Hey guys and gals, yesterday my sons and I took a trip to a not so local gun store to look around and visit with friends and I ended up buying a P290. This thing is fricking awesome.

I had never actually handled a P290 and had read a lot online that they were not very well liked? Why the H not? I love this pistol!

At first it feels a bit narrow in the hand but the texture on the grips is very tacky and so it feels very secure for such a small gun. The sights are full size SIG sights, 7 year old night signts in this particular case so they are probably only usable for a couple more years before they will need to be replaced but since they are standard SIG sights replacement will be a simple matter.

Yes it's a DAO gun but it's a half cocked DAO so it's not a full double action trigger pull like a P250 (which I have and love as well).

I'm fortunate enough to live in the country so as soon as I got my P290 home I went out and banged some steel with it and it is VERY shootable for such a small gun. Even with the DAO trigger I'd say that the trigger pull is similar to a Glock in the way you have to manage your trigger pull and maintain a good sight picture all the way through the trigger movement. But the trigger pull on the P290 is light and smooth so hits on a 6 in plate over and over again at 10-15 yards is relatively easy.

Mine came with 2 8 round magazines so the extra length helped with recoil management but in dry firing I don't think shooting it with 6 round mags will be a problem at all because of how nicely textured the grips are.

I have 2 more 8rnd mags and 2 6rnd mags already on order. I found them at Magazine Warehouse for $19 a piece. I may order some of the tiny G10 grip panels I see online simply to try out as well to see if they add a tiny bit of hand filling width to the gun.

My P290 is an earlier gun so it's not an RS model but I don't really care that it doesn't have "ReStrike" capability. If it doesn't go bang I'll simply tap rack and shoot again, no different than you would on a striker fired gun.

I know everyone is excited about the P365 coming out but I personally am just slightly more comfortable carrying a DA/SA or DAO (or DAK) trigger.

With the ability to carry the P290 with 6rnd magazines I would say this has to be the smallest double action capable SIG ever made, right?? And with the 8rnd mags (I think I saw some aftermarket 10rnd mags as well) it offers the same capacity as the other SIG 9mm single stacks, the P225 and P239, all in a package that is smaller than those.

Why was this gun not more of a success? I think people make way too much of a dicision on guns by simply reading about them and MAYBE holding them in a gun shop. More need to actually shoot the various options to know how they actually perform for you.

I'm pretty tickled by my P290 find, as I was with my P250 find a couple years ago. Guns that were not popular, a bit maligned but, at least for me are actually very good shooters and make very capable EDC options.

This P290 currently makes 21 SIGs in my inventory. I'm very glad I found it.

Long, fairly stiff trigger pull in a market that wants short light striker triggers. Heavy for it's size. Had some initial reliability issues. A lot of competition that was more closely aligned to what the market wants (the Shield and the various Kahrs first, then the LC9s and G43.)

The P290 didn't miss by that much, but it was a miss.

It's a very reliable and accurate gun. I carry my 290RS quite often....standby, there will be some members who will arrive shortly and tell you how bad it sucks. I like my P250 too, but then I like all my Sigs and Berettas....I sold my only Glock.

quote:

Originally posted by rlex:
It's a very reliable and accurate gun and I carry my 290RS quite often....standby, there will be some members who will arrive shortly and tell you how bad it sucks. I like my P250 too.

Unfortunately, being accurate and reliable, arent enough to make the charts anymore. Those are jsut basic standards and orther guns offer those and more. As stated above, a small miss by Sig but a miss none the less.

My agency authorized them as BUGs. I had one and overall liked it well enough. The perceived negatives were the trigger (shootable, but not great, or even good), occasional light strikes, even with the RS version, a grip that felt odd to a lot of people, a bit chunky for pocket carry, and magazines that shed rounds in the pouch or pocket.

We also authorize the LC9 and LC9s. I still own both of those.

With the p365 coming out I’m not surprised to see the 290 go away.

Decent trigger, but much too small to get a good two-handed grip IMHO.
Very similar to the P250 (which I own and really like) but too small.

while i would never call the p290RS awesome, for me it addresses my safety concerns with the DA pull vs a striker fired weapon. Same for the P250, which I recommend to any new gun owner.

It's heavy for it's size, and the trigger on mine is not good. But it is reliable. I paid less than $300 for it new.

I like the LC9s, Shield and PPS much better.

I like mine for the role I use it in. It's been riding as a backup on my vest, under my shirt for several years. Seeing as how it rides in a fairly soft nylon holster, fixed to the vest, I appreciate the somewhat longer and heavier trigger pull. It's very compact for a 9mm, with full size sights and has been 100% reliable. The new Sig365 might be a better pistol, time will tell, but for now my P290RS fits exactly what I need, for its intended role...a compromise between caliber, size, etc.

I also find it the best CCW pistol to date. I would also be curious about if the G 10 grip panels have any curvature to them. The stock grips being as flat as they are, it would be great if there was just a little bit of fill in that area.

Reliability issues.

quote:

Originally posted by c350z:
Reliability issues.

Please expond on this.

I like mine. Carry it daily, but I'm a double action kind of guy. I won't be getting a 365 anytime soon, it will have to prove itself to me.

quote:

Originally posted by 00464b:

quote:

Originally posted by c350z:
Reliability issues.

Please expond on this.

P290 (non-RS) had a dead trigger issue, where the gun wouldn't fire if you short stroked it.

It took SIG 'awhile' to deal with that issue, souring a lot of people to even trying it.

It also seemed to batter front night sights, with a lot of users having front vials break shortly after getting the weapons.

My P290RS had erratic ejection, throwing brass in my face a lot.

Couple that with top heavy slide, canted front night sight SIG, and it was a dog for me all around.

If it works for you, don't worry about our experiences.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

P290 (non-RS) had a dead trigger issue, where the gun wouldn't fire if you short stroked it.

It took SIG 'awhile' to deal with that issue, souring a lot of people to even trying it.

It also seemed to batter front night sights, with a lot of users having front vials break shortly after getting the weapons.

My P290RS had erratic ejection, throwing brass in my face a lot.

Couple that with top heavy slide, canted front night sight SIG, and it was a dog for me all around.

If it works for you, don't worry about our experiences.

This is typical New-SIG, rushing an underdeveloped new gun to market before sorting out flaws in design, manufacturing and production. By the time BETA-Buyers have helped them sort through all the problems with a particular model they discontinue it in favor of a new rushed to production, flawed pistol (say 320??) that they think they can sell more of.

Old School SIGs were great guns worthy of their premium price. Most new models are an absolute crap-shoot and unworthy of the name.........

I think most of the reasons have been covered. I wanted to like the P290 but it just didn't grow on me. My first one (pre-RS) had to be sent back due to light strikes. The trigger wasn't as good when it came back but there were no more light strikes. I eventually traded it then bought a newer RS model later on when the prices had come down. It was reliable and I had no problem with the long DAO trigger but I had other guns that were lighter and thinner that served the same role. I traded off the second one too. The P290 weighs about as much as a Glock 26, so I figured it would manage recoil better than other micro-9 pistols, but the extra weight just didn't seem to matter. The felt recoil was about the same to me as lighter choices, still mild but the extra weight added no value.

quote:

Originally posted by 00464b:

quote:

Originally posted by c350z:
Reliability issues.

Please expond on this.

When the 290 first came out, our agency got a batch to issue as back up guns or for office personnel. They had so many issues with reliability, ie failure to feed, failure to eject, dead triggers, etc they sent them all back, and never ordered more.

I'm surprised it has remained in the line up for as long as it has. That being said, I have an RS model that has proven reliable, though I've only put around 400 rounds through it in the four or so years I've owned it. I do like the way it handles +P ammo; not as hard on the hand as some lighter guns. I plan to keep it as a good back-up/hide-out gun.

I had two and they worked well enough. When I carried a 229R DAK on duty the 290 was a good backup. When I retired the 229 went away and I sold off the 290s. I liked my PM9 better.

quote:

Originally posted by c350z:

quote:

Originally posted by 00464b:

quote:

Originally posted by c350z:
Reliability issues.

Please expond on this.

When the 290 first came out, our agency got a batch to issue as back up guns or for office personnel. They had so many issues with reliability, ie failure to feed, failure to eject, dead triggers, etc they sent them all back, and never ordered more.

Just so we're clear, these were the original P290's. Before it was known for light primer strikes,and before the pistol was reworked by Sig and became the P290RS,and before it has now proven itself reliable. That pistol? Just want to get it straight in my mind.