SIG P230

Infobox Weapon
name= SIG P230


caption= A SIG P230 SL
origin= Switzerland, United States
type=Semi-automatic pistol
is_ranged=yes
designer= unknown
design_date= 1977
manufacturer= SIG-Sauer, SIGARMS
production_date= 1977–1996
weight= 500 g / 17.6 oz (unloaded)
length= 168 mm / 6.61 in
part_length= 91.4 mm / 3.6 in
width= 30 mm / 1.2 in
height= 119 mm / 4.7 in
crew=
cartridge=.32 ACP, .380 ACP and 9×18mm Police
action= Double Action/Single Action (DA/SA) With decocking lever
rate=
velocity=
range=
max_range=
feed= 7 / 8 round magazine
sights= Fixed front and rear

The SIG-Sauer P230 is a small, semi-automatic handgun chambered in .32 ACP or .380 Auto.

Overview

Due to its small dimensions, it is often carried as a backup weapon or as a CCW handgun, holding 8 + 1 rounds of .32 ACP or 7 + 1 rounds of .380 ACP, respectively. A special police model is also available, which is chambered in 9mm Police, actually a 9x18mm casing, very similar to 9mm Kurz but slightly more powerful.

Design

The design and function of the P230 is of the simple fixed barrel, straight blow-back configuration. It has a reputation as a well-built firearm, competes with the Walther PPK, and is a popular choice as a backup to larger caliber firearms.Fact|date=April 2007 With its relatively narrow slide and frame, many law enforcement officers carry the SIG in an ankle holster, and some even carry it between their undershirt and body armor.

It is available in both blued and all-stainless finishes. The blued version features a blued steel slide and a matching, anodized aluminum frame, while the stainless version is self-explanatory. Both models come with a molded polymer, wrap-around grip, that is contoured to give the shooter a comfortable and secure hold on the weapon. The pistol has a very sleek and attractive profile, a design which enhances the little Sig's concealability and makes it comfortable to wear all day, as well as making it as snag-free on the draw as possible.

The trigger comes from the factory with a 5.5lb single-action pull, and is capable of both single-action and double-action. Pulling back the slide sets the hammer backwards and downwards to its single-action position, making for a very short and crisp trigger pull. The double-action pull is longer and more stiff, but still very smooth. It has no external safeties, though it does have a "de-cocking" lever positioned just above the right-handed shooter's thumb, on the left side of the grip. The lever provides for a safe method of lowering the hammer from its full-cocked, single-action position, to a "half-cock", double-action safe position where the hammer itself falls forward to a locking point about an eighth of an inch from the rear of the firing pin. Once de-cocked, it is physically impossible for the hammer to drop completely and contact the firing pin, which would otherwise greatly increase the risk of the unintentional discharge of a chambered round. The full double-action pull would have to be completed, in order for the round to discharge, which allows for the pistol to be carried reasonably safely with a round chambered.

With a barrel length of only 3.5 inches, the pistol is surprisingly accurate, which is a testament to SIG-Sauer's expertise in handgun design. The sights are of the traditional SIG design and configuration, with a dot on the front sight and a rectangle on the rear sight. To aim using the sights, the shooter simply aligns the dot over the rectangle.

Unlike most modern pistols, rather than having a magazine-release button on the left side of the grip, the P230 has a European-style magazine catch, which is operated by pushing it towards the rear of the grip. Once its been moved far enough back (about 1/16th of an inch), it clears the base of the magazine, allowing the operator to pull the magazine from the gun with his/her off-hand. The drawback with this mechanism is that it requires the use of both hands to remove an empty magazine. With the shooter's hands occupied, he or she cannot reach for a fresh magazine until the spent one has been cleared by hand. This is in contrast to the "drop free" design used on most other semi-auto pistols (Glocks, 1911 style handguns, etc.), where the magazine falls free of the weapon as soon as the release button has been pressed. With those pistols, the user is able to drop the spent magazine with their grip hand, while simultaneously reaching for and inserting a fresh one with their offhand, thus making for quicker reloads. On the other hand, the heel magazine release is fully ambidextrous, and may be less prone to inadvertent release of a magazine.

Criticism

The only generally agreed-upon drawback with the P230 is that the calibers in which it is available for purchase are considered substandard for self-defense purposes due to a lack of "knock-down" power.

The gun has also been criticized for having occasional feeding reliability problems, wherein the auto-loading cycle does not operate correctly and does not successfully load the next cartridge. These complaints seems to center around the main spring strength being too great, which means that in order for the slide to consistently extend all the way backwards once a round is discharged, the shooter must have a relatively firm grip on the weapon. If the shooter is not of great strength, or the shooter "limp-wrists" while shooting, the weapon may malfunction during the feeding of the next round in the magazine. SIG denies that this problem is related to a design flaw, and has instead suggested its customers spend more time practicing a strong grip. During the significant break-in period, this can be even more pronounced.

ee also

External resources

* [http://www.sigarms.com/Default.aspx SIGARMS.com]
* [http://www.riflesnguns.com/pistol/sig/p230 Rifles'n'Guns article]