I am thinking about buying a P232 for concealed carry. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who either owns or has fired this gun.

Should I buy one, if not, what would you receommend?

It's a nice .380, comfortable in the hand and naturally aims well for me. If you're comfortable carrying the .380cal and you've handled this one before, buy it.

Here's a link to a similar (and less expensive) .380, the Bersa Thunder: www.gunblast.com/Bersa_Thunder380.htm

He did have a comparison of the Bersa and Sig but, I can't find it... Though here is another link with a comparison: www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Sig%20Sauer%20Bersa.htm

(Images won't load on my PC...)

Very Helpful links and information....thanks.

I find the 232 uncomfortable to shoot. I carry the 239 and while it is larger and heavier it is IMO Much easier to shoot.

SJM57,

I just got my P232 in Two-Tone with Siglites on Wednesday after two years of drooling and lusting.  It was WELL worth the wait, and I say that without even having fired it yet.  You see, unlike my SW99 or my G20, the P232 points as naturally--and as quickly--as my index finger.  It is an exact ergonomic 'negative' of my hand.  Very 'intuitive,' as I describe it.  That's with the Hogue grips, but it points nearly as well with the factory grips.

Between unrivaled pointability and the fact that it is easy to carry and therefore conducive to more frequent carry, I will take my chances on the street with this sexy little .380 while the blocky .40 and even the mighty 10mm sit at home awaiting other uses.  In a pinch, the .380 in my pocket is much better than the 10mm at home in my drawer!

Incidentally, I am a fairly scrawny guy.  Not every gun will hide on me at all, and few will hide well.  The P232, in my opinion, offers about the best firepower that can still remain a secret on a guy framed as I am.

Don't be shy in asking about specifics if you think of any.  I'm too new with the P232 to have all the answers, but I can tell you what turned up in my extensive pre-purchase research.  Plus, I will have more answers after trying it out tomorrow--yee-haw!

i love mine, laser-accuracy (at least at 7 yards), and it's entertaining to watch the casings sail into the next area code.

from what i hear it's one of the few (if only) .380's that will really hold up to the 'hotter' loads (isn't that an oxymoron or something?).

that being said, i'd probably consider getting a blued model, and having it coated.  i have a stainless 'sl' model, and i think it's a bit heavy for its size (although it does disappear nicely).  also, get night sights on it factory, the front sight is fixed... i made that dumb mistake too, but i got a good deal!

Love mine  ! !

I've got the one with the stainless slide and the "blue" frame -- a really nice looking pistol

Anyway . . . she's been 110% reliable with any ammo any time.  Carried now and then as my "Church Gun".

Only shoot it 50 rounds at a time -- recoil gets a little "snappy" after that.

Would make a GREAT CCW pistol if your looking for one in 380 caliber . . .

Hey Phlybox,

Did you shoot it yet? How did you like it? How is the recoil?Are you glad you got it?

I bought one for my wife for concealed carry - turns out that being a blowback operation the recoil is very sharp. Its not particularly comfortable to shoot. For that reason, she doesn't like it, and never carries it...

my wife and i inherited her grandfather's p230 (same thing, just older model) when he passed away.  we both shoot it quite comfortably, and once CCW finally gets passed here in nebraska she'll be packing it.

it's a great little "poodleshooter" if you will, and with my wife's skill with it (i was pleasantly surprised to say the least) the 7+1 capacity will be fine for her.

i would say the recoil is comparable to a larger gun shooting standard 9mm cartridge--the lower weight of the sig tends to allow more recoil to be felt by the shooter, but it's definitely nothing serious.  all in all it's a great package, and plinking ammo sure won't break the bank either.

FWIW, Sig just released a batch of blued 230's through thier CPO program, Nice little pistol, If they had american style mag releases Id already been on top of one.............Udog

i had a blued p232 that i bought last xmas and sold 2 months ago.  i slapped hogue grips on it and that made it much more comfortable to shoot.  yes the recoil is snappy but that is due to the blowback action.  but the hogues make it much better.  the euro style mag release takes a little getting used to but is easy.  instead of pulling it back with the weak hand index finger you do it with that thumb and can use the index finger to help pull the mag out.  though if the mag release is held back the mag will drop free--or at least would on mine.  

i never got my ccw permit so i sold it to finance another pistol.  so i can't say how it carries.

i will say that over the 400-700 rounds (i know at least 400 but it could have been more but i don't remember exactly) i put through it i had a few more malfunctions than i would have liked to have seen.  ammo was a mix of remington, winchester, s&b, and maybe another brand or two.  i had at least 5 and probably closer to 10 fte and stovepipes.  there are 2 issues with clearing malfunctions in this pistol--no external slide stop and the small ejection port.  i would have to drop the mag and then hold the slide back to get the casing/cartridge to drop free.  it is a real pita and i would have hated to do that in a combat situation.  

but all in all i think it is a rather pleasant pistol to shoot.  

oh and if you get it follow the lube instructions and shoot it with a wet barrel--lube the entire outside of the barrel.  it will improve the life of the pistol not to mention keep its value up for sale/trade.

SJM57,

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Yes, I took the Sig out on Sunday.  Love it!  Much of that is due to the fact, as I said before, that this gun seems to be tailored to my own hand, and so it points very naturally and quickly.  From...I dunno...I would guess 15 yards, I was able to empty the mag with acceptable accuracy in probably 2.5 seconds.  By 'acceptable accuracy,' I mean that each round would have hit a torso-sized target.  No malfunctions or misfires in the 60 rounds fired.

The Hogues certainly add to the comfort in an ergonomic sense.  I will not speculate as to whether they assist with speed, accuracy, or absorption of recoil.  In any case, I did not find the recoil to be excessive or unpleasant at all.  Maybe my Glock 10-mil full of Doubletap has changed my perception.

The P232 was also surprisingly easy to clean!  Didn't take but a few minutes to disassemble, clean, lube, reassemble, and wipe down.

Yup.  The P232 is a superb addition to the arsenal, and it suits my carry needs perfectly.

phlybox

I had one and sold it. It would bite my hand between the thumb and index finger. I had the hogue grips and they made it much better. I bought a 239 in 40. It is only a little bigger and has a better round. For hot weather shorts I carry a Kel TeK P32. Hope this helps. John

I had one, and sold it.  I igure if I want a carry gun that size, it might as well be in a more potent chambering.

I went with a Makorov.

Being a huge fan of Sig pistols I considered the 232 but got a Kahr PM9 instead.  The PM9 is almost exactly the same size and is available in 9mm and .40 and has the American style mag release.  It's DAO but that is probably a plus on a ccw weapon.

I've shot a P230 before as well as a Bersa 380 and a HK 4 which is a PPKS copy and found the Kahr to be more comfortable to shoot than the HK and about the same as the other 380's I have shot.  

Given it's 9mm or .40 loading I chose to stray away from a Sig for my ccw and bought the Kahr.

P232 stainless... I had to have one. I finally got one and loved it. Then I sold it.

My reason for selling, may not make sense to some. It was the ammo. I loved the feel, fit and  finish of the gun. It shot well and had no problems whatsoever. What got me was the price of ammo. $15 for 50rds of WWB. I had a had time with this, knowing Wally world has 9mm 100rds for $12. I just couldn't bear to spend more money, for fewer rounds of a lesser caliber. My Glock26 is just a tad bigger overall. Plus it has a higher mag capacity of bigger, yet cheaper ammo.

Kmowing myself, I knew the P232 would rot in the safe (not really, but you know what I mean). So, I sold it, to fund another project.

Thanks to all for the feedback. For some reason I thought the ammo was cheaper. You are right,$15 for 50 rounds is pricey.

I recently purchased the Sig P232(about two months ago). I'm not to concerned about the ammo cost because I love two reload. The problem I had was the gun would not feed ammo. It would hang at least once on every magazine. I tried several different types of ammo. About 150 rounds. I couldn't take it anymore. I sent it back to Sig and they changed the slide stop lever (said it was off) and polished the feed ramp and it shoots flawlessly now.

On the plus side Sig had it back to me in under three weeks.

Quoted: Thanks to all for the feedback. For some reason I thought the ammo was cheaper. You are right,$15 for 50 rounds is pricey.

So did you buy it?, I carried mine for some time, when I first got it, I went to shoot it and it was fairly accurate up to 7 yard or 10 but not much beyond, and it would hit I think to the left and high at 25 y

the first time out I fired a few rounds, and I found the slide about 5 ft in front of the bench on the dirt after it flew off the gun, It was embarrasing, not common form sig I guess, but close inspection after that revealed that after each shot I noticed  the slide stop/lock lever would creep slightly to the open position and the more I shoot it the more it does it

I sent it back to sig and they fixed it, I tried for about six months to get a different sight from sig and no luck, this was back when they first came out every time I called they didn't have it so I gave up

For carry purpose it is comfertable and disappears in your waist, but there are other options out there.