The P238 was my first pistol ever for self protection as a prosecutor. After about 6 yrs it started to jam. Come to find out, these pistols are notorious for this. Sig should have fixed this problem before the pistols left the factory.
This is a improved 1911 design by SIG, and the barrel has a feed ramp, but to be sure, stick to round nose bullets even if it looks like it feeds with flat nose bullets. On the original 1911, the frame has the feed ramp.The 1911 was designed for a full metal jacket round nose bullet, so all 1911 and copies of the 1911 should be used with round nose full metal jacket bullets, or hard cast round nose bullets, then they are very reliable, my 1911 pistols have never jammed with round nose bullets.
My girlfriend just bought her first gun, the P238, this weekend and when we went to the range we had an issue of it jamming and the magazine coming out. when we get home we're going to take a look and see if this is the issue! Thank you for the video! It may have just saved us a lot of hassle!
Thank you for sharing. I got my P238 April 2014 and one would think that all the kinks have been ironed out. No problems with the factory magazine. But when I used the 2 for 49$ stainless mag i bought on Ebay, it started the miss-feeds. these mags are returning for sure. Great HD film.
thanks for the video. I have this gun and have never had a jam. I will check those areas just to make sure that my gun is not showing any signs of wear or malfunction.
My kimber micro 9mm works great, but these pocket 1911 have tight tolerance, I sat on the couch and racked the slide and released it at least 500 times breaking it in like gun store personnel told me to, field stripped it, break free it getting all the grease and small pieces of steel out of it from break in, I then took the gun lube and oiled it like Kimber said to on all the parts and also inside the barrel, this gun is awesome, flawless and accurate. I'm going to add truglo trx pro Day and night tritium sights and do the mcarbo trigger, sear and spring job to bring trigger pull down to 3.5 pounds
My P238 was exhibiting some of the behavior you mentioned so I checked my gun, no sign of the problem with the nick you're having, but the ramp is rough. There's a company on you tube called MCarbo that sells trigger and hammer springs and polishing kits for this gun, it improves the gun and is easy to do on your own. I have the springs, and it improves the trigger pull, the polishing takes care of this nick problem and smooths the trigger pull immensely, also a cheap fix. Mine used to knock the mag slightly down just like this gun of yours appears to be trying to do. Polishing and cleaning the feeding ramp should fix this and is easy to do if you are competent to take the gun down enough to clean it.Also, I see this is a few years old, but contact SIG if you are having problems, they are super to work with,
thanks for the info. bought a rainbow and had to send it to Sig 1 week later. had a jam with every magazine used. shot thru 8 with 1-2 jams per mag. I hope they fix it and don't return it saying there's nothing wrong.
Nice vid. I just bought a P238 SAS a couple months ago. Only problem I have with it is with blunt nose FMJ like win white box nose dives into that steep feed ramp and locks up. Everything else (round nose ball and more pointed JHP runs flawlessly
I sold mine because of failing to feed every hallow point ammo I put into it. Why own a gun that needs to be modified that’s meant to be reliable when you need it to save you’re life?
If you read the available information before you bought it, you would have known that only certain types of hollow-point ammo will work well. This is true of most small semi-auto pistols.
By the time the feed-ramp contacts the magazine, the spent shell is already gone. Any failure to eject will be caused by either a poor engagement of the extractor, or an under-powered cartridge. 90% of failures to eject or to feed are the fault of the ammo or the magazine.... NOT the feed ramp.
Nice video captures my exact problem. add that to the failure to extract and I'll be trading this in for something more reliable . Sig Sauer quality has gone way down.
@gabe200027 Sig needs to be made aware of all issues or problems with their pistol. I have a HD that has the slide replaced by sig due to the "soft slide issue" Sig replaced the slide but now my Sig concelled carry holster won't fit because the slide is bigger. I am still waiting for them to send me a new one when one became available.
Darnit I was hoping this was why mine was failing to feed but alas no burrs. Just finicky about ammo I guess. You should send this video on to Sig by all means.
I like how well you captured the detail in this video! However, I disagree with your conclusion with respect to the feeding issue. If the barrel is hitting the magazine, then the bullets will not be contacting the feed ramp at that same location. I found that my P238 has the bullets contacting the feed ramp approximately in the middle of the ramp, well above the ding on my ramp. Try shooting yours without cleaning it for over 100 rounds to see exactly where they are contacting the feed ramp.
Well Sig must have fixed the problem cause mine don't hit the magazine at all. There is a gap there between feed ramp and magazine. Also some people are having problems with hollow points not feeding the first one from magazine. I discovered that if you move the first round forward at least 1/8 inch before inserting magazine it will feed proper. Even if you have a problem just jack the slide a second time and it goes right in barrel. No malfunction really.
I seriously doubt that the spur was caused by the feed ramp hitting the magazine. If you consider that the barrel is heat treated and made from bar stock and very robust and that the magazine is made of stamped sheet metal., this possibility is not likely. Do you have feeding problem from the beginning when the gun is new,? If so this means that the spur came from the factory and not caused by the magazine.
I bought the P238 for my GF and after running about 25 rounds therough it, the gun started to jam. If I send this $500 gun back to Sig, will they fix it for free?
What you show, in the way you present it makes sense, but I have a very difficult time believing that the material that the magazine is made of is strong enough to damage the feed ramp...
Great video Gabe. I also have a problem when my p238 not feeding. I will reexamine mine. What kind of camera do you use for your videos...great quality. Thanks again.
@tunyung same here, they said mid oct to shoot them an email and they will send me a replacement. how does yours shoot now I took mine out and it did not eject 2 out of 6 still I am dissapionted. we need sig to view these videos to see for them selfs.
I paid $850 for my p238 spartan edition,and it don't jam with target rounds but it jams with hollow points...is this the same issue you have here? This is the first gun I ever bought too..
It appears you are using colt mustang magazines and not the SIG branded magazines (which are made by MagPul). I also have 2 P238's, and I purchased extra magpul mags, and extra Sig brand Mags. I do not have the issue you have demonstrated. Maybe this is happening with Sig brand Magazines also?? I have a total of 6 mags, all MagPul and Sig brand and do not see this issue. I have around 3500 rounds through my P238's and they run like Swiss Watches, and always have.
@iropeadope Yeah dude...I know Taurus is from Brazil.(Rossi and Bersa too) Ruger and S&W have recently been churning out some seriously lame products. Ruger LCRs cracking with +p ammo. LCP slide issues. S&W has had several MAJOR issues with the "Bodyguard" series....etc. I have several decades experience with firearms. Many manufaturers are currently spewing out low quality garbage to fill the enourmous demands of young and inexperienced shooters who obviously don't know the difference.
I'm confused by what I'm seeing. From the looks of it, it appears that this gun wouldn't even cycle, or would punch a hole in the magazine. With the mag fully inserted, how is the gun cycling at all?
Strange this can cause misfires, it is a copy of the 1911 design, so if full metal jacket round nose bullets are used, the tip of the bullet should hit the feed ramp about in the middle, and slide effortlessly into the chamber without catching on anything, perhaps flat nose, hollow point bullets are giving the problems addressed here? Full metal jacket round rose bullets are the only reliable bullet shape for the 1911 and copies of the 1911 design, I never had a jam with round nose bullets.
Give the magazine a good look where you think it's hitting the barrel and the magazine should have a small witness where the two pieces interfere. ( Just more evidence of the problem.)
Very good observation, the new clip will stop that problem however there are still other issues with this gun. Another problem is the failure to feed and still another is the slide locking back after the first shot and another is failure to extract. When my gun was new the slide would not return to battery after the first shot. The fix from Sig was a new clip and a new return spring now after 200 rounds the above problems return. My fix is all new springs and then if the problem exists still trash gun. Good luck with yours.
Owned one 3 weeks and traded it! They can't run hollow points reliably! The feed ramp is basically a feed WALL!! The mags are poor design as well. So is the open ended recoil spring
+Robert Glover Sorry you had problems with yours. I ran Hornady Concealed carry and PMC rounds through mine with NO problems. I don't know what your proficiency is but mine is beginner I would say, so I should be the first one with problems.
Mine jams if I rack one round into the chamber and then refill the mag to 6 rounds. If I rack one into the chamber and keep only 5 in the mag it runs ok.
@craigdamage Really. Ruger and S&W offer sub-par pistols? Based on what information do you make that comment? The only part of your comment that is even remotely correct could be about Taurus. But you do realize Taurus is a Brazilian manufacturer, right?
Just bought the Legion version of this model & had failure to feeds every other magazine with flat nosed white box target ammo. Will change the ammo up next range session to include hollow points & see how it does. When it functions properly it’s a wonderful gun.
How is your problem Solved? This vid just explains why you have an abrasion on your feed ramp. No correlation to FRF or FTE. This is just follow up with no know solution. Need to re-title your vid.
SIG has screwed the pooch. Period. Sig USA is churning out sub-par products. You will NEVER find flaws like this in any of the proper Swiss/German Sigs. Really sad to me. American gun companies are so desperate for record profits they are saturating the market with piss-poor products. Ruger and S&W are even worse. btw...I own 3 German made Sigs and two classic Smith and Wesson revolvers that are all superb.
SIG USA sucks period. They are ruining the legacy of the superb Swiss/German Sig-Sauer pistols. If you want a quality SIG that will function 100% stay the Hell away from the crappy American made Sigs. Get a P-230,232 if yo want a .380. American manufacturers are flooding the market with sub-par pistols and ALL consumers should beware. S&W,Ruger and Taurus are also doing the same. Stay away!
The late model Sigs suck ass! Just about everything that Sig has put out in the last 3 years is crap, and the money spent is a waste. Even $350 Bersas and KelTecs have better reliability than these Shigs.
The P238 was my first pistol ever for self protection as a prosecutor. After about 6 yrs it started to jam. Come to find out, these pistols are notorious for this. Sig should have fixed this problem before the pistols left the factory.
They did just order the new barrel they made fixed the problem perfectly
This is a improved 1911 design by SIG, and the barrel has a feed ramp, but to be sure, stick to round nose bullets even if it looks like it feeds with flat nose bullets. On the original 1911, the frame has the feed ramp.The 1911 was designed for a full metal jacket round nose bullet, so all 1911 and copies of the 1911 should be used with round nose full metal jacket bullets, or hard cast round nose bullets, then they are very reliable, my 1911 pistols have never jammed with round nose bullets.
My girlfriend just bought her first gun, the P238, this weekend and when we went to the range we had an issue of it jamming and the magazine coming out. when we get home we're going to take a look and see if this is the issue! Thank you for the video! It may have just saved us a lot of hassle!
Well done Gab. I hope by now Sig has corrected this problem. Also great camera work.
Thank you for sharing. I got my P238 April 2014 and one would think that all the kinks have been ironed out. No problems with the factory magazine. But when I used the 2 for 49$ stainless mag i bought on Ebay, it started the miss-feeds. these mags are returning for sure. Great HD film.
thanks for the video. I have this gun and have never had a jam. I will check those areas just to make sure that my gun is not showing any signs of wear or malfunction.
I am Shocked that Sig did not see this coming with this high priced pistol!
My kimber micro 9mm works great, but these pocket 1911 have tight tolerance, I sat on the couch and racked the slide and released it at least 500 times breaking it in like gun store personnel told me to, field stripped it, break free it getting all the grease and small pieces of steel out of it from break in, I then took the gun lube and oiled it like Kimber said to on all the parts and also inside the barrel, this gun is awesome, flawless and accurate.
I'm going to add truglo trx pro Day and night tritium sights and do the mcarbo trigger, sear and spring job to bring trigger pull down to 3.5 pounds
If you want qualiity get a Seecamp or Rohrbaugh.
My P238 was exhibiting some of the behavior you mentioned so I checked my gun, no sign of the problem with the nick you're having, but the ramp is rough. There's a company on you tube called MCarbo that sells trigger and hammer springs and polishing kits for this gun, it improves the gun and is easy to do on your own. I have the springs, and it improves the trigger pull, the polishing takes care of this nick problem and smooths the trigger pull immensely, also a cheap fix. Mine used to knock the mag slightly down just like this gun of yours appears to be trying to do. Polishing and cleaning the feeding ramp should fix this and is easy to do if you are competent to take the gun down enough to clean it.Also, I see this is a few years old, but contact SIG if you are having problems, they are super to work with,
thanks for the info. bought a rainbow and had to send it to Sig 1 week later. had a jam with every magazine used. shot thru 8 with 1-2 jams per mag. I hope they fix it and don't return it saying there's nothing wrong.
Thanks for posting this up, the wife just bought a new P238 and I will have to look to see if it does this or not.
Nice vid. I just bought a P238 SAS a couple months ago. Only problem I have with it is with blunt nose FMJ like win white box nose dives into that steep feed ramp and locks up. Everything else (round nose ball and more pointed
JHP runs flawlessly
+Brad Ottoson My P938 has the same issue. round nose ball runs flawlessly but any blunt nosed hollow or not dive into the feed ramp and fail to feed.
I sold mine because of failing to feed every hallow point ammo I put into it. Why own a gun that needs to be modified that’s meant to be reliable when you need it to save you’re life?
If you read the available information before you bought it, you would have known that only certain types of hollow-point ammo will work well. This is true of most small semi-auto pistols.
@@timhallas4275 The reason I said “every”, I don’t have a problem with buying special ammo if it will actually shoot it.
Wow 14 year old video, great video about issues w P238 ❤
By the time the feed-ramp contacts the magazine, the spent shell is already gone. Any failure to eject will be caused by either a poor engagement of the extractor, or an under-powered cartridge. 90% of failures to eject or to feed are the fault of the ammo or the magazine.... NOT the feed ramp.
Nice video captures my exact problem. add that to the failure to extract and I'll be trading this in for something more reliable . Sig Sauer quality has gone way down.
I bought this wife for Christmas and had this exact issue with factory mag. Your video is very helpful. Is there a fix from Sig yet?
I had to replay the beginning of this and I have to admit I'm pretty impressed. Fast forward to 2027 :-)
@gabe200027 Sig needs to be made aware of all issues or problems with their pistol. I have a HD that has the slide replaced by sig due to the "soft slide issue"
Sig replaced the slide but now my Sig concelled carry holster won't fit because the slide is bigger. I am still waiting for them to send me a new one when one became available.
Colt Mustang had the very same feed problem. I have rework about 30 of them for people over the years.
Darnit I was hoping this was why mine was failing to feed but alas no burrs. Just finicky about ammo I guess. You should send this video on to Sig by all means.
My barrel does not touch the magazine like your does.
I also do not have the wear notch.
Okay You found the Problem but did You or Sig Sauer Fix It ???????
goog question but not answered in 4 years....charlie foxtrot....
That wasn't the reason for his failures.
I like how well you captured the detail in this video! However, I disagree with your conclusion with respect to the feeding issue. If the barrel is hitting the magazine, then the bullets will not be contacting the feed ramp at that same location. I found that my P238 has the bullets contacting the feed ramp approximately in the middle of the ramp, well above the ding on my ramp. Try shooting yours without cleaning it for over 100 rounds to see exactly where they are contacting the feed ramp.
where do you look to tell if a gun is a 27a model?
@craigdamage WRONG!....Oooops,my bad. Bersa is actually from Argentina.
Excellent video.
Well Sig must have fixed the problem cause mine don't hit the magazine at all. There is a gap there between feed ramp and magazine. Also some people are having problems with hollow points not feeding the first one from magazine. I discovered that if you move the first round forward at least 1/8 inch before inserting magazine it will feed proper. Even if you have a problem just jack the slide a second time and it goes right in barrel. No malfunction really.
I seriously doubt that the spur was caused by the feed ramp hitting the magazine. If you consider that the barrel is heat treated and made from bar stock and very robust and that the magazine is made of stamped sheet metal., this possibility is not likely. Do you have feeding problem from the beginning when the gun is new,? If so this means that the spur came from the factory and not caused by the magazine.
I bought the P238 for my GF and after running about 25 rounds therough it, the gun started to jam. If I send this $500 gun back to Sig, will they fix it for free?
What you show, in the way you present it makes sense, but I have a very difficult time believing that the material that the magazine is made of is strong enough to damage the feed ramp...
Good point Gabe. What happened?
Did you call Sig? I have found their customer service people to be very responsive
Great video Gabe. I also have a problem when my p238 not feeding. I will reexamine mine.
What kind of camera do you use for your videos...great quality.
Thanks again.
@tunyung same here, they said mid oct to shoot them an email and they will send me a replacement. how does yours shoot now I took mine out and it did not eject 2 out of 6 still I am dissapionted. we need sig to view these videos to see for them selfs.
I paid $850 for my p238 spartan edition,and it don't jam with target rounds but it jams with hollow points...is this the same issue you have here? This is the first gun I ever bought too..
It appears you are using colt mustang magazines and not the SIG branded magazines (which are made by MagPul). I also have 2 P238's, and I purchased extra magpul mags, and extra Sig brand Mags. I do not have the issue you have demonstrated. Maybe this is happening with Sig brand Magazines also?? I have a total of 6 mags, all MagPul and Sig brand and do not see this issue. I have around 3500 rounds through my P238's and they run like Swiss Watches, and always have.
Island Joe 45 how can you tell he is using Colt magazines
@iropeadope Yeah dude...I know Taurus is from Brazil.(Rossi and Bersa too) Ruger and S&W have recently been churning out some seriously lame products. Ruger LCRs cracking with +p ammo. LCP slide issues. S&W has had several MAJOR issues with the "Bodyguard" series....etc. I have several decades experience with firearms.
Many manufaturers are currently spewing out low quality garbage to fill the enourmous demands of young and inexperienced shooters who obviously don't know the difference.
does anyone know why the bullet won't release from the chamber easily it seems to get stuck.
It could be something out of spec with your chamber or excess build up of carbon,
I'm confused by what I'm seeing. From the looks of it, it appears that this gun wouldn't even cycle, or would punch a hole in the magazine. With the mag fully inserted, how is the gun cycling at all?
Thank you
has this been resolved by the factory?
Strange this can cause misfires, it is a copy of the 1911 design, so if full metal jacket round nose bullets are used, the tip of the bullet should hit the feed ramp about in the middle, and slide effortlessly into the chamber without catching on anything, perhaps flat nose, hollow point bullets are giving the problems addressed here? Full metal jacket round rose bullets are the only reliable bullet shape for the 1911 and copies of the 1911 design, I never had a jam with round nose bullets.
Give the magazine a good look where you think it's hitting the barrel and the magazine should have a small witness where the two pieces interfere. ( Just more evidence of the problem.)
Did Sig fix this problem?
I have over 200 rounds through my 238 and have never had that kind of problem.
200 rounds ain’t much at all.
Mine is flawless.
Very good observation, the new clip will stop that problem however there are still other issues with this gun. Another problem is the failure to feed and still another is the slide locking back after the first shot and another is failure to extract. When my gun was new the slide would not return to battery after the first shot. The fix from Sig was a new clip and a new return spring now after 200 rounds the above problems return. My fix is all new springs and then if the problem exists still trash gun. Good luck with yours.
Top Notch
Owned one 3 weeks and traded it! They can't run hollow points reliably! The feed ramp is basically a feed WALL!! The mags are poor design as well. So is the open ended recoil spring
+Robert Glover Sorry you had problems with yours. I ran Hornady Concealed carry and PMC rounds through mine with NO problems. I don't know what your proficiency is but mine is beginner I would say, so I should be the first one with problems.
+Andrew Puglisi mine is new too and am a beginner. mine jammed with every mag used. sent it to Sig.
My P238 jams when the mag is full.
Mine jams if I rack one round into the chamber and then refill the mag to 6 rounds. If I rack one into the chamber and keep only 5 in the mag it runs ok.
file the feed ramp.
BECAUSE LOGIC
@craigdamage Really. Ruger and S&W offer sub-par pistols? Based on what information do you make that comment? The only part of your comment that is even remotely correct could be about Taurus. But you do realize Taurus is a Brazilian manufacturer, right?
I see this video made 6/2/2010, how is the sig P238 performing today? HollmanInsuranceGroup@Cox.Net
Just bought the Legion version of this model & had failure to feeds every other magazine with flat nosed white box target ammo. Will change the ammo up next range session to include hollow points & see how it does. When it functions properly it’s a wonderful gun.
How is your problem Solved? This vid just explains why you have an abrasion on your feed ramp. No correlation to FRF or FTE. This is just follow up with no know solution.
Need to re-title your vid.
just file it off a little bit..
SIG has screwed the pooch. Period. Sig USA is churning out sub-par products.
You will NEVER find flaws like this in any of the proper Swiss/German Sigs.
Really sad to me. American gun companies are so desperate for record profits they are saturating the market with piss-poor products. Ruger and S&W are even worse.
btw...I own 3 German made Sigs and two classic Smith and Wesson revolvers that are all superb.
SIG USA sucks period. They are ruining the legacy of the superb Swiss/German Sig-Sauer pistols. If you want a quality SIG that will function 100% stay the Hell away from the crappy American made Sigs. Get a P-230,232 if yo want a .380.
American manufacturers are flooding the market with sub-par pistols and ALL consumers should beware. S&W,Ruger and Taurus are also doing the same. Stay away!
The late model Sigs suck ass! Just about everything that Sig has put out in the last 3 years is crap, and the money spent is a waste. Even $350 Bersas and KelTecs have better reliability than these Shigs.