The SIG P938 Sub-Compact 9mm Pistol Review

I have always liked 1911 style pistols. The trigger pull is light and consistent, and the single action mechanism, when done right, is reliable. But, the 1911 is a big pistol designed for service use, and being that it was adopted in the early 1900’s, it’s designed for right hand use only. While it’s size is necessary to handle the .45 ACP round it was designed for, to me, it limits it’s utility for civilian use. Also, while the 1911 can be a very good target pistol, I’m looking more for something appropriate for everyday carry. Along that line, I don’t necessarily need the .45 ACP round either. 9mm is fine if it’s on a platform that allows for rapid, accurate, and consistent shot placement. So, when SIG brought out the P938, I was very interested to check it out.

The P938 is a compact single action pistol chambered in 9mm. It is a 1911 style pistol, but has some significant differences to the 1911 design. The P938 is based on SIG’s earlier P238, which is a compact 1911 style single action chambered in .380 ACP. For the addition of less than half an inch in length, SIG has given the platform up-gunned performance with the addition of the 9mm. In fact, the P938 is very compact. It has a three inch barrel, an overall length of 5.9 inches, a height of 3.9 inches, and a width of a little over an inch. For comparison of how compact it is, the P938 is only slightly larger than the Taurus PT-22 pocket pistol. However, while the PT-22 is chambered for .22LR, the P938 takes six or seven rounds of 9mm, depending on the magazine.

The model I evaluated is the P938 Extreme. It comes with composite grip panels, An ambidextrous safety, and SIGLITE tritium night sights. The pistol comes in a package that includes a hard case, a cable lock, loaded chamber indicator, one six and one seven round magazine, a right hand holster, and manual.

First thing I did after taking the pistol home was read the manual and field strip the pistol for cleaning. The manual is very clear to follow. To dis-assemble the pistol, remove the magazine and ensure the chamber is clear. Once the pistol has been cleared, put the safety in the “fire” position.

The thumb safety on the Extreme is, as I said, ambidextrous, and, unlike the 1911, can be set with the hammer back or forward. Also unlike the 1911, the slide can be cycled with the safety on.

Next, pull the slide back on the frame until the slide stop aligns with the takedown notch on the slide. There are finger grooves on both the front and rear of the slide, making it easy to retain a grip on the pistol during this process. Again, unlike the 1911, there is no barrel bushing, making dis-assembly less complicated. Once the slide and the slide stop are lined up, take out the slide stop and bring the slide forward off the frame. Remove the recoil spring, guide rod, and barrel from the slide, and you ready to clean.

Once cleaning is done, assemble in reverse order. There is one catch. The ejector on the P938 is mounted to the frame. When mating the slide to the frame, you have to depress the ejector so the slide rides over it. Depressing it too far can actually cause a mechanical problem, so push down only until it clears the slide. Knowing that, re-assembling the slide to the frame doesn’t present any difficulty.

After the pistol was cleaned, I took it to the range. For testing, I used Remington 115 grain Ball and Hollow Point ammo. I shot a total of 100 rounds at various distances out to 10 yards, and conducted drills moving forward, backward, laterally and to the oblique. At no time were there any malfunctions.

While the P938 weighs only 16 ounces, the recoil from the 9mm was mild. It was comfortable and controllable firing from both the strong and weak hand, with both one and two handed grip. Trigger pull was very consistent. The pull was between 7.5 and 8.5 pounds. While that may seem heavy, it does not detract from accuracy or controllability. Given that the trigger has a crisp let off, the heavier trigger pull is hardly noticeable.

Holding the pistol with a high grip was very comfortable. The hammer is bobbed, and while there is no grip safety like on a 1911, the beaver tail on the frame is still present, ensuring that there is no chance of “hammer bite” to the web of the shooting hand.

Accuracy was very good. I shot static at 5 inch bulls-eye targets, and moving at silhouettes. All rounds went where they were supposed to go. Shot groups of various lengths all stayed under a fist in size. The sights are easy to index, making target acquisition very fast. Also, the sights on my pistol were factory set so that point of aim equaled point of impact at the ranges I was shooting at. This was very good, because making sight adjustments on SIG pistols requires a sight adjustment tool and front sight blades of various heights, making it a fairly complicated process.

The sights on my pistol were equipped with SIGLITE tritium for low light use. The sights are set in a three dot pattern: one on the front sight, two on the rear. The dots are meant to line up horizontally, instead of as a triangle, making for an uncomplicated sight picture. The tritium dots glowed bright, making it easy to pick them up in darkened conditions.

The pistol came with an outside the waistband right handed holster with adjustable tension. Drawing from the holster was very rapid, while it also maintained good retention. As a bonus, I found that the holster functioned even better inside the waistband left handed. Being left handed naturally, this worked out great for me. The pistol/ holster combo is very concealable.

I also tested carrying and drawing from a Blackhawk size 4 pocket holster. The techniques of concealed carry are beyond the scope of this article, so I won’t go into the pros and cons of pocket carry for single actions. I will only say that the P938/ Blackhawk combo was also very concealable, and the holster stayed in the pocket when the pistol was drawn, with no snags.

Overall, the P938 is a great pistol. I found it to be mechanically reliable, accurate, and very comfortable to shoot. All in a very compact package. It’s fit and finish is excellent, from it’s all-metal components, the fit of the grips to the frame, to it’s overall matte black coating. If you are looking for a compact 1911 style pistol, the P938 is an excellent choice.