Sittinduck21
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- Joined
- Apr 22, 2015
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I tried looking through the titles of topics to see if this had been posted, and I didn't immediately see anything. I also tried a search, but when I typed in "SD9" in the forum search, it returned with nothing. So I apologize if this is old news.
Anyway, in between classes, I stopped by the Academy just down the street from my school, and I was shocked to see that they've re-released the original SD9/40 pistol with metal front/rear sights. According to the cleric working the counter, it's an Academy exclusive, so I don't think you'll find any at your local LGS.
A correction from the title, it's not treated with Melonite, but instead Smith and Wesson's new "Armornite" coating. I'm not sure what the difference is.
It's not the same as the original SD, they've made a few minor changes, but here's a list:
-Black, Armornite®-treated slide (vs original Melonite).
-Metal front/Rear sights with fiber-optics. (Green front, red rear)
-More aggressive stippling on the front and rear backstraps. It's just like the original, but the diamond pattern sticks out farther and is more pointed. Some will love it, other's will probably not, I'm not sure where I fall with it, I didn't get to spend enough time with it. But it is definitely grippier.
-Reduced/eliminated seam-line on the polymer frame. Again, I didn't get to spend much time with it, but it seems like I specifically remember the fact that the un-sightly seam line from the original polymer mold wasn't visible.
They had a trigger lock on it so I didn't get to evaluate the trigger, the biggest complaint from the original. The cleric told me that he believed it was the same trigger. The store page though notes that it has a trademarked "SDT™" trigger, which is not listed on the SDVE page.
The clerk didn't want me taking pictures of the gun, but it's up on their web-store page.
page
Man, I wish I wasn't out of cash right now. :/
Retail at academy was $349 for the SD9/40, $299 for the SDVE.
Anyway, in between classes, I stopped by the Academy just down the street from my school, and I was shocked to see that they've re-released the original SD9/40 pistol with metal front/rear sights. According to the cleric working the counter, it's an Academy exclusive, so I don't think you'll find any at your local LGS.
A correction from the title, it's not treated with Melonite, but instead Smith and Wesson's new "Armornite" coating. I'm not sure what the difference is.

It's not the same as the original SD, they've made a few minor changes, but here's a list:
-Black, Armornite®-treated slide (vs original Melonite).
-Metal front/Rear sights with fiber-optics. (Green front, red rear)
-More aggressive stippling on the front and rear backstraps. It's just like the original, but the diamond pattern sticks out farther and is more pointed. Some will love it, other's will probably not, I'm not sure where I fall with it, I didn't get to spend enough time with it. But it is definitely grippier.
-Reduced/eliminated seam-line on the polymer frame. Again, I didn't get to spend much time with it, but it seems like I specifically remember the fact that the un-sightly seam line from the original polymer mold wasn't visible.
They had a trigger lock on it so I didn't get to evaluate the trigger, the biggest complaint from the original. The cleric told me that he believed it was the same trigger. The store page though notes that it has a trademarked "SDT™" trigger, which is not listed on the SDVE page.
The clerk didn't want me taking pictures of the gun, but it's up on their web-store page.
page
Man, I wish I wasn't out of cash right now. :/
Retail at academy was $349 for the SD9/40, $299 for the SDVE.
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