My P239 has been refinished by Robar in NP3, all parts, which I would think means the tolerances would be tighter. I've had it a long time, carried it a lot, shot it a lot, but there's not a hint of wear anywhere on it. The slide to frame does rattle though and it seems a lot less accurate than it used to be. In fact, it used to be ridiculously accurate. Do these really loosen up after a while? I mostly shoot cheapo Blazer Brass at the range, nothing exotic or +P. Is there a fix for this without messing up the finish?

All US made P239s I've held have been rattle traps.

my 239 had an issue with mag rattle.

The rattle is just how it warns evil doers. No problem with accuracy.

I asked about this late last year and found that, at least 239's in .357, tend to shoot loose sooner than 9mm versions. I didn't know to check the rattle before I bought the .357S so I was stuck with it. I took a minor beating selling it and now know to never touch another 239 ... except in 9mil. All of this said, and I know I will be severely hated-on for saying this - the Glock 43X is almost everything the 239 should've been.

Rattles are usually slide to frame, which has little to no effect on accuracy. If somehow you get barrel movement while in battery, then it can impact accuracy.

My ‘94 P229 rattles like a pissed off diamondback. My ‘98 is real tight. Guess which shoots better and shows significantly less wear? Yeah, the rattle trap.

While I was at Sig Academy attending a event in 2006, I had one of the top engineers look at my P239, with the well known rattle. He handled it and tried it, and said within spec. It's never given me any trouble. It seems this series just have looser tolerances.

I owned a German made P239/9MM, it was tight as hell, no rattle.

P239 SAS Gen 2 in 357. = rattlesnake shake

My P239 SAS (9mm) is tight as a drum. My P225-A1, on the other hand, is more like a tambourine ...

....Rattled like a spray paint can.

Both my 239s were in 9mm. My first, a two tone, had a very precise barrel/slide/frame fit. No rattle whatsoever, and no malfunctions at all. My second, was a reliable rattle trap. A 239 I handled in the SIG armorers training was also a rattle trap. They all work of course, but I much prefer non-rattling pistols, if at all possible. If I want a pistol that rattles, I'll buy another Colt

I should add that I don't think I've ever had the slightest malfunction with this gun. I've put many thousands of rounds through it, never a hiccup. Just seems a little accurate than it used to be.

I've owned them in 9mm and .357SIG, serviced them in .40 and .357SIG at work. All have had some amount of "play." Mostly minimal, and mostly when in battery on an empty chamber.

I have 2 in 9mm; my agency provided back-up (rarely sees action in deference to my 220C) is tight as a drum, accurate, and reliable. My personal 239 sounds like a spray paint can near empty when I shake it hard enough, and has since day one right out of the box. It too is accurate and completely reliable. As others have said, as long as there is no play between the barrel and slide, don't sweat it. I suspect the OP's accuracy loss is perhaps due to the rattle getting in the ole noggin.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
All US made P239s I've held have been rattle traps.

My second ever firearm purchase was a P239 and I don't recall it rattling, ever. US-made model.

Have one in 9mm and one in .357 Sig. The nine rattles like hell, the .357 is tight. Both of them are dead nuts accurate.

I have a .40 that I don’t remember being noticeably lose. I don’t have access to try it at the moment but always seemed right to me.

I've had 6 P239 pistols, in each caliber, half were da-sa and the others were DAK. Some rattled and some didn't. It didn't bother me because they were reliable and accurate.

Quit shaking yours.

Never thought about it and so just now checked it...

My P239 I don't think has what I would call a rattle. If I shake it hard from side to side there is a slide clunk and if I grab the magazine I can make it move in the grip...

I just checked a number of other semi-autos and both my p226 have the same thing... in fact the standard P226 seems to have even more play than the P239. My P320 is the only one I checked so far that I could not get to 'clunk'.