Type

SIG PRO 2340 - KSC

You do not see many SIG PROs around, although it has been one of KSC's mainstays, in different versions, for some years.

A recent trip to France saw my interest rekindled in the model, as the French Police are standardising on the SIG PRO2022, which is almost the same as this gun, except sporting the currently popular rail, for fitting torches and lasers.

Modern, polymer framed SIG PRO

I got this gun in a trade for a WA Beretta Elite 2 and it came with a metal slide, 3 magazines and a complete outer shell for a standard plastic gun (slide, barrel and frame, plus some inner workings).

In the Box

This is an old KSC gun, so the box is not as stylish as the more recent guns, like the S&W M945 and the Beretta M93R II.

Bolero jacket anyone? Did Crockett & Tubbs use SIGPROs?

The box lid looks positively 1980s, almost wilfully retro, whilst the base is a simple, white, polystyrene bed with a space for the gun and another for accessories.

First Impressions

Looking at the standard gun's shell, the SIGPRO 2340 looks smart and well finished, but very shiny, like some of KSC's Glocks.

My working gun has a metal slide, which looks good, although someone has rather aggressively sanded the paint off and so it will need some fine sanding and a respray to look pristine again.

Bigger than a true compact, but smaller than a full size.

The gun, at least with the metal slide, feels pretty good when you lift it from the box. The grip design is very comfortable, the controls easy to reach and the gun feels nicely weighted.

Metal slided version adds to realistic feel and improves weight and balance.

The slide lock, trigger, hammer, sights and decocker (which works) are all metal and, of course, the real Sig PRO 2340 has a polymer frame, so the plastic frame is no problem.

Closer Look

The metal slide on my gun, although stripped of paint, is exactly the same in appearance to the standard plastic one.

There is a dovetailed in fore sight atop the slide's front and racking serrations at the rear.

Some people moan about slow cycling on the Mk23s, but this gun, with the metal slide is much, much slower. I can honestly say this is the first gun I've tried that I have felt is crying out for an upgraded recoil spring. I fitted the spring from a NBB Marushin Beretta 92F (of all things) and the action is much crisper now.

The outer barrel is nothing special, just a straight tube.

Realistic markings, as usual, on plastic and metal slides.

The gun is very modern looking, but feels familiar, unlike the P226, due to the location of the main controls, notably the slide lock.

Like the P226, the SIG PRO features a decocker mechanism, protruding from under the left side of the grip, which allows the single action hammer to be lowered and the gun returned to double action.

One piece grip and lip to magazine makes gun a pleasure to hold.

In keeping with the real gun, markings are sparse, but, as expected of KSC, well replicated.
On the left side, the slide is marked "SIG SP 2340" in an outline font, with just "Frame made of Synthetic resin" and the Sig logo on the frame.
On the right side, looking forward, the only markings are "40 S&W" on the chamber and "READ MANUAL"/"BEFORE USE" on the frame.

The one piece, wrap around grips are marked "sig pro", running bottom to top, on each side. There is a silver serial no plate under frame and the SIG logo (SIG in an oval) is also present on the mag baseplate.

Underside - SIG logo on mag plate. Grooves (for light?) under barrel section of frame.

There is no safety, except for a small lever that springs down from the rear of the trigger when you press on a tiny button near the top of the trigger. This is a nightmare to put back into place, so be careful of it dropping into place out on the field. This appears to be a KSC addition, probably applied to meet similar rules as the TM springers conform to.

The trigger itself is metal and works double action on the first shot, or after decocking. The face of the trigger is smooth, but the sweeping curve ensures a secure grip.

Fiddly trigger safety.

The grips are interesting as they are a one piece unit that wraps around the back of the frame, rather than, as with Glocks or H&K polymer framed guns, being moulded into the frame. They are extremely comfortable, although made of hard plastic, and the overall feel and balance of my metal slided gun is very good, something the real SIG PRO earns praise for, too. They are quite similar in style to those seen on S&W automatics.

Smaller than a Beretta 92FS or Glock 17.

The magazines are good, too. They are nicely marked, with SIG PRO markings, but the best feature is the small lip on the bottom leading edge which lets an extra finger fit comfortable, making the whole hand fit the quite short grip without problem.

Mechanism accurately reproduced visually and functionally.

The decocker is in the usual place for a SIG, above and behind the trigger on the left side, meaning it's difficult for a leftie to use. It suffers, like the 226, from being roughly where the slide lock is on a 1911 or Beretta. On the 226, I am forever trying to release the slide, but pressing the decocker. At least on the SIG PRO, the slide lock is more traditional in size and location, so that it is easy to find with the left trigger finger if you are left handed.

I found the SIG PRO a very handle-able gun, with good balance and pointability. I prefered it to the 226 in those respects, although, I suspect a right-hander would find the 226 much easier to use than I do.

Shooting Impressions

Target
Click on image for bigger version in separate window.

Carrying out my standard 5m/6 round, off hand test, my best 5 grouping was 57mm (2.25 inches) across. Not great, but on a par with results I have achieved from KSC Glocks with a similar barrel length and the same hop-up design.

As you can see I actually tried a set with no foresight (It didn't work...), but, with the foreblade fitted, 4 of the 6 shots are tightly grouped, right at the aimpoint, with the final shots straying off to prevent an excellent grouping. With the sight firmly secured, I expect sub 30mm groupings to be possible.

Over 10 shots, the SIG PRO averaged only 200 fps (using Duster gas) indoors (at 23C).

Shot      FPS
1 187.1
2 228.4
3 243.8
4 207.7
5 176.3
6 190.2
7 191.6
8 201.7
9 189.9
10 188.5

Other shots with Propane were in the 260fps range, pretty much where you would expect from a gun shooting 200 on duster gas, but pretty disappointing by comparison with most currently available GBBs.

I had quite a few problems with this gun using stronger gasses. It seems quite happy, although not too powerful, shooting 134a gas, but it frequently refuses to fire at all with Propane or Abbey Ultra. The slight hiccough of the slide suggest that the hammer is light striking, but I did encounter the blowback cylinder seal issue seen by others on more than one occasion. TumerBoy on AirsoftPlayers and Arnie's posted the following explanation of the problem and a fix.

TumerBoy's SIGPRO Green Gas fix.

I have not actually applied the fix and, with use, the gun seems much more reliable on Propane now, although it seems to need a little encouragement to fire off the first shots, in the form of manually racking the slide.

Trigger pull was 1075g (39 Oz), which is a medium-heavy weight pull for a GBB.

Take Down

SIG PRO take down is very simple and will be familiar to many airsofters.

Take down fairly traditional.

With the magazine removed, the slide can be moved back until the disassembly notch in the slide aligns with the frontmost part of the slide lock. The slide lock should be withdrawn from the frame and then the slide and barrel assembly slid forward off the frame.

With the slide off the the barrel and recoil rod and spring can be removed and the two parts separated.

Conclusions

Overall, the SIG PRO's a mixed bag.

As expected of KSC, replication is good, but the standard (non-HW material) gun is rather light and plasticky.

With the metal slide, the weight is improved, but the standard recoil spring cannot cope with the heavier slide and the cycle is lethargic.

Nice gun, but metal slide needs uprated recoil spring.

If you can find a metal slided gun, and get an enhanced recoil spring, I would recommend the the SIG PRO 2340 for its compact size, decent accuracy, acceptable (just, if not great) power and the good finish.

Alternatively, you could hunt out the more recently available 2009 in heavyweight form and hope the cycle speed is more acceptable.

Weight : 775g with metal slide (275g Magazine)

Realism : ****
Quality : ****
Power : ***
Accuracy : ***/****

Real Steel link at World Guns


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