SD40VE 1st progress report
Hey guys - Just got back from my 1st round at the range with my new SD40VE. Put about a 100 rounds Federal FMJs through it.
Def love how the gun shoots! Very smooth but powerful shots, smooth trigger pull all the way through the clip, surprisingly small re-coil and great accuracy with the stock iron sights. Thoroughly enjoyed shooting this gun and also for 1st shots out of this gun I was very pleased with the accuracy. Even when I went head hunting on the target at the end the accuracy was very good, landed some killer head shots. Also burst shot the rest of a clip (approx 7-8 shots) and it felt amazing, so smooth and quick but amazingly still and accurate through the whole quick 7 shot process. In fact, on my shot chart you can see the cluster that was the 7 shot burst all collected right above target mans heart. So as far as the shooting of the SD40VE I love it!
BUT...I definitely was experiencing initially some of the FTFeed issues that alot of people were posting about. Literally every mag I loaded at the range did not load the 1st round properly into the chamber and kept the slide from returning back to the ready to fire position. It is isolated to just loading the 1st one after the cock back of the slide, after 1st one loads it rolls through the rest of the clip no problem. Except I did have one misfire in the middle of a clip, not sure if I should chalk this up to start up and breaking in issues or something I should send back in to S&W right away?
As far as the FTF issue I feel like its a combo of initial user error and possibly some manufacturer flaws. I've seen LOTS of posts about FTFeed issues with sd40ve owners having right off the bat. I read posts about some suggesting that you really need to yank on that clip and let it rip for the bullet to chamber properly. I guess depending on the type and size of gun you have cocked back before one might be used to a smoother easier slide action. For instance my friend was shooting his sigsauer 40 cal and it slide back and forth like butter. We both put the same force and even a little extra into cocking my sd40ve back and the bullet kept getting "hung up" as it was trying to enter the chamber on the 1st bullet. After running out of ammo and returning home I was determined to see if this was user error or an actual flaw. So I cocked back and chambered a round and then dumped it out the ejection hole, keeping in mind where others said you really got to give this one a good pull back. So I over exaggerated my pull back of the slide and then let it go like a slingshot and sure enough it chambered and locked into the firing position perfectly. I repeated the process multiple times to see if it truly was affecting the outcome. 9 times out of 10 the bullet chambered properly. But 100% is what we pay for and NEED!
So, if anyone else is having FTF issues (which seems to be alot) then i highly suggest, and speak from experience, you really need to over exaggerate your pull back of the slide and then let it snap back hard on its own. no ***** footing this bad boy. That nearly 100% corrected my issues. But still need to achieve that 100%. Before I go calling up S&W I plan on running another 100-200 rounds through it this weekend. Looking for two things, 1.) no misfires so we can say that one misfire in 1st session was a fluke and 2.) see if working some more bullets through it and really yanking back on the slide helps solve the FTF issue. Plus a good cleaning after this next session might help the exchange seem smoother and lock into place perfectly every time.
Will keep ya guys updated and anybody else please share your feedback, comments, questions, suggestions, tips, and anything else. P.S. included the 1st 2 shot charts when I let the SD40VE rip!!
Have fun and be safe.
