Review: Sig Sauer P250

[OnPointFirearms]

I admit to being skeptical about the new Sig Sauer P250-- the firm’s modular pistol that allows users to easily swap calibers and change form factors. How will the shooting community receive the polymer pistol built in Exeter, New Hampshire? Will it gain traction in the industry or suffer the same fate as its SigPro brethren? Inquiring minds want to know, so here’s my take on the P250.

The P250’s design is feature rich: factory night sights, 16rd magazines (9mm), Nitron and stainless steel finishes, ergonomic grips, and a crisp 5.5lb trigger pull make this latest offering from Sig Sauer attractive to shooters at all levels. Its fire control module is a slick piece of engineering and is easy to remove and maintain. Thanks for the use of polymer, the price point is also significantly lower than traditional Sig models. The interchangeability of the system allows you to find the perfect grip style for you hand, choose between full size, compact, and subcompact frames, and switch calibers on the fly (9mm, .40sw, .357sig, and .45acp.)

Accuracy and “To Hell and Back” reliability are par for the course for Sig Sauer pistols. That’s to be expected. However, many clients have expressed concern for the fit and finish coming out of Exeter lately. We can all remember the issues that plagued the first generation of GSR 1911 pistols. Many jokes were made at the expense of the pistolsmith who evidently needed to “McLearn how to make a 1911.” The Sig Mosquito enjoyed a rough start, having seen poor reliability and accuracy sour the opinion of even the most die-hard Sig aficionados. Even the legendary Sig Sauer assault rifle, the venerable 550, experienced problems when the Americans in New Hampshire released their version: the SIG556.


For a time, it seemed like everything that Exeter stamped its name on was cursed. To be fair, some of these failures can be attributed to “growing pains.” It’s no secret that Sig Sauer, formerly Sigarms, has won its unfair share of government contracts over the past few years. Exeter was forced to increase production and customer service, dealer support, and quality control suffered. Thankfully, it looks like the new P250 is a bellwether that things have turned around for Sig.

The company claims the new P250 weapons platform will be the end all, be all, granddaddy of all handguns-- designed for the high speed/low drag, operator who wants to shoot bad guys with a compact 9mm for breakfast and a full-size .45acp for dinner. For lunch, we’re thinking Arby’s… and a subcompact .40sw.


On the contrary… the user that will enjoy the greatest return on investment will be the novice shooter-- perhaps buying their first handgun, and most likely a woman. Is the P250 a girl’s gun? Not necessarily. But, the P250’s simple manual of arms makes it easy for a beginner to learn proper firearms handling techniques. It’s easy to take apart and clean. The slide is easier to rack than most comparable handguns and the trigger pull is relatively light— important features for female shooters. It’s important to point out that the P250’s trigger is light, but it doesn’t have a short reset. In fact, it’s closer to the reset you’d find on a traditional double action revolver.

The modular design is great for entry-level shooters. They can start out with a compact 9mm, equally well suited for a day at the range, home defense, or concealed carry—a jack-of-all-trades. When they decide they want to try IPSC or IDPA style competitions, they can upgrade to a full size .45acp platform without breaking the bank. When they want something smaller to fit in their pocket, they can purchase the subcompact conversion kit. This is the value proposition for the Sig Sauer P250: it saves you money in the long run and you’ll be a better shooter at the end of the day.

Sig Sauer has a winner in its new P250 series. Barring some unforeseen corporate meltdown or act of God, we should see these pistols selling briskly for many years to come. Try one out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Have a good week and stay On Point.

-- Evan

 

[Ala Dan]

Great report, many thanks for sharing~!

 

[Jim Watson]

I have handled but not shot the P250.
I find the smooth light DAO to be its best feature. It does not suit people used to "riding the reset" but it feels good to an old revolver shooter like me.
I find the "modular" design to be its worst feature. I don't want a gun this light in anything but 9mm and a 9mm wide enough to be readily converted to .45 is too wide. Few gunmakers pay any attention to the width of a gun, but settle for shortening barrel and butt.

 

[DougDubya]

Mmmm. Pretty two-tone right from the factory.

A good trigger and great sights helps too.

 

[USMCDK]

OnPoint, have you ever shot one??? I was just wondering how you came to your conclusion. I can, but will not, put money down on this that says I can find out the indepth scoop on this and any firearm made by Sig Sauer (Formally know as SIGARMS). Now I am not really trying to challenge you, but more so pick your brain and find out just how you know this much about the brand new firearm that just recently came of the line of Sig. Was it reviews from authors that most-likely didn't even fire the weapon themselves, from friends that may have bought one and gave there own opinion about the weapon, or did you go out there and do you homework, physically, on this what is seeming to be a fine firearm indeed?

Please try to understand the nature of this question.

Oh BTW Sig Sauers Marketing, Sales, and Customer service Reps are reading this thread just to let you know.

USMCDK

 

[1SOW]

+3 USMCDK

I'd rather have 3 guns tuned to each caliber than one with a bag of parts.
If one breaks, I've still got two.
If a 250 trigger or frame piece breaks, I'm back to Co2.
Even so, I'm anxious to hear some actual use/shooting reports from the owner.

P.S. I DO like my P239-9

 

[Autolycus]

I cannot wait for the DA/SA version.

 

[usp_fan]

Amen, Tecumseh! That long reset is the only thing keeping me from putting this very high up on my list. It looks to be the perfect pistol for my taste in many respects, but the long reset kills it for me. Who knows, my wife may like the long reset and that would let me pry my USPc away from her. I'll have to take her shopping.

Jim Watson brings up an interesting point concerning thickness. The 9mm didn't need to be this thick, especially if you need a different slide to convert to .45. However, to be able to use the same holster with the pistol, regardless of caliber, the slides all have to have the same external dimensions.

 

[MarcusWendt]

AS a diehard Sig fanboy and fanatic, I want so much to love this weapon. I'm just not there yet. DAK trigger? Not for me sonny. They say it's available in this caliber and that size, but so far I've seen one caliber and one frame size out in the world. It is not CA complaint, so it's a no go for me at this time anyway.

This review read a little like a gun rag review and it lacks info on how the darn thing shoots.

Jury is still out and it looks like we can all take a long lunch.

 

[1KPerDay]

Onpoint, a nice writeup but pretty much a summary of the history of the brand and the hype regarding the new pistol... a review should have some actual first-hand shooting/functioning/handling info. In fact that should be PRIMARY.

IMO

 

[BusterPendragon]

I looked at this gun before I bought my Glock 19. It's nice, but those Sigs are expensive.

 

[briang2ad]

I'd like to see...

The DA/SA version also. Especially if it has a manual safety system like the CZ. I handled this one, and just don't like the LDA only feature.

 

[USMCDK]

To me the grip ain't half bad, I actually like it but once again, as said in many threads/post, it's a prefrence thing. I've handled the weapon but still yet to fire one. It feels nice and I think it would be a great starter gun for sure. As for the trig-reset, this can probably "PROBABLY" be modified by the customs shop after purchase. with a lil tuning here and there inside the guts. Sig is however only working on the 9mm compact model right now and waiting to see how it does then think about making it in other calibers. They are still not sure if they are going to make it moduler (I.E. barrel swapping from 9mm-.357/.40/.45cal with appropriate slides) Or So I have heard from really reliable sources.

 

[USMCDK]

OH BTW I also forgot to say that the trigger system can also "PROBABLY" be modified to any of SIG's trigger systems (i.e. SAO, DA/SA, or DAK) of course given the fact that, once again you, would probably have to purchase first then custom shop later type of thing.

So how many points am I up to now 1SOW??? LOL!!!

 

[Vinny]

Reviving this thread to find out if anyone had a chance to test the P250 out at the range.

Thx

 

[jocko]

The feature of a multiple caliber set-up sounds good but to me is really not practical. I have to agree with an earlier post. I don't want a parts box, If I want a sig 9, I want a sig 9 and not a combination package. It certainly looks good and the long reset trigger is something that I could get used to.. I own a Kahr PM9 and it has a looong da trigger that took some getting used to but I love it now, so getting to know the sig would be no issue. I was hoping that when they introduced it that it wolud be a much more compact , light handgun--It isn't

I have enough range guns..

 

[johnnylaw53]

I looked at the 250 a few times neat ideal but not new. I remember Dan Wesson did somewhat the same thing with what I belived they called their pistol pack. one frame 3 barrels 6" 4" and I think 2.5" along with several grips. Ideal was you had one weapon that you could change out depending on your needs at the time. I only knew one guy that owned one but after awhile he settle on the 4" became a hassle changing out. I feel it part of the long time effort to fine that one weapon for all times. Carrying weapons for over 30 years now I have tried for that one perfect weapon that would fill all needs after awhile I learn that it like a unicorn would be neet to have one but they not really out there. I do see large departments might go to the 250 since they could buy all thier officers the same weapon and then fit it to the assignment undercover, plain clothes uniform ect. Even then it would not serve as the ideal one weapon for all reasons. I don't see myself anyway coming home taking the uniform off then taking my weapon apart and put it back togeter with the sub compact slide and grip in case I need to run to the store for some milk. Just have a smaller weapon that you can grab and go.

Be Safe

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I'm going to pull this thread out of the closet. Two months ago I purchased a 250c in 9mm with medium grips. I also bought the small grip for my wife.
It is my first automatic. I have put about 400 rounds through it. It has performed well beyond my expectation. I happen to like the fact that the trigger is the same for every shot.
I was always a revolver fan, so it took some adjusting to the light trigger. Even if your not interested in multi combinations, for first time pistol buyers it is a great gun. The smooth light trigger allows me to shoot one handed with great ease.
In fact I'm going to buy the sub compact complete gun just for carry. That's how much I love this gun. Maybe I just don't know any different because it is my only auto. I can shoot it, so I'm sticking with it.
I have, since buying the 250, shot some DA\SA pistols. Some were ok, but I just like that constant trigger pull.
If you like double action revolvers, I think you would like this gun.

 

[anheiserglock]

Onpoint, great write-up but... I understand that lots of 250 owners are unhappy.

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/430601935/m/544100549

 

[CZF]

I thought the trigger rest was quite long in the P250 that I handled.
other than that, I quite liked it!

 

[Quoheleth]

My opinion.

I had the opportunity to fire a 250 in 9mm in February. I believe it was the full-size. It certainly was not the compact.

It was one of the smoothest pistols I have ever shot. The trigger, while having a long pull, was smooth like melted buttah, silk, glass, ice, whatever metaphor you want. It [trigger] truly was hands down better than my M&P. No grittiness, no feeling the seer catch - it was a nice, rolling trigger. Personally, I like this DAO trigger - for me, the DA/SA thing always leaves me having to maneuver my grip to switch from longer DA pull to shorter SA pull.

The grip feels good in my hands. It feels more circular than some guns - like a 1911, for example, which has a very oblaque spheroid shape (as though you were looking down into the magwell). For my unique hands, it felt very good. I like the large grip in my M&P for this reason - it fills the palm area of my hand.

The sights were excellent. No problems picking them up against standard bullseye targets.

The gun did not feel chunky to me. Grip angle was excellent. It pointed well and felt as a natural extension of my hand.

It shot very well for me. I did a little slow-fire and was shooting soft-ball to baseball size groups at 10 yards - about my standard. Rapid-fire (dump a mag as quickly and accurately as I could) was good - for me - keeping all on a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, easy minute-of-bad guy stuff. Reset is a little longer than some autos, but no worse than my Ruger GP100 revolver.

The whole modular concept is unique, but overstated IMHO for the USA where such thing as "one serialized part" isn't a problem - yet. The weapon I shot was top-notch. If I could find one at my price point, I would gladly trade my M&P for it.

If you have specific questions, I would be happy to try to answer them. I've slep since then and may be a little fuzzy on details, though...

Q

 

[wditto]

the .45 is NOT included in the caliber/barrel inter-changeability !

 

[09HKP30]

Well i posted my Sig P250 dissapointment on another thread called thoughts on Sig P250 or somthing like that so I wont post it again.
But if it comes back from the factory with no change, its gonna be for sale.

 

[Dougsboy]

Took mine to the range this morning and I have to sadly say I was not impressed. It is the full size 45acp. The long trigger pull was just, shall I say, too long for my liking. Double action only is not comfortable for me. Only about 50 rounds through it and I'm ready to sell or trade.

 

[Jupiter]

Just out of curiosity Evan........
Did anyone connected with or employed by SigSauer Inc. ask you to do the write-up?
Your review has the look and feel of a paid advertisement.