dlombard
Member
This also probably goes for a SD9VE as well but I'm posting this because even the PDF from the Smith & Wesson website does not describe the procedure for field stripping a California state compliant SD40/9VE and after tirelessly searching Google and YouTube for specifics, I wanted to make sure there was a definitive guide here so that others searching for this information could find it as well.
The good news is, the CA-compliant SD[40|9]VE is similar to how to field strip an M&P except because the takedown switch is different, the method is slightly different.
The procedure is as follows:
Obviously, this is not unlike the field stripping instructions available from S&W's own website, and I recommend reviewing it because the picture diagrams go along way to depicting the parts I described and the aforementioned overhand hold. It's just that there are two main differences: You have to have an empty magazine in the mag well in order to dry fire the weapon (a requirement to allowing the slide to release from the rack from the Rear), and you have to subsequently release the magazine from the mag well in order for the slide to travel past the end of the forward section of the rack.
These two extra steps do not appear in the manual I received nor in the manual published on their website and so I thought I might help any fellow other newcomers (either to guns or to this specific model) with this information. I also felt it necessary in spite of the existence of M&P field stripping instructions here because the take down lever doesn't have a horizontal versus vertical position on the current CA-compliant SD Sigma line.
I've seen some downright scary handling of this thing on YouTube for field stripping, by the way... One guy pushed the slide back by pressing his thumb over the muzzle! I saw another guy reach through the trigger guard to hold the slide back while using the takedown switch. So I'm hoping that by directing folks to the PDF from the S&W website and augmenting those instructions with these California-specific extra steps, it will be less likely that someone follows less safe instructions elsewhere in the effort to field strip their weapon.
Another reason I thought it might be important to explain this is because since the first thing everyone tells you to do is clean it before you shoot it (and cleaning it requires field stripping), I wanted to give an easy guide on how to do this for any new-comers. I'm about to take the NRA First Steps pistol class and cleaning actually comes after shooting in the version I'm about to attend. So that means being taught how to field strip properly in that class doesn't happen until after you've fired the weapon before it's been cleaned.
The alternative is to use one of their rented sidearms, I'm sure. However, I see a great deal of value in becoming intimately acquainted with your own firearm as you learn how to shoot for the first time. The last thing you want to is to get comfortable with some other kind of gun, but then return to yours and feel Less confident. So my goal was to clean mine, then use it, which required I learn how to do this before getting to class. I'm hopeful that this will help others trying to figure out the same thing as me.
The good news is, the CA-compliant SD[40|9]VE is similar to how to field strip an M&P except because the takedown switch is different, the method is slightly different.
The procedure is as follows:
- Clear the firearm (visually and physically inspect that the magazine well and chamber are empty)
- Obtain an EMPTY magazine (I like to make sure by pressing down on the plastic stop)
- Insert empty magazine into the mag well in the pistol grip
- Rack slide
- Aim muzzle in safest possible direction and pull the trigger (if it doesn't feel stiff until you hit the click, try racking the slide again. If the slide isn't racked hard enough, the weapon will fail to dry fire.)
- While still keeping the muzzle facing in a safe direction, establish an overhand hold with your thumb behind the grip and your fingers over the top of the slide in front of the rear sight
- SLIGHTLY pull the slide back with your fingers over the slide
- Use your thumb and index finger to pull down the tiny takedown switch
- While holding down both sides of this switch, push the slide slightly forward as far as it can go
- Let go of the takedown switch, depress the Magazine Release button and remove the magazine from the mag well
- At this point you should be able to keep moving the slide off the rack
Obviously, this is not unlike the field stripping instructions available from S&W's own website, and I recommend reviewing it because the picture diagrams go along way to depicting the parts I described and the aforementioned overhand hold. It's just that there are two main differences: You have to have an empty magazine in the mag well in order to dry fire the weapon (a requirement to allowing the slide to release from the rack from the Rear), and you have to subsequently release the magazine from the mag well in order for the slide to travel past the end of the forward section of the rack.
These two extra steps do not appear in the manual I received nor in the manual published on their website and so I thought I might help any fellow other newcomers (either to guns or to this specific model) with this information. I also felt it necessary in spite of the existence of M&P field stripping instructions here because the take down lever doesn't have a horizontal versus vertical position on the current CA-compliant SD Sigma line.
I've seen some downright scary handling of this thing on YouTube for field stripping, by the way... One guy pushed the slide back by pressing his thumb over the muzzle! I saw another guy reach through the trigger guard to hold the slide back while using the takedown switch. So I'm hoping that by directing folks to the PDF from the S&W website and augmenting those instructions with these California-specific extra steps, it will be less likely that someone follows less safe instructions elsewhere in the effort to field strip their weapon.
Another reason I thought it might be important to explain this is because since the first thing everyone tells you to do is clean it before you shoot it (and cleaning it requires field stripping), I wanted to give an easy guide on how to do this for any new-comers. I'm about to take the NRA First Steps pistol class and cleaning actually comes after shooting in the version I'm about to attend. So that means being taught how to field strip properly in that class doesn't happen until after you've fired the weapon before it's been cleaned.
The alternative is to use one of their rented sidearms, I'm sure. However, I see a great deal of value in becoming intimately acquainted with your own firearm as you learn how to shoot for the first time. The last thing you want to is to get comfortable with some other kind of gun, but then return to yours and feel Less confident. So my goal was to clean mine, then use it, which required I learn how to do this before getting to class. I'm hopeful that this will help others trying to figure out the same thing as me.
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