Hello,

So yesterday, I took my 17 year old daughter to gun range. She has shot my 9mm S&W M&P before a few times, but now I would like to get her own gun for house protection when I am not home. And we practice shooting twice a month for the 1-2 years until she is comfortable shooting. Then we moved to license carry permit in the next 1-2 year.

Yesterday, we rented and shot this gun :XD(R) MOD.2(R) 4" Service Model 9mm - Springfield Armory She liked it and was comfortable with it. She only wants a gun that is not too heavy and not too much recoil (she is kind of skinny and light frame body)

The cost of the Springfield is above my budget. And I kinda want to stick to S&W guns since I already own two (AR-15 and M&P 9mm)

So I looked online for a similar gun for her within my $300 budget and found this : Smith & Wesson SD9VE 9mm Pistol | Academy

Few questions:

1. I am not a gun expert, but will the Springfield and S&W SD9VE have about the same recoil. I see the S&W SD9VE does weigh less, so I am sure she will like that.

http://prntscr.com/jw2yub

2. Is there any reason for the high cost difference? Springfield cost is about $500 and S&W is about $300.

3. Is there any other comparisons I am missing between these two guns?

Thank you all kindly.

The Smith should recoil about the same as the Springfield, and I’ll bet she likes the grip better.

The Smith is an underrated gem. I have the .40 version and it has been flawless.

Good luck on your choice, but I would rather have the cheaper S&W than the more expensive Springfield.

Mini-Me was a fan of the earlier versions. The current version is a better gun.

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Thank you very much. Yes I am leaning towards the Smith&Wesson for her. Both have good reviews and weigh about the same.

The trigger pull for the S&W is 8lbs and the trigger pull for the Springfield is 5.6lbs, so that could be a difference.

Thank you Bob,

The trigger pull on the Springfield is Trigger: 5.6 lbs and the S&W trigger pull is about 8.5 lbs from what I read online.

That could be a big difference and accuracy issues.

First let me say, everything the previous guys said is spot on. Yes, I have one of these. And finally, there is a dedicated forum for these right here in the S&W Forum site with thread after thread of great information.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...sigma-pistols/

Now that were through with that.....

Answers to questions....
0. Decent price at Academy but if you search the web you can get them down in the 225-235 range on sale.

1. Yes

2. This gun and its brothers and sisters have been produced for a LONG time and have had a VERY successful run in the market. Tooling and manufacturing has a LOT to do with gun pricing. SD9, SD9VE, SIGMA's etc...
....and IM a relatively new shooter so I dont know all the historical facts related to each unit but others here do. I just know they are all related.
It simply doesnt have a lot of "high end" aspects to it but it is as inexpensive as you can produce a "great" gun.

3. Not really.

Comparision.....I also have an XDM so I am familier with the Springfield "X" line, also shot many of their offerings. To be honest, Springfields are nice, mine is a .45 and its fullsized and rests in the hand safe by my pillow. It is one of "those" guns that just fits my hand perfectly and becomes an extension of my hand.
The SD9VE is our couch gun sitting right in between us with 16+1....+80

To ease your decisions....the SD9VE is the entry level gun you get to learn and search out the market with in order to learn what you REALLY want. The Springfield (in my case) is a culmination of finding that perfect fit.

Example. My wife has been shooting for about 3 years. Started with the S&W 22 then to the Shield9. She got me the XDM .45 for Christmas a couple years ago......

......last year she took it back

......oh yea, the trigger issue.

When you get comfortable with it you will DEFINITELY have to put the Apex trigger kit in it.

Its actually the first accessory the gun needs.

269 at GrabaGun and 8 bucks to ship

SD9VE Stainless and Black 16 Round Fixed Sights 9mm Smith and Wesson 223900

Thank you very much. I appreciate the well written comments.
I like how you have guns spread out the house in convenient location. This something I am preparing with my family.

Thank you soo much. This is a good deal.

I have never bought guns online before, I always go in Academy.

Can I trust the online website buying guns? Also, are the gun shipped directly to home?

Thanks

Welcome, help anyway I can. Just happen to have a bit of experience with everything you spoke about.

Gun location, safe. The reason they are spread is my safe ended up in the closet of one of my boys room in the FAR END of the house. Lol. The FIRST thing to figure on a gun safe is where the heck your gonna put it.

My kids are grown and gone so I leave a couple around. Mamma has become the most proficient shooter in the family so its not an issue. When the grandbabies come its a matter of shutting my hand safe by the bed and pulling the SD9VE outta the couch for the safe.

All things that have to be thought about...

Buds Gun shop ,Grabagun and others are are reputable dealers , no shipping to a residence firearm has to be shipped to a FFL which is usually a gun shop or gunsmith .I would go to a local gun shop or store to buy one

Certain sites you can trust absolutely but you need to know which ones. Good and bad in anything in the world.

Ship to home....nope....not how that works.

Know that background check thingy? Its called NICS It has to be done by FFL holders (Federal Firearm License)

Academy does this for you at the counter as does any retailer. If you buy online then you have to locate a FFL that is close to YOU (online stores have databases that help with this during checkout) Its best to find someone your comfortable with BEFORE you make a purchase. Might be a store or might just be a guy. My local FFL (out in the country where I live) is a guy with a nice gun shop out back. Also my vet, and many others. You will be surprised how many are around you.

Gun goes to THEM when you buy it. They call you when its in. You go to pick it up and they run your NICS check etc and all paperwork for the gun. You generally pay them 25 bucks for the priviledge. Its called an FFL fee.

Then....you gotta gun. Or....pay a touch more at Academy, but you avoid the FFL fee cause the retailers do it as a courtesy.

Im close and have a kid in Pearland. What part of Houston are you in?

There is also a cost to transfer the gun by a FFL. Usually $25 to $50

The thing about ordering from a online dealer like CDNN or Grabagun is that they are in Texas so you will have to pay tax, shipping, and transfer fee. I would just go to Academy when they have them on sale and get one.

Grabagun is GTG. Also had good experience with Palmetto State Armory and Prepper Gun Shop. I have also purchased from my local gun store, they are good people. However, I will no longer purchase anything from our local Dick's Sporting Goods since they have now admitted to hiring anti-gun lobbyists. Good luck with your purchase.

Smith & Wesson SD9VE 9mm - $244.99 Shipped, plus you get a $25.00 Brownells Gift Card

Brownells (used discount code "M2T" for the discount in the Discount Code area of the checkout page)
SD9VE 4in 9MM Stainless 16+1 w/ $25 Gift Card : SMITH & WESSON SD9VE 4IN 9MM STAINLESS 16+1RD W/ $25 GIFT CARD | Brownells

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Screamin deal right there. They almost throw in the Apex trigger for free.

Groo here
I would not have anything to do with a "Sigma" model gun
most of all the early ones.
Its a Glock copy and not a good one.
At our S.O. we had them and sent at least one back home
for repair every qualification.[6 months] as long as we had them.
There is a reason S&W has the M&P line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you BlackTalonJHP, I will just go to Academy and purchase the gun and let my daughter enjoy the experiences.

Thank you for the link. Good price.

Does the $244 include the FFL fee? Academy has the gun on sale for $289 Access Denied

Right now they are $289.99 at Academy, and they are normally $299.99, so it's not a huge savings but will probably pay for your gas to go get it and get back home.

I've owned a number of the SD9VEs and one SD40VE, and they are good, dependable pistols. The first accessory I would recommend for it is an extended take down lever...there are a couple of after-market ones available, and they are just a little longer than the stock lever, but they make it so much easier to grasp and pull down. (If you change the lever out yourself, which is easy to do, remember that the green spring that goes under the lever isn't retained like on a Glock, so you'll need to keep it depressed while you swap the levers...or it will fly out to places unknown. There are videos on Youtube showing how to change them, but I think most of them are for Glocks.)

The trigger is heavy...somewhat better than a DA revolver pull. I'd recommend shooting it for a while first, as well as some dry firing (with snap caps) to see if you can become accustomed to it. One thing I did was lay a penny on top of the barrel and dry fire it, trying to keep the penny from falling off...laying flat, of course, not on edge. A lot of people here are fans of the Apex trigger kit...personally, I never found them necessary. I will admit, though, that I do like the trigger in my M&P 2.0 a whole lot better.

The rear sight on the SDVE pistols is plastic...but you can get a steel rear sight from MidwayUSA for a M&P pistol that will fit (be sure and order a set screw, since it doesn't come with one.) There's nothing really wrong with the plastic rear sight, but I just prefer metal. You may decide to go with night sights.

I have tried the stainless recoil spring assembly, but there have been reports of it battering the frame. I would just stay with the OEM RSA, and S&W will send you a replacement for free if you ever need one.

You may want to get a grip sleeve, which are made by Hogue or Pachmayr. The new models of the SDVE series have a little more aggressive texture, so you may not need one.

Good luck with your purchase, and I hope you and/or your daughter enjoy it.

That's the price shipped to your local FFL (gun shop). The FFL fee will be whatever your local gun shop charges ($10-$50), it will vary from shop to shop, best to call around and find the less expensive one and have the gun shipped to them.

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I had an S&W SD9VE. I really liked it except for the heavy trigger. No safety, so the heavy trigger could be a good thing. Mine never failed with well over 2000 rounds through it. Great feeling grip! I liked it so much it is the reason I bought five MPS of varying sizes to get the same feel and a lighter trigger.
I sold it to my son in law (too cheap) for home protection. You can't go wrong of the Sigma.

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For what it's worth I'm a revolver guy but I do own & occasionally carry a M&P 9mm. A friend of mine was shooting a SD40VE at our outdoor range and let me pump off a mag or two.

I liked it. The trigger breaks a little bit further back than the M&P and is just slightly more heavier but not a deal breaker IMO.

I think the SD series is a great value for the money.

Thank you very much for comments.

My 72 year old wife has a Shield 9mm that she shoots very well. Handloads, factory loads, it doesn't matter. Her problem is racking the slide since she has arthritis in both hands. Some times you can find them on sale for about 300 bucks.

My .02 cents worth. :-)

Have a blessed day,

Leon

Read through this thread
S&W SD9VE 2,000 round test thread

Before you get the SD9VE, be sure to take your daughter out to shoot it and make sure she likes it. Just because others like it and it's still a 9mm gun doesn't mean she'll immediately be happy going from an XD9 to the SD9VE. I was out shooting my M&P40, 92fs and XD9 today and going back and forth between the Baretta and Springfield and I have to say the Baretta felt like a target shooting pistol compared to the XD. Both were easily 2" @ 10 yard guns but the heavier Baretta with the short single action trigger felt like I was shooting staples into the target with a staple gun in contact with the paper.

I chose the XD9 at @$380 instead of the SD9VE @ $290 last year because I got the 4 free extra mags, mag holder and (worthless "holster") with it.

The longer double action Glock style trigger of the SD9VE will feel different than the XD which breaks as soon as you overcome the trigger pull. It's not bad and actually just fine for someone used to a DA revolver but it's different than the M&P and XD.

There's nothing worse than buying a gun for someone as a SD gun and finding out they aren't shooting it because they don't like it. You might as well buy them a German Shepard puppy instead of a gun. At least they can take the dog out for a walk "open carry".

Be sure she likes the gun and will practice with it.

Sounds like the best plan, she will enjoy it and learn something in the process............

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If she doesn't like the SD9VE or doesn't shoot it well, then look at the Walther Creed or Ruger Security 9.

There is a lot of good advice here. I think the bottom line is if your daughter likes the SD9VE, she will shoot well with it. So with that thought in mind let her make the choice- try to remain neutral, after all her life may depend on how well she handles and shoots the weapon. I happen to like the Sd9ve and carry one daily, but I have been shooting pistols and revolvers for about 63 years. Good luck to you and your daughter.

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LEO(retired)