S&W99 A/S anything bad to say?

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flinch

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The S&W99 in 9mm is a gun that gets no respect. It aint no Walther is what I read. It IS a Walther and a S&W too. Best of two world class guns. I have had a Walther P99 and have a S&W99 that shoots as good as the Walther. Snobs or are they genuine complaints?
 
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flinch said:
The S&W99 in 9mm is a gun that gets no respect. It aint no Walther is what I read. It IS a Walther and a S&W too. Best of two world class guns. I have had a Walther P99 and have a S&W99 thats shoots as good as the Walther. Snobs or are they genuine complaints?
Click to expand...

The only bad thing about that pistol along with the Walther P99 is LOUSY to NO marketing.

They never caught on like XD, USP, M&P because first, Walther and Interarms did not promote it more other than being in James Bond flicks. When S&W took over importation of Walther pistols, they did not promote and market it as agressively as they should. Instead, they took the interchangeable backstrap idea to create their M&P series pistols.

As far as I remember, the P99 was the first pistol to incorporate interchangeable backstrap, something that every major gun company is doing now (FN, Beretta, Glock Gen 4, HK, S&W, etc...).
 
I do not own a SW99, but I did take a Walther P99 once as part of a trade deal and had a buddy with a SW99. I handled and shot both guns and thought they were pretty much slightly different takes on the same design. Both shot equally as well, both were equally reliable and both were equally accurate. I actually liked the looks of the SW99 a little more (especially the front slide serrations and rounded trigger guard). I got rid of the P99 for some other gun of the month but have often considered picking up a SW99 for the collection. I will add that I am not a fan of the mag release lever but otherwise I vote "snobs".
 
Ive got the SW99 in 9mm,40S&W, and 45ACP.I love them all Ive also got Walther P99AS in 9mm and 40S&W. Like already said the only thing bad is little to no marketing.
 
I've been using and owning SW99's for about 10 years now.

I've been an armorer for them for about that long, too (3 classes).

I carried an issued standard model SW99 .40 for a few years and I own a similar standard size .40 and a compact 9mm (both in traditional double action, what Walther now calls their Anti-Stress trigger).

I think the 99 series has some worthwhile refinements incorporated into the design when it comes to a plastic-framed service pistol.

Most of the parts I've had to replace in SW99's (and the occasional P99) have been Walther produced/provided parts.

I happen to like the design changes S&W requested in their SW99 frames.

S&W uses the optional (heavier) extractor spring in their models, and reverses the orientation of the spring in the slide. The stronger 'hooked' slide stop lever spring is easier to unintentionally snag and damage in the SW99 series than in the P99 series (which uses a shorter spring with a closed loop on the end instead of an exposed 'hook').

Like the Glock, I happen to prefer the 99 series when chambered in 9mm.

All things considered I like my SW99's quite a bit, favoring the compact 9c model.

I also happen to think the new M&P series contains some further improvements and refinements when it comes to plastic pistols, but I'm not getting rid of my SW99's. ;)
 
The only problem I have heard about is the rear sight not being very tough. I really like my SW99 as it is accurate, fits nicely in my hands, and is fun to shoot. The way I see it is that S&W used these as a stop gap measure to stay in the plastic pistol game after the Sigma didn't take off with LE agencies while they designed (and stole some ideas from the SW99/P99) the M&P series. They should have tried some better marketing because, at least in my opinion, anyone interested in a plastic pistol should at give the SW99/P99 series a try.
 
I have both a S&W 99 and Walther P99QA in 9mm. I believe they are some of the most under appreciated pistols that were ever made. Mine have been totally reliable with a wide variety of bullet weights and shapes and surprisingly accurate for such short barreled pistols - they are more accurate than my Glock 17 and 34. I am also particularly fond of their unique ambidextrous magazine release. A previous responder pointed to one weak point, the plastic sights - I would have preferred metallic sights as an extra cost option.
 
I shoot the 99 in both the Walther and Walther/Smith versions. I have the P99 AS in 9mm and .40 and the P99C QA in 9mm. I also have an SW99 in .45 and a SW99C in 9mm. I have shot all of these guns extensively and for the life of me I can't really find any quality difference between the Smith and the pure Walther. I hope to add a SW99 AS to make the comparison more complete, but as it stands I think the Smith/Walther version gets the short end of the stick for no good reason. Some will swear that the pure Walther has a better trigger or that it's more accurate, but I have not found that to be the case. I would also add that my SW99C has been a great pistol and one that I have depended opon on a daily basis in the past. While that slot is currently filled by an M&P compact in 9mm (which is about to change again to a 457) I wouldn't hesitate to go back to the SW99C, and that would be over the P99C QA.

And yes, it was very little marketing, and what there was of it was lousy.
 
I've had my 990L in .40 cal for about a year now and overall I really like this pistol. It fits my hand well, seems nicely balanced and has been very accurate but...... a few weeks ago I was practicing with it and upon disassembly for cleaning I noted a little gouge taken out of the rear of the chamber/barrel assembly. Upon further examination I found that the extractor was banged up and had the imprint of a shell casing on it. Like I said, I really like this gun but was a little dissappointed with this development. The gun has never missed a beat, feeds perfectly (I thought) and is very accurate. Now comes the test of the S&W warranty. I will be sending it in when I have the time and am hoping they will fix this problem because I really do like this gun.
 
I have a SW45, Walther P99 and a Walther P99c with both Walthers being 9mms. They are absolutely some of my favorite 9mms and I shoot them extensively even using +P+ ammo. Don't really prefer one make over the other and would be just as happy if both Walthers were SWs.
 
I have had my SW99 ( 40 cal ) for about 2 months and to the range for about 400 rounds. No trouble at the range but have had the guide rod assy fly apart on me. So I ordered a stainless captive guide rod assy from Steve Bedair. I like it more than when I first got it. 2 Thumbs up!
 
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Hello All. I am new here and a new owner of S&W 990L Compact (.40). I have been reading all i can find on this site about 990L and have one question. I see mention of SW99 & P99, how does the 990L fit into the picture? Is the 990L based on SW99? Sorry if this is a silly question. I appreciate any information.

Sincerely,

Rob.
 
reznik2010 said:
Hello All. I am new here and a new owner of S&W 990L Compact (.40). I have been reading all i can find on this site about 990L and have one question. I see mention of SW99 & P99, how does the 990L fit into the picture? Is the 990L based on SW99? Sorry if this is a silly question. I appreciate any information.

Sincerely,

Rob.
Click to expand...

The owner safety & instruction manual discusses the functioning of the different models.

In a very broad and simplistic description, the 990L (or 990 Lightning, as we were originally told it was going to be named back when it was about to be introduced, for its short & fast trigger) is akin to the Walther P99 QA (Quick Action), but without the reduced size field-stripping button (decocking button) present in the Walther QA slide. In order to field-strip the 990L the trigger has to be pulled ON AN EMPTY CHAMBER in order to release the striker, as with the Sigma & Glock, and unlike the P99 QA in which the striker can be decocked (released) by pressing the button instead of pulling a trigger.

The trigger pull is consistently the same travel and weight.

The sear housing is different and the striker assembly uses a heavier spring (as does the Walther QA model) than that used in the regular SW99.
 
I have a 990L in .40 that I purchased last November. I bought it because it is light and more easily concealed than a 1911 type, and quite frankly because I liked the looks of it. I carry it quite often in a Comp-Tac, C-Tac holster, under a tucked in dress shirt. At first the trigger was terrible. I would lube it and dry fire it any time I was sitting on ass watching TV and then clean it thouroughly internally and re-lube it. I also ran at least 50 rounds a week through it. As the weeks went by the trigger went from terrible to just crappy, to a minor irritant, to good, to "Geez, this is pretty f-ing great!". I love it now and use it as the standard by which all others are measured. For the size and weight it is more accurate than it has any right to be. You will find it to be a superior self defense weapon.
 
sw99 handbook says 'blue' end of recoil spring assembly to lug. Mine black both ends. Walther book says same color but 'big' end of assembly to lug. Which end is back/front?
 
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