Coming on the heels of their success with the single action P238 in .380 ACP, Sig Sauer released the 9mm P938 back in 2012.
Then, at SHOT Show this year, we saw that Sig had a .22 LR version of the P938 in the works, and a few months ago they revealed that there would also be rimfire conversion kits available for existing 9mm P938 pistols. I’ve been getting in some range time with the P938 recently, and we were able to pick up one of the conversion kits when Sig quietly released them a few weeks ago.
With a few trips to the range with the pistol under my belt, I was able to to put together the video review of the Sig Sauer P938 with 22 LR conversion kit that you’ll see below below.
Sig P938 Review The Sig P-938 is one of the most popular pocket nine millimeters on the market right now. It’s only been around for a couple of years, but it developed a quick following, partly thanks to the Sig P-238 that came right before it. The two guns are pretty similar, but the 238’s just a little bit smaller. And it’s chambered in 380 instead of nine millimeter. The 238 developed a good reputation for being a lot easier to shoot than almost any of those other small 380 pocket pistols. And the 938 is trying to do the same thing for the nine millimeter market. The Sig Sauer might be the most prolific gun company around right now. They’ve got a ton of different stuff coming out, like the P-320. Their MPX sub-machine gun, they’ve got a rifle version of that. But they’ve also been dripping out a few products here and there they haven’t talked about much this year, like the 22 conversion kit for the 938. So we got our hands on that and got a chance to shoot it the other day. But I’ve also been shooting just the normal nine millimeter version a lot. On paper, if you just look at the dimensions and the size, it’s pretty comparable to a lot of the other small nine millimeters on the market. But, in practice, when you’re carrying it and shooting it, it’s just kind of more trim. There’s not any unnecessary bulk here in the front and on the slide. Just overall kind of feels like a more compact package. There’s a lot of appeal here for 1911 fans. Of course you can carry it cocked and locked. It’s single action. The controls are very similar to a 1911. One thing 1911 fans might have trouble getting used to is the weight of the trigger. Now it is crisp. There’s not a whole lot of take up or over travel, but it’s just kind of heavy. Sig lists this at 7 and 1/2 to 8 and 1/2 pounds. Mine came out of the box closer to 10 pounds. It probably would smooth out with a few more rounds through it, but went ahead and bought an aftermarket hammer spring that took the pull weight down to 7 and 1/2 pounds, which is where Sig says it should be. It shot a lot easier that way. But it’s still– it’s not a very forgiving gun. Because it’s so small and lightweight, and you’ve got that 7 and 1/2 pound trigger, if you don’t have good trigger technique you’re going to pull your shots off target, especially when you start getting into some rapid fire. It’s not quite easy to shoot as a larger gun with a lighter trigger. People always want to know about the recoil with these smaller guns. I think the 938 is pretty much on par with most of the other small, slim nine millimeters, like the MMP shield, or the Springfield Armory XDS. I do think it’s much easier to control if you use the extended magazine. It comes with one six round flush fit magazine like that. But, see here, I can’t put my whole hand on there. With my pinky dangling off, I tend to pull shots off target. If you use the extended magazine it gives you one extra round, so you get seven. And now I can get a full grip on here. I’ve got pretty medium sized hands, so it might vary for your hands, but I think it’s a lot easier to shoot with that extension on there. And, in my opinion, it should come out of the box with one of these because it’s a completely differ shooting experience with the seven round versus the six round magazine. Overall, I think this is a great carry gun, especially if you want something in a really small package that’s got a little more punch than the 380. It’s not the first gun I would recommend to a new shooter, just because of how difficult it can be the master. And because of the added complexity of the single action with the thumb safety here. But with the 22 kit, that kind of changes the game a little bit. The kit is basically just a slide-in barrel and magazine. All you got to do to switch it over is just field strip. Take the old slide off, put the new 22 slide on. Use the new magazine and you’re good to go. It’s also available as a standalone gun. You don’t have to have nine millimeter P-938, you can just get the 22 version of the pistol all as one package. Or you can get the conversion kit if you already have the gun. Right now there are two versions of the kit available. One is just the standard version. It’s got a 3.3 inch barrel, just like the nine millimeter. It has night sights. This is the target version, it’s 4.1 inch barrel. And it’s got adjustable three dot sights on it. It comes with on 10 round polymer magazine with an extended base plate, so you can get a nice grip on it. With the target kit on it, it almost feel like a full size gun in this configuration. The slide is anodized aluminum. It’s got a stainless barrel. The overall build quality and fit and finish, it’s just really nice. And I can’t overstate how important that is, because a lot of companies, when they make a 22, they’ll just outsource it. And you end up with something that looks like a toy. It’s like they weren’t take it seriously. I don’t mind paying a little bit more for a 22 that’s at least as good as the center fire guns from the same company. With this being called the target version, I think everyone’s going to want know how accurate it is. It seemed pretty accurate, but with this aluminum slide it’s only 16 ounces. And just like with the nine millimeter, when you’ve got a light gun and a somewhat heavy trigger, it’s going to be hard to be super accurate with it. You’re holding this featherweight out there and it’s just hard to keep it still while you’re pulling through that 7 and 1/2 pound trigger. I wouldn’t say it’s a replacement for your Ruger Mark Two or your Browning Buck Mark. It’s a fun gun to shoot. It’s reliable as long as you’re using the high velocity ammo that Sig recommends. But target gun? Probably not. I think the better way to use this is as a training tool. It’s got the same controls, the same grip, probably the same holster in a lot of cases, as your carry gun, if you’re using the nine millimeter. And that’s just hugely valuable to be able to get a lot of trigger time in with a 22 kit that’s not going to beat up your hand. And switch over to your nine millimeter carry gun for some serious practice. And everything is just second nature because you just got so much time with the gun. My only major complaint here with the 22 kit is with the slide stop. This magazine doesn’t work with the slide stop. So when you’re empty, the slide locks back, but that’s because it’s caught up on the follower here. The slide stop itself, you can see it’s not engaged. So what that means is when you go to drop the magazine, hit the mag release, nothing happens. You have to pull the magazine out manually and then the slide goes forward. That might not be a real big deal if you’re just using this as a target pistol but, as a self defense trainer, that is a big deal. I can’t really practice my reloads that way. So that’s kind of a disappointment. But overall I can’t complain too much, because Sig is doing something here that hardly anybody else is doing. And that is to make a 22 version of a nice carry gun. Now some companies will make like a cheap copy. They’ll outsource it. Get somebody else to make their 22 and add features or take features away, so it’s not really the same as your carry gun. With the exception of that magazine issue, this is pretty much what you would carry, especially if you get the shorter slide version. It’s pretty much the same measure of center fire carry gun. And that is a huge bonus from a training perspective. So even though the execution might not be 100% perfect, I think Sig has done a great thing here. And I hope some other companies start to follow suit. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Sig Sauer P938 Image Gallery The 9mm P938 comes standard with one 6-round flush fit magazine. 7-round mags with an extended baseplate are also available from Sig. The slide for the .22 LR conversion kit is made from annodized aluminum, and perfectly matches the finish of the original frame. The rimfire conversion kit is available with a 3.3″ barrel and night sights, or the “target” version (pictured) with a 4.1″ barrel and adjustable 3-dot sights. Unlike the 9mm version, the .22 kit uses a barrel bushing and guide rod plug. The .22 LR barrel has a stainless finish. Several versions of the P938-22 are also available as complete pistols, including threaded barrel variants. The 10-round magazine for the rimfire kit is made almost completely from polymer, except for the spring. Pro Tip: Rusty diamond plate might not be the best surface on which to rest the finish of your P938. Don’t ask how I know.
