New SD40VE owner

[LiveFast]

Bought a SD40VE after much thought today. I was debating between that and a Sig P250 but I had a carry pistol and wanted something high capacity for the night stand. I was able to pick up the SD for $280 so I went with that. Read a lot of bad reviews about it and wasn't sure what to expect so I brought it home, gave it a nice quick clean and lube and headed out to the range. I only had a 100 round box of WWB and a magazine full of Winchester PDX1. So far so good. Performed better than I thought it would and was a little more accurate than I expected. Not too much recoil either. Still too early to tell how reliable it is, but from the looks of it (only 114 rounds) I'm very pleased with my purchase. The trigger will take a little getting used to but if anything, I'll get an apex kit. So anyone debating on whether to get one or not, let me say this...It is a great gun for the price. I will keep updates posted on performance down the road.

Any other SDVE owners recommend good night sights for it??

Will a TLR1 or other similar flashlights fit the rail?? (read somewhere that you needed a special attachment)

 

[drinva]

Mine now has between 700-900 rounds through it and its flawless. Great little pistol in my opinion.

 

[micocyco]

I think you made a good buy. I have the 9 have had it well over a year stopped counting rounds at over 2000 the gun just does what it is suppose to do.
I have shot any & every kind of ammo I can find in it with no problem.
Give the trigger some time it will get better.

 

[Ghlover]

I too just got my SD40VE. It's so new I haven't even had a chance to fire it. It does feel good in the hand, and I plan on taking to the range this week and finding out how the trigger feels. Price of ammo seems to be about the same as 9mm and local dealer has plenty. Just wish the ammo was a little bit cheaper!

 

[micocyco]

I am close to Atl. Ga. WM here had a good bit of 40. I find that most of the time 40 is about $2 more.
I have been shooting the M&P 40c at the range another great S&W

 

[blackbird94]

only a couple hundred thru mine but 0 problems. love it

 

[Rocketpwr]

Brand new to the forum; I just bought my SD 40 a couple hours ago. This is my first "big semi-auto"; as I inherited a Mark I .22, and two wheel guns.

Question; is there any particular ammo the SD 40 prefers ?

Ruger Mark I .22 LR
Ruger .357 Blackhawk
Rossi .44 Mag

 

[Panhandlepapa]

Ammo for SD40VE

Just acquired a new S&W SD40VE. I am new to personal weapons. Need a short lesson on ammo - practice and full operation. Thanks.

 

[J Rich]

AMMO??????

The SDVE line shoots just about any ammo. Some have had problems with very few ammo brands in the early SDVE models. S&W may have fixed this by now.

When buying ammo buy small boxes 20-50 rounds at a time. Don't go out and get 250, 500, or 1000 rounds of 1 brand of ammo till you know what it will and won't shoot.

You shouldn't have problems with Winchester, Federal, Speer, Hornady, and other top brands. Some have had problems with PMC, Tulammo, and some other cheap brands.

 

[Jasonbsexton]

I also recently purchased the SD40VE. I've only put about 20 round through it due to lack of time and buying a new house, but it feels great in my hand and is a great size for personal and home defense. I'd like to get a slightly bigger handgun at some point. Any suggestions?

 

[Steelhat]

Even though it's a S&W forum and my first handgun is a SD9VE that I really like a lot, if I want a slightly bigger pistol I would go with a SIG SP2022. It got a full size frame and has a DA/SA trigger - shot it once and it performed very well. Even though it's a budget gun too it's not a cheap SIG the only thing that is different compared to the high prize SIG's is the polymer frame. Another thing I like about it is that you can change the caliber of the .40 to .357 SIG just with changing the barrel. Slide, recoil spring and rod and magazine is the same.

 

[modraker]

Any other SDVE owners recommend good night sights for it??

My SD40VE has M&P night sights. Same size dovetails, perfect fit.

 

[copterdrvr]

For those of you who are new to pistols to include the 40 S.W.-you will get the most enjoyment out of shooting the lightest weight bullets you can find as the recoil is directly proportional to the weight of the bullet.

Winchester sells a "white box" 40 cal round that's 165 grain. It doesn't cost much and it's easier to shoot than a typical 180 grain bullet.

If you think about it, physics still rule the universe-which means the heavier the bullet, the greater the recoil.

Just sayin'

 

[moe3754]

I sold a Glock Gen 4 19 to get my SD40VE and have not regretted it at all, no stove pipes or miss feeds with the SD like I had with my Glock!

 

[copterdrvr]

I'd like to shoot an SD40VE-I'm guessing that for a 40 it's recoil is VERY manageable. I have an SD9VE and it's one of the if not THE most manageable 9mm's I've owned.

The people that designed this pistol from the perspective of handling recoil are geniuses-the only other pistols that are in the same boat are the Kahr 380, 9mm and 40 S.W. pistols in my possession. The kicker is they ALL cost a bunch more than my SD9VE!!!