Newbie here, just bought a SW99

[armsbear'er]

Hello Everyone, I am a Newbie to Smith And Wesson firearms. I just bought my first Smithy Sunday, it is a SW99 9mm DAO/SAO. I am a amatuer gun enthuesist. I like to go to the range to let off some stress,and I also like to be able to protect my family and myself if ever need be. My gun buying decisions are usually based upon as Looks, Quailty, and affordability. I saw the SW99 at a Local Gun show, and just had to have it. It fits my hand absoulty perfect with the finger extenison clip, and the looks to me are excellent. I knew SW had to be great quailty, and the price of $299 used was hard to pass up. I am going to use it primarly as my carry pistol. I do have a Lincense to carry for my State. I have a Taurus PT945 .45ACP as my home defense pistol, as well as a Ruger Security Six .357 Mag. I used to carry the 1911 based .45 as my carry pistol, but for me it was to big, and I cannot rapid fire the pistol at all. It shoots very well and accurte, but after that intial shot, the recol pushes the pistol up too far in the air to be able to readjust and aim to fire again rapidly. For this reason I was looking for a 9mm. I was not in the market for a SW99, just looking to buy a quailty and beautiful 9mm pistol, It just so happens that this one is what I saw and fell in love with. Right after my purchase, I went ot the indoor range and let off 90 rounds without any problems at all. It is pretty acurate for me, Remember, I am an amatuer. I had the range owner check it out first before I shot it just to make sure it was safe and in good mechanial cond. He disassambled it and said it looks very good. He said he had never fired that model and wanted to try it out, so he came out and put 20 rounds through it. He said he liked it, but it was a little off. It just looked to me that he kept on hitting the same hole in the target over and over again at about 15 yards. I was using Winchester White box ammo, it was FMJ and I think it was 115 grain. So my questions to you are, is it a good pistol?? What brand ammo is best for SW? What grain and Ammo is best for defense? Did I buy A Quailty Pistol? Let me hear your thoughts and opionons, as well as your advice.

 

[armsbear'er]

Hello Everyone, I am a Newbie to Smith And Wesson firearms. I just bought my first Smithy Sunday, it is a SW99 9mm DAO/SAO. I am a amatuer gun enthuesist. I like to go to the range to let off some stress,and I also like to be able to protect my family and myself if ever need be. My gun buying decisions are usually based upon as Looks, Quailty, and affordability. I saw the SW99 at a Local Gun show, and just had to have it. It fits my hand absoulty perfect with the finger extenison clip, and the looks to me are excellent. I knew SW had to be great quailty, and the price of $299 used was hard to pass up. I am going to use it primarly as my carry pistol. I do have a Lincense to carry for my State. I have a Taurus PT945 .45ACP as my home defense pistol, as well as a Ruger Security Six .357 Mag. I used to carry the 1911 based .45 as my carry pistol, but for me it was to big, and I cannot rapid fire the pistol at all. It shoots very well and accurte, but after that intial shot, the recol pushes the pistol up too far in the air to be able to readjust and aim to fire again rapidly. For this reason I was looking for a 9mm. I was not in the market for a SW99, just looking to buy a quailty and beautiful 9mm pistol, It just so happens that this one is what I saw and fell in love with. Right after my purchase, I went ot the indoor range and let off 90 rounds without any problems at all. It is pretty acurate for me, Remember, I am an amatuer. I had the range owner check it out first before I shot it just to make sure it was safe and in good mechanial cond. He disassambled it and said it looks very good. He said he had never fired that model and wanted to try it out, so he came out and put 20 rounds through it. He said he liked it, but it was a little off. It just looked to me that he kept on hitting the same hole in the target over and over again at about 15 yards. I was using Winchester White box ammo, it was FMJ and I think it was 115 grain. So my questions to you are, is it a good pistol?? What brand ammo is best for SW? What grain and Ammo is best for defense? Did I buy A Quailty Pistol? Let me hear your thoughts and opionons, as well as your advice.

 

[ridewv]

Welcome! That sounds like a nice deal on your SW99. While I've not handled a SW99, I bought my daughter a Walther P99 and when we've gone to the range she let's me shoot it. (Maybe because I supply the ammo?) Anyway that thing is as accurate as heck. It sounds like your SW99 is as well if he's hitting pretty much the same hole. For ammo she's been using mostly white box, S&B and never a failure that I know of.

 

[MattB]

The SW99 is for all intents and purposes a Walther P99. It's an excellent pistol and $299 is a great price for one. S&W's lifetime warranty service also means that should anything go wrong it will be taken care of.

 

[powerkicker]

I have a SW99 and it is a wonderful gun.

 

[sadp40]

i sure miss my sw99 .40caliber. she was sweet but i couldn't turn down a fn/fal when it was offered for her. i am looking around the gunshows for another one.

 

[MattB]

Originally posted by sadp40:
i sure miss my sw99 .40caliber. she was sweet but i couldn't turn down a fn/fal when it was offered for her. i am looking around the gunshows for another one.

You shouldn't have much trouble finding one. There are a lot of LE trade in SW99s out there...I saw at least 6 at the last gun show I went to for around $320 each.

 

[WoodLark]

I have no experience with the SW99, but if it is like most S&W autos, it will feed anything you put in it. For practice, the WWB is fine. Self defense ammo is a personal preference issue. Almost any major brand hollow point is going to do the job; my personal favorite is Federal HST LE Tactical, 147g. ammotogo.com has it at very good prices. They also have it in several bullet weights and +P (I don't really see the need for +P myself).

 

[PX15]

JMOfartO:

I had a Walther P99/AS and my buddy has the SW99, and he and I have shot them "head to head" several times and I would feel well armed with either.

Both pistols were absolutely reliable and very, very accurate at self defense range.

Except for the S&W mfg. slide and barrel the SW99 IS for all intents and purposes a German mfg. P99 but you have the advantage of a lifetime warranty on the SW99 vs a one year warranty on the P99. (both warranties from S&W).

Excellent firearm.. Save up a buy a compact SW99 if you have an interest in cc.. It's a fine weapon too from all I read.

Best Wishes,

Jesse

 

[TSQUARED]

armsbearer,
First of all welcome to the forum.
The S&W Model 99 is a great pistol. Extremely reliable, great ergonomics and surprisingly accurate considering it's short barrel length. I have used a wide variety of handloads and have always been able to get 2 inch or smaller ten shot groups at 50 ft.

 

[TDR911]

Welcome and a great buy on a great gun. White box ammo is great for practise. For defense rounds there are a lot of different ones out there. Buy at least 4 different brands and see how they feed. The SW99 should eat any ammo you feed it. Great carry gun as the grip has a very ergonomic / contoured design that do not print. I carry a Walther P99 . Same basic gun.

 

[armsbear'er]

Thanks for all the reply's guys. I carried my SW99 for the first time the other night. My wife and I went out to dinner and I wanted to see how it felt. First I must say, my wife hates guns, and hates when I carry. But she NEVER noticed it all night and I showed her it was on me before we went to bed. She was amazed, because she was always able to see my 1911 .45. Second, I almost forgot I had it on me that night that is how comfortable it was. I have only shot it once at the range, so I need some more practice in drawing, and rapid shooting. Just the other night there was a married couple shot outside of a local resturant/bar around my area. It is not a bad town at all, and everyone was shocked. I told my wife this is why i carry, I think now she understands. The only thing I regret is buying it in 9mm caliber. I have been reading alot of your post's and it seems that 9mm really dont stop people at times. While I find it hard to believe, I guss it could be true. I know shot placement is ket with any caliber, but I dont know if I would shoot someone in the vital area's like the head. If I did that, that might not consistute self defense. I wold shoot for the chest, and a 9mm might not work. what are your thoughts

 

[Dot_mdb]

9mm guns with good defensive ammo will do the job. The P99/SW99 in 9mm is a fine gun.

Bill

 

[sheriff51]

I carried a SW99 in .40 as a duty weapon for 3 years...now that I'm retired, I carry it for personal defense. You could do a lot worse, and not much better

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Originally posted by sadp40:
i sure miss my sw99 .40caliber. she was sweet but i couldn't turn down a fn/fal when it was offered for her. i am looking around the gunshows for another one.

CDNN has a butt-load of them in 40 S&W and is selling them cheap.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Armsbear, welcome. The SW99 is a very good pistol and at your price it is a great deal for a fine 9mm that most of us would have gladly made. At that price, I have only seen the 40 S&W chambering.

 

[unsigned]

Originally posted by HOUSTON RICK:
CDNN has a butt-load of them in 40 S&W and is selling them cheap.

Yep, $329 for very good. I picked one up a few weeks ago.

In fact, I shot it in my pistol league this morning. Very nice shooter, I imagine I'll use it the rest of the season. My average score was 448/480 in an 'off-duty' type scenario.

I do have a few negative observations though, I think reasons that may have contributed to the models relative failure in the LEO segment.

When grasped in a normal two hand thumbs forward grip, the right thumb runs right over the slide release causing inconsistent slide lock on empty. At first I thought it was the mags, then someone pointed out that it might be the position of the release. Sure enough... as usual its the shooter and not the gun. The tight ergonomics don't help though.

The close curvature of the trigger is too tight. I'm a tall thin guy and don't have thick fingers but I found that the gun recoiled enough to batter the bottom my index finger. After 144 rounds today, its really noticeable.

I really like the single/double action. Good trigger pull and clean break make it the most fun 'plastic' gun I own.

 

[FirebirdV8]

You have a nice pistol. My SW99 in 40SW is my carry piece and it is accurate and reliable. You got yours at a nice price too. Have fun with a nice pistol.

 

[CG2]

It's one of my favorite guns. I use wwb for the range all the time and have never had an issue. For personal protection I use either hydra shoks or rangers.

 

[shawn mccarver]

So my questions to you are, is it a good pistol??

Yes.
What brand ammo is best for SW?
It will work fine with any quality 9mm ammo.

What grain and Ammo is best for defense?
Any good 9mm JHP in grain weights from 115 up to 147, most would say a +P.

Did I buy A Quailty Pistol?

Yes.

Let me hear your thoughts and opionons, as well as your advice.