SD9VE, from gritty trigger to broken striker

[3hounds]

Well yes, the whole thing is the striker, but that part must have a name. I've seen the front of the striker around the actual firing pin referred to as the shoulder, and I've seen the hook referred to as the foot. Not sure if either is correct. Not a big deal, but I like to use correct terms wherever possible.

I gotcha now.

Yes I would call that the foot.

Yes I have heard certain parts called the nose, body, foot, face, and top face.

That's about it for me.

3

 

[GKC]

Stop being logical your starting to calm me down.

I guess I feel it's like somebody else working on my car.

3

LOL


In my case, for the safety of family, friends, and the general population, it is better for someone other than me to work on my car...and anything else mechanical.

 

[GKC]

Looking for a cheap used gun is definitely an option. Looks like I'll be cruising the lgs's looking for a bargain. Maybe I'll get lucky.

It's kind of hard to find a better bargain that the SD/SW series pistols. Unless you know what to look for, and what to avoid, buying a used gun is an iffy undertaking...and in most cases, will probably cost as much or more than a new SW/SD (if they are worth buying, that is.)

Something to consider, while you are waiting on your handgun to be returned, is to buy a shotgun for home defense. You can find a new shotgun (not the best, but OK) for around the same price or less than you'd pay for a "bargain" used handgun (which many aren't.) You can't CCW a shotgun (unless you are a REALLY big guy) but for home defense, it is a great choice. For example, Academy Sports shows a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-ga pump for $190. (Maverick is their bargain brand...not great, but OK.)

 

[tjfenske]

As a thought, An ugly duckling Remington 870 is in that price range. It can be a fun project to improve when time allows. Just my .02

 

[Tony "The Ant" Spilotro]

It's kind of hard to find a better bargain that the SD/SW series pistols. Unless you know what to look for, and what to avoid, buying a used gun is an iffy undertaking...and in most cases, will probably cost as much or more than a new SW/SD (if they are worth buying, that is.)

Something to consider, while you are waiting on your handgun to be returned, is to buy a shotgun for home defense. You can find a new shotgun (not the best, but OK) for around the same price or less than you'd pay for a "bargain" used handgun (which many aren't.) You can't CCW a shotgun (unless you are a REALLY big guy) but for home defense, it is a great choice. For example, Academy Sports shows a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-ga pump for $190. (Maverick is their bargain brand...not great, but OK.)

+1 on the Maverick 88! I have two of them and one is my beater shotgun. It has close to 2000 rounds through it, mostly 00 buck and slugs, combined with lots of hard use outdoors. Dropped it a few times and doesn't get a lot of attention/love, and maintenance. This gun is amazing, it has never malfunctioned. It's a very reliable firearm. The important parts, like the barrel, bolt and trigger group are the exact same parts as in the Mossberg 500. That's why the Mav88 is such a good firearm. Yes it's cheap, but it holds easily a candle to the more expensive pump action shotguns reliability wise.

 

[J Rich]

Henry

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I can see where that gritty feeling seems to have come from. Your pic of the striker face in the second post shows a sharp hook edge. That would explain why the trigger felt smooth at first then got gritty just before the trigger breaks. I do see what you are talking about in that the casting looks to have imperfections. I saw that before you commented about it. Who knows what happened, maybe a just a bad cast, or an employee having a bad day. Who knows?

All you can do now is send it back and wait. With the striker fired gun I've had I have always faced the sears and strikers by sanding flat and smooth and bringing them to a high polish. This insures a smoother trigger action cleaner breaks. Some have even knock the sharp edges off the sear and striker. This would have to be done with caution just to take off thousandths of an inch off the edge and to be mindful of the factory warranty being voided.

I would also suggest having a second firearm for HD. While I have a few handguns always within reach. I keep a shotgun in bedroom. My point is I don't rely on just one weapon to protect my family.

 

[bp231986]

Maybe you should have bought a glock to start off with lol before everybody goes nuts on me i was just kidding. On a more serious note i hope it all gets worked out for ya.

 

[Trenchcoat Vampire]

Hell yes. The Maverick 88 is almost exactly identical to the 500 but with a bit more polymer and different sights, but those are upgradeable...I believe assembled in Mexico also (though parts made in Tx). Two other good SD pumps under $200 are the Interstate Arms (Norinco) Hawk 982...a Remington 870 clone and the Savage Stevens 320, though I don't like the pistol grip on a SD, but I haven't shot it. I have shot the others and a buddy has the Norinco 982/IAC Hawk and it's just fine after at least 2 years of moderate range work.

Edit: lol I see I'm just repeating some of what is just above me but oh well...+2

 

[Henry Killinger]

No, GKC, I'm calling myself a fool. I have backups for all sorts of things, software and hardware. I know better than to have only one of something when it's important.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. A 12ga is definitely on the list. I wish I had an academy in this area. Hell at this point I'd settle for a cabela's or a bass pro. Walmarts here won't sell firearms either. I'm in hostile territory when it comes to finding inexpensive firearms locally.

My next purchase will most definitely be influenced by the availability of parts and service at locations other than just the factory. I feel like a pc owner who bought a mac and found out I can't swap my video card without bringing it in for service. Hopefully I'll get my label tomorrow and I can get this going.

 

[GKC]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. A 12ga is definitely on the list. I wish I had an academy in this area. Hell at this point I'd settle for a cabela's or a bass pro. Walmarts here won't sell firearms either. I'm in hostile territory when it comes to finding inexpensive firearms locally.

I don't know where you live, but I assume you have a FFL nearby...like where you bought your handgun...and you can order a shotgun over the internet and have it shipped to your FFL (assuming they accept incoming transfers.) You can check Gunbroker or other internet retailers to see what they offer. You can also go to local pawn shops, and see what they have, or local gun shows. You can also check the classifieds on this and other gun forums. Gun Genie is good, since they deal with gun shops that are local to you, plus they offer their own lifetime warranty, but they are a little higher than most other places. Their inventory is very low right now, though (like almost everyone else.)

It's a little hard to give advice not knowing where you live (if you live in a gun-friendly state you may have more options than some place that makes you jump through all sorts of hoops and restrictions) or what you'd want to spend.

 

[Henry Killinger]

Good 'ol Rhode Island here. The most corrupt little state in the union. 7 day wait on any firearm, need to take a safety test to purchase a handgun, no sbr's or supressors. The big problem here is we have legislation hanging like the sword of Damocles over this state. It's all been "held for further study" for weeks since we packed the state house, but the session isn't over yet.

The 2 least offensive (still not good) come up for consideration tomorrow, but knowing the way these things go I can't discount the possibility of the mag capacity and "assault weapon" bans being brought up and rammed through on the last night of the session. The uncertainty has kept prices high locally on anything that could fall under the banhammer. Buying online is definitely an option, but decent deals are able to be found here. It just takes a bit of work to find them. I'm going to have to check out gun genie. Curious to see what it finds locally.

 

[GKC]

I'm going to have to check out gun genie. Curious to see what it finds locally.

I've never seen their inventory so low as it has been for months now. I've bought several guns from them, and one from Bud's Guns...otherwise, I have always bought from local shops. Of course, no one seems to have much in stock now, and haven't for the past few months.

BTW, if you are looking for magazines, Greg Cote LLC has the SD9VE magazines in stock (or did as of a couple of days ago) and he is good to do business with. Also, MidwayUSA has the SW9VE magazines in stock, and they work just fine.

 

[Henry Killinger]

Thanks for the tip! Best price on those mags I've seen yet, with reasonable shipping to boot.

 

[Trenchcoat Vampire]

I also was tipped off to Summit Gun Broker, he is mail-order only but has used SWxx 9mm & .40 16/rd mags for $25 each. Grabbed 3 a few weeks ago, all were in fine condition. Just a bit of darkening of the external stainless steel, I just cleaned and polished them, makes them look almost new. They have the "Law Enforcement Only" stamp, makes them look cooler, lol.

Firearms, Guns, Rifles. Grain Valley, Missouri.

 

[Henry Killinger]

To my surprise (no notification of any kind) my pistol arrived back from S&W yesterday, nearly a week earlier than customer service estimated (2 weeks total instead of the 3 quoted to me.) I wasn't around to receive it, but there was someone here to sign for it. It looks like FedEx really put the box through the ringer. It was partially crushed, to the point that it split, also crushing the pistol's factory box that was inside it. If I had been there I definitely would have had them wait while I inspected the package for damage, but alas I was not.

The pistol itself was unharmed, as the portion of the box damaged was not near the pistol itself. Obviously the striker was replaced, as well as at least the rear striker guide. The trigger feels much better than it did out of the box, no grittiness at all.

The sheet of paper that should detail the work done was blank, telling me to call CS if I had any questions about the work performed. Since I have no idea what they replaced besides the striker (if anything), I guess I'll have to call to find out if anything else was wrong or contributed to the failure. Knowing the cause of the failure is definitely important to me. I had included a request for an extra striker assembly since they are unavailable. I knew it was probably not going to happen so I didn't get my hopes up. Needless to say, no extra assembly was included.

Tomorrow I get to take it to the range and see how it's running. I will re post after I do.

 

[billyrich99]

SW40VE broken stryker

the firing pin is a cast part that is made of scrap metal that's not heat treated I do not want to put another one made the same way as the old one was back in my gun I am looking in to making a after market firing pin for the Sigma , SD , an M&P There is no reason on earth these guns should not run as smooth as silk I'll be back ( got work to do )

 

[TriumphMan]

the firing pin is a cast part that is made of scrap metal that's not heat treated I do not want to put another one made the same way as the old one was back in my gun I am looking in to making a after market firing pin for the Sigma , SD , an M&P There is no reason on earth these guns should not run as smooth as silk I'll be back ( got work to do )

Am I hearing some good SS or good hardened steel that's also nitrated(for smoother action)?

 

[billyrich99]

broken firing pin

I called S&W an was told the firing pin had to be custom fitted I don't buy that some people have installed lighter firing pin springs from Apex while that will prolong firing pin life it is not a fix heat treated steel should work just fine an last as long as the rest of the parts that the gun is from

 

[Steve912]

the firing pin is a cast part that is made of scrap metal that's not heat treated

It's steel, and it's MIM.

 

[S&W Rover]

...I had never heard of this failure in this weapon, but a quick search found many reports about the M&P having broken strikers, most breaking in the middle, but at least one looking just like this.

Broken striker problems were noted in early M&Ps, but for quite some time (10 or so years) M&Ps have had the new, silver-colored strikers that do not seem to have that problem. It is likely the M&P issue is not related to the particular failure in the case of your SD. Most likely cause is a part out of spec, perhaps an undetectable failure in the metal.

...The sheet of paper that should detail the work done was blank, telling me to call CS if I had any questions about the work performed. Since I have no idea what they replaced besides the striker (if anything), I guess I'll have to call to find out if anything else was wrong or contributed to the failure. Knowing the cause of the failure is definitely important to me.

S&W CS is very good, but I have read about a number of cases where S&W does not explain in detail the actual repair -- which is often frustrating to the owner who tried to trouble-shoot the problem, or maybe just wants to know.

By the way, I have had some luck getting small parts from S&W by sending the broken part to them in an envelope and asking for a replacement. This has worked for a SD recoil rod and spring assembly, a buggered up screw for a revolver sideplate, and a striker assembly for one of those early M&Ps. Maybe they sent me the parts (at no cost, by the way) because they figured I already had them out of those weapons, so it was more sporting to help me out at that point -- and those were easy parts to install. But its worth a try in the future, and its a little bit quicker (and less stressful) than shipping an entire weapon back to them.

I trust you will enjoy your SD pistol more and more as time goes on. These are good pistols, and great value for the money spent.