-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Sig Sauer 230; opinions?
- Thread starter Danbo
- Start date
The Tourist
Banned
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2001
- Messages
- 2,796
I'm a great SIG fan. That's one edition I do not have, I am very jealous.
It's a fantastic gun, you will have to work very hard to get a stoppage, it will never break, and it's accurate for a .380 ACP. The only other stock .380 I ever had that could be that accurate was a CZ 83.
Keep it clean and it will serve you for a very long time. All guns handle loads differently, but I have very good luck with Gold Dots. I have a custom .380 Colt Government that easily punches a full clip into a poker chip with that load.
BTW, don't let the keyboard commandos kid you about a .380 ACP. It has many names, 9mm Short, 9mm Kurtz, 9mm Corto, 7.65mm and it is a calibre respected all over the world. It has seen combat in WWII and it is the choice of many European police departments.
You will hear from lots of people that this is the "minimum calibre" to be considered for defense. Don't listen to them.
It's a fantastic gun, you will have to work very hard to get a stoppage, it will never break, and it's accurate for a .380 ACP. The only other stock .380 I ever had that could be that accurate was a CZ 83.
Keep it clean and it will serve you for a very long time. All guns handle loads differently, but I have very good luck with Gold Dots. I have a custom .380 Colt Government that easily punches a full clip into a poker chip with that load.
BTW, don't let the keyboard commandos kid you about a .380 ACP. It has many names, 9mm Short, 9mm Kurtz, 9mm Corto, 7.65mm and it is a calibre respected all over the world. It has seen combat in WWII and it is the choice of many European police departments.
You will hear from lots of people that this is the "minimum calibre" to be considered for defense. Don't listen to them.
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2001
- Messages
- 1,385
One of my shooting partners bought one and I like it better than my .380 Beretta or another friend's Walther. Very accurate and reliable for a small .380. If it will be a self defense gun for you, look at some of the high performance ammo from companies like Cor Bon.
SIG 230 like all SIGS is an excellent weapon. I do not have a 230 as I have a PPK/S which I prefer purely for the slight size difference and I am a BOND fan. Corbon have some magic .380 rounds. I have said it before in other threads it's not the calibre but shot placement that counts.
MelancholyMutt
Doggy Style
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2002
- Messages
- 3,906
As you can get a Sig that throws a 9mm round that's not much bigger than the 230...
The Sig 230 is a wonderful pistol that shows all the great qualities SIGARMS is known for.
The only thing people can legitimately fault that specific pistol for is its size. It is a little large for a .380. Is this a good thing or a bad thing though? A full size pistol is easier to shoot accuractely then a little one. The larger format makes recoil easier to cope with as well. If you want to add night sights, the front sight complicates matters but, any decent legitimate gunsmith can do it.
The blued steel versions are a little lighter in weight and retain the larger size of the Stainless models. Sort of the best of both worlds, less weight so it doesn't sink to the bottom of a coat pocket for obvious outlining and, the larger format gives you a lot to hang onto and spreads the recoil out over a larger area in you hand which helps low experience shooters.
Enjoy your new acquisition, its a great one.
The only thing people can legitimately fault that specific pistol for is its size. It is a little large for a .380. Is this a good thing or a bad thing though? A full size pistol is easier to shoot accuractely then a little one. The larger format makes recoil easier to cope with as well. If you want to add night sights, the front sight complicates matters but, any decent legitimate gunsmith can do it.
The blued steel versions are a little lighter in weight and retain the larger size of the Stainless models. Sort of the best of both worlds, less weight so it doesn't sink to the bottom of a coat pocket for obvious outlining and, the larger format gives you a lot to hang onto and spreads the recoil out over a larger area in you hand which helps low experience shooters.
Enjoy your new acquisition, its a great one.
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2001
- Messages
- 657
Absolutely. And most if not all SIG P230's were manufactured in West Germany, not to take anything away from the SIGs made in New Hampshire.
True, the P230 is, by today's standards, on the larger end of the scale for .380 Autos. But the sleek lines and profile of the P230 belie its design origins dating back to I believe the 1960's--decades before the current crop of sub-compact pistols were even envisioned.
Up until recently, the SIG P230 in .380 Auto was (may still be) the issued off-duty carry gun of the Secret Service and other Treasury Agents--revealing the Feds had confidence that if the bullet is properly place, the .380 will do the job.
One other observation is that the narrow grip tang combined with the direct blowback/fixed barrel operation of P230 is often not user-friendly to those with large, fleshy hands. The tang tends to "bite" into the webbing between thumb and index finger of those individuals (by the way this same phenomenon is reported to occur with Makarovs)--but nothing that cannot be overcome with practice.
My wife's home-defense pistol is a SIG P230 and she loves it. She loved it even more when she read one of her favorite characters, Dr. Kay Scarpetta of the Patricia Cornwell novels used one (in the early novels, before she switched to a Glock 19).
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2000
- Messages
- 4,798
I never met a SIG I didn't like, and this one is no exception.
I don't own it, my Dad does. I've been trying to chisel him out of it for a long time now. The old Bastid is a tough wheeler dealer, no breaks be ya blood or no. But he has no qualms about me shooting the hell out of it.
Previous to this piece, he had a Colt Mustang that was a fun little gun. I liked it alot. But I never had any desire to own the Colt like I do the 230. I'll get it off him yet, mark my words. I have to say, in my experience, the next best thing to owning a 230 is having a relative who does.
I don't own it, my Dad does. I've been trying to chisel him out of it for a long time now. The old Bastid is a tough wheeler dealer, no breaks be ya blood or no. But he has no qualms about me shooting the hell out of it.
Previous to this piece, he had a Colt Mustang that was a fun little gun. I liked it alot. But I never had any desire to own the Colt like I do the 230. I'll get it off him yet, mark my words. I have to say, in my experience, the next best thing to owning a 230 is having a relative who does.
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2001
- Messages
- 657
As to stopping power SHOT PLACEMENT is the key, not the caliber. Will a 45 stop someone better than a 380, yeah if you hit the target in the right spot but it don't matter if you don't hit the right spot. For year people carried 38 or 32 cal. revolvers and 380 or 32 autos with either fmj or lead roundnose ammo and were considered well armed, it's only since the first compact 9 mm and 45's came out that they started to be considered underpowered.
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2001
- Messages
- 657
Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and the Perpetual Disdain for Anything-less-than-.45 Caliber are all very American traits. Been that way since about 1911...
MelancholyMutt
Doggy Style
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2002
- Messages
- 3,906
Why do I carry a .45?
Cuz they don't make a .46
Cuz they don't make a .46
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2000
- Messages
- 495
You being the soul brother of Rambo and all I probally dont need to say this but...If ya got meaty hands be careful they can bite ya..Manufacture wise It's a SIG nothing else needs be said ..
Edit: Guess I should read the post first..I see Guncollector warned ya about their nippy personality..
Edit: Guess I should read the post first..I see Guncollector warned ya about their nippy personality..
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2000
- Messages
- 3,221
Ron: your information about the 230/232 being carried by the Secret Service is correct. I'm not sure if it is still the official off-duty carry, but I know that a number of them still do carry it.
My only complaint about the 230/232 is its size - not that I want it smaller, but that I would prefer 9mm in a pistol that size. I believe there is a Russian firm using helical flutes in the chamber to delay blowback long enough for 9mm to be used. Maybe Sig could secure rights to that technique, and use it.
--JB
My only complaint about the 230/232 is its size - not that I want it smaller, but that I would prefer 9mm in a pistol that size. I believe there is a Russian firm using helical flutes in the chamber to delay blowback long enough for 9mm to be used. Maybe Sig could secure rights to that technique, and use it.
--JB
