Which is better: Sig P238 .380 or P938-9?
By MARJ LAW
A couple days ago, our car stops at a gun shop. Big surprise!
Inside, Joe’s nose is pressed against a showcase. He’s looking at the Sig Sauer 9mm 938FDE. Now, I have the 238. It’s a .380. The 938 looks just like it only it’s a 9 versus my .380.
“What does FDE even mean?” I ask Joe when we look at the 938. It’s frustrating when guys (or companies) talk shorthand. What does FDE mean?
Turns out, FDE refers to the color of the gun: flat dark earth. Ahem.
Joe wants this gun. Is that drool on the glass? Wants it wants it wants it.
We don’t need the 938. Yes, it’s a 9mm, but Joe already has a 9mm carry gun. Maybe more than one. He sure doesn’t need another. I don’t need it, either. I have that nice .380.
My little Sig .380 P238 is accurate. It’s slim and fits oh-so-nicely in my hand.
Trigger pull is light and short. Jack the slide? Yes, the slide moves easily. You don’t have to have muscles like Popeye to lock the slide back.
Light? 15 ounces. Yes, it fits in a carry purse. Even better, it doesn’t imprint when you appendix carry in a sticky holster. Yay!
But best of all? The P238 has the lightest, easiest kick! Newbies who try out my 238 at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) range love knowing they can handle this little gun.
You can’t beat it.
But Joe is lusting after that 938: the big brother of the 238. Yes, this is the carry gun we don’t need.
Since the P238 works so well for me, I weaken. Maybe the 9mm is special too. I might like it!
“Okay. I’m not buying it, but maybe we could go halvsies,” I mutter under my breath, hoping he won’t hear me.
Joe doesn’t always hear me. Might be selective. But this time, his ears perk up.
“You’ll do half?” he questions. “We’ll take it!” he crows.
So this Saturday, we’re at the WCSO range. We’re going to compare the .380 versus the 9mm Sig.
They are so darn similar.
My .380 holds six rounds, or you can get a seven round extended magazine. It’s very thin and weighs only 15 ounces.
The new 9mm holds 7 rounds and weighs yes: only 16 ounces.
We’ll shoot four rounds each. Joe will begin with my .380. We are rating trigger pull, trigger pull distance, recoil, grip, and difficulty of racking the slide. On a 1—5 scale, a 1 means “easy” or “light.” A 5 means “difficult” or “darn well hate it.”
Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!
Joe is on target, but his grouping isn’t great. I expected him to do some better.
“It’s a small grip,” he explains.
“So, how’s the trigger pull?” I ask. He gives trigger pull a 2, and trigger travel a 1. He says the kick is light, and gives it a 2. He gives the small grip a 2 as well. It’s okay, but a bit small for good control. Jacking the slide? He says it’s very light and gives it a 1.
Next, he picks up the new 9mm. This gun isn’t broken in. When Joe shoots cold, he usually hits the target low and to the left.
“It’s all in finger pressure,” he explains. “You only press your index finger. That’s been my mistake in the past.”
Four blams later, three are in the x-ring and the other is in the 9 ring. Very close grouping!
He gives trigger pull a 2, and trigger pull travel a 1: just like he did with the .380. A difference is the recoil. He gives recoil a 3, which is more than the 2 he gave the .380.
Joe prefers the grip of the 9mm. It’s just enough to fit his hand better than the .380. He gives it a 1 for a great grip. Jacking the slide is a bit harder than the .380, but not much. He gives jacking the slide a 2.
“I have more of a connection with this 9,” he says. “The grip just feels good in my hand.”
Darn. His scores will be really hard to beat. Even with my favorite .380!
My turn. I shoot my .380 first. It feels good in my small hand. But, after four shots, I only have two shots that hit the target. Trigger pull gets a 1, travel a 1, kick a 2, grip a 1 and slide a 1 as well. Everything feels right, but my dominant hand is damaged.
Since I’m having trouble with the right hand, I shift to the left hand with the 9mm. Wow! Between Joe and me, all of our eight shots are pretty close together.
Trigger pull is harder. While my .380 gets a 1, the 9mm gets a 2.5. Travel is a bit longer than the .380. But the bigger deal is the recoil. The 9mm has a firm kick, and I give it a 3.5. Remember, I gave the .380 just a 2. The 9 has significant more recoil.
The grip is larger. I prefer the smaller grip of the .380. The 9 is more difficult to jack the slide. I give the slide a 2.5, while that .380 was just an easy 1.
This isn’t fair to my little .380. I re-shoot the .380, using my left undamaged hand. Big difference! Suddenly four shots are in the 9 ring.
Both guns have shot quite equally for me. The 9mm has more oomph than the .380, but the .380 is easier for me. Between the thinner grip, lighter trigger and kick and the easier slide, my fave is still the .380. I like easy.
Joe shoots the 9mm much more accurately. He prefers the slightly larger grip. While he agrees it has more recoil, the amount of kick doesn’t bother him. He wants to carry the Sig Sauer 9mm 938.
What can I say?
The 938 is going to be Joe’s new carry gun.
Looks like my “half” of the gun is going to Joe.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.