I'm thinking about picking up a P239 for carrying. I am a retired federal agent and I carried several Sigs through out my career. Started out with a P226 as a real cop, then a P228 when I went to the federal government. Finally retired carrying a P229 in .357 Sig. All great guns, reliable and accurate. My issue is the grips don't fit my hand very well. The double stack is too wide for a comfortable grip. Now that I don't have to carry one for a living, I'd like something familiar, but easier to conceal and handle. Any thoughts? I like single stack mags, I don't really care for striker fired guns, and I like metal with a little weight to dampen the recoil. Any thoughts or other guns I'm missing?

The drawback would be, since the P239 is no longer in production, aftermarket support will be a little hard to come by.

Could find a Kahr K9.

quote:

Any thoughts or other guns I'm missing?

Check out the P225. Also discontinued, and also single-stack, but the grip fits my hand better than the P239, which is just a hair too small. I want to love the P239 as I really like the form factor, but it just doesn't work for me. I'd try them both as YMMV.

I love my 239! Maybe because it was my first Sig but I always enjoy shooting it. I use a VM2 for inside waist band and a Kramer for outside. I've got a Crimson Trace on it and the grips are perfect for my hands, better than the factory grips.

Jim

If you can't find a P239, the P225A1 is a good substitute. The 239 is a little small for me, the 225/225A1 is just right. I used a P225 as a demo gun during trainings for a number of years, and notice no difference between the 225 and the 225A1. After retiring and not having access to a 225 I still use the 225A1 as a teaching gun.

...all this assumes that you can't find a P239 to your liking. There are a ton of variants for the hunting.

The 239 in 357sig is a sweet shooter. Extra mags carry nice, since they are single stack.

I sold my M11-A1 and picked up a lightly used P239 SAS. Mine has Hogue grips that fit my hand perfectly. The eight round mags do not bother me in fact I prefer them to double stack. Thus far I have purchased new magazines and a new recoil spring without paying an exorbitant price. There are a lot of parts/magazines available online.

I managed to find one at a gun show and one at a gun-shop to handle. I liked the feel of P239 and found mine on GunBroker for what I considered a good price $650.00.

Best Of Luck

Michael
USMC Ret

P239 in .357 sig is a awesome little gun! I love mine! Shoot’s way better then it should being such a thin grip. Easy to conceal inside the waist and I have a dual iwb mag pouch both made by TT Gun Leather that even in the dead of summer with semi tight T-shirt and shorts no one can spot it!

The P239 was made for the 357SIG cartridge, with a P225 you have to settle for 9MM



If you were comfortable with the P229's recoil with 357SIG, the P239 will be no problem for you

Plenty of aftermarket grip choices are available. I am fond of the Hogue wood grips, they round out the feel of the grip a little bit over the plastic factory supplied grips.

Many years ago, one of the Agencies that issued the P239 in 357 SIG had SIG provide some +1 magazines. These had a little extension for the pinky but were phosphate coated for resistance to the environment, We got them in a big bulk box with the mags sealed in little plastic bags.



I swapped out all of mine and love the change. Some folks object to the extended magazine for concealed carry. When that happens I recommend that their reload mag be the longer one.



SIG over produced the magazine bodies and the +1 bases so you can find blued magazine bodies with the extra witness hole assembled as standard capacity magazines, the +1 base and spring were also sold off separately

I have a .40 P239. The .40 is often cited as having a "snappy" recoil. The 239 handles the recoil very well and is a great shooter. I put Talon Grips on mine. If you go with a 239, probably a good idea to scoop up magazines whenever you get the chance!

The firearm that you are describing in your original post sounds exactly like a P 239.

For all that mentioned grip size vs their hand. Many different grips are available and even putting a short reach trigger will help with smaller hands, but you know all this since you have been down the road of fit before.

It is nice to have a 3 cal choice as long as you have a Sa4 frame.

I put Karl Nill grips on my P239's because I like the slight palm swell and the grip characteristics of the Rhomalas pattern.

good luck {BTW parts are around and new mags cost around 27.00 and seem to be available about once a month}

This message has been edited. Last edited by: roym,

If you are really interested in a P239 you have stepped through the right door. Full disclosure I Love them. As for the one negative comment about support... I'm still waiting to hear of one breaking... and there are parts out there for sure and when ever this is discussed having had a father that was a machinist.... I don't understand.... any thing metal can be repaired or replaced....

Your one problem is finding a P239 in either 40 cal or 357 sig and then the corresponding barrel.... a few years back they were pretty available... but I think I bought most of them. These pistols shoot great in 9mm. Some find 357 sig a little bit much for them... I love it. The odd thing is at least from my experience a 40/357 one will shoot 9mm fine with just changing the barrel. Keep in mind the 40/357 frame has a slightly larger magazine well and so you can't convert a 9mm frame to 40/357 but you can go the other way... and 9mm magazines will wiggle a little in the larger mag well but function fine.

Simple answer to the 'future support' comment....just own more than one.

Oh, the one thing I don't like about the p239 is the factory grip.... but that is easy to correct.

I agree that the Hogue grips are a welcome upgrade. Sold my P239 in 9mm, but just bought one in .357. Hogue grips will be going on this one as well.

Good hunting and welcome. When came across my p239 it was absolutely filthy. The trigger would barely reset. It cleaned up nice. Yep, 3 calibers is a plus. In 9 there may be choices but in 357 sig, it's ideal.

go find yourself a P239 in .357sig, get a 40 barrel and you'll have two guns/calibers for ammo availability. Grab a 9mm barrel and magazines, you'll have a third. Grab any with threads and you can mount a can and be a spy.

One of the best pistols made, it likely won't break/wear out unless you're a lifetime Gunsite/Thunder Ranch student and even then, while discontinued, springs and stuff will be around. It's not a Colt Walker from mid 1800s.

If I had to pick just one, it may not be the one but, it'd be in the final 5 or so to decide from.

The 357SIG P239 works very well with the Factory threaded 9MM barrel.



No spring change or magazine change is required. At 500+ rounds of suppressed subsonic Winchester Lawman the firearm has been running 100%

CDNN has the SIG SAUER® P239 9MM THREADED 4.3" CIP BARREL

Midwest Gun Works has the Sig Sauer P239 .40 S&W 7 Round Magazine

I have a 239 SAS in .40. It's an awesome gun. I haven't carried it in a while, but now I feel like I need to!