PMCI December 2019 | Page 33

THE LOWDOWN As we come to the end of this review project, I would like to mention I went in to this project with some misgivings. My initial concerns based on appearances alone about the P938 were it would possibly be too heavy, too small and not very controllable thus affecting accuracy on the range due to its size and caliber. Much to my delight over the past year, I was wrong on all points. Shooting the P938 wasn’t even remotely close to the experience of shooting most guns in the pocket pistol category. Usually, I find the frames are undersized even for medium to small hands let alone large hands like my own which causes unwanted movement and constant regripping during firing. I enjoyed the weight of the P938 absorbing more felt recoil than my Glock 43 which resulted in quicker follow up shots. Where the pistol excelled in carry for me was tucked inside the waistband with the Panther Concealment holster at the appendix position. The weight kept the pistol positioned perfectly and I could access it in nearly any seated or standing position. This gave me a solid piece of mind knowing I would be fully prepared to react to an immediate threat situation. With a MSRP of around US$900, this may seem steep for a small pistol, but consider several things first. Most micro- sized 9 mm pistols on the market retail for around the US$400 - US$500 price point, before shooters commonly spend another $500 on average to enhance their gun. Common upgrades include smoothing out the trigger, add better sights, adding an ambidextrous trigger (if applicable), purchasing a third magazine, adding a mag well and changing out the typical factory black finish only to end up adding an additional US$400 - US$500 to their factory gun. After spending time with the Legion 938 pistol, customers may initially spend a couple hundred dollars more than the base model but end up with custom shop quality for far less than custom prices. Right out of the box, the Legion pistol is the complete package. Other than even more magazines, I could not think how SIG could further improve the gun. I easily consider the time invested this year well spent in really getting to learn the Legion 938. As it has been my experience, pistols specifically designed for CCW are typically built to be carried often but shot irregularly due to heavy recoil, I didn’t find this to be the case for the P938. It is a true shooter and proven performer based on a historic design. For this shooter, the SIG Legion P938 is a highly capable and recommended handgun for everyday personal defense carry. To find out more about the Legion P938 and other great products from SIG SAUER, visit their website at https://www. sigsauer.com/ and discover the one that best fits your needs. To find out more about Panther Concealment check out http:// www.pantherconcealment.com/ TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS R L enough to run dry quickly, but not too fast as to lose defensive accuracy. During reloads, I noticed the magazine would slide in about half way without any resistance at all then stop. With a firm slap from the bottom, the mag snapped into place with an audible click of the magazine catch. This was evidently a design feature to ensure the user firmly seated the magazine in each time. The design worked because I found myself dropping mags and slapping fresh ones in much faster and firmer than I would with my usual polymer guns. I was impressed with the clarity of X-ray day/night sights, and how easy it was to re-acquire a crisp sight picture for follow-up shots. Another item I would like to note is the ease of manipulation of the pistols slide. Generally, with pistols in this category the recoil spring is very heavy leading to some people having difficulty racking the slide during normal operations, let alone when there are any outside stressors taking a toll on them. This is an issue that I have been trying to address with my wife and our quest to find her the perfect defensive firearm. Since I would be spending quality time over the next few months carrying the SIG Legion 938 concealed, I decided to reach out to my friend and local holster maker, Jim Kay at Panther Concealment located here in Northeast Florida. Jim is well known locally for his no nonsense practical kydex holsters. I explained to Jim what I was looking for in a concealment holster for the tiny P938. He immediately told me that he had just the holster I was looking for! A couple days later just in time for another range trip, I arranged to meet Jim at his workshop to pick up the holster. Jim’s holster design was constructed to allow the clip to be switched for right or left-handed inside the waistband carry with a straight drop or zero cant. The P938’s short 3-inch barrel, combined with Jim’s excellent holster allowed for comfortable carry practically 360 degrees around the body. What separates this combo from others on the market is the size allows for the gun to almost disappear from detection while still being large enough to provide a full master grip and speedy draw onto target. From the draw to shots fired, this gun and holster combo covered all three “must haves” in a carry gun package. It was very controllable, accurate and comfortable carrying in all positions for extended periods of time. pmcimagazine.com