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The Sig Sauer P230 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. With its relatively narrow slide and frame, many law enforcement officers carry the Sig Sauer 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 Sauer'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 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. This 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 Sauer 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 Sig Sauer 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 shooter to pull the magazine from the gun with his off-hand. The drawback with this mechanism is that it requires the use of both hands, just to pull out the empty clip. |