Sig Sauer P290rs---Opinions and Advice

[THOR_55]

In my search for an EDC weapon I've come across this little pistol. Love the idea of a small 9mm for pocket/iwb carry. Fell in love with the S&W Shield when it came out but as you all know they are impossible to get right now without paying through the roof for it, which I refuse to do! Anyone with experience with a P290 I'd like hear about it, I have no experience with Sig's but they carry a good reputation! Thanks

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[mwhartman]

My youngest son has a P290 Two-Tone with a laser P290 Two-Tone Laser

I've not had an opportunity to shoot it but he says it is a dream to shoot.

[gtn]

I have had mine for a month or so. Got it for a pocket gun. Size is right but its a little heavy. It shoots real nice.

[THOR_55]

I've handled it several times now and I love the way it feels in my hand including the weight...would like to shoot before I buy but unfortunately the only shop that has rentals on site doesn't have one, of course.

[hoover39]

Bought my daughter one as her off duty weapon. Shoots real nice. Had issues with 147 gr hollow points. Did not like to feed the first round on a full mag. We've put 250 rounds through it. Other than that first round issue nothing else has popped up. Pretty accurate little pistol. For the money however I love my XDs better. About the same size but shoots 45acp.

[tomhuskey]

Just got one with laser, two mags, and trijicon sights for $499. It's my favorite CCW now.

[mobenzowner]

They had some issues when first released, but later versions (the "RS") seems to be a super nice piece. I have had zero issues with mine and its an accurate easy to shoot gun for its size. I really like mine, it is the diamond plated version.

[Glockwatcher]

Here’s what I wrote on another thread soliciting advice concerning the SIG P290 v. the Beretta Nano:

”My advice is to hold off a while as both these models [SIG P290 and Beretta Nano] have had teething problems, but they do have potential.
Among others, I have recently auditioned the SIG P290 and Beretta Nano since retiring as a Fed. Both were returned to the manufacturer twice, yet still had issues remaining so I divested myself of them. I still depend on the .40 Glock 23/27 and .38 S&W 640/649 I used on duty.

The SIG was packaged with an undependable, awkward laser and an equally awkward plastic paddle holster that was useless for concealed carry. Two magazines were packaged with the pistol, including an extended one which also extended the grip profile of the pistol, making that magazine awkward to carry as a spare. The original (non-restrike) trigger frequently failed to reset. Magazines would frequently unseat under recoil, especially the extended one. I have been shooting numerous semiautomatic pistols since the late 1960’s including WWII military 1911A1’s and never had this occur. On the positive side, the standard tritium night sights were excellent.

The first trip back to SIGARMS upgraded the trigger to a dependable restrike-capable mechanism and modified the magazine release to a lower profile, which brought my P290 up to P290RS configuration (the earliest P290’s cannot be so modified), Nonetheless, the magazines continued to disengage under recoil. This happened with all three of my standard magazines and, most frequently, with the extended one. Another trip to SIGARMS failed to correct this, so I divested myself of it but would recommend the P290 (without the cheapo laser and holster) once I’m assured this magazine release issue is finally resolved.

My experience with the Beretta Nano was marred with extraction issues. Two trips back to Beretta failed to solve this. This malfunction is especially difficult to quickly address due to the Nano’s lack of an external slide lock release and the awkward and flimsy magazine flooplate design. This interferes with easy magazine removal, and unnecessarily makes spare magazines a bit more difficult to carry concealed. I won't be reconsidering the Nano unless these issues are addressed.

As an aside, my worst experience, by far, was with the similar Kahr pistol (and its factory-provided replacement) but that’s beyond the scope of this thread.

All three pistols were auditioned with over 1000 rounds of quality ammunition each, so break-in was not an issue.”

Since then, I’ve acquired a new P290 RS at about the same price as the previous example (this time packaged without the cheapo laser but with the same cheesy holster as before) and have put a hundred rounds of Winchester Ranger 147gr. bonded hollowpoints through it without a single issue. Next, I’ll be testing four additional magazines to see if they function dependably. There still seems to be a very limited selection of practical ready-made holsters for this weapon.

I must add I’m quite disappointed in how SIGARMS handled the original defects in this product’s design, trying to sell off the earlier versions with a faulty trigger mechanism and then charging the consumer (about $140 including shipping) to update it. This is not the same company I knew well in the 1990’s. Nonetheless, barring the unlikely introduction by Glock of a similarly-sized single-stack 9mm this may prove to be the best choice available.

Maybe I should follow my own advice, but it seems those weapons currently at the cutting edge of compactness for their caliber (9mm and .380 in particular) are not yet quite mature in their development, and you'd be better off with something slightly larger, and more proven, like a Glock 26/27, or S&W M&P series.

[THOR_55]

Bought my daughter one as her off duty weapon. Shoots real nice. Had issues with 147 gr hollow points. Did not like to feed the first round on a full mag. We've put 250 rounds through it. Other than that first round issue nothing else has popped up. Pretty accurate little pistol. For the money however I love my XDs better. About the same size but shoots 45acp.

Funny you mention the XDS because that is 2nd on my list to get, like the idea of having something a little bigger to carry in colder weather or when 1 gun may not be enough...

[THOR_55]

Excellent points Glockwatcher! Started my search with the Nano, but way too many FTE horror stories that are difficult to overcome without the slide lock. Mentioning the Kahr actually helps me because I've also considered the CM9. Perhaps a M&P 9c or an Xds may do the job for a while, just trying to keep the upcoming warm weather months in mind. With cargo shorts and tank tops in my near future, pocket carry seems to be the most viable option.

[10thmtn]

I've BT and DT (pocket 9's).

Do yourself a HUGE favor, and just get a light weight .38 revolver. The LCR gets my vote.

[Glockwatcher]

I've BT and DT (pocket 9's).

Do yourself a HUGE favor, and just get a light weight .38 revolver...

+1

I think that's the bottom line.
I'm keeping mine...our more correctly...we're keeping ours!

S&W J.jpg

[THOR_55]

Do yourself a HUGE favor, and just get a light weight .38 revolver. The LCR gets my vote.[/QUOTE]

No problems with the wheel printing in your pocket?

[10thmtn]

The curved grip of the revolver seems to blend in better than the straight angles of a pocketed pistol. I bought a Desantis Superfly for my LCR, intending to use the anti-print panel, but I quickly discarded it as unnecessary. What I'm left with is essentially the Nemesis pocket holster.

With my semi-autos, I find that I do indeed need a pocket holster with an anti-print panel to hide the shape. Not so much with the revolver.

[lnferno]

Bought my daughter one as her off duty weapon. Shoots real nice. Had issues with 147 gr hollow points. Did not like to feed the first round on a full mag. We've put 250 rounds through it. Other than that first round issue nothing else has popped up. Pretty accurate little pistol. For the money however I love my XDs better. About the same size but shoots 45acp.

I've been looking for an XDs for a LONG time and just haven't had any luck finding one. About a month ago, I gave up hope and decided to get a Sig P290RS instead. The background check took a week to come back. Once they called to have me pick up the 290, I headed into the store, I looked in the case and low and behold, they had a two tone XDs! Needless to day, I got that instead of the P290 and am very happy with my choice.