This gun owner carries a SIG P938 in a Tagua IWB holster. The P938 is a highly concealable gun thanks to it being a single-stack micro-compact (it has an overall length of 5.9 inches and an overall height of 3.9 inches). The trade-off with a micro-compact is, of course, capacity. This gun holds six rounds – plus one if you take the time to chamber one and top off the magazine.

So, yes. The gun you have is far better than no gun at all. What do you guys prefer, a slightly larger gun with a bit more capacity or an easily concealable micro-compact?

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35 COMMENTS

  1. I’ve carried a Ruger LCP, Kahr CM9, and various other small pocket pistols.

    Glock 19 currently…and maybe considering a .45 in the future.

    One can conceal any size pistol, just might have to work at it a bit.

  2. Can i do a everyday/weekend backpack dump? I feel as if that would be more realistic than these people here!!!

  3. Capacity is not the only metric.

    The only problem I have with the 938 is getting my fingers around it to draw. It is so small and slim that i cant consistently draw and sweep.

    So i need a slightly bigger (and rounder) grip to draw from a IWB holster.

    They are well made and accurate in my experience.

    • You may want to consider OWB or pocket carry, I carry an M85 UL In my front pocket and/or a G19 OWB In a three slot pancake holster.
      I always thought IWB looked like the person had a tumor on their hip and It doesn’t work for guys with the muffin top.

  4. I love the P938. Very accurate, and very manageable recoil. Some drop dead gorgeous versions, too. I want a Black Pearl model so bad!

  5. If you can perform FBI drills with your micro, all is well. But if not, you are relying on a gun that you cannt accurately use.

    From 5 yards, draw form the holster and try to place 5 shots into a standard playing card.

    • I find the 938 more accurate than shield or g43. It is a very accurate gun with to quality sites.
      So for me accuracy is not the issue with the 938.

      I was using 938 for summer and shield for winter/fall/spring.

      couple of issues are drawbacks to p938
      1) The p938 wll beat you up at the range. If you have a range at home or belong to a range/club with a yearly fee, then going to the range and shooting 20-40 rounds you are ok. But shooting 100 rounds through a 938 is not the same as doing so with shield, g43 or 365. The 938 will leave you hurting

      2) the 938 is excellent for those who cut their teeth on 1911, and/or have full or mid size 1911 for home defense gun. Not so much, in my opinion, if the 928 is the only 1911 style gun you have.

  6. I carry a tiny LCP in a neoprene ankle holster, that’s 7 rounds, plus an extended 11 round mag in the same ankle holster. It is a very good backup and I added a red laser, which means that even poor light, high heart rate, and and a sense of urgency, won’t deny me a good aim point. 18 rounds, weapon discretely out of sight, and a weapon actually enjoy shooting. Not only does the rig not print, the black neoprene holster and black LCP means the rig is nearly invisible even if partially exposed. And it is so light and comfortable, I have sometimes had to check to make sure I remembered to strap it on.

    Usually, I carry a Ruger .45 single stack w/ 2 extra mags, in a leather/plastic holster inside the belt, or a S&W 9mm double stack in a nylon IWB rig. But sometimes, the belt rigs just won’t work, and I just refuse to put a semi inside my pants close to my organic equipment even if it is inside one of those “pull it out of you pants” bags! It’s good to have other options!

  7. I carry my P938 on and off. When I don’t feel like carrying a gun.
    Otherwise more then likely my Walther PPQ-SC with the 15 round mag.
    Retired all of my 1911s.
    Both IWB of course.

  8. I like the way the P938 shoots but its picky with ammo and has a lot of failures to feed until its broken in. For a carry gun I would trade a little accuracy for better reliability so for the moment the P238 and P938 stay in the safe and I carry a Rock Island Baby Rock which has yet to malfunction on me.

    • I have zero malfunctions firing the gun with my 938 and it is not picky with ammo.

      There is one well known malfunction that will not affect most people as it is not a firing malfunction: it will pull top round still in mag forward and often enough pull out a round and drop it on racking and removing mag.

      So this is more of a malfunction when prepping the gun for carry, not a malfunction that occurs when running the gun. For most people this is a non-issue, since if a round falls out in your bedroom or at the range it is no big deal. Most people I know lock up their carry gun full loaded and chambered at the end of the day.

      But if you are among the minority who have reason to unload and load the P938 often, especially if you do so outside your home, as you may have to do in some jurisdictions due to a combination of laws and prohibited places, the p938 known malfunction is a problem. EG I am in a a jurisdiction that requires me to unload the gun outside my home a few times a week. If I get on subway or metro bus in my jurisdiction I can possess but can not “carry” meaning I can put gun in a locked section of my backpack or briefcase and ammo separately. if I am going into a building with any educational office or school including a daycare, or federal or state office in the building, I have to leave gun in car but it must be unloaded. So when unloading, the 1/10 times a round will get pulled out of the mag on the 938 means I am chasing two rounds on the floor of my car, the normally unchambered round, AND the round that gets pulled out of the mag, and when loading, the 1/10 of the time that I lose the top round in mag when ejecting mag makes the p938 idiosyncratic dropped round more of a hassle.

      • Dropping the round when ejecting the mag is not really a malfunction. More of a function of the design requiring it to have a very strong spring and steep angle for the bullet nose at the top of the mag. Just how it has to be with the short slide and short cycle time. You just can’t have it work reliably with that steep of an angle and go feed fast enough without the top round sticking out like that and thus it falls free when ejecting the mag. I agree it is annoying. 5 plus years and it still annoys me.

  9. My nephew carried that handgun and shot well with it. He uploaded to a Sig in 9 so he and his wife would use the same ammo. She carries a Kimber 1911 in 9. Love the wallet, though!

  10. G19 here. With a Vedder IWB holster.
    Appendix carry. Yeah, yeah, I know.
    Going to try and hit the range this weekend. Check my motor skills.
    Do some “shoot one, load one drills”.

  11. “… plus one if you take the time to chamber one and top off the magazine.”

    Ummm… why would you do it that way? With every semi-auto I have I drop one into the chamber, drop the slide and then insert the magazine.

    Why the heck would you insert the mag, rack the slide, eject the mag and then top it off and reinsert it? That’s unnecessary extra work.

    Also, what’s with loads of people carrying an expensive gun and a cheap flashlight?

    • It probably depends on the gun, I used to drop one in the tube and close the slide on my 1911 but somebody said I’d eventually break the extractor doing that. On the pistols I’ve got with external extractors I still drop one in the spout then load the magazine in the gun. There’s always something, some guys are still arguing about the slide release being a release or slide lock, At least we’ve got the clipazine figured out.

    • strych,
      you do force the extractor over the case when you drop the slide on a chambered round. this may be fine on robust designs, i’ve been warned not to do it on some older pistols (cz52, pa63, early p35’s). not sure if it’s an internal/ external extractor design issue but if you check your brass there will be a nick.
      weird thing with 938’s is the loose round that pops out of the mag when ejected some times.
      i have yet to modify a 290 mag to take advantage of an extra round.

    • The original California LC9 and the S&W Shield have huge loaded chamber indicator that prevents single loading except from the magazine. Makes it a bear with the S&W if you unload and clear, as I always need a loader to get the last round in the magazine.

    • With every semi-auto I have I drop one into the chamber, drop the slide and then insert the magazine.
      Why the heck would you insert the mag, rack the slide, eject the mag and then top it off and reinsert it? That’s unnecessary extra work.

      Because in a lot of guns, especially small guns like 938, you can jam it or damage it by locking back and dropping in a round from above. That is why your method is never recommended.

  12. The first revolver I carried was an RG .22, then a .38 derringer, then a .22 Ruger Mark1,t hen a .45 SA then a .380. then a .357, then a .9 then a .25,:then a .7.62×25, then a .44 mag, then a 9×18 now it’s .45 1911 . So I’ve jumped all over the place looking for the perfect gun. When I EDC one hand gun it’s usually that tt33, it lacks a lot of the frills, can’t be carried cocked and locked but it’s size per power ratio is what I like. When I pack more heat it’s the 1911, the .25 and the tt33. .

  13. 75 compact strikes a good conceal/ cap balance.
    but a 938 comes along nearly nine months of the year.

  14. The 938 is my go-to carry gun these days, as I’m mostly restricted to pocket carry and it’s the only 9mm I’ve tried that doesn’t print too badly to use. If I’m going IWB I’ll usually go with a G26 or G30. Flush mag in the gun, bigger mag in the pocket. I actively avoid carrying the 938 IWB as the beavertail gets really uncomfortable when you have to sit or bend.

  15. This is my carry gun and I’ve never once felt like I don’t have enough capacity. That’s entirely subjective.

    I carry with the flush mag mostly because I am a firm believer in keeping small guns small.

    It’s the gun I can carry and shoot confidently and comfortably. I do have a compact 320 and had a glock 19 both of those required winter wear for me to conceal them and they were not something I wanted to carry all my upright hours. I’ve got a 365 now but I’ve got less than 400 rounds through it and am not confident in my skills enough to swap it out yet.

    As far as accuracy with a 938, if you take the time and put in the rounds it’s a fantastic shooter. I can put five rounds in five seconds in a playing card from 9-10 yrds no problem. I’d venture anyone that puts 700+ rounds in should be able to as well.

  16. I’ve personally carried all day er day for 7 years and I have yet to need ANY gun. Turns out, avoiding stupid people doing stupid things in stupid places is actually a thing. My gun is the ONLY thing I carry that I don’t use multiple times a day.

    So for me, smaller is better. Drop a pistol in the pocket when I wake up, and put it away when I go to bed. I can place shots at 25 yards with my pocket rocket because I’ve practiced with what I carry. It’s super easy to add a second gun as my perceived threat level rises. (Night at the movies, traveling, etc.)

    That’s how I role anyway. And I love those sigs. Sweet looking and shooting guns. I went with an LC9s because that’s what my wife carries so now we both have the same gun and can share mags etc. if need be. (LC9 is my second gun. Only carried about once a week on body. Stays in a backpack in the truck most of the time.)

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