So I have a SD40VE and am considering getting the Galloway Stainless Steel Guide Rod and not sure if first off is it worth it and second what spring rate to get. I'm between the 20 and 22 lb if i do get one. Any input would be appreciated. I mostly shoot Winchester White Box 165 grain Sometimes federal 180 grain if i cant get the wwb

-I'd go with the 20# spring. Factory is 17#, I believe. You don't want it too heavy unless you're using some hotter ammo.

L8R,
Matt

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SD40-VE owner and proud of it!

What exactly does it do. Is it supposed to reduced the recoil?

My understanding of this is fairly primitive, but here goes: the idea is to match the spring weight to the expected recoil. This would be most useful for people who use ammo that is outside of the range of "normal," since the factory spring is calibrated, or designed, for "normal;" or to anyone who is having trouble with the spring they have. For example, if the slide is not cycling completely, or the spring is obviously clapped out.

So if you shoot hotter ammo, you would go up in spring weight to be able to handle it better. My presumption is that this is important in competition where power has to meet a certain threshold to be acceptable, so spring weight should follow. I'm not sure that many people shoot the SD in competition, although you could. If you shoot weak ammo, which some people hand load to make the shooting experience more comfortable, then you would want to go down in weight to the 15 lbs spring.

I got the 20 lbs Galloway spring for my SD9 and it works fine. There is somewhat more cushioning to the recoil and so far no problem with the gun cycling. I reload my own 9mm and go pretty much center of the road on power, nothing fancy, nothing close to the top end.

After a lot of rounds -- maybe 3000 or up to 5000 -- the factory spring will start to get tired and a replacement is required. I've looked at springs (the ones that are not "captive" on the rod like they are on M&Ps and SDs) on older pistols that have been shot a lot and compared them to factory new springs, and the old ones are always shorter, from all the work they have done! When I buy a used pistol, I always put a new spring in (they are relatively cheap, compared to the cost of the gun). Brownell's sells a factory S&W recoil spring and guide rod for the SDVE for $10.81; the Galloway part is $30. I guess that means it just doesn't make sense to buy the Galloway 17 lbs spring, which is what the Galloway page says is the factory spec, to replace a relatively new factory spring as that would not change the performance of the gun in any way.

But the Galloway web page notes that S&W uses 17 lbs springs for both the SD9 and the SD40. It is obvious that, with the same mass in the slide in both guns, the 40 is going to have more recoil in most loadings. So the SD40 might benefit the most from upgrading to the 20 lbs.

So, changing the recoil spring is something anyone can try, just to see how it works.

By the way, I think Galloway's wide body take-down plate is magic -- I really enjoy having the ease it provides in taking down the SD9, compared to the factory take-down plate, on which I had trouble gaining a purchase.

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S&W Rover

Thanks for the reply. Still don't know if it's worth it just yet. I got the apex kit on the way I don't mind the trigger pull so much but im not to consistent with my groupings. I tend to shoot left and have heard its from the trigger I've had more experienced shooters use my sd40ve and have no problems. Just kinda want something a little easier to help me be more accurate. Excited for the apex kit. Read many positive reviews. I guess if my guide rod goes at some point then I'll upgrade to the stainless steel one but I have no problems at this point with the factory Guide rod.

Right now about to start using a Glock 19 gen 3 adjustable recoil spring in my SD9VE. It's set at the stock 18lbs Glock uses and can go up to 21lbs.

Why are you changing anything at this point?

There is another thread in here where I asked the same thing & never did get a conciseness as to any benefit of using a lighter or heaver spring.
I have an SD9ve & my wife has a M&P9c, the recoil / snap of the SD seems to have more barrel flip than the M&P.
That said we also have a LCP 380 it is really hard to hold on to while shooting. finally got a heaver recoil spring for it went from 7 or 9 to 13 lb that along with a hogue grip made it a lot better I can actually hold on to it & shoot it.
So I am reconsidering it again for my SD

I changed my stuff in my new gun, because like most, the trigger was heavy compared to ther guns I had shot, and I read how awesome the Apex kit is. My hindsight says to leave it alone, and if you want a breaks like glass trigger and shorter pull, don't buy an SD.

I put the Galloway guide rod in mine because I just didn't like the thought or the looks of the one it came with. I found no functional difference, nor did I expect to find one. I'm satisfied with the Galloway, but I remain convinced that its for aesthetics only. I went with the 17 lb spring. I tried a heavier spring from Wolff but didn't like the way it felt. It worked perfectly though.

This is a 20lb. spring , my question is what spring does a stock SD9ve have ?

Surely you didn't buy a new spring assembly without knowing what was in your stock weapon?

If you didn't know then why
I know that the seller said a 17 lb. replaces the stock , I also have found a thread where they say S&W said the stock is 18 lb.
,
Here is my other question , if 17 & 18 are close enough to be called the same then how could going from 18 to 20 make enough difference to matter ?
,
I came back to this idea after the change to my LCP from 7 or 9 lb.
To a 13 lb. spring made such a positive improvement.

Bold statement....perfectly. Good call.

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Perpetual optimism is a force

I changed my polymer factory sd9ve guide rod with the galloway stainless steel one purely for reliability. Steel will last longer and not deform due to heat like my polymer one did. I started having ftf and fte due to the polymer rod, after replacing it I have had zero issues and the gun feels better overall and has been flawless now for a much longer time period. Steel beats plastic on a place of the gun that is having constant stress/pressure and movement on it. Thats my two cents. If a new M&P has a steel rod in it then my SD9VE is going to have one as well lol!

I question the premise that the SS guide rod is more reliable than the polymer one based on the fact that the most tested modern handgun in the world, the Beretta M9, ships with polymer. Polymer is self lubricating and will not take a set and cause jams if it takes a shot. The flutes in it also allow sand to escape and not foul things up.

Well it is more reliable in my findings. My polymer rod deformed/bent at the end where it sits against the barrel towards the chamber over time. And I know this from looking at it lol!! The steel one most likely would never do that. Thats my opinion and my findings. If you think plastic is just as good and as strong as steel then more power to you.

Not being a serious range shooter, just enough to maintain reasonable safety and accuracy, would like to see this SS guide rod vs plastic guide rod settled once and for all. I don't plan to make any changes to my SD9VE until there is more concrete evidence that the plastic guide rod is a serious problem.

Many of the posters who have put in SS guide rods say they did it simply for looks, nothing I really care about.

I have the Galloway 22lb SS guide rod in my SD40VE. I shoot what ever I buy and cycles just fine. I'm very happy with it.

Check out this video:

Don't bother with the Galloway, a Glock 19 Guide rod works just fine.

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This Signature is too Short!

Shooting Left, 99% of the time it's the shooter, not the gun.

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Loyalty Above All.. but Honor

I just went to the range with the sd9ve with the new 17lb Galloway SS Guide rod. There Is a difference in feel when shooting. To me, it was smoother less recoil, Felt a lot tighter and more precise. Worth the change in my opinion!

What is the poundage on the factory guide rod on the sd40ve?

NDZ makes some.

STAY AWAY from the SS guide rod!
Unless you want a broken frame.

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How many guns are too many?

There are several threads on here about how at least some metal guide rods eat the frames in the S&W pistols mentioned in the above posts. You might want to read them.

About recoil spring ratings. I don't know what the figures are for the various S&W semis, but Leupold once did shock load tests on a typical 1911 .45 with ball loads. With the stock 16 lb recoil spring, the shock load when the slide was in recoil was around 700 G's. Going into battery after stripping a round, it was around 750 G's. Now, if you're going to install a heavier spring, the loads on the slide stop/take down lever, barrel under lug and frame when the slide is going into battery are going up regardless of design/make. Way back when, some folks went to 20 lb or more springs in 1911s for competition. We saw a lot of sheared barrel under lugs and slide stops resulting in slide assemblies launching down range. I'd suggest the guys in the gun makers design shops and their computer programs know more about the subject than we do.

So why do the spring makers make the super power springs? There's a market that brings in money.

The subject comes up regularly around here, but long story short, aftermarket steel guiderods will batter the frame, eventually breaking it, and voiding the warranty in the process.
Seriously, Smith & Wesson themselves say that aftermarket steel guide rods will break the frame in a very specific way which is easily recognized and that they won't replace firearms broken by aftermarket steel guide rods.

Some folks claim that various manufacturers have since updated their steel guide rods to address the issue, but so far nobody has bothered to put it to the test by actually shooting their SD with steel guide for installed and posting regular progress updates, so I'll believe it once one of these folks actually puts their money where their mouth is and puts it to the test.

Besides, the SD is covered by Smith & Wesson's Lifetime Warranty, so if the stock polymer guide rod wears out of breaks, they'll send you a free replacement, yet steel guide rods will void said warranty and Galloway Precision won't reimburse you if their guide rod breaks the frame.
So just stick with the stock polymer guide rod, check it periodically for wear, and if it ever starts to look ragged, then send S&W an e-mail asking for a replacement.

Here's the bottom line, polymer has already long since proven itself to be plenty durable, regardless of what cranky old-timers assert, and if you don't trust polymer to do the job then frankly you shouldn't have bought an SD in the first place because it has a polymer frame.
Also, I know I'm on a firearms forum and unfortunately firearms and conspiracy theories seem to go hand in hand, but folks need to stop thinking crazy contradictory nonsense like Smith & Wesson is simultaneously a quality brand you can trust, but also a greedy corporation which uses low quality parts which must be replaced by aftermarket parts because they stock ones are hot garbage that will break in short order.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

KelTec P-11s shipped with plastic guide rods. If you use aftermarket steel ones, they hog out the hole in the slide they fit through. Trust the engineers until it is PROVEN the design is defective.

It's supposed to prevent a broken guide rod.


It's a solution looking for a problem that never existed and it actually will eventually cause other problems as previously stated.

In broad terms, a solid SS guide rod will shift a little weight toward the muzzle, which will dampen recoil a bit. The SS rod will also let you experiment with different spring weights to allow the gun to shoot "flatter".

Now the cautions. A solid rod/spring combo in a compact or subcompact may drag on the bottom of the barrel, which will cause reliability problems. A spring that's too light will cause gun battering over time. A spring that's too heavy will cause the slide to come forward with too much velocity, dipping the muzzle down below horizontal.

Lots to be said for leaving the stock recoil spring system in place unless you are ready to carefully experiment.

Some people have to learn the hard way. When they have to throw their current SDVE gun away for being hard headed and installing a SS guide rod, they will look back upon this post and wished they had listened.
Se La Vie!

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How many guns are too many?

Geeze Louise...

It wasn't the GUIDE ROD. It was the SPRING that came with
the guide rod. G____way didn't bother to check the compressed
stack length of the spring, and it was too long for an S&W SD
pistol. Slide momentum didn't transfer to frame, it transferred
to base of guide rod, via stacked spring, resulting in busted
frame.

Usually, aftermarket steel recoil spring guide rods do nothing
for a pistol, aside from making it slightly heavier (and your
wallet slightly lighter, which is why they're made & sold).
In the G___way case, it made your wallet lighter AND #%$ed
up your pistol.

HOLY OSMOSIS.....!
When I speak of the guide rod I seem to include the WHOLE PART! I guess I should be MORE SPECIFIC from here on out, right?

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How many guns are too many?