- Joined
- Aug 21, 2005
- Messages
- 8,074
- Reaction score
- 7,265
A friend got the first SD40 at the local dealer today, and I got to look it over and will offer some comments, for those interested.
Slide now resembles M&P cosmetically, and front night sight is nice touch. Rear sight has M&P logo on it. Extractor is mounted with a vertical pin instead of the horizontal arrangement of the SIGMA.
Frames are slightly different in length and some detail, such as rounding, beveled edges, beavertail, etc. The insides look mostly the same forward of the mag well, but different from the mag well back. The differences back of the mag well are noticeable, but the basic operation and inter-relationship of the parts is very similar. The SD looks to have fewer parts and looks simpler. As I am not a trained armorer on the SIGMA, I cannot offer any better or more technical comments than the foregoing.
The SD clearly has a lighter trigger pull, shorter in pull length and shorter in reset (at least that is how it feels upon careful comparison side by side with a SIGMA - I did not have a device with which to measure). The closest description I can give is a Glock with an NY-1 trigger spring and 90 degree connector (in other words, 8 pounds perhaps, maybe a tad less, and resistance all the way through, not just at the end as in the standard Glock coil trigger spring).
The SD has the little felt pad in the trigger return spring like the SIGMA and the M&P. The SD 40 mag has a black follower and is marked for the SD. There is a very minor difference in the follower between the SD and the orange SIGMA follower. The tubes look the same, appear to be finished in the same nickel teflon finish, and are marked the same.
Either mag will go into and lock into place in the other pistol, and the slides run just fine with the "other" magazine in place. Again, no sophisticated measurements here, just observations. I was not able to shoot the pistol.
The SIGMA mag hangs a little out past the front edge of the SD frame at the bottom of the mag well, and may be preferred for use in the SD if no other problems are encountered (like the factory, I do not recommend using a different mag) as it would give a more positive purchase in the unlikely event of the need to rip a stuck mag from the mag well in the case of a double feed.
On the other hand, there is probably a reason they went to the trouble of making a different follower, and certainly for carry, I would say to use the mag that came with the pistol unless you were absolutely confident of the reliability. I did not attempt to change followers or base plates between the SIGMA and SD mags. It might be possible to drop an SD follower into your SIGMA tube.
I can say this: The SD40 looks great, has better features than SIGMA and the trigger pull is so much better as to make the SIGMA obsolete, in my opinion. Sorry to all you SIGMA owners, but I think that no one should choose a SIGMA over the new SD as the SD beats SIGMA in every way. The price of SD is, when reduced by the cost of the night sight included on the SD so close as to be a non-issue, in my opinion. Even without taking into account the better steel sights of the SD, the extra $50 or so is worth it.
Assuming the SD works properly, I would say S&W has a real winner on its hands!
In my book, it is hello SD, good bye SIGMA!! S&W says they are keeping all three pistols in the line, but as we know, they are not at all hesitant about discontinuing items that don't sell, and I cannot see how anyone who compares the two will ever buy the SIGMA, even at the lower price. SD will not compete with M&P, but it will, in my opinion, be the death of SIGMA.
After the M&P was introduced at the SHOT Show a few years ago, Joe Bergeron, who was in charge of pistol design and production, and who had a big hand in the M&P design, told me he wanted to improve the SIGMA, make it have a lighter trigger, and an upgrade. It took so long, I had assumed that the project got shelved.
I now know that Mr. Bergeron and his team were on the job, and if this pistol shoots as well as it looks, they deserve congratulations for introducing another winner to the S&W line.
Slide now resembles M&P cosmetically, and front night sight is nice touch. Rear sight has M&P logo on it. Extractor is mounted with a vertical pin instead of the horizontal arrangement of the SIGMA.
Frames are slightly different in length and some detail, such as rounding, beveled edges, beavertail, etc. The insides look mostly the same forward of the mag well, but different from the mag well back. The differences back of the mag well are noticeable, but the basic operation and inter-relationship of the parts is very similar. The SD looks to have fewer parts and looks simpler. As I am not a trained armorer on the SIGMA, I cannot offer any better or more technical comments than the foregoing.
The SD clearly has a lighter trigger pull, shorter in pull length and shorter in reset (at least that is how it feels upon careful comparison side by side with a SIGMA - I did not have a device with which to measure). The closest description I can give is a Glock with an NY-1 trigger spring and 90 degree connector (in other words, 8 pounds perhaps, maybe a tad less, and resistance all the way through, not just at the end as in the standard Glock coil trigger spring).
The SD has the little felt pad in the trigger return spring like the SIGMA and the M&P. The SD 40 mag has a black follower and is marked for the SD. There is a very minor difference in the follower between the SD and the orange SIGMA follower. The tubes look the same, appear to be finished in the same nickel teflon finish, and are marked the same.
Either mag will go into and lock into place in the other pistol, and the slides run just fine with the "other" magazine in place. Again, no sophisticated measurements here, just observations. I was not able to shoot the pistol.
The SIGMA mag hangs a little out past the front edge of the SD frame at the bottom of the mag well, and may be preferred for use in the SD if no other problems are encountered (like the factory, I do not recommend using a different mag) as it would give a more positive purchase in the unlikely event of the need to rip a stuck mag from the mag well in the case of a double feed.
On the other hand, there is probably a reason they went to the trouble of making a different follower, and certainly for carry, I would say to use the mag that came with the pistol unless you were absolutely confident of the reliability. I did not attempt to change followers or base plates between the SIGMA and SD mags. It might be possible to drop an SD follower into your SIGMA tube.
I can say this: The SD40 looks great, has better features than SIGMA and the trigger pull is so much better as to make the SIGMA obsolete, in my opinion. Sorry to all you SIGMA owners, but I think that no one should choose a SIGMA over the new SD as the SD beats SIGMA in every way. The price of SD is, when reduced by the cost of the night sight included on the SD so close as to be a non-issue, in my opinion. Even without taking into account the better steel sights of the SD, the extra $50 or so is worth it.
Assuming the SD works properly, I would say S&W has a real winner on its hands!
In my book, it is hello SD, good bye SIGMA!! S&W says they are keeping all three pistols in the line, but as we know, they are not at all hesitant about discontinuing items that don't sell, and I cannot see how anyone who compares the two will ever buy the SIGMA, even at the lower price. SD will not compete with M&P, but it will, in my opinion, be the death of SIGMA.
After the M&P was introduced at the SHOT Show a few years ago, Joe Bergeron, who was in charge of pistol design and production, and who had a big hand in the M&P design, told me he wanted to improve the SIGMA, make it have a lighter trigger, and an upgrade. It took so long, I had assumed that the project got shelved.
I now know that Mr. Bergeron and his team were on the job, and if this pistol shoots as well as it looks, they deserve congratulations for introducing another winner to the S&W line.
Last edited:
