I posted a thread recently about whether or not duracoat would void my warranty and got some great feedback, thanks for that guys. I actualy striped my duracoat off before shipping, and did a very thorough detailing of the slide. There is not a single speck of duracoat anywhere on or in the slide, even if your able to get a dental mirror and inspect any grooves or corners anywhere inside, it's just not there. I used some tiny screw drivers and hooked dental tools to loosen up the hard to reach areas without scratching- I wrapped them with safari land cleaning patches and a dab of stripper or acetone to get it all and followed it all up with a very thorough cleaning and oiling, and then rubbed in and removed excess oil. It looks great, I'm glad I did it. But that is kind of an entirely different thread, my apologies.
I shipped my gun this monday the 13th and it was received and signed for this wednesday the 15th at 9 a.m. I haven't heard anything from Smith and Wesson yet, I don't know if they just haven't gotten to it yet, are still inspecting it, slapped some new sights on it and shipped it back already or found another reason to void my warranty and sent it back or threw it in a pile of "get to later" sigmas. I doubt most of that as I have heard stellar feedback on their customer service, but wanted some feedback in everyone personal experience with their service. Does S&W generally contact you when doing repairs? Or do they not reply and just assess the weapon and your included letter, do whatever work is appropriate and ship it back. Do they notify you that it is being shipped and to watch for it? I included a laundry list of complaints about the gun, I figure if they're going to look it over and work on it I should get a very thorough inspection and "tune up", I've had reliability issues with my Sigma, loose rear sights that could slide out of adjustment by firing the gun, the slide locking back on loaded mags during fire, the slide slamming into battery by inserting a mag and a couple other concerns. I've always felt like I kind of got a lemon with this gun and envy all the positive reviews I hear about them, reliabilty being one of the most often praises mentioned. I don't want to jump the gun and start calling or emailing them when they've only had it a few days and I don't want to come off as a problematic or high maintainance customer that keeps calling or " just can't be satisfied". Incidentally I paid $420 for this gun out the door in 2009 and as a noob I thought I was getting a good deal and the gun said Smith and Wesson on it. I just want to feel I got my moneys worth as that price actualy puts a few good competitors on the table and at the time I also could have easily thrown down another $150 towards a handgun but didn't feel the need to as I was buying a Smith and Wesson and really didn't know the rules of fun buying, shoot one first? I just knew it felt good in my hand and was a good size and weight for carry. I've since caught the bug and love to go shooting and have learned alot since then. These days however going out and buying a new gun is not an option, if its not groceries, formula or diapers I'm not buying it. Anyone want to share their experience, advice or what to expect?

Last S&W warranty work I had done, the gun was back in 2 weeks, no charge, gun fixed. Suited me just fine. I'd rather get the gun back quickly than get a flock of mail about exactly what "progress" is being made. I suspect the gunsmith spent less than an hour from picking it up to checking it off for return, once he got his hands on it.
They do warranty work ASAP while custom work may wait a bit.
I'm a real fan of S&W's warranty work.

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Science plus Art

I sent mine the same day you sent yours. They got it on Wednesday morning as well. Today I got a letter from S&W saying it will be done in 2-3 weeks. You'll probably get the letter on Monday.

2 Weeks and no charge!

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Protected by Sigma 40VE

2 weeks for a broken striker SW9VE

My striker broke 2 years ago and it took 2 weeks to get fixed . What's up with Sigma's and broken strikers?

Cool. Thank you, sounds like two weeks is a pretty solid average with warranty work.

I have used the warranty 2 different times on seperate handguns.Once was 10 days and the other was 14 days before being returned repaired.S&W has excellent customer service and quick turn around on repairs from my experience.

phone call about the roughness of a used Sigma's trigger

got an email the next day (return postage)

got the gun back in 10 working days

can't beat it with a stick

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Professional Trainer

For free, or were you charged?

free...not a dime out of my pocket

done it with three or four guns (lost count by now)

DO NOT tell them the trigger is "stiff".

Tell them it is "gritty" or "rough".

It'll come back smooth as a babysbutt.

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Professional Trainer

I'm waiting on my shipping label to send them mine. My trigger won't reset or some ****. I'm not messin with it, I'll let the pros do it.

IH8- got my letter today like you said. 2-3 weeks. Sweet. I'm excited about this one, hope my poa and poi come together, I know I have to do my part, but if I'm happy with my sigma I'm going to start accessorizing it a little. Looking at the limb saver grips recommended by another member, after that thinking about the armalaser stingray sr3 for sigmas when I can save some $$..

That's awesome man. Hey I have some good news of my own. Looks like my Sigma was shipped today, I just got the fedex tracking number. I'll have it back in my hands on Wednesday. This has to be some kind of record.

Sent mine in on the 10th. Letter came on the 20th saying they just got it. Letter was post marked the 16th. It says a two or three week turn around time is normal. Sounds to me like yours was just and easy fix with a part likely on a bench. Simple in and out. Mine will likely need someone upstairs to yes or no a replacement of my cracked frame Airweight. I'm assuming mine will take longer.

I'm guessing the dude who sold me my newer 40ve tried some amateur smithing as the trigger and/or firing mechanisms are failing to reset. They said they'd fix mine for free, but I'm worried they may try to make me pay for it since I'm not original owner, which they've been told twice, once over phone once thru email. Guy on phone said no charge. Hmmm.....

Maybe this is the big positive to the no more super experienced level of hand fitting done by trained gunsmiths. Since MIM is making parts near drop in, it seems that more of this can be done with a very low overhead. So even if you do get a bum gun or something snaps, its and easy fix and suddenly you are all warm and fuzzy inside again. And it’s a heck of a lot faster turnaround time to drop in a stamped or MIM’ed part than it is using a stone… I would be willing to bet they could take the parts from my 637 and just pop them into a fresh frame. And the Sigma, SD, and M&P have got to be next to no hand fitting. I’m thinking the barrel to slide fit is the only slow down in slapping them together. And none of them are that tight anyways.

You know my striker broke 2 years ago. Anyway I emailed them, then a few hours later I called them. Guy on the phone told me I was going to have to pay for the repairs. Then I got the email and it said they were going to fix it for free. That was strange.

That is bizarre. I'm hoping I wasn't getting smoke blown up the bum, but ya know, I was told by an employee and reiterated that before shipping today. I assume they got the point..."this dudes getting free labor."

I've read a couple posts from members who have sent their sigmas in for warranty work and had done their own trigger job and still got their work done for free. One of them was on this thread I think..they got their work done but had the "trigger job" undone when they got it back...kinda funny. I have done a little polishing myself but didn't mess with any of the springs so I hope they don't try to make me pay for repairs. I made no mention of the trigger in my email to customer service, my main complaints were feeding issues and loose sights. But the letter inside my gun case when I mailed it in mentioned a gritty mushy trigger..they might be nice and work on that for me too or they might not but I bet they have a box of sear assemblies sitting there, probably already polished so the can just switch it out when a sigma comes in with a complaint about a gritty trigger and ship it right back out.

That guy is lucky S&W didn't charge him for returning it to stock. Ruger would have made him pay.

Well I'm just hoping for the best. As I said I was a complete noob when I got my sw40ve. I had another pistol-a MR baby eagle, steel da/sa 9mm which I can shoot quite well but not due to experience, it was lightly used and had a great trigger, the sights were already dialed in and I have good eyesight and eye hand coordination, I think in part because I've been into drawing and illustration my whole life, was apprenticing to tattoo for a while and have a pretty steady hand and my trigger finger is my drawin' finger. So I was naive enough to believe I could shoot all guns equally well, not this one that particularly suited me. When I got this sigma and realized I couldnt hit the broad side of a barn I was devastated, and it was jamming. And this was before I found this forum and learned alot from the many experienced folk here but I had started researching the gun via the internet and the first stuff I came across was some threads and youtubes about doing a trigger job yourself and a couple guys that said you can send it back to s&w to get smoothed out but "you should just save yourself some time and do it yourself" and no warning about voiding my warranty. Guys were talking about removing this spring and that spring and throwing this spring away and sticking a ballpoint pen spring here and popping a reduced striker spring here...new as I was I knew I was not going to stick any springs out of a pen in my handgun, tried the wolff 3.5# striker spring and got 2 light strikes my first trip to the range. That spring came right out and the factory spring right back in. so I felt polishing was the way to go, if I could do it over I would have shipped it back for free and let the pros do it, but didn't. Sometimes learning hurts. Just hopefully not this time..after I found this forum and a vast resource of experience and advice I actualy learned a lot about the sigma and not from billy bob the garage gunsmith who advocated "doing it yourself" and that they just put those springs in there cuz they like putting in springs not that they actualy have them there for any good reason..so we'll see, I kept it factory other than my one time with a competition spring, and that's not in there anymore, I think I jammed it into a ballpoint pen actualy and man that pen works great! So its been a big learning curve but if I hadn't gotten a sigma I probably never would have learned as much about funds and shooting, I now work hard on my stance, my trigger finger control and shooting with both eyes open. I've also learned what kind of guns suit me best. Love the feel and ergos of my sigma but my next purchase will probably be a da/sa.

I'd kill for a 5906 or 4566.

IH8-I'm right on your heels, got an email with fedex tracking number this morning. It's en route and supposed to be delivered to me tomorrow. I'll be at work and won't be able to receive it, I'm going to their website and requesting a hold at fedex and will be able to pick it up on saturday. That's some prompt turnaround. 9 day turnaround from their receiving it to my receiving, actualy 10, but that's only because I won't be home to receive it tomorrow. What was wrong with your sigma?

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...-my-sigma.html

I got my Sigma back yesterday. Slide was not locking back after the last shot. Frame was getting beat up too. S&W rebuilt it.

CCWSigma: I called S&W for a broken striker assembly on 357v that I bought on auction, did not know it was broken when buying it. I told them, fed-ex mailer sent to me, the gun went out and counting the weekend the sigma was delivered by fedex teu and I received the "letter" telling me it was coming later that day in snail mail. 14-15 yrs ago a new 629 would not hit the target backing at 25 yds. Off to S&W at my cost, returned with the sights moved back to the middle??? No change in lack of impact, back to S&W, phone calls from them for the next few weeks, till they realized the frame was drilled off center. They replaced it, did an action job, and it shoots a big hole at 25 yd with 6 shots. It would do better if I could. I have a number of sigmas 40/357 all are 40f or 40c except for the one 357v. I have only had to replace a striker string after 4-5 K in one of the guns, I bought them when they first came out before there was a S&W forum to tell me they do not work . Be Safe.

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I BACK OUR BLUE

And was this free...inquiring minds wanna know.

Sure was.

Excellent. They received mine yesterday, this is reassuring to me.

Well I thought I would have to wait till tomorrow to pick up my sigma, since I chose the hold at fedex option which is supposed to be available for pickup the day after the scheduled delivery but I just tracked it and fedex is on point, it's alway there waiting for me to pickup! No waiting full saturday, I'm scooping my Sigma right after work. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get it to a range before the night is through. Happy friday!

I called S&W today and they're sending out a box for my SW40VE. The extractor claw broke today at the range. First time it's going back. Hopefully I'll see a similar turn-around that the other folks have experienced.

I haven't gotten an email or anything saying they've looked at mine yet, or what the problem is. Must be uber busy.

How long ago did S&W get your gun? S&W got my Sigma on Wednesday the 15th, and I got my letter 3 days later on the 18th. You'll get the letter on Monday i'll bet.

You're probably correct. Got mine Friday morning, early. So, Monday is probably correct.

Got my Sigma back on friday and was blown away. The work order said no need for repairs..

That is nuts. So, I wonder why they even had the gun as long as they did, or why they didn't contact you before returning it. Confusing.

The work order said replaced slide! I always felt I got a bit of a lemon with my sigma, I see where some people rag on it because the quality control was an issue sometimes..some people go on and on about how much they love their sigmas while others do the opposite. I know in part that is due to theto the trigger pull which for some ain't nothin' and for others it is a deal breaker but for the most part sigmas get positive reviews and praise for reliability. Anyways I had duracoated my slide and then removed the duracoat to avoid any warranty issues. In my letter inside my case for the gunsmith I mentioned how much I liked the allied forces series and wanted to know if there was a way to get it blued or finished in a manner that would keep my warranty intact and whether I would have to send it in to s&w custom to get it finished. I went over the reliability issues, the self drifting sights, problems with the slide locking back during live fire with magazines that were still loaded and the slide slamming into battery when inserting a new mag. I went over the slide to barrell fit which seemed off to me, the muzzle sat tight against the bottom of the opening of the slide and had a large gap above the muzzle, and that the barrell was getting flat spots in that area and I could push the muzzle up and down a little when it was in battery. I mentioned my trigger being gritty and mushy with no break at all..

I was so happy my hands were shaking when I pulled it out and went over it. They had replaced my slide with a new black slide. Not my ****** home made duracoat attempt, a factory black slide. My sights are centered and new, new extractor, striker it was beautiful. It said no repairs needed but I thoroughly inspected it and it looked like the gunsmith had taken everything I mentioned and thoroughly inspected and tweaked what he felt needed it. My mags looked like they has ben cleaned and polished and tested, there was a tiny little H stamped in them near the bottom and I don't know if he did anything to my mag release but the mags always dropped freely but now they practically shoot out when I hit the mag release, my trigger has the same take up which by now isn't half bad but then at the end there is a snap! When the trigger breaks. My barrell appears to have been lightly milled or something, there are a few scratches and chatter marks around the barrel, previously the only scratches were lengthwise and the muzzle is much more centered at the business end of the slide. Also my slide end cap is stippled like in the m&p and sd, not the smooth end cap I have always seen on sigmas. Unless the newest ones have this? I got mine in 09..also there is a tiny H stamped on my trigger arm bar and on another metal part inside. I don't know everything that was done and I almost didn't want to post this because I felt like I had been blessed by this gunsmith, I had mentioned how I needed a reliable weapon to protect my family, that I am a new father and simply can't afford to replace this gun I didnt feel confident in its reliability and accuracy and I wished a professional would go over it and that is exactly what happened, I'm not sure but it looks like there were a couple tiny little grinds and polishes in parts like my guide rails. I think they found enough out of spec with my slide to just replace it instead of fixing it and this is not match grade or anything but it looks like someone took the time to match my slide to frame and slide to barrell. Looks like my feed ramp haas a little grind and polish. I just wanted to say how happy I am with this sigma. I can't afford to take it out right now, money is that tight for me but it appears to have been fired alot.

I almost didn't want to list because I remember when some douche bag posted that smith and wesson was giving out free trigger jobs and posted the fedex info to ship to a warranty authorized gunsmith and weren't even calling customer service just shipping their guns in s&w's dime and then ruined it for everyone because s&w had to get a new account# with fedex and put a stop to the free"trigger jobs"which were really just warranty polishing for gritty triggers not to reduce trigger pull. I just got lucky and don't want a bunch of people trying to get free black slides because I did. Mine was defective and they probably just happened to have that one on hand at the moment or they may have even refurbished my own slide but I don't think so. The stippled end cap was a nice touch though. They must be compatable with the sd..i can't say how happy I am with s&w's customer service and this experience is enough to make me seriously consider another s&w product when I can afford my next pistol..

OK, last post. After going back over the picture thread I see the stippled end cap isn't unique, some got em and some don't, must be the newest sigmas that have these? Anyways I like it, I will post pics when I have time and a range report when that happens.

Very nice.

So what's the word on your Sigma?

Sorry I've not responded. So, here's the skinny: delivered to MA plant last Thursday, and I kid you not it arrived today. Jag off who sold it to me clipped a few loops off striker spring and evidently "polished" the polymer trigger housing. S&W's gunsmith also wrote that he replaced entire inner works as the previous owner chewed it up with a dremel. No cost to me, trigger smoothed out (he told me this via email) and now the weapon is a functioning beast again. I'm not happy with the ordeal, but it goes to show that some people actually care about their customers. I'm reassured by the situation. S&W cares.

That's awesome! I'm glad you had a great and quick experience. My SW40VE is all boxed up and ready for pick-up tomorrow. It's my EDC, so it will certainly be odd not having it around. I'm really hoping it will be a quick turnaround like yours was. Perhaps a shopping trip at the LGS will help the withdrawal. Been eyeing an M&P 9C.

I wish you luck, but I bet everything will be fine. I myself am foaming at the mouth for the Stoeger cougar I'm purchasing in a few weeks. A 9mm to keep the .40 S&W company.

Sounds like you were a recipient of a Bubba garage special.
I'm glad you got it all taken care of. Love that S&W service.

Well I shipped off my SW40VE on July 1st, received a letter from S&W on the 9th confirming that they had received it and my wife has informed me that my Sigma arrived a short time ago. I'm quite impressed with the turn-around!

Hello all! Wanted to add my two cents.

Bought my RAY....40VE YEARS ago and never fired it, because it was strictly for home defense. I know, I know, thats the MAIN reason I HAVE to shoot it to get the feel of it and verify it actually fires (though it came with a spent shell).

Since then (recently), Ive moved to TN from WI and have some gun fanatic neighbors. The first thing they said to me (before introducing themselves) was "If you hear us shooting, come over and join us" so, I did so.

While shooting the 3rd clip EVER ran thru the Sigma, the front sight just FELL off. I couldnt believe it! Anyway, I finished shooting a clip or two more W/OUT a front sight (not fun).

I chalked it up as a loss because the gun was purchased YEARS ago, but upon research for a front sight, I came across THIS forum !

You guys () convinced me to contact S&W instead of spending BUKU dollars on an aftermarket set of sights.

I came across a lot of cool things here! For example the trigger pull issue, though this wasnt really an issue for me at the time, I DID notice it.

As I stated earlier, this gun wasnt bought to "shoot the shyt". I meant business with it, so the harsh trigger wouldnt really bother me in the heat of the moment.

Anyway, I decided to mention this to S&W while on the phone about the sight. They told me "these guns are designed to have a tough trigger pull, but we will inspect it and if its not up to specs, we'll repair it".

I waited a few days (roughly a week) for the return label, boxed it up and shipped it out. I had FedEx pick it up on the 5th of July and received it the 13th of July.

8 days it took these guys!! Out of hand and back into it!! Amazing! About the same time it took to receive the shipping label!

Did they fix the sight/trigger for FREE? Yes, after asking me if I was the orig owner.

Maybe I cant quite say they fixed/adjusted the trigger pull though. It feels a little "smoother" but its hard to tell when there was 8 days of limbo. PLUS I WANT to believe they did so that could place the placebo affect on me.

I dont have a trigger scale to measure the after, let alone the before.

The front sight seems to be "well melted" this time around. It seems they melted the sight on, then melted something else on top of it to secure it further? I was hoping they would have redesigned the sight and have a nut securing it on but they didnt.

Regardless of the trigger actually being adjusted or not, I am EXTREMELY happy with the Customer Service they provided.

They didnt argue with me about the front sight like I thought they would. I was expecting to hear "are you sure you didnt drop the gun?" or something along those lines.

Overall, I give S&W a 10 out of 10! Great experience for my first handgun and repair.

P.S. If the damn rail needs an adapter to mount accessories, INCLUDE IT WITH THE GUN!

I called first, then sent mine in for a gritty/rough trigger and jamming. They replaced the extractor and no mention of the trigger on the repair order. My trigger was really bad! I had 4 people shoot it and they all complained, so it was not just my opinion. Not sure why some people get their trigger fixed and others they won't touch. I guess it depends upon which repairmen gets it on his bench. I used the trigger fix tip on here and it's great now!

When I sent mine in, I put in the description of my guns ailments not only the situation with the "dremel special" trigger polish and failure to reset, but that when the weapon DID fire, it wasn't so much that it was a heavy pull, but rather gritty and rough. The info they told you was correct, the pull is made to be heavy as there is no safety on the siggy, other than your finger. They gave me a list of work performed, on it was the reworked trigger mechanics. It is now a smooth and consistent pull all the way till it breaks. No more guessing when that striker is gonna go, because now I know. Beware that YouTube trigger modification. You'll hear some tell of four pound pulls plus or minus a pound. But, ultimately most of those guys put the factory springs back in due to light strikes. Personally, I'd put your stock springs back in, and dry fire or use snap caps. Your finger will do the breaking in, and you'll learn how that trigger breaks. I'd say after the work done at the factory, and working the mechanics with practice, that 10-12 lb trigger feels more like a smooth 7-8 lbs. Not too much, but just enough.