Kender

I haven't bought a p290 yet, still doing research before wasting time on another pocket 9mm. I have owned a sig in the past, P226 9mm made in the late 90s, so I am used to them being a top notch weapon. While I don't own any sigs right now I have plans to correct that in the future.....even if the P290 doesn't make the cut I will still be looking at the P220 to fill the .45 slot in my safe.

My current pocket 9mm was purchased because I didn't have funds for the p290 at the time and the p290 was still just a couple months old and I wanted to let others work out the bugs. I did research on my 9mm but not enough because I have run across things that tell me I would only trust this thing as a drop gun. One of the issues leads me to asking this question of the p290.... For those that currently own one, or if you owned one and specifically remember testing this function. With a fully loaded magazine, both the 6 round and 8 round, if you slide in the full mag and then rack the slide to chamber the top round does the round slide up and in or does it nose dive into the feed ramp and jam? I would like to know if it does this with both the 6 and 8 round mags since there are other manufacturers that are fine one the 6 round but not the 7 round so you need to know what to avoid.....especially when the mags are $40 a pop. I also need to know what type of ammo you are chambering. Some models will feed target ammo fine but jam with hollow points due to the flat tip of the hollow point. Also if the P290 feeds everything fine does it still feed fine if you ease the slide forward or do you have to rip it at let it fly.

I never had a break in period on my P226 or any glocks that I have owned, what about the p290? I happen to believe that if the gun needs to be broken in then the manufacturer is screwing up/off somewhere. Think about it, if Apple or motorola told you that you needed to make 100 phone calls before your cell phone would dial the number you actually punched in or that after so many minutes usage the call volume would stop cutting out, we would all tell them where to stick their product. If I want a cheap gun with reliability issues then I'll go drop $100 on a hi-point, I'm here because I expect a quality product.

I understand that it's still a fairly new model and some kinks are still getting worked out but with the light primer strike issue being resolved and (hopefully soon) the new trigger mechanism that allows for second strike, I am fine with the p290.... well assuming that the questions asked above have good answers. I am kinda looking at the beretta nano but it's still way too new for my comfort and despite the good reviews on kahr I would much rather have this Sig. I have held one in the store and I like the feel, it fits my hand good. I also like the swapable grip panels because I am a woodworker and I think I could make some really nice form fitted panels out of some really exotic woods. I think maintaining a good grip would be a lot easier if you could swell out one grip panel on the palm side and add finger grooves on the other. This might allow for use of the 6 round mag instead of the 8 round mags. A real plus for those that can't fit the 8 round length in a pocket holstered p290.

Thanks for helping out the noobie.






oh, P.S.

at what serial number did they "fix" the light primer strike issue? If I get a used p290 I want to avoid the 1st edition.... in anticipation of the double strike trigger "upgrade"/update.

Thanks again
DJ

SyberSig

During my initial out of the box testing It fed several JHP without any problems including 115 Rem, 147gr Win Ranger SXT, Win, 147 W-W Subsonic, 124gr Gold Dot and Federal HS

Mine is one of the early problem ones- Born April 2011 and serial in the early 4000 range
I did get an upgraded trigger and it is really smooth. I also had issues with mags falling out during recoil - a new release and heavy spring _seems_ to have fixed that but only time will tell. I only loaded 5 of each type in the mag during testing.

Kender

Thanks for the response. I know Sig has a great rep, I kick myself all the time for selling my P226, and I really really want the P290 to uphold Sig's good name. When I held one in the gun shop it was an instant fit. It felt solid and not at all like a featherweight toy. The only fitment issue (and an unavoidable one in the micro 9mm world) was not being able to get all my fingers on the grip, luckily the 8 round mag takes care of that.

SyberSig- I know you said you only loaded 5 in the mag during testing but what about now? If you wouldn't mind could you top off a mag and then (with an empty chamber) cycle the slide to see how the round feeds. I know it's apples and oranges but go with me on this..... When I chamber a round in my Glock with a topped off mag it doesn't matter how I cycle the slide (assuming a full cycle of course). I can cycle it with a sharp release letting the slides full power chamber the round OR I can baby it and ride the slide so soft that you never hear the metal on metal contact through the entire cycle. To me this says that no matter how weak of a cycle I might get, through off hand shooting or interference with the slide during a struggle, the next round will chamber AND NOT JAM.

When I bought my current pocket 9mm I was eager (read-money burning hole in pocket ) to get a pocket pistol because I sold my .380 pocket pistol to trade up to a more powerful round. I carried the .380 every day so I didn't want to go without for too long. I wish I had just waited for the $$$ to get what I really wanted. Now, not only will I be out some of the money invested into the current 9mm (you never get back all that you put into it) but I am also overly critical of every possible kink in any of the new candidates...... to the point I fear I may lose my marbles before I actually by the darn thing. One very important lesson learned though.......Stay away from Krap Tastic pocket power or else you will just piss-tol away your money

Thanks again

SyberSig

Sorry I can't help at this time - mines not due back from sig for another week - seem like no matter how small the repair, you get it back in 2 weeks. So far I have had the gun 2 weekends and they have had it 4 weeks.

LeRI

I've had my P290 since August and have carried it every day after I test-fired it. Mine was manufactured in early April 2011 and has not had any problem of any kind.
When I initially test-fired it the day after I bought it I first tried firing with 6+1 in the chamber. It fired all 7 rounds with no problems. Then I tried the same while limp-wristing the thing as much as I could without the thing flying out of my hand--still no jam. Next I tried the same with carelessly-as-possible loading every round so it looked like it would nose-dive, and made sure that the first round to chamber was barely in the mag, still worked fine. I did this with about 200 rounds of ammunition ranging from 115 gr. WWB to Winchester NATO to 124 gr. +P Gold Dots and some other various ammo left over from my Kel-Tec P-11 nightmare. So far I after about 600 rounds I have not had one problem with it.
I might have gotten lucky with my specific gun the same way my brother got lucky with his Taurus Millennium Pro 9mm, but my P290 is a solid, well-made, accurate, and comfortable shooter. As it goes though, I have not tried the 8 round mags; I didn't get the gun for anything but complete concealability and reliability.
One thing that bothers me though is the mag release--it will accidentally be pushed unless you have a nice holster while carrying inside the waistband. I've found the High Noon Holsters Mr. Softy to work best for it.

Kender

Sounds like they may need to just suck it up and replace it with a new one and file it under the lemons.


Thanks to both of you for the input, I am still a little hesitant given there are still some issues but the fact that some of them are running like the Sig's should does make me feel better about them. Since it seems to be individual guns that have issues or are bullet proof it makes me think that at least the design is good just maybe a tolerance here or there that gets missed. Of all the micro 9's this one gives me the most confidence.....although I will keep an eye on the nano as a backup to the 290 assuming it doesn't flop. I think I will be pulling the trigger on one of these soon. I just need to sell my "leri's nightmare" and that'll bring the gun fund up enough that I can let Bud's send me one. I just can't get over how well it felt in my hands.

LeRI

Good luck on the future purchase Kender. And quality control is one of the annoying issues with all mechanical devices. SIGs, Kimber Solos, Kahrs, and Rohrbaughs all have a nasty lemon ever once in a while--and any machine is going to have unpleasant, annoying teething issues. It's why we have warranties.

I'm also curious as to whether you're going to buy the new true double action model or the original model with the slide-actuated hammer like mine. I'm pretty indifferent towards true double action trigger groups, second strike isn't on my defensive priorities, but it sounds pretty nifty nonetheless.