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Old 03-21-2017, 07:09 PM
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Bought an SD9 “Academy” last Friday. Got to the range today to start the break-in process. I shot a total of 182 rounds made up of the following:
50 American Eagle – 124 grain FMJ
50 Blazer Brass – 115 grain FMJ
50 Speer Lawman – 115 grain FMJ
32 JHP’s, which were a mix of Federal HST 124 grain, Speer Gold Dot 115 grain and Remington Golden Saber 124 grain.
Pros: I’m happy to report all rounds fed, fired and ejected without incident. The HIVIZ fiber optic sights popped in the daylight. They looked like they were battery powered. I have, and have shot guns with the FO front sight, but not both front and rear. That was nice. The sights were also on. Another nice. The grip and stippling suit me just fine. In fact I like it better than my M&P. The gun is also very pleasant to shoot. Recoil is minimal. It is, after all, a 9mm.
Cons: The trigger. Not as bad as one might think when dry firing, but certainly not good either. As has been hashed and rehashed, long take up, decent (but heavy) break followed by a long reset. Repeat. It is what it is. I’ve shot guns with worse triggers, much worse, but this one is not in the much worse category. There is a bit of a learning curve with it, but it’s entirely adequate for its intended purpose. I do think I hear Apex calling me though.
Below are some of today’s results. The first pic are the first shots, two magazines worth. The bottom was getting a feel for the trigger, at about a one shot per second pace. The head shots were a little quicker. About two shots per second. All shots were from the 7 yard line.
The second pic was IWB holster draws, double taps as fast as I could pull the trigger, with a few head shots thrown in after the double taps at the end of the second magazine. All shots were made from the 10 yard line.
The third pic was shots made at the 25 yard line at about a one shot per second pace. I missed a couple if you count the holes, but not too bad with a new gun. I intended to shoot some at this distance from a bag rest, but forgot. Next time for sure.
The fourth was JHP’s (Speer Gold Dot) from the 7 yard line, IWB holster draw, at about a 3 shot per second pace.
The fifth is the star of the show.
In summary, this gun was better than I expected given the known qualities of the trigger. Could you live with the trigger the way it is? Sure you could. Could you improve it? Sure you could, but you wouldn’t have too. The gun ran perfectly with the way the trigger is, was plenty accurate and as previously stated, very pleasant to shoot. Definitely one of these on my face at the end of the day!
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Old 03-23-2017, 12:41 AM
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GSX4, very good range report. Did you pay $329 or $349 for it? My son bought mine for me when they were on sale for $329.
I can't do range reports because I shoot so many holes in my targets I don't know them apart.
My friend has a Lyman trigger weight tester. We checked my SD9's trigger and it averaged out to be 7 lbs. I can live with that.
You state that you like the SD9 grip over your M&P. Is that the M&P 1.0, or, 2.0? I have the 2.0 in .40 cal. and think the grip is like a mix between shark skin and sandpaper. I LIKE IT! But, I like my SD9 grip as well. It's A LOT better than my other (4) fantastic plastic S&W guns (SWVE & SDVE series).
The only mod I did to my SD9 was install a longer slide take down bar. All of my S&W guns have this, including my (1) Glock.
BTW, the SD40 is in my sights.
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Old 03-23-2017, 06:39 AM
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Thanks for the great report, can't wait to shoot mine!
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Old 03-23-2017, 07:07 AM
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Thanks for the great report, can't wait to shoot mine!
You haven't shot it yet? I'm going to have to come confiscate it from you. You might get it back.
Man, go shoot that thing!
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Old 03-23-2017, 08:15 AM
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Sale prices at Academy range from $279.99 and up here in NE FL. The trigger is NOT a single action tuned 1911 trigger. Neither is it the SW9 14lb trigger. The SDs are running about 9 lbs with some variation. I did not have an improvement in the SW9 with the Apex set and trigger I hope the SD Apex trigger is better.
Geoff
Who bought the Walther Creed at $339.99 on sale at a local gun store which has a very good, pre-cocked hammer action, running 5 lbs 6 oz very consistantly.
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Old 03-23-2017, 04:15 PM
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GSX4, very good range report. Did you pay $329 or $349 for it? My son bought mine for me when they were on sale for $329.
I can't do range reports because I shoot so many holes in my targets I don't know them apart.
My friend has a Lyman trigger weight tester. We checked my SD9's trigger and it averaged out to be 7 lbs. I can live with that.
You state that you like the SD9 grip over your M&P. Is that the M&P 1.0, or, 2.0? I have the 2.0 in .40 cal. and think the grip is like a mix between shark skin and sandpaper. I LIKE IT! But, I like my SD9 grip as well. It's A LOT better than my other (4) fantastic plastic S&W guns (SWVE & SDVE series).
The only mod I did to my SD9 was install a longer slide take down bar. All of my S&W guns have this, including my (1) Glock.
BTW, the SD40 is in my sights.
Disabled1,
I paid $349. The guy at Academy was elusive when I asked if the gun would be going on sale any time soon. I think if this gun was available through other sources the price would be around $290 - $300. If you want the all black though, you have to pay Academy's price. Of course I had to have the all black.
I'm going to check mine with a Lyman. This trigger feels a bit heavier than 7 lbs., but we'll see. Trigger weights are tricky sometimes.
My M&P is a compact 1.0, but even with the extended magazine inserted the SD9 feels better. I have shot numerous full size M&P 1.0's and they all feel good, but just a little on the slick side for me. With the SD9 the more aggressive front and rear texturing is more to my liking.
I too plan to install the longer take down bar. As a matter of fact, it's sitting on my dresser right now waiting to be installed. So is the Apex trigger and spring kit. Might get to both this weekend.
I'm looking forward to spending more time with this gun. I think it's going to be a good one.
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Old 03-23-2017, 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Skeptic 9c View Post
Sale prices at Academy range from $279.99 and up here in NE FL. The trigger is NOT a single action tuned 1911 trigger. Neither is it the SW9 14lb trigger. The SDs are running about 9 lbs with some variation. I did not have an improvement in the SW9 with the Apex set and trigger I hope the SD Apex trigger is better.
Geoff
Who bought the Walther Creed at $339.99 on sale at a local gun store which has a very good, pre-cocked hammer action, running 5 lbs 6 oz very consistantly.
We're talking about the "Academy Exclusive" SD9 & SD40. The trigger pull is 7 lbs. on these guns. The trigger pull on the SDVE series is 8-8.5 lbs. The SD9 & SD40 sells for $349.99, but, was on sale a few weeks ago for $329.99. Academy does sell the SDVE series starting from $279.99 and higher.
Either way, the SD or the SDVE (AKA-The poor mans Glock), you can't beat their great quality at a price that's hard to beat as well!
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Old 03-25-2017, 10:10 AM
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Disabled1

The trigger weight on my SD9 clocked in at 8-1/2 to 9 lbs., according to my Lyman. I thought it was a bit stiff. My M&P is about 7-1/4 lbs. for comparison. Yours at 7 lbs. is a blessing!
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Old 03-25-2017, 04:10 PM
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Sounds like the Academy SD9's are a good addition to the SD-family. I have an older all-black SD9 -- the trigger has gotten smoother and lighter over time, although it still is long and relatively heavy -- and I like it a lot. I like its appearance, feel, and balance.

It has NEVER failed to feed, fire, and extract perfectly. That cannot be said about many a more expensive pistol.

If I understand the conversations about them, the Academy SD9's cost a bit more but include a metal rear sight as well as a fiber optic front sight -- things that many people would install on a SD9VE anyway.
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Old 03-25-2017, 06:36 PM
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They were $349 at an Academy, a couple of days ago...standard SD9VE and SD40VE were $299.
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Old 03-25-2017, 06:46 PM
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They were $349 at an Academy, a couple of days ago...standard SD9VE and SD40VE were $299.
I wonder if the Academy SD9 will be included in the coming $25 SD rebate?
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Old 03-25-2017, 07:28 PM
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The SD9 is a good looking pistol. Really wish there was an Academy near me. Oh well.
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Old 04-01-2017, 10:31 PM
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I was droling over one of the SD9's at Academy today. I'm glad I saw this post. I was wondering if there was any difference in the trigger. It's a pretty good looking gun for $349.
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Old 04-02-2017, 05:04 AM
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I wonder if the Academy SD9 will be included in the coming $25 SD rebate?
Yes. According to the print in the $25 ad, the SD is included.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/sites/d...PON_031717.pdf
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