SD40VE Upgrade plans

[Hock]

HI! I have a SD40VE that I bought this past fall and so far I like it, not love it like I should. So in order to fix this I have decided on some upgrades to help make this pistol better and easier to shoot.

First I plan on taking care of is the slightly heavy trigger pull that it has with this kit from Apex:

https://apextactical.com/store/product-info.php?pid57.html

I am also planning on getting a larger take down plate and a stronger guide rod from Galloway:

SIGMA and SD Performance | Galloway Precision

Now I do have a question concerning the spring rate on the guide rod. Galloway recommends going with either a 20lb or 22lb spring for the .40cal. I don't understand the benefits of going to a higher rate spring, can someone explain please?

I'm also thinking about the traction grips from Galloway, so far what I have seen they are recommended. Any bad experiences with them?

 

[MGMorden]

Doesn't necessarily sound like they're specifically recommending them. They say they're recommending them "as upper limits". IE, don't go any higher.

A heavier recoil spring typically serves to reduce wear on the frame when shooting hotter loads. You can reduce reliability with lower powered loads though. Personally if I was going to replace the guide rod and spring I'd go with the factory weight. S&W chose that as a balance between reliable function and protection of the frame.

 

[OKFC05]

Now I do have a question concerning the spring rate on the guide rod.

Galloway recommends going with either a 20lb or 22lb spring for the .40cal. I don't understand the benefits of going to a higher rate spring, can someone explain please?

1. The recoil spring must be matched to the ammunition you shoot to optimize gun function. Too heavy, and it will not eject properly; too light, and it will beat the gun to death.

2. IMHO, based on using Sigmas as loaners and trainers for over a decade, is that you are throwing your money away "upgrading" to custom guide rods and springs for the Sigma. The captive flat-wound spring is far superior to the piano wire used on most aftermarket pieces, and the piano wire will fail much sooner than stock; you aren't "making the gun better". Just buy a stock recoil spring assembly and replace at the first sign of damage, or at 5,000 rounds if it makes you feel better. Spare trigger return spring is also a good idea.

 

[J Rich]

As said above stick with the stock recoil spring. You could see fail to feed and ejection issues if not matched with the ammo. You might consider doing the recoil change if you were building a race gun, but a race gun is NOT a carry gun.

On the other, the Apex kit is not a bad idea.

 

[smitret]

Apex kit

I installed the kit in my SD9VE.

Great improvement in trigger pull but a couple of failure to fire with light striker spring.

Put stock striker spring back in.

Trigger is still better than stock.

The long reset remains unchanged.

Good Luck

 

[Techse7en77]

I installed the kit in my SD9VE.

Great improvement in trigger pull but a couple of failure to fire with light striker spring.

Are you shooting reloads? I just installed the Apex kit into my SD40VE and I havent shot it yet... but I was worried about light strikes. How much of a pull weight difference was there once you put the stock spring BACK in after realizing the Apex spring wasnt hitting hard enough?

 

[chevythunder]

I got used to the trigger and have no complaints after 700rds. Leave the recoil spring stock, but i would recommend the traction grips from tractiongrips.com. After some serious shooting that plastic grip can get slippery

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[Hock]

A heavier recoil spring typically serves to reduce wear on the frame when shooting hotter loads. You can reduce reliability with lower powered loads though.

What is considered a "hotter load?" I typically shoot 180 grain, and carry with 165 grain Federals. I plan on going to a little higher grain for carry though (175-180).

 

[MGMorden]

What is considered a "hotter load?" I typically shoot 180 grain, and carry with 165 grain Federals. I plan on going to a little higher grain for carry though (175-180).

Typically stuff marked as +P or handloads that are pushing the high end of (or exceeding) published data. For standard factory stuff you're fine with the stock/standard weight spring.