SIG Sauer Ammo

By Jeff John

In the Great ObamaScares I & II, ammo of all sorts became scarce, and ammo for marginally popular arms disappeared—and is still quite scarce. The .38 Super is one which fell victim, and although it is a caliber I’ve long handloaded for, I prefer factory ammo for defense. There never was a huge selection to begin with, and what there was vanished, although it’s just recently coming back. So when I got the chance to try SIG’s new Super loads, I oiled up my Colt Commander Lightweight and older Gov’t Model, both of which had seen little action over the past few years.

The Lightweight Commander has been barely broken in, having just a few boxes through it. From clean, oiled guns, no malfunctions occurred from the FMJ ammo. After shooting the first 250+ combined rounds, there was a single slow-to-feed round with the JHP’s during the chronographing of each gun. But a tap on the slide seated the rounds.

I shot both over a rest at 25 yards first, then wandered off to a little shooting area on BLM desert land north of the range to chronograph the ammo and plink a bit. The loads are a 125-grain full metal jacket and jacketed hollowpoint. Both are designed to shoot very close to the same point of aim. Although the FMJ was a bit faster than the JHP in both guns, both loads shot to the same place in both guns. The Commander was good for elevation, and the old Gov’t Model shot much higher (the original sights were filed for another set of eyes long ago).

The .38 Super Lightweight Commander was very controllable with
the JHP round, which features a large cavity to aid expansion.
The low-flash powder characteristics were evident.

The bone-stock Colt Lightweight Commander delivered the best accuracy
at 25 yards. The right hand target is a 5-shot group. There are two
holes in the one at the farthest right.

An older re-blued Government Model shot high (the sights had been filed
some time ago) and delivered useful accuracy. The JHP’s in both
instances shot better than the FMJ load.

SIG calls the JHP a “stacked hollowpoint design with additional hollowpoint cavity,” which appears as a small dot in the nose. The jacket has “V-shaped skives” so the petals open up in a predictable fashion, and a “toothed cannelure” is provided to ensure weight retention and “terminal expansion.”

With both guns, the JHP ammo ejected into a little puddle, keeping all the empties in one spot. This occurred in the desert of course. At the range the concrete pad launched the ejected brass on journeys to new destinations, some never to be found again. The .38 Super +P V-Crown retails for $22.78 p/box of 20 and the FMJ for $33.22 p/box of 50. Both loads are reasonably priced, and give Super owners a solid choice in ammo for training and defense. SIG covers a broad spectrum of calibers now for selfloaders—from .380 ACP to .45 ACP, and revolvers from .38 Special to .45 Colt.

SIG SAUER
18 Industrial Drive
Exeter, NH 03833
(603) 772-2302
https://gunsmagazine.com/company/sig-sauer-inc/

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