New SD9VE Owner: Questions

[JNieporte]

I've been around guns all my life, and have owned them since I legally could. I'm very familiar with how they work, how to care for them, and how to modify some of them. However, I have a few questions about my new SD9VE.

1. I want to polish the slide. Not shiny enough that it will show fingerprints every time I touch it, but shinier than the factory has made it. I figured to take the slide off, remove the striker, and rub with gun oil and 0000 steel wool. Be careful not to get the sights or the extractor. Same with the inside of the slide. Blast it all out with compressed air, rinse with Hoppe's cleaner, and dry. Then use a cotton T-shirt and light simichrome polish. Is this correct?

2. I've been using Rem-Oil to lubricate my guns (I don't over-lube) and it works fine. Is there something different I should be using for this polymer-framed pistol? I've used silicone grease before, but just on the slide rails.

3. I'm familiar with the trigger kits and do-it-yourself trigger smoothing, but is there anything I can do without removing anything from the frame to improve the trigger? Other than dry-firing it, of course. Which leads me to...

4. Dry-firing is okay for the gun, says S&W. I want to make the trigger lighter. So, do I rack the slide every time, or can I squeeze the trigger repeatedly without racking it to help with the trigger?

5. How is +P in this gun? Okay to use? Not a steady diet of it, but maybe 500 rounds over its lifetime (I bought it new).

Thanks for helping a guy out

 

[dajogejr]

1. It's a home/self defense gun. If you wanted something pretty... you may have missed the mark buying a value line gun.
2. Personal preference. I like the Tetra Gun products for cleaning and lubing. It really only needs a dab on the slide points (4) on the frame.
3. No.
4. You're not going to make the trigger any lighter by firing it with the pin live or just pulling the trigger. What you will do is "condition" yourself to the weight of the trigger, as well as make it a "Smoother" pull once the sear/trigger bar wear in or...polish to each other.
5. Wish I could answer...

 

[OKFC05]

5. +P is approved for use in the SD (any ammo that meets SAAMI standards; there is no standard for +P+). It's in the manual

 

[JNieporte]

All guns are pretty to me, even the Hi-Points. I wanted to get an "already broken-in" look on the slide, and it looks like I've gotten that. I did the polish already. It looks less grey now, and more of a dull matte stainless.

I thought I saw the manual state that +P is okay, but I loaned the manual to my sister, who is considering an SD9VE after handling mine.

Thanks all.

 

[JNieporte]

Photos added. They're not good photos, but they do show a little of what I did. And, I think we all like seeing Smith photos. Uncle Mike's (Butler Creek) grip and flashlight were installed after my initial posting. Please let me know if these need to be resized; they were resized to a maximum of 800 X 600.

For some reason, it looks like there's a smudge or uneven rub where the S&W shield is; it's not there in real life.

Bad photo to show the polishing, but serves to show the gun in relation to my hand size (I wear a size XL glove).

The light is mounted straight; the camera makes it look crooked.

Still working on the lighting...

Getting there...

Okay, I'll take some photos tomorrow when there's daylight. Here's some Critical Duty loaded...

 

[AnthemBassMan]

-Welcome to the forum! Good to have another Buckeye! The manual does state that you can use +P ammo in it, just not +P+. But it warns against increased wear on the gun if a steady diet of +P is used. But use enough to deem it reliable with a certain round and some target practice should be just fine.

-While I grew up using nothing but Hoppes #9, I now use FrogLube paste. But it's all personal preference as to what you want to use, as long as you use something.

L8R,
Matt

 

[dajogejr]

Great, another Buckeye....that explains a lot (GO BLUE). LOL
I thought you were going for more shine. I like the "weathered" look you have.
I didn't like the slip on grip. I went with the galloway rubberized panels.
Ordering some gray ones for my girls sd9ve, she liked mine so much.
It makes the grip more natural...
The only other complaint I have is how shiny ghe polymer is. Id rather have it roughed up a bit.

 

[hmbiohazard]

All guns are pretty to me, even the Hi-Points. I wanted to get an "already broken-in" look on the slide, and it looks like I've gotten that. I did the polish already. It looks less grey now, and more of a dull matte stainless.

I thought I saw the manual state that +P is okay, but I loaned the manual to my sister, who is considering an SD9VE after handling mine.

Thanks all.

my girlfriend loves her HI point C9. its top heavy. ugly. but has like no recoil (ok maybe a little but its like shooting a .25 or .32)for shooting a 9mm +p load compared to my 40 and 9's

also nice choice of ammo critical defense or critical duty?

 

[AnthemBassMan]

Great, another Buckeye....that explains a lot (GO BLUE).

-Well there goes the neighborhood!!

L8R,
Matt

 

[JNieporte]

...also nice choice of ammo critical defense or critical duty?

Critical Duty +P.

 

[hmbiohazard]

Critical Duty +P.

very nice choice. until you need to shoot through a windshield lol. but for normal SD situations should do fine no problem!

 

[JNieporte]

Okay, I tried the photo-taking thing again. Nothing has been done to the gun since the photos above; I just did these outside. There's quite a bit of glare since the slide is reflecting light, but these are better than the previous ones.

Maybe tilting the gun will help?

There!

^^^This is the uniform finish the whole gun has. Why can't I get those good shots? ^^^

 

[JNieporte]

very nice choice. until you need to shoot through a windshield lol. but for normal SD situations should do fine no problem!

Shoot through a window? That's what the 12 gauge slugs or .308 are for.

 

[hmbiohazard]

Shoot through a window? That's what the 12 gauge slugs or .308 are for.

lol well in various lines of work you encounter people in cars who may take a shot at you. thats why i carry bonded ammo now

RT40B win ranger T