopping and "accessorized".

 

[dansgotguns]

she does carry in condition 1, locked cocked with the safety on. In a hostile situation i know shell be fine handling the weapon. I mainly mean when we are at the range running through hundreds of rounds i want her to be as comfortable with it as possible and not straining to pull back the hammer.

and +1 to you for accessorizing lmao!

 

[blamecharles]

What Dave said. They are a great little pistol, my GF loves hers and always carries cocked and locked and has never had an issue even though hers is in her purse.

 

[88E30M50]

The Sig P238 does have a heavy trigger pull. Mine was measured at about 8 lbs. In my opinion, while it makes it a bit less fun at the range, it also makes it a better pocket/purse gun. If she ever has to pull it in anger, that heavy pull may be the difference between sending one downrange by accident or shooting on purpose.

 

[mtb1981]

Take it to the American Guns people, they'll fix you up for under $10k!

 

[Dave Doehrman]

I mainly mean when we are at the range running through hundreds of rounds i want her to be as comfortable with it as possible and not straining to pull back the hammer.

We may be talking about 2 different things here. Are you talking about the weight required to pull the trigger and fire the weapon or are you talking about using her thumb to pull back the hammer before firing the weapon?

In your original post you said "she says its hard to pull the hammer back".

These are two different issues and both have different solutions.

 

[Mongoose1.1]

Whatever you do have her train to always "sweep" the safety off, even if she chooses to leave it off normally. Better to be prepared for that rather than draw and then wonder why the weapon won't fire (if it is accidentally engaged). That unfortunately has gotten people hurt because they thought the safety was off.

 

[dansgotguns]

We may be talking about 2 different things here. Are you talking about the weight required to pull the trigger and fire the weapon or are you talking about using her thumb to pull back the hammer before firing the weapon?

In your original post you said "she says its hard to pull the hammer back".

These are two different issues and both have different solutions.

I was talking about the hammer not the trigger pull. Im saying when reloading on days we do a lot of firing, it "strains" her to constantly be pulling back the hammer. trigger pull is fine

 

[drumminfool]

Hey dan,

Do you mean pulling the slide back to chamber a round? I just can't see why you would have to pull the hammer back after you racked a round into the chamber. Just curious :-) I am considering picking up a P238 as I have shot my friend's and it was very nice.

 

[tblosl]

Just like a 1911 you should be able to replace the mainspring with a lighter one or trim a half loop off the spring. It will make the hammer easier and the trigger pull a little lighter.

 

[calcot7]

So i bought my wife the Sig p238 in the rainbow titanium finish(Idk shes girly, dont ask) a few months back. She absolutely loves it, only thing is she says its hard to pull the hammer back. Any suggestions how to make the hammer a lighter pull?

Rack the first one into the chamber for her then tell her to just pull the trigger making sure to count the rounds fired so as to never leave the chamber empty.

 

[88E30M50]

Hey dan,

Do you mean pulling the slide back to chamber a round? I just can't see why you would have to pull the hammer back after you racked a round into the chamber. Just curious :-) I am considering picking up a P238 as I have shot my friend's and it was very nice.

Sorry, my bad. I thought we were talking about the heavy trigger pull. I really should learn to read one of these days

 

[Dave Doehrman]

I was talking about the hammer not the trigger pull. Im saying when reloading on days we do a lot of firing, it "strains" her to constantly be pulling back the hammer. trigger pull is fine

Ok, now I am confused. The only way for the hammer to be in the down position on a P238 is to:

#1 pull the trigger on an empty chamber
#2 lower the hammer manually
#3 having a misfire (light or no primer strike)

In case #1 the hammer will be reset, or in the back position when you chamber a round.

In case #2, don't lower the hammer and you won't have to cock it. This is probably to most common cause of negligent discharges (lowering the hammer on a loaded chamber).

In case #3, when you rack the slide and clear the misfire, the hammer will be locked back.

Maybe I'm mistaken here, but I can see no logical reason for the hammer having to be cocked manually on a P238.

 

[dansgotguns]

Ok, now I am confused. The only way for the hammer to be in the down position on a P238 is to:

#1 pull the trigger on an empty chamber
#2 lower the hammer manually
#3 having a misfire (light or no primer strike)

In case #1 the hammer will be reset, or in the back position when you chamber a round.

In case #2, don't lower the hammer and you won't have to cock it. This is probably to most common cause of negligent discharges (lowering the hammer on a loaded chamber).

In case #3, when you rack the slide and clear the misfire, the hammer will be locked back.

Maybe I'm mistaken here, but I can see no logical reason for the hammer having to be cocked manually on a P238.

you know what, that is a good point!! wtf has she been doing lmfao. your right shes just going to have to deal with it. I think shes been manually releasing the hammer when she drills herself with the weapon. Thats probably what shes talking about, and if so then im not worried about it. im going to look into this

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Wolfe springs?

 

[mjpell]

Mine pulls quite easy....

So i bought my wife the Sig p238 in the rainbow titanium finish(Idk shes girly, dont ask) a few months back. She absolutely loves it, only thing is she says its hard to pull the hammer back. Any suggestions how to make the hammer a lighter pull?

 

[Rocket]

If the safety is engaged the hammer can drop from half cock to it if you trigger it. Perhaps she is doing this. Not necessary or even recommended but maybe that is why she is having to pull the hammer back again? NOTE if you do this with a round in the chamber you could be looking at a ND. Have her demonstrate What she is doing with snap caps or empty. Or watch her at the range.

 

[AJBB87]

I have the Sig P238HD and without a doubt, love it! It will be the last gun I sell because it's so versatile.

Part of the issue with pulling back the hammer on a 238 is that the hammer is very small and sits deeply in the rear of the gun when not cocked.

If she is having a hard time manually cocking the 238 (for whatever reason) you may be able to find a way to increase the amount of material on the hammer for the thumb to "grip" when pulling it back.

Like others have mentioned, racking the slide is by far the easiest method (except when dry firing with snap caps)