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Academy has it in a 9mm with night sights, DAO, for about $650. Academy guy (official trainer by his nametag) who did seem to really know his stuff said Sig offers 3 sizes of lower for that pistol, to fit smaller and larger hands.

I'm looking for my wife (I know she needs to try them herself, but I am trying to narrow the field a little for her). At 5-10 she's not at all small, but she needs a smooth, not too heavy trigger (not going to learn about that at Academy), no complicated safeties, and enough weight to absorb some recoil.

Anyone with experience?

Pro - it's a SIG, swappable calibers, & can change pistol size from compact to full-size
Con - cost of changing size & caliber

I haven't shot one, so I can't speak to the recoil absorption, but I did get a chance to dry-fire one, and it's definitely the smoothest double-action trigger on any Sig I've ever shot. I can't remember how heavy it was, but I suspect it was lighter than a standard Sig double-action pull as well. I definitely felt like it was a better action overall than the DAK I have in a 229.

I have owned one twice...don't ask. I love the concept and as soon as they come up with a DA/SA option I will own one again. Personally, I'm just not a DA fan. Don't buy one just to change calibers. You can do that for a lot less with a 229 or a Glock. The conversions are geared more toward LE and military and they won't pay a fraction of the retail price if they do chan ge calibers. Just my .02

I have owned a P250 for over a month now and have many rounds through it. It has performed flawlessly and is extremely accurate. It is now my favorite. The 9mm "kick" is very manageable, remember ammo make a difference. I purchased mine from http://www.sportingarms.com/index.aspthe gun with a spare clip wqas just over $600. No sense paying retail, many places will discount the gun. As far as the trigger goes it took about 50 rounds to perfect it, no problems at all. This is a very well made gun and the optional caliber upgrades will be available right after labor day, suggested msrp is $369 for the 357 and 40 cal, the 45 cal will be out a bit later on. If you want more info go to sigforums.com and read away, lots of info on this gun.

Thanks to all. I liked the feel of the pistol enough that I want to buy it for her, and I almost hope she doesn't like it. I've always been partial to .45s and HK, but I'm sure I could find room for the Sig. Going to check out sigforums.com right now.

I almost forgot one of the best pros of all... easy cleaning. The difference betweena field strip and detail strip is a few seconds and cleaning is a breeze. The 250 is extremely accurate as well. Some might say accurate beyond belief for a modular pistol.

I'm pretty well talked into it. I'd like to see Comp Tac offer a holster for it, though. I guess they probably will, eventually.

Salty1 graciously let me borrow his Sig 250 yesterday while I was helping a sweet yung thang prepare to make a more informed buying decision. She's about 5'2/125 and in great physical shape. She liked the Sig 250 OK, but out of 5 semis test fired, she wanted to take her CHL test with Springfield XD Compact in .45 - and will likely buy one of her own.

Not to initiate OT drift, but when I cleaned the XD (another borrowed gun) today, I admired it's captured (dual) recoil spring assembly and figure it has a lot to do with "softening" .45ACP recoil. Same gal shot my .45 Colt Gold Cup, and, due to "bite" in web of her hand, was ready to dismiss it after just 15 rounds.

She was a rather meticulous note-taker and in the course of firing well over 200 rounds in about a 2 hour period, put the Kahr K-9 in second place and the Sig 250 with the Glock 19 in a tie for 3'rd.

Quote: "she needs a smooth, not too heavy trigger (not going to learn about that at Academy), no complicated safeties, and enough weight to absorb some recoil."

In light of the above - and loaning it to lots of other ladies over the past 10 years: Y'all might also check out the Kahr K-9. Minimal bells and whistles, a fairly narrow grip, long smooth trigger pull, and loaded with max 8 round capacity, the thing weighs a full 32 ounces. Mine has been very reliable as a training gun and, for it's size, uncanny accuracy.

78641 wrote:Academy has it in a 9mm with night sights, DAO, for about $650. Academy guy (official trainer by his nametag) who did seem to really know his stuff said Sig offers 3 sizes of lower for that pistol, to fit smaller and larger hands.

I'm looking for my wife (I know she needs to try them herself, but I am trying to narrow the field a little for her). At 5-10 she's not at all small, but she needs a smooth, not too heavy trigger (not going to learn about that at Academy), no complicated safeties, and enough weight to absorb some recoil.

Anyone with experience?

Well, it's a Sig and all that I have ever seen have worked flawlessly IF properly MAINTAINED. The trigger is Sig's K trigger which I like and it meets your stated criteria...Smooth, not too heavy and lacking complicated safeties. It's a little on the light side as Sig pistols go but, recoil should be quite manageable in 9mm. The grip is interchangeable to suit shooters' individual tastes and needs.

The big downside is cost...At $650 there are other options. Changing The Sig 250 has a short track record compared to some other offerings. So, it's not yet known if the 250 truely shares the reliability of other Sig pistols. It's worth noting the 250 uses the a plastic magazine catch similar, if not identical, to that found on Sig Pro models. This catch is retained by a small, plastic clip that I have seen fail more than once. However, I have no way of knowning if those failures were induced by improper assembly or faulty design.

Other pistols worth considering would include the Glock 19, S&W M&P 9/9c and HK's P2000/P2000SK. There are, of course, other offerings that I have not listed here. Do not consider my failure to note them a mark against those other options.

78641 wrote:I'm pretty well talked into it. I'd like to see Comp Tac offer a holster for it, though. I guess they probably will, eventually.

You need to give Comp-Tac a call...Gregg is pretty good about keeping Comp-Tac tooled up for the latest and most popular pistols. They may already offer said holster but, it may not be on the website yet.

I forgot to mention one other point. There are huge risks that go with buying a gun for the wife. It is usually better to show her several different pistols that will meet the needs you've mentioned and then let HER pick the one she likes best. Just a thought.

I like mine.

In fact, it's the only polymer pistol I really like. It's become my primary carry pistol; the "compact" grip frame fits my hand beautifully. Doesn't feel "top-heavy" to me when the mag is empty like other polymer pistols do.

I'm only 5'2" as well.

I use a leather Bianchi 7/7L holster that was designed for the P228/P229. It was just a mite snug to begin with, so I wrapped the pistol in plastic, spritzed the inside of the holster liberally with rubbing alcohol, slid the pistol in and left it over night. Two-three nights of doing this and the holster fits the pistol like a glove. Good retention, yet easy draw.

But as someone else mentioned, let her pick out her own pistol.... what works well for one may not work at all for another.

78641 wrote:I'm looking for my wife (I know she needs to try them herself, but I am trying to narrow the field a little for her).

78641 wrote:Thanks to all. I liked the feel of the pistol enough that I want to buy it for her, and I almost hope she doesn't like it.

Her not liking it would be just fine.

Really, though, I am trying to put together a short list for her to try. This is a first for her. She likes the idea, but is a little intimidated by the whole "scene". She wants something that looks large and intimidating, lots of rounds in the mag, and not confusing. She also wants it to shoot like a .22 and hit like a .45. My requirements are that it be as close to 100% reliable as possible, and that it last more or less forever.

So far I'd like to get her hands on the P250, and an XD. She has tried the HK USP compact, and doesn't like it. She also doesn't like the S&W 642; the trigger is too heavy, not scary enough, and only holds 5 rounds.

May I suggest a Steyr M40A1 (or M9A1)? It has only a trigger safety, and the trapezoidal sights make it quite easy to acquire a target. The ergonomics are also wonderful for smaller hands, and the pistol itself is rather compact while holding 12 rounds of 40, 15 for 9mm.

The only downsides are that it's unlikely to find one of these in a store to try out, and Comp-Tac doesn't make a holster for them. If you go to a gun show, I know Jeff Schramm carries them for ~$380. You can also get them from CDNN for a quite reasonable price (plus shipping and transfer fees.

Now, maybe if I can find some of that non-existent free time, I could try to mold a M40A1 shell for my MTAC holster from Comp-Tac.