Hello, s and w board. I would like to ask a few brief questions and point out a few things. I bought my girlfriend a 9SVE for her birthday. At the range we put a 100 rounds through it and she had problems with the trigger. Reason being she has Rheumatoid Arithitis and subsequently, very weak fingers. I removed the pigtail spring and now she said it is alot better. I've read the Virginia Laws and have found nothing that says I cannot remove a spring from a gun and it still be perfectly legal to carry. My question being, is there some hidden law somewhere prohibiting this kind of modification? Being her daily carry gun, I want to be informed on stipulations if she has to use it to defend herself. Common sense, would tell me if a removed spring would make someone with a preexisting condition shoot more acurately, then by all means it should be legal, and encouraged! However we all know how the government thinks they know whats best for us. Any comments would be greatly appreciated! What would you guys do?
Forget the legalities. That spring is there for a reason. I know some have removed it and say the trigger pull on the SGIMA is better. However, removal of that spring makes the gun SIGNIFICANTLY more prone to malfunction, according to S&W. You bought the wrong gun for a person with weak hands and fingers.
SIGMAs (or the current SW9VE or SW40VE) were DESIGNED to have triggers that were as close as possible to a full length pull and full weight pull of a double action revolver. While the S&W Service Center one of the posters mentioned can apparently improve the pull IN A SAFE MANNER (as opposed to removing needed parts), it is just not the correct gun for the needs of your girlfriend.
Our friend and occasional poster Massad Ayoob did a piece years ago on the proper semi-autos for those with such disabilities. Weak hand and finger strength present at least two separate issues. The first is trigger pull, and the second is manipulation of the operating controls, such as running the slide.
A single action trigger such as that on a 1911 certainly solves the trigger pull issue. A good, but safe, trigger pull on a 1911 is no more than 50% of the weight of the SIGMA trigger. Additionally, the weight of the 1911 absorbs lots of recoil. Plus, the gun is thin, which is important in handling if the shooter has small hands.
Those issues do not solve the manipulation issue, and also may not address her tolerance for pain from shooting, which is common with person suffering from arthritis.
If I recall correctly, Mas recommended that persons with weak hands and fingers look into the Beretta .380 that has the tilt up barrel. The chamber can be loaded without having to run the slide, and it can be cocked and fired from a single action position with a light trigger, and there is not much recoil from a .380. I am NOT talking about the current little .380 pocket pistol (Tomcat, I think they call that one), but instead am talking about a bigger pistol called the Beretta 86FS, which is larger, more along the size of the Beretta 84, 85 and 87.
The SIGMA is certainly inexpensive, but rarely are complex problems solved without some effort, and pulling out a spring that will increase the likelihood of a malfunction just to get a better pull on a weapon not designed for a light trigger pull is the wrong solution, in my opinion. On the other hand, she is your girlfriend. . . .
. He was down on his back being kicked when he opened fire and wasn't arrested. The other two fled as thier friend bled to death on the sidewalk. I may put the spring back in, I do have really strong hands and no problem what so ever in shooting the gun accurately.
