Howdy folks. I just picked up a new-in-the-box 2012 production P250sc in .380. Love the gun, both how it fits in the hand and the sweet trigger.
Unfortunately the guide rod didn't seem to love me back. I loaded up some very mild .380 rounds (95gr LRN from Missouri Bullets with 3.6gr of Unique, seated toward the long end of acceptable OAL), hung a steel target, and proceeded to break in my new pistol. A friend and I were actually patterning shotguns before that, so by the time we'd headed over to shoot the pistol, I got through only a few magazines before it became dark. I didn't notice anything amiss at the time, but back home, upon inspection I noticed that near the back end of the guide rod where it mushrooms out, the little head on it was almost completely cracked off. Yikes! I don't know what would have happened if it had busted completely. I had given the gun a once-over inspection and disassembly before taking it out to fire for the first time and it definitely had not been that way before shooting. Keep in mind, this gun was new in the box, still with the gray Sig label wrapped around the grip and the empty chamber indicator stuck into the chamber.
I called up Sig and told them as politely as I could what had happened, and also mentioned my mild surprise that the guide rod wasn't steel. The representative on the phone stated that normally the guide rod would be $4, but that he considered this a warranty matter, so he generously got my address and said he'd just send one out.
There are two problems with this: first, the guide rod from Sig is backordered, so I'll be waiting who knows how long to get it. And second, judging from the invoice I received later that day, it's going to be another plastic (or "polymer") one. I did at one point ask the Sig representative if there for sure wasn't a metal version of it, and he seemed clueless as to that possibility. After my first (and so far only) experience with the P250, I'm at a point where I would rather have a metal guide rod in there if possible. So, I went a-hunting through the vast expanse of knowledge, hearsay, and drivel that is the Internet and have come out thoroughly confused. It seems no matter which flavor of P250 we're talking about, someone on some forum somewhere has at some point claimed they received a metal guide rod in their gun from Sig, while others say their examples have plastic ones. To say nothing of recoil spring variations! But there isn't much documentation on the P250 SUBcompact in general online, and specifically with regard to guide rod dimensions. So, I've come here with three specific questions:
1) Are the dimensions of the P250 compact and subcompact guide rods the same?
If so, that would make things so much simpler because aftermarket COMPACT rods seem to be a dime a dozen. (I can't imagine they're identical, though, the compact must be longer.)
If not...
2) Do you know of anyone currently offering a metal guide rod
specifically made for the P250 SUBcompact in .380?
3) Is it possible to use a different Sig model firearm's guide rod in the P250sc successfully?
I've heard rumblings that Sig has even in some cases sent out P239 metal guide rods as replacements for P250 guns, but I have not been able to determine which size of P250 that was for. Since I don't own any other Sigs, I can't just take calipers and compare the two.
If anyone out there has a P239, would you mind measuring its guide rod? I've heard similar hearsay about using a rod from the P224 in the P250sc, but that seems less likely to me.
In conclusion, I've really taken a liking to the P250 subcompact and can't wait to get it up and running again. Hopefully there's someone out there who knows of a source for an indestructible adamantium guide rod, or at least a stainless steel one. Leave it to me to fubar a pistol on the very first outing with it!
