Celebrating Heller with the SIG P239
First thing after work as promised the Kid and I hit the range. We started with a box of .22 and the trusty old Anschutz rifle. After warming up with that we moved to shooting a 9mm, the SIG P239.
Because the range was out of the cheap stuff they sold us Remington Golden Saber 9mm Luger ammo at the same price. I mention this because being a newbie I don’t know what the difference is between brands and types of ammunition.
I loaded up 8 into the tight magazine for the Kid and shadowed him (something I always do until he realizes how a gun reacts) until he pulled the trigger. For an instant I thought I had gotten the wrong caliber. He held it tightly but the gun obviously gave him a ride. He finished the magazine and the grip was sweaty from his 12 year old hands controlling the gun.
What can I say? I swear the SIG P239 felt like I was firing something much bigger than the “usual” 9mm’s we shoot. However the biggest problem, and the one that was a deal-breaker for me recommending it, was the trigger. The trigger was just too soft. I’m beginning to learn that guns are like cars, food, or anything else that has a seemingly endless variety. The kick would have been much more manageable had the trigger been tighter.
After 50 rounds the target confirmed this. At 15 yards most of my shots had been centered L-R but were about 6” lower than my aim. This confirmed the feeling I had while shooting that I was overcompensating for the kick by forcing the barrel lower as I squeezed the trigger. With a tighter trigger I’m pretty sure it would have shot similarly to the Px4 Storm, but the “feel” of the storm in the hand is better than the SIG P239.
How big a role did the ammo play in the “kick” of this gun? I don’t know. I doubt I will be firing it again any time soon.
On a sidenote, two lawyers were at the range celebrating the Heller decision firing their own .40’s and .45’s. Everyone there tonight was pretty stoked about the ruling, but were also a bit annoyed by the close vote.
Chad:
You know, I really wanted to like the P239 also, but just didn’t like shooting it.
27 June 2008, 11:32 amSame day I shot a ruger cowboy style single action revolver. Now THAT was lots of fun!
Scott Kirwin:
I’m thinking about trying the Browning Hi-Point. That seems to be the favorite 9mm of a lot of people.
27 June 2008, 10:58 pmThe Razor » Blog Archive » Firing the Browning Hi-Power:
[...] fired Remington Golden Saber 9mm Luger ammo today, so we had a clear comparison with the SIG P239 - although after a few rounds there really wasn’t any comparison. The Browning Hi-Power was [...]
29 June 2008, 8:59 pmdrano milkshake:
if the trigger pull is pulling the sights off target, you are using too much of your trigger finger to pull the trigger. use only the very tip of your finger to drop the hammer. also take up the slack on the trigger then release the hammer. this minimizes movement at the moment of firing.
21 July 2008, 2:33 pmThe Razor » Blog Archive » The Springfield XD40:
[...] while firing several consecutive rounds – and that says alot considering the trouble the Kid has had firing some of the 9’s. The mechanism was tight; the Kid had trouble pulling the slide back and loading the initial round; [...]
27 July 2008, 10:10 am