Range Report: SIG P250 Compact

[PlayboyPenguin]

Firearm tested
SIG P250 Compact

Ammo used
100 rounds - Blazer Brass 180gr FMJ



INITIAL IMPRESSION

Looks: This gun is not at all bad looking. I like the traditional simple lines of the SIG brand. I also like the "badging" and slide logos. Nothing to gaudy or overdone like some guns these days. The stainless also looks nice on the matte black frame and the engraving is actually engraved and not laser etched. I hate laser etching. I am always happy that SIG does not feel the need to add the caliber designation to the name. That way when you change barrels you do not end up with a XX40 shooting a .357sig or something similar.

Build quality/Design: This is where I had some reservations about this gun. The matte finish of the polymer combined with the simple lines and fat surfaces do not make the gun feel at all "fancy" like the Rugers or Springers. It almost seemed a bit cheaply made at first. The mechanics at the rear of the gun look a bit odd to because of the unique design of the gun (See pic below). The rails are actually part of a third piece and not part of the frame. The slide is typical SIG. It is well made, clean, and solid. After getting used to some of the more unique design characteristics of this gun and then letting the simple lines grow on me I am getting to be quite fond of how this gun looks and feels. I am actually liking the design. Being able to change a full sized gun into a compact or sub-compact and vice versa without buying a new registered piece is pretty cool.

FYI, this is a newer model gun so the spring is the traditional braided SIG coil and not a more standard spring like in the old model of the P250.



Materials: The materials appear to be quite nice actually. The polymer frame seemed strong during shooting and I did not notice any flexing. The slide is all stainless and the mechanics seem well made.

AT THE RANGE

Trigger pull: The trigger is long and deliberate but very smooth and consistent. It breaks very nicely and has a decent reset. I do not like too short of a reset on a trigger. It was very easy to get used to for me since I prefer a good DA trigger over any other kind. I really, really like this gun. I would say it rivals my Kahr pistols for best semi-auto trigger IMHO.

Recoil: Recoil was almost non-existent even with the snappy .40S&W round. The slide has some good mass to it and the frame is pretty large for a compact. It really absorbed a lot of the energy and dispersed the rest evenly into a large portion of my hand. It was a very easy to shoot gun. The shape of the grip was a big aid in reducing the recoil. It fit my hand very nicely. Mine is the mid sized version of the three available grip diameters and it is like it was made for my hand.

Reliability: The gun performed extremely well right out of the box. I only had one stove pipe and that seemed to be ammo related. The round did not seem to be nearly full powered when it went off and the slide did not cycle fully. I could really feel the difference when it went off. It was like a cap gun. Otherwise it was flawless. Keep in mind I only had the time and ammo to shoot 100 rounds though.

Accuracy: I am not sure why, but I was not expecting great accuracy from this gun. I think I might have been a little hung up on the "duty level" performance for which the gun was designed. I was pleasantly surprised. The gun was dead on accurate. Any mediocre shot like myself could do quite well with it and a good shot would be able to hit most anything at which they aimed. I was able to get very tight groups at 10 yards and had no trouble consistently hitting 6" steel spinners at 30 yards. The range was pretty much under water (well, it was really muddy anyway) so I did not get to retrieve any targets (because I was wearing mesh running shoes)so I am sorry for the lack of pics.

The gun balances very well. I was concerned because of how it felt unloaded but once there is ammo in the mag the gun feels like it could balance on a pic and points very naturally.

The gun came with SIG night sights. I found them to be very visible and they were sighted very nicely right out of the box.

Clean up: The gun is super easy to strip and clean. You can easily do it with your bare hands in no time at all. This will be a very easy gun to maintain.

Final overall impression: This gun turned out to be a very nice firearm. I am very pleasantly surprised. The more I shot it the more I liked it. I think this gun will have no trouble becoming my standard hiking/camping companion. It will be every bit as good a performer as my two-tone H&K USPc but I will not be as fearful of damaging it since I can always replace the slide or frame.

I will be extremely curious to see how well this new three piece design by SIG works out. I hope it does well. I love the idea of being able to change the body and the slide.

In the end, I find myself liking this gun more every second. What I once thought might have been an impulsive selection (even though it was bought for me as an x-mas gift after I picked it out) has turned out to be a real performer. My only issue is the polymer is a bit plastic feeling, but I can live with that since it seems to perform quite well and can be replaced if it gets damaged.

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[Phillyfan]

Nice write up. Glad to see you ended up liking it once you got used to it.

 

[XSubSailor]

I love my P250. It's my everyday carry. I have over 2000 rds through and it has been 100% reliable...no FTFs, FTE, or FTFs with a wide variety of ammo including lightweight reloads. It's incredibly accurate for a 4'' barrel (sub-compact). If you can adjust to a DAO trigger, there's nothing not to love about the P250. If you're a revolver fan, you'll absolutely love the trigger.

I bought the 9mm 2SUM kit initially w/ the intention of using the full-size frame for home defense, and the sub-compact for carry.

Since I bought it, I've mounted the SC slide onto a sawed-off compact frame. It only cost me $40 and I gained 2 rds of capacity. I just traded the full-size slide outfit, for a compact .40 kit.

The mix and match capability is a real asset for me.

 

[SIXGUNRUGER]

XSubSailor, can you post some pics of your frame conversion?

 

[XSubSailor]

Here you go...unmodified compact grip module on top, "sawed off" compact grip with subcompact slide assy installed at bottom of photo.



I literally sawed off about an inch from the grip module with a Japanese dovetail saw and dressed up the edges with sandpaper.

'down scope!

 

[SIXGUNRUGER]

Looks great. Does the short trigger make that much of a difference? I was thinking about installing one on my SC.

 

[XSubSailor]

Quote from PlayboyPenguin:
"FYI, this is a newer model gun so the spring is the traditional braided SIG coil and not a more standard spring like in the old model of the P250."

The braided recoil spring is used on all versions with the exception of the 9mm, which uses coiled flat spring stock, regardless of when it was manufactured. It's been this way since the P250 was first introduced.

'down scope!

 

[XSubSailor]

Looks great. Does the short trigger make that much of a difference? I was thinking about installing one on my SC.

Not a lot, but in my case (I have smallish hands), it allowed me to obtain a proper firing grip with the pad of my index finder on the trigger. In actual practice, you could achieve the same result by going to the next smaller size grip module if that's an option. In my case, I'm already using the small grip module, so the short reach trigger was the only option for me. The cost of a new grip module is the same as a new trigger (roughly $40), so the choice is yours.

'down scope

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

Quote from PlayboyPenguin:
"FYI, this is a newer model gun so the spring is the traditional braided SIG coil and not a more standard spring like in the old model of the P250."

The braided recoil spring is used on all versions with the exception of the 9mm, which uses coiled flat spring stock, regardless of when it was manufactured. It's been this way since the P250 was first introduced.

'down scope!

Some .40's have the flat spring. Especially the SC models. I am seeing both springs used. SIG stated last year that they were switching to the braided spring in all models by oct but I am not sure if they kept that promise.

PS: Love the reduced grip frame.

 

[XSubSailor]

Some .40's have the flat spring. Especially the SC models. I am seeing both springs used. SIG stated last year that they were switching to the braided spring in all models by oct but I am not sure if they kept that promise.

PS: Love the reduced grip frame.

You are correct, the SubC .40 does still have the flat spring (as of 11/2010 anyway). I was referring to the Compact frame that you have. To the best of my knowledge, all 9mm P250s (all sizes) utilize the flat spring stock. I'm not sure it makes much difference...I've never heard of any reliability issues tied to the recoil springs. I have over 2000 rounds through my 9mm SubC without a failure and mine has the flat spring.

Conversely, my P238 needs a new recoil spring every couple hundred rounds or I start getting FTEs with increasing frequency until a new spring is installed. Sig just released a new recoil spring utilizing flat spring stock for the P238 and I just replaced mine with the new Sig spring...I'll know in a month or so if the new design works.