Wife accepts gift of Sig P238 after a long search for pistol!

[QuietDan]

Well, well, that finally worked out. My wife has accepted a gift of a Sig P238 pistol.

 

My wife has enjoyed going to the range with me and is a tack-driver with her Ruger 10/22 CRR, the short carbine. She's rather petite, all 4 foot 10 inches of her, and the rifle has a short length of pull and of course essentially no recoil.

 

She hasn't been so hot on a pistol, as one, I carry and am her bodyguard, and two, it's been a trick finding a pistol that she's comfortable with when she really doesn't want to look for one. I’ve pestered her over time about getting her Handgun Carry Permit, and she just didn’t want to take the time or see the point if I was there to protect her. The times are changing I said, and she admits that, but it’s never been the right time and if I push too hard she pushes back.

 

She can shoot my Springfield Armory EMP 9mm, but she doesn't like the kick and she has trouble pulling the slide back. Another alternative was called for.

 

I found a good deal on a smaller 9mm, the Ruger LC9. Nope. Even snappier than the EMP, and the grip was uncomfortable for her. Again, pulling the slide back was a problem.

 

After a good bit of reading about the slide situation, I started to focus in on the Sig Sauer P238. The ease of pulling the slide on a .380 with a locking breach was noted in a lot of reviews, easier than a 9mm and easier than blow-back .380s. That was the first test passed.

 

Additionally, the pistol is available in a lot of different finishes with a lot of options available for grips. Hey, pretty counts, and I'm a guy. Pretty does matter for a lot of women. It matters for my wife. And, I don't mean decoration-pretty, more of a form-follows-function pretty -- elegant might be closer to the mark.

 

Of course, all personal protection firearms are in short supply, but I managed to find one at Barrett’s Outpost Armory in Christiana when no one else in town had any. I think they cut a deal with the European side of the Sig Sauer house for Barrett .50 cals, and got an allocation of Sig Sauers, including a handful of P238s. This one came in the new black box with Hogue rubber grips and the trigger-guard mounted laser. I traded a Ruger SP101 and the Ruger LC9 for it and had plenty of credit left over for several boxes of .380.

 

The pretty/elegant part needed a little work yet, and also some sort of options for my wife. I acquired a set of VZ Black Cherry G10 grips, and sent off to Sig for a set of Blackwood grips and a set of Rosewood grips. Then, she would be free to pick and choose the ones she liked the most and that felt best in her hand.

 

Then, it was presentation time. My wife and I went out to dinner on Wednesday night and I invited her to Charlie Hafner's Range on Friday morning, when the crowds would be down a little and the weather was nice. She has previously said she'd rather go shooting outdoors for the nature value, and I got guy points for remembering that and not pushing an indoor range on her. She knows that Charlie's range is well kept, that he keeps a woman-friendly range and that he is a true gentleman. We talked about taking the rifles, her Ruger 10/22 and my Ruger SR-556.

 

I also said I was bringing my Springfield EMP and a "surprise" for her. That got her attention. I didn't push it on her, it was more of an enticement. She didn't play twenty questions with me, it's not her way. She was perfectly willing to wait until Friday for the "surprise" and the opportunity to spend a little quality time together.

 

On Friday, we took our morning walk, ate breakfast and checked the weather, overcast with a chance of rain later in the day, and decided to press on with the range date. I had packed up all the gear in my office the previous night and loaded it in the tail of the Cherokee. It was a nice drive down to the CHMR and we stopped to "wash our hands" and get a soft-drink at the nearby convenience store.

 

The range was occupied but not overwhelmed. Charlie was out and around in his golf-cart and I paid up my membership at the range and he made mention of the pretty lady accompanying me and "glad to meet you ma'am" and welcomed her to the range.

 

The pistol pit was busy. So we shot the rifles first and waited for the pistol pit to clear out. I asked her if she wanted to see her “surprise” and she said she’d wait ‘till we were over on the pistol pit. The pistol pit group cleared in a half hour, and then we put the rifles in the Cherokee and set up in the pistol pit. I pulled out the Sig box and opened it on the bench-top like it was a jewel-box, which it is, kind of. I also had placed the spare grips in a pistol box and opened it up like a jewel-box as well. I had previously placed my SA EMP on the bench and now commented that the Sig P238 was kind of a “mini-me” to the EMP. Mine has the matte-stainless slide on a black frame with Cocobolo grips, and the P238 also had the matte-stainless slide and black frame and the Rosewood grips installed. That appealed to her. It was almost like a matched set. She might want to try out the other grips later, and the laser, but she liked it just as it was set up.

 

We went over the manual of arms on the unloaded pistol, especially pulling the slide back and locking it back, and the thumb safety and the magazine release. She practiced it a few times to make sure she was doing it all in the right order and that she could manipulate the controls. Her hands are so small that she has to pivot her right hand around to manipulate the slide-lock, but got comfortable with it. She preferred the seven round magazines with the pinky-finger extension and loaded them up herself, but left the six round flush magazine in the box.

 

I had stapled up a pair of human silhouette targets, the basic threat for a pocket pistol, and we shot from the 7 yard line, the basic threat distance. It’s a brand new pistol, and really needs to have about 200 rounds run through it to loosen it up. We had one stovepipe, and I showed her how to clear it while she cleared it herself. It ticked like a clock after that. She had pretty good groups, all of them on the body and only two flyers in the outer ring. Room for improvement but good for a first go.

 

She liked it and was comfortable with it and called it a keeper. I even got a peck on the cheek for being considerate and thoughtful and doing the homework and listening to her concerns.

 

We’ll make another trip to the range soon, and she IS planning to sign up for a concealed carry class and a little instruction from a professional. Holsters or purses to be selected in the near future.

 

Primary mission accomplished. Follow-on missions in the planning stage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Erik88]

Good for her. My GF loves her p238 SAS which she calls "Sassy".

[Guest sL1k]

You sir are a good husband!

[ted]

Congrats , and a very good story thanks for shareing.

[diablo982]

Nice story. I have one on the way to my LGS, which will be my wife's new carry gun. She had a bersa .380 and loved it, but always struggled with the slide. The reviews for the P238 all indicated the slide was easy to manipulate. Can't wait until it comes in!

[Rowdy]

Same here. My better half, through process of elimination choose the P238. Just remember, no pictures, it didn't happen!

[Guest PapaB]

Well done QuietDan. A smart man knows that a happy wife makes for a good life.

[Sam1]

must be something about wives and the P238, got mine one for christmas.  Thing works beautifully, the only modification made to it was to polish the feed ramp down to a mirror as it did occasionally catch the edge of some rounds with large cavities in them.  Thing runs like melted butter now though.

[wareagle]

My wife loves her 238 with polished SS and pink hogue grips. Honestly, I live it too. I picked up a 938 after handling hers.

[Guest Skyline034]

I bought my wife a Bodyguard 380 and myself a P238....I now carry the Bodyguard as a backup considering the 238 has been permanently confiscated by her haha..she loves it and so did I.

[Jonnin]

They are a really good design.  And the price has become reasonable since the 9mm version came out.   Reloading for 380 is a big deal, $4 vs $20 nearly.... you may want to think on it if she starts getting serious about it.   This gun + this caliber  + my wife more than paid for my reloading station.