Why one should have two of the same pistol

[blume357]

I have a Sig P239 in a holster sewed into the canvas shoulder bag I carry when walking my dogs... have not shot the pistol in well over a year, it is always in this bag along with the poop bags and a few other items. Took it with me to the beach this past month and the bag hung on the screen porch facing the ocean and so two days ago I decided it might be a good idea to clean and oil the pistol.
I did this and then when I put it back together it would not trip the hammer in single action as in cocking it by racking the slide. The hammer would work in double action but did not seem right.... I could not figure it out... took the grip off and messed with it for a while, finally got another P239 and looked at it... after 30 minutes or so gave it a rest... came back yesterday morning and spent another 20-30 minutes trying to diagnose the problem... then I put the slide from the other pistol on and discovered it worked fine but in switching the slide on the 'dog bag pistol' was the problem... still could not figure it out... finally yesterday afternoon I started examining the two slides again... and finally saw the difference and the issue... I never knew what this little indented disc was in the back underside of the slide that sits beside the firing pin... in looking at the pistol's diagram it is called the safety lock and I presume it keeps the firing pin from moving forward unless the trigger is pulled. It seems to have some little spring above it that allows it to move up and down and the one on the dog bag pistol was seized up and would not move. I sprayed it and sprayed it and finally took a right angle pick tool and was able to get it to move and with a lot of WD40 and CLP I finally flushed it out and got it free..... In spending years cleaning and lubing these pistols I never have thought about this little part.
My point is the saving grace was having two of the same to compare ...(I actually have more than two).

 

[Mobuck]

Yeah, 'stuff' like that happens. Not long ago, I was loading some so called 'hybrid' bullets that had a max velocity limit. Doing the chrono testing, I figured why not use one of the seldom used/handled P95's. While it didn't fail, it certainly wasn't working properly so I blew the dust out and gave it a spritz of CLP. I did the testing and put it back in the cabinet---good to go for another ?? of sitting in a drawer.
I'm waiting to see how long it takes for someone to sign in with a remark about your use of 'WD-40' on a firearm

 

[blume357]

The reason I used the WD 40 was it had the tube on the can and also greater pressure... as I sprayed into the area after getting the disc lock loose the oil coming out was brown.... once I got it clear I then followed up with the CLP... I think the real concern with the WD is that it will over time thicken up. I'm not worried about it messing up the primers on the rounds,,, I don't spray my bullets with it or the CLP.

 

[Mobuck]

Oh, I'm not gouging about the use of WD40 but I expect someone will.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

I have been using WD40 on my guns forever.
I have never had a single problem because of it.

 

[jav]

Good that you found the problem and it's good to know this

 

[blume357]

My real point was the reason I could finally, I am a little slow at times, deduce the problem was because I had another gun exactly like it... by putting matching slide on the gun I then determined it had to be something with the slide... the issue in my brain was there is very little moving parts on the slide besides the barrel, firing pin and ejector. Other than removing the barrel and recoil spring and rod, I have never tried to disassemble any of the other items.... and other than dabbing at the pats with a brush and such I really don't mess the slide much other than whipping it off and greasing the rails.... this little part was a mystery to me until now. I knew there was some kind of safety feature to keep the firing pin from moving forward if the gun was dropped but did not know how it worked until now.... this is all good news, the bad news is now I need to clean and lube the firing pin safeties on my other Sig P guns like this.....

 

[the_leper_colony]

Kind of similar benefits, if you get addicted to putting guns together from piles of parts, and do several dozen of the same kind (obviously a lot cheaper to just buy two of the same kind)...

 

[Daryl Licht]

There's a larger point here. You were carrying a gun for protection that didn't work. I carry IWB and the gun just gets nasty from fuzz and lint from being inside my pants and covered by a shirt, so every week or two whatever I've been carrying gets cleared, stripped, cleaned and lubed. Another practice is that now and then I'll take the gun out and shoot it just to make sure it will work in that condition. This could have been bad, had you really needed that pistol.

 

[roylt]

P-guns have the firing pin block too. Better check all the P95s you have....
I bet most guns have this part but a normal field strip and clean does not address this completely. I really should get in my safe sometime and see if I have a pile of rust or treasures still.

 

[blume357]

There's a larger point here. You were carrying a gun for protection that didn't work. I carry IWB and the gun just gets nasty from fuzz and lint from being inside my pants and covered by a shirt, so every week or two whatever I've been carrying gets cleared, stripped, cleaned and lubed. Another practice is that now and then I'll take the gun out and shoot it just to make sure it will work in that condition. This could have been bad, had you really needed that pistol.

Absolutely, that was part of what distressed me about it not working more than me spending a day trying to figure it out. I'll go ahead and say this because y'all are my friends... I have 9 Sig P239s! In my opinion it is probably the 2nd best handgun Sig ever made just behind the P226 which by the way is according to Sid the Combat handgun all others are compared to. I have a few of those too and the nice thing is other than the P239 being single stack the workings are all the same between the two.

As for your point... I actually set up a system for cleaning and 'proving' these pistols last year but then other items in life got in the say... mainly a little wind came through called Helene... which we are still in the midst of dealing with.... but I so need to do that for sure..... get to my pistol club and start proving them again.... I actually added that feature to my data base....

 

[XUSNORDIE]

In my opinion it is probably the 2nd best handgun Sig ever made just behind the P226 which by the way is according to Sid the Combat handgun all others are compared to

My P226 is probably the smoothest of my pistols. I would love to find a older NCIS issued M11 that was replaced by the P239/P229, which were replaced with the P228. Hopefully some of the older NCIS Sig contract guns will be more available in the future. I'd like to have both in my collection.

But I'm not holding my breath.....

 

[RoninPA]

I would recommend taking the slide apart and removing the safety stop and cleaning it completely with steel wool, emery cloth, whatever and then thoroughly cleaning the hole that it goes in to make sure you have all the corrosion gone. Then reassemble and put a drop of lube on it. It you don't take it apart it is very possible that just by spraying/working it up and down, that not every part of it is completely clean.

 

[blume357]

The only problem with that Ron is I can't figure out how to get the dern thing apart.... I did hit on the one pin on the slide with a punch but it would not budge... I guess I'll have to find a YouTube video.

 

[Daryl Licht]

Absolutely, that was part of what distressed me about it not working more than me spending a day trying to figure it out. I'll go ahead and say this because y'all are my friends... I have 9 Sig P239s! In my opinion it is probably the 2nd best handgun Sig ever made just behind the P226 which by the way is according to Sid the Combat handgun all others are compared to. I have a few of those too and the nice thing is other than the P239 being single stack the workings are all the same between the two.

As for your point... I actually set up a system for cleaning and 'proving' these pistols last year but then other items in life got in the say... mainly a little wind came through called Helene... which we are still in the midst of dealing with.... but I so need to do that for sure..... get to my pistol club and start proving them again.... I actually added that feature to my data base....

My apologies if I came across as condescending there. A while back I was at the range with an old friend who has pocket carried a LCP for years. He used to shoot it a lot and had come to trust it, but he went several months without shooting it and decided to have a go with it. It looked pretty nasty, and wouldn't even go bang on the first shot. That just reinforced my need to make sure my carry pieces are maintained.

At one time I wanted a P239 in .357, I love that round. Sig has made some great pistols over the years. I have a P6, a P220, a SP2340, and even a Mosquito that works, though it took a while to figure out how to get it there.

 

[NikA]

The only problem with that Ron is I can't figure out how to get the dern thing apart.... I did hit on the one pin on the slide with a punch but it would not budge... I guess I'll have to find a YouTube video.

Off the top of my head, FP blocks are usually retained by the firing pin itself, so the correct disassembly procedure is usually to pull the FP retainer, remove the firing pin, then pull out any FP block hardware. I cannot think of a FP block system that does not work that way.

 

[Hvymax]

Goes to show that you need to detail strip, clean and lube your carry guns regularly even if you don't shoot them.

 

[blume357]

My apologies if I came across as condescending there. A while back I was at the range with an old friend who has pocket carried a LCP for years. He used to shoot it a lot and had come to trust it, but he went several months without shooting it and decided to have a go with it. It looked pretty nasty, and wouldn't even go bang on the first shot. That just reinforced my need to make sure my carry pieces are maintained.

At one time I wanted a P239 in .357, I love that round. Sig has made some great pistols over the years. I have a P6, a P220, a SP2340, and even a Mosquito that works, though it took a while to figure out how to get it there.

I didn't see it that way at all, you were just pointing out the obvious. One of the really interesting benefits of the now defunct Sig P239 if if you have one in 357 Sig, original, then you can shoot 9mm or 40 cal in one with only a barrel change, well magazine change for the 40 cal. but 357 sigs work find in a 40 cal magazine on the pistol. And yes, you don't even have to change the recoil spring. In most guns there is a problem with the ejector and this caliber switch but for some reason not with this pistol. The point being I carry with the pistol chambered in 357 Sig but usually practice with 9mm and all I have to do is put a 9mm barrel in. And to do this is simple... I just timed it taking my time and it took 29 seconds.....

 

[Hvymax]

The only problem with that Ron is I can't figure out how to get the dern thing apart.... I did hit on the one pin on the slide with a punch but it would not budge... I guess I'll have to find a YouTube video.

You have 9 of them and don't know how to strip for proper cleaning

 

[RoninPA]

As NikA said, it's not hard to do. Drive the firing pin retaining pin out, remove the firing pin and firing pin spring, then remove the safety lock and the safety lock spring. Really not hard to do.

You can look at the IPB here: https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/sig-sauer/auto-pistols-sig/239-sig

For those who don't know: IPB = Illustrated Parts Breakdown