I have zero experience with the P290. I remember when they came out, and also seem to remember that there were some issues, and they didn't make them for that long. IIRC the "RS" version was a later release that offered second-strike capability and a few other minor improvements. Even then, the gun never seemed to take off, and I don't know if that was because of fundamental issues with the design or just because people don't like DAO triggers.

I don't currently have a small/deep concealment 9mm option in my collection, and I'm not super comfortable with carrying a striker-fired handgun in some of the ways that I would want to carry something that size. Nobody makes a DA/SA that small, but a DAO like the P290 might have some merit, at least on paper.

Who here owns or has owned one of these? What was your experience with it, were there any reliability issues with it, and should I consider trying to find one to play with?

Heavy for its size but, that helps with recoil a bit. Long trigger pull. I carried mine in a vest holster as a backup for years. I liked it for some reasons you've also described. No safety, not striker fired and a long but decent trigger pull to fire. Riding in a holster along my torso and under my armpit, it felt safer for those reasons. Solid gun, reliable and accurate. I still have it and it serves a purpose. If I was getting it for CCW, I'd still go for the P365 all day, even being slight bigger I believe. For a pocket gun, of the two, the 290 would get the nod.

I had one for a couple of years. It shot well and felt odd but good in my hand. My problem with the gun was the finish. It was rainbow titanium, which I like, but it was so slippery it wouldn't stay in a holster without a retention strap. I sold it as part of a collection of similarly finished pistols. Mine did not have re-srike capability, which I would have liked.

I had one years ago and loved how it felt in the hand and the trigger pull, initially. After taking it to the range once, I had many failures to feed and fire. Also after shooting it, I quickly realized it was not for me. The long trigger pull I liked initially became a pain as there was no short reset of the trigger, like I was used to with other pistols. Sig issued a recall for the line due to I believe light hammer strikes and I had it shipped back to them.I wouldn't trust it after that and wound up trading it in for a good loss.

Sig dropped the line and then made the P250, which I also bought, as I apparently didn't learn my lesson with the P290 trigger pull. It was promised to have numerous grip options,etc., in the future of which never came about, let alone trying to find extra magazines for it.

Personally, I would pass on it and get a P365, as it is a much nicer design and in my opinion, a much better gun.

I have the 290RS in .380 and it went back to Sig because of the horrendous trigger, it came back slightly better but I put a Galloway trigger kit on it and it's much better. It's awkward with the 6 round flush mag but the 8 round with pinky extension is OK grip. I haven't shot it in years and don't even store it in the safe hoping someone breaks in and steals the thing. You're better off with a J frame IMO.

Email sent regarding another option as you're looking for smaller hammer fired Sigs.

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don't even store it in the safe hoping someone breaks in and steals the thing.

Lol that's a glowing endorsement!

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After taking it to the range once, I had many failures to feed and fire.

And yeah, that's the kind of stuff that concerns me.

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No safety, not striker fired and a long but decent trigger pull to fire. Riding in a holster along my torso and under my armpit, it felt safer for those reasons

That's kind of my though process as well

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You're better off with a J frame IMO

It sounds like you're right. Thankfully, I like J-Frames, and already have the bases well covered there.

Thanks for the responses, guys. I think I'm going to pass on this one. I ended up finding a used and abused Marlin 39 Mountie at the LGS today and blew my gun budget on it, so I'm our of the pocket pistol market for the time being anyway.

When my agency first approved semi auto backup guns, the options were the 290 and the Ruger LC9. I owned both at one point.

The LC9 (the original hammer fired version) felt cheap, had a staple gun trigger, and the finish came off the slide if you looked at it hard. It was also the superior option.

We had constant failures with the 290 (and later RS). Light strikes were very common during qual courses. There are a few people who still have a 290. One was in the lane next to me recently when I was doing my annual qual on the 365. He had at least one light strike for every course of fire in the qual.

As for the staple gun? I still have it. It's stashed in my kitchen and occasionally goes with me when I have to fly on the job, and I'm concerned my luggage might get lost or stolen. I don't particularly LIKE it, but it works.

My 290 was sold and I don't regret losing that gun one bit. The 365 that replaced it is a vastly superior firearm. So is a J frame.

Light strikes are a problem that I won't tolerate. On an older gun sometimes it's an easy fix...just a heavier mainspring or a new barrel to fix headspace issues. But if the problem is present across an entire product line like seems to be the case with the P290, that makes me think it's an engineering problem with the original design. As such, even if you got a "good one" that doesn't regularly malfunction, I'd always be concerned that it's just barely clinging to the ragged edge of reliability.

It might the crappiest gun Sig ever made! when they came out I wanted one but the magazine wouldnt even fit in the gun without wiggling it to get it to seat. Gunstore didn't think that was a big deal. I have never heard of anyone giving it a good review

I bought an enhanced RS version (camo green grips) in 2013, still have it. I have fired at least 6 different brands of ammo, every grain weight available, and it has handled everything I throw at it flawlessly. Maybe I’m one of the lucky ones with respect to reliability. Availability of extra magazines is a challenge, fortunately I bought extra when I bought the gun. The one thing I would like to change on it is the trigger, I would prefer a flat trigger. Anyone know where I could get one of those I would be grateful. If you can find one that hasn’t been abused, give it test run - you might get lucky!

I have owned my P290RS Extreme for more than a decade



Mine has been totally reliable with everything from bulk food metal jacket 115 grain ammunition up through premium 147 grain jacket hollow points. I have no idea how much ammunition I have put through mine over the years but I have allowed many of my associates to fire it so it is at least in the several thousands of rounds quite probably more but I don't count rounds so

I have never experienced a light strike with mine or a failure to feed or extract. Accuracy is very good for such a tiny firearm and I am more than pleased with it

When I want to pocket carry a 9MM firearm typically, this is what I carry at least when we're talking about semi autos

I had one similar to the photo above, but with the Lady Liberty grip inserts.
Mine had light strike problems even after a trip to New Hampshire.
I traded mine away.
I haven't thought about P290 RS pistols in a very long time.
If mine had been reliable, I would likely still have it.

Even Sig employees didn't want to buy them.

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My 290 was sold and I don't regret losing that gun one bit. The 365 that replaced it is a vastly superior firearm. So is a J frame.

Yep, that's my experience as well. I got it for occasional pocket use (but it really was too heavy); didn't mind the trigger after my 40+ years of DA revolvers, found it accurate out to 10 yds (~2" gps at that range), liked its sights for night use, wished it had more capacity....

I replaced it with a P365, which is arguably the best deep CC pistol ever made. It shoots like a duty sized auto, has capacity, with superb sights, and in my case has been 100% reliable through over 1800 rounds. I carry it OWB 90% of the time. YMMv....Rod