I must be the exception

[4896worker]

Not to be insulting but did you get the right caliber of ammo . 9mm short (aka .380 ) instead of 9 mm Luger will cause your problem . Don't laugh story from our local deputy they had an officer carrying .380 ammo in a 9mm pistol. She said 9mm is 9mm right?

 

[F75gunslinger]

I'm now on the side of those who say that grip can indeed affect what the slide does or fails to do.

Semi-autos are designed to be held with a firm grip, letting the frame be mostly stable while the slide moves on it's rails. Any less than firm grip on the frame allows the frame to soak up part of the recoil as it moves backward in the shooters hand. Because of this movement the recoil spring doesn't have the full force of the slide recoiling against it, so it causes fail to eject malfunctions. The slide isn't moving back completely in it's intended travel, so it doesn't lock back after the last round either.

OP..I think that with time and more practice the gun will cycle fine. Another suggestion is to run the gun a little wet so it has more lubrication as it breaks in. It may require a bit of extra cleaning more often while shooting, but that also helps make sure the slide is moving completely backward in it's travel.

 

[martybee]

OP, I think your right on track! Keep shooting it, firm grip and straight out stretched arms. Hold the piece steady take aim. With practice and
repetition, You will gain experience and you will find you love the gun.
My first gun was a 40 SDve and I could not shoot it! It scared me half to death! Now it is one of my favorite range guns. Incidentally, I am 84 yrs. young.

 

[fwrogg]

Not to be insulting but did you get the right caliber of ammo . 9mm short (aka .380 ) instead of 9 mm Luger will cause your problem . Don't laugh story from our local deputy they had an officer carrying .380 ammo in a 9mm pistol. She said 9mm is 9mm right?

Thanks for the note as it is important and some seem to allow different ammo in revolvers anyways. But I went and check and it does say 9mm luger.

 

[fwrogg]

Thanks all for the encouragement, videos, and support. She has a much better perspective on shooting now. I know each of the videos will also help her and i pick up some more tips.

 

[MyDads38]

My first poly gun was the SD9VE and it became my CCW, nudging out my FS 1911 45 auto. With over 1,300 rounds through mine (factory FMJ/JHP and reloads Lead/Plated); I have never had an issue or any type of failure-NONE. My guns are all stock/no mods.

I know there is all kinds of ammo out there, and shooters' tend to buy what is cheapest/on sale-I do the same; but I stay with commercial, USA manufactured ammo (Winchester, Federal, Remington, CCI, etc) and have never had a problem. My reloads are usually "middle of the road" power/velocity range loads, and I still have no issues-some even loaded with a Lee handloading kit and only neck sized!

Getting an experienced shooter to help/tutor is a great idea, as long as HE/SHE knows what they are doing; taking a basic firearms class from a certified instructor would also be wise and money well spent, IMO. Seems you're on the right track, and I hope you enjoy your new SDVE pistol. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

I have started training newbies on revolvers. Semi-automatics have too many issues to start people on. Some training on flinching and anticipating perceived recoil and jamming will go a long way. A few people that I have trained are so nervous at first and limp wrist to the point that the gun will not cycle. The SW9VE is a decent gun, but it is an economy model and not particularly forgiving to newbies. There is an art to training new folks. Once recoil (and attendant handling) is mastered, semi-automatics are also second nature.

 

[micocyco]

went back to the range today and took some different ammo. I shot three times and had no issues, had my wife shoot and got a jam right away. Worked on her holding, stance, and what gloves she was wearing and after about 40 rounds got her to where she was able to hold it sturdy enough that it did not jam. The last group the slide actually locked open on the last round which was also a first for her. So some progress, now we just need a lot of practice and working with the gun as she is not able to easily pull the slide back to lock it. But all and all, I could see she was really pleased that she finally got it to work. thanks for all the great comments and suggestions.

Glad to hear , My wife after shooting my SD9ve & a rental M&P9 liked the M&P so much better , she said the recoil & the trigger , she bought one.

 

[palmer8113]

I also just purchased my first handgun, had rifles and shotguns since I was 14 so not new to guns and have shot handguns just never owned one. So Saturday I purchased my first handgun (SD9VE) and purchased two boxes of ammo. On Sunday Cleaned it good and went to the range on Sunday. As this is mostly for my wife, I loaded it for her and went through the handling and range procedures and had her fire it. First round Jam, Second round Jam, and the next 40 rounds were the same FTE, FTF. some were pretty good jams. I also shout it and had the same results. At this point there could be so many issues (Ammo, Limp Wrist, Gun, Users) I plan on getting some different ammo and maybe having a more experienced user shoot it, but I just don't feel confident in this gone for protection now and my wife will probably never pick it up again. It was a horrible experience for her and her first time shooting. Luckily we took a .22 along so she got to do some good shooting, but she really was looking forward to the handgun. By the way the Ammo we used was fiocchi 9mm 115 gr.

My next visit will be to take an experienced shooter and some different brand of ammo to try and narrow down the issue.

My first post on this forum also which looks to be a great forum, I just need to get past this issue.

Hi I just join this forum I had bought the sd40ve I noticed that alot of the sigma and sd are having alot of problems but for me I have not had a single failure of any kind I have put fed aulanium caseing and perfecta 180 grain on fed and 150 grain on perfecta still no problems I even replaced all trigger springs installed them I am working on making a video on this firearm of doing the trigger springs as well the guide rod with spring 22lb and the apex tatical trigger on top of polishing the feed ramp and ltrigger arm bar and the sear block so I might suggest its the ammo try the ones i mentioned like i said I havent had a single filaure and i have put over 600 rounds since Dec 2 2015

 

[S&W Rover]

Not to be insulting but did you get the right caliber of ammo . 9mm short (aka .380 ) instead of 9 mm Luger will cause your problem . Don't laugh story from our local deputy they had an officer carrying .380 ammo in a 9mm pistol. She said 9mm is 9mm right?

The .380 Auto (aka 9mm Kurz) is the same diameter as the 9mm Parabellum (aka 9mm Luger) but the round doesn't fill the chamber of the latter. Everyone knows semi-auto pistol cartridges headspace on the front of the chamber, so you'd think they fall right into the chamber. But as a practical matter, the extractor hook will hold them in place such that the firing pin/striker can make them fire!

In a similar vein, I once fired a cylinder of .41 Magnum rounds in a .44 Special. In that situation, they were held in place by the rims (there is really a very small dimensional difference -- .019" -- between the two rounds, as the .44 Special is actually .429" and the .41 Magnum is truly .410"). They worked fine, except they must have rattled around a bit, because most of them keyholed in the target. And they were hard to extract, because they had expanded to fill the charge holes...

 

[pittpa]

Caught one of the videos, pointing the gun sideways to rack slide. Please remind her to turn her body so the muzzle is pointing downrange when she does that. I see plenty of guys that do that, pointing the muzzle at the person next to them.

 

[ou1954]

Safety

Caught one of the videos, pointing the gun sideways to rack slide. Please remind her to turn her body so the muzzle is pointing downrange when she does that. I see plenty of guys that do that, pointing the muzzle at the person next to them.

I noticed things like that in a couple of the videos but I tend to believe they were trying to present a better view to the camera.

 

[therewolf]

In the OP you mentioned you were new to pistols.

This problem is common to new semi-auto users.

Literally, "get a grip". The action cycles on your support

of the gun. Any flinching, loose or limp-wristing will

cause your stovepiping, FTEs, and FTFs.

It gets more pronounced with larger calibers. I find that

all my jams with my guns are generally my fault, but

even with the DE44, if I do my job, the gun performs

flawlessly. The nice thing with the DE44 is, after dealing

with the gun weight and recoil of a 44 mag, stepping

back down to a 9mm is a piece of cake.

Regular cleaning and lube is great, but I think you will find

the gun and ammo are just fine.