Another trip to the range and my accuracy is markedly better with pistols with lighter triggers. If I can shoot the bullseye out with a PC Shield and only hit near it once with my SD9VE I start thinking it may be more the trigger than me. I am no marksman so I don't need any additional challenges.

That said I am going to do the full Apex trigger and spring upgrade. My question for the forum is it okay to use standard hardware store punches or do I have to invest in gunsmith tools. Similarly can a roll of masking tape serve as the bench block?

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.


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My advice would be to sell or trade it in for an M&P or like gun. After you put a bunch of $$ into it to make it shoot, you could have just bought a better gun for the same price.

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Watch & Pray

I put the Apex spring kit in mine. Still the same, long pull, but not as heavy. IMO it made a huge difference.

I used a punch set I already had in my toolbox. And I used some 4x4 scraps under the gun to drive out the pins. A roll of masking tape could work. But I did have trouble with one of the pins. It was very hard to get it moving. I had to give a couple pretty hard wacks.

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Funny you say this. My SW40VE began erratically ejecting the casings, and I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. Have you noticed casings ejecting inconsistently while shooting the SD?

The symptoms in this thread are consistent with holding the gun incorrectly and yanking the trigger.
A lighter trigger will mask this, but not cure the basic problem. Holding the pistol correctly and learning trigger control (that's the hard part) will give consistent performance.

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Science plus Art

No it is pretty consistent.


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Go to your nearest WM and find the tool aisle. They sell an 11 pc. STANLEY punch set (I think it's like $7-$9) that will work just as good or better than ANY $100 punch set. And yes, a duct tape roll works great! Here's another tip; do you have an old styrofoam cooler laying around? Cut a section of it just big enough to cover the pistol (like 6"X10"). Lay your slide on it and drive the pins out. They will stick in the foam and not roll away and get lost. Just make sure it's at least 1" thick. If you have to, build it up in layers and tape it together.

You may be right. However, the fact is that right now I shoot other pistols better than my own. I have no doubt I need more teaching and practicing. If for the cost of an hour at the range I can improve my ability to shoot my pistol accurately , I think that is worth it.

Which is also why I am not selling and buying a different gun. This one investment is not as much as I would be eating to swap out my SD9VE for an M&P, Glock, etc.



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The styrofoam idea is a great tip. I'm sure it protects the underside of the gun, as well.

It truly just takes a little trigger time getting used to the pull, which is distinctly different from any other semi auto I have shot. But the gun should be accurate enough. If it loads properly, here is a pic of my SD9VE 4th mag full thru the gun.

Attached Images

IMG_0307.jpg (87.4 KB, 19 views)

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NRA Life Member, Patron

I have shot about 300 rounds through mine. I can get your plate results with other handguns, just not mine. I am hoping that I will get an improvement from the Apex springs and trigger. Call me impatient I guess. That being said I do love my SD9VE.


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I did the spring kit with normal punches and the included slave pin. Apex has videos on youtube. Only suggestion is hang on to the OEM stuff in case you have issues later.

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Smith..and Wesson..and myself.