Usually, when a firearms manufacturer offers a new model, it takes it a bit slowly. The new model will be introduced and fine-tuned as production progresses. Then, in due time, a newer variant of the model will be offered, then later, another. That's if the model is popular. If it isn't, the follow-on variant is left on the drawing board and the manufacturer moves on to the next promising model in the pipeline.

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Occasionally, you'll see a new model introduced with a smaller, more compact variant for those who want the features of the new firearm but need a smaller, easier-carrying package.

Rarely do makers vary from that plan, because business is risky enough without piling on extras.

1. Heavy Duty 2. Equinox 3. Tactical Laser 4. Nitron Rosewood 5. Two-Tone Blackwood 6. Rainbow Titanium

Well, not so with the SIG P238. Wildly successful, SIG could have done what a lot of other makers do and just settle in making the one model everyone wants until someone come out with something newer and steals some thunder. Rather than wait, SIG decided to make it all the more difficult for someone to top its offering, and so we have the SIG Six Pack- six variations of the popular P238.

First things first: No, you don't have to buy all six as a package. As appealing as that may be, it's a bigger cash outlay than most of us are prepared to entertain. But what's in the Six Pack?

First up, the Heavy Duty. You might scoff, "A heavy-duty .380?" Well, don't. The P238 HD is an all-stainless pistol with G10 grips. Being stainless, it can be carried in places you might not want us to know about and not worry about rust. And because it's all stainless, you can practice until you've consumed all of the .380 ammo available in three counties and not risk wearing it out.


Next is the Tactical Laser, which features a laser unit attached to the frame in front of the triggerguard. The pistol frame is aluminum, as are the grips and the slide and controls are stainless, so even if you scrape the surface ugly after years of carry, the slide will still resist corrosion. The laser has dual buttons, one on either side, so you can use either hand to turn it on and off.

On the Equinox, the front Nightsight is encased in a longer-than-normal blade.

If you don't need heavy-duty weight and lasers aren't your thing, the Equinox is a stylish little blaster. The slide and controls are stainless, but the slide has had the company's Nitron finish applied and blackened, then the black oxide finish is buffed off the slide flats (still leaving the Nitron finish there, however). The P238 Equinox matches the Equinox models of its bigger brothers in the SIG line, so if you have an Equinox in 9mm or .40, you now have a matching backup. (Hey, to some of us, matching guns are a big deal.) The SigLite Nightsights are encased in a longer-than-normal front sight blade, an interesting approach that works fine for me.

For a definitely low-profile, classy gun, you go with the P238 Nitron Rosewood. Here, the slide and controls are left all black after the Nitron and oxide treatments, the anodized aluminum frame is done up in black, and the grips are rosewood because, well, gentlemen who prefer wood grips prefer good ones, not a chunk of lumber ripped off the packing crate the barrel steel came in.

Those looking for something a little flashier can go with the P238 Two-Tone Blackwood. Here, the slide is left stainless, as are the controls. The aluminum frame is anodized flat black, and the grips are black-stained wood.

Finally, for those who insist on the maximum flash and attention-grabbing looks, there is the P238 Rainbow Titanium. The anodized aluminum frame is
matched up with rosewood grips, but the stainless parts-the slide and controls are treated to a SIG Rainbow Titanium finish. What is this? I'm not really sure. as SIG is reluctant to disclose the technical details. It is applied via the PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) process. However, exactly what is deposited and how, and how it makes all those refracted colors, is something SIG does not want to reveal. (I mean, is it a magnetron-sputtering process, or do they use cathodic arc evaporation or pulsed laser ablation? No one will say.) However, the overall color is sort of a lavender/purple, and it shifts to red, orange, turquoise and other colors I can't name as you move it in the light.

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When I saw the Rainbow Titanium P238, I had a sudden realization: I'm an old fart. Blue, stainless, Parkerizing, even some of the bolder colors of baked-on finishes I can get behind. But this just isn't me. Don't let that stop you or your significant other from glomming onto one as quickly as possible. But you won't have to worry about me depleting the supply of this particular model.

I hurried off to the range with this embarrassment of riches and did my best. First of all, I didn't have enough .380 ammo on hand to give all of them a thorough wringing-out. I'm not sure anyone does these days, unless they work in the test-fire bay of an ammunition manufacturer. Ammo in .380 is kind of hard to come by due to the demand for ammunition of all kinds. And after all, these are SIG pistols. What are the chances that any of them would malfunction, no matter how much ammunition I put through them? So I didn't even try to do any volume shooting. I simply had a hand at accuracy testing and got a feel for how they shot.

The P238's Commander-style hammer and tang make for a non-biting combination, a feature that will be greatly appreciated by large-handed shooters.

The first thing I have to tell you is that the small increase in weight from the all-stainless to the other models makes a big difference in shooting. It's a net increase of only five ounces, but when you're pulling the trigger on a robust (OK, as robust as it gets) .380 Auto load, those five ounces can make a difference. So a pair of P238’s -one lightweight for carry and one HD for practice- makes sense.

Also, the company is rigorous about details. One of the Six Pack sent to me was a show gun, inspected and included so I'd have the full panoply of pistols in one package. The standard procedure is that any pistol that has left SIG and returns is a used pistol. Therefore, it arrived here with a "used" label on the end of the box, despite probably never having had a round fired in it between manufacturing and arriving here at Gun Abuse Central. Attention to detail like that should be noted and praised.


I was impressed with the consistency of the trigger pulls from model to model and between the aluminum- and stainless-frame pistols. They were all clean and crisp and heavy enough that they are proper carry guns and not target-shooting range queens. They also worked flawlessly with all the ammo I had, in all the models. I'm an inveterate grip-wringer. I choke up on the grip of a gun like there's no tomorrow, and as a result, there are models I simply cannot shoot. A PPK leaves dual tracks in my shooting hand.

A Browning Hi-Power draws blood. The tang of the P238 is made for guys like me, as I haven't had any of them so much as nip me, let alone draw blood.

The petite dimensions of the P238 (left) contrast sharply with those of a 1911. Nevertheless, the little .380 has a broad sighting plane and easy-to-acquire sights.

As for the size and technical specs, they are all the same size, and they all have the same trigger-pull range, weight, etc. The only difference is between the Heavy Duty and the rest -the five ounces of extra weight I mentioned earlier. And the coatings, grips and such. And that laser. I fired them on a heavily overcast winter day, and the light was dead flat. The day was so dark I might as well have been indoors for all the light I had to work with, and I was surprised at how far out in the snow I could see the laser. Somewhere out at 15 yards or so, I'd lose the dot. Whether that was the light just overpowering it or the sharp angle I was at on the snow by then, I don't know. As cold as it gets here, there still aren't pressure ridges to use as a test bank.

Indoors or at night, that laser is going to be plenty bright enough for use as an impact indicator.

All six P238's exhibited good accuracy with a variety of premium defensive ammo. As always, some guns like some loads better than others, so find out what your likes and feed it that.

As for the accuracy each of them delivers, all firearms are individuals. I can report that they loved "X," and you can find that yours loves "Y." All of these shot plenty good enough for defensive work and would make even the 100-yard gongs worry (as if steel could worry). Find the ammo yours shoots best with, and use that. Buy premium defensive ammo for your own use, and shoot plain old FMJ for practice. But test and practice.

You now have an embarrassment of riches to select from if you're in the market for a compact .380 for defense. And who isn't these days?