

On the other hand, the G19 is much lighter and carries 15 rounds in its flush mount magazine. The SIG has a narrower butt section, however, which is the hardest part of a handgun to conceal. However, it compares rather favorably in size and weight to older designs, such as P-38, Soviet TT-33 Tokarev and the Beretta M1951 Brigadier, which also sport single stack, eight shot magazines.Īmong popular 9mm pistols, the P239-TAC comes closest in size to a Glock 19. I wish the front strap had fine checkering for a more certain grip.Īlthough the P239-TAC is a compact service pistol, at nearly 30 ounces empty it is not a lightweight arm. The soft, molded-in stippling pattern on the grips does not abrade clothing or skin, but the grips can be somewhat slick in sweaty hands. Another minor quibble with the grip is that I think the front strap is a bit square and should be more convex (rounded). The grip is truly is no bigger than it has to be those with larger mitts may find it a tad too small. The hammer spur has been truncated to help reduce snagging on clothing while drawing, but it is still fairly easy to thumb-cock. With its rounded edges and medium size, the P239 will also work when carried at the 3:30 position in an appropriate holster. This is a nearly perfect pistol for appendix inside the waistband carry (AIWB). With its 1911 grip angle, it points naturally for me and its heft and balance are good. (One had best extend the pinky before pressing a fresh magazine into place to avoid pinching.) Its bore axis is higher than many other designs, yet it feels quite a bit more slender than the majority of the SIG offerings that carry more ammo. My medium sized hands, as well as those of G&S Online staffers Jim Fleck and Chuck Hawks, use all of the available grip length, including the flush-fitting pinky extension on the magazine baseplate. It is a medium size pistol with rounded contours. No play was detected when vigorously wiggling the barrel and only the slightest bit of play in the slide to frame fit was noted.Įrgonomically, I find the P239 comfortable. The usual SIG-Sauer consistency of barrel to slide and barrel to locking cam were there. This pistol's premium pricing indicates to me that the functioning and accuracy of this pistol should be of a very high order. While true there are very few that are suppressor capable, the expense and legal hassle of owning a suppressor is impractical for many shooters in the United States. There are a lot of compact and subcompact 9mm pistols out there. Safeties: Automatic firing pin block and rebounding hammer.Finish: Nitron over stainless steel slide, blued barrel and small parts, hard anodized aluminum receiver.Trigger pull: Factory specification 10 lb.
#Sig 9mm p239 trial
(If you are willing to engage in a great deal of potentially expensive and time consuming trial and error testing. At the likely ranges that a self-defense pistol will be used, I think this arrangement is adequate. SIG's fixed sights are available in six different rear and five different front sight heights and thus can accommodate just about all available 9mm loads. I would rather use a finger pad to feel for the slightly protruding edge of the extractor, or retract the slide slightly by its rear serrations to accomplish the same thing. Some like to use these forward cocking serrations to "press-check" the loaded status of the chamber. There are gripping serrations at the front and back of the slide. In this regard, the P239 does not disappoint. Like any single-stack pistol (pistols that carry the rounds of ammunition in a straight, not staggered, magazine), the grip can be thinner than those with a larger capacity, double stack magazine. In this regard it is old school, compared to the New Age of polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols that are all the rage these days. In the past, I have stated that they build perhaps the most consistent quality production grade, all metal pistols on the market.Īt first blush, the all metal P239 feels heavier than its relatively slim profile would make you think it should be. It is equipped with an extended and threaded barrel for suppressor attachment, SIGLITE tritium night sights, SIG Short-Reset Trigger and is supplied with two extended ten-round single-stack magazines and one eight-round, flush-bottom magazine.Īs regular readers of my articles on Guns and Shooting Online know, I am enamored by most of SIG-Sauer's pistol offerings. The P239-9-Tac (tactical) model differs from the others by being available only in 9x19mm. The standard version of the SIG-Sauer P239 pistol is available in 9mm Luger (9x19mm).
