Sigma 9mm range review + trigger job

[angel71rs]

First, a big thanks to all those that have posted helpful info on this pistol, and Jeff for his excellent video series on youtube. Much appreciated!


I was at Academy last Monday on my eternal quest for .380 ammo, stopped by the pistol display case and saw the "Hot Deal" tags on the Sigmas. I'd read a bit about these pistols, many saying they were good... but the trigger...

So I asked to see one. Liked the sights, pointed naturally, felt good in my small hand, comfortable. Some double stackers feel too bulky/chunky to me, this one felt nice. 299 - 50 rebate = $250 for a new pistol from a respected US manufacturer, figured worst case, would end up with a reliable pistol I'd keep in the garage or something.

So I bought one, some WWB + a box of Monarch they had on sale, and immediately went to my favorite range. Sent the target out to 7 yds, loaded up 3 rounds of WWB, just to see where POI was, function check. Easy shooter, good grip angle, I liked the sights, and accurate. Two rounds were vertical to each other, just about touching, other was 1/2" to their right side, on POA. Took it out to 15 yds next, shot 10 rounds, group was about the size of a grapefruit. That's pretty good for me, I'm not a great shot.

As far as the trigger, I thought it was fine, about the same as an ok DA revolver. No pulling as you would expect if the trigger was really as bad as some have posted on the net. Didn't shoot too many rounds, just enough to satisfy my curiosity.

Perfectly serviceable trigger as is IMO. But a little gritty, decided I couldn't leave well enough alone, had to work on the trigger. Sooooooo...

I did a lot of reading and decided to do what seemed would have the greatest payoff without risking reliability.

Sear block assy: deburred/polished all contact points, including the slot that many find burrs in. Removed the pigtail spring at the base of the stirrup. Replaced the outer spring with a lighter ball point pen spring.

Some leave off the outer spring, but guys have posted a statement from S&W that the outer spring was added to ensure reliability with SD ammo, so don't want to go with just the inner. Some trim the inner/outer springs, but that is not reversible. Some go with the pen spring, that is reversible (as is the pigtail removal), so that is what I did.

Did not change the striker spring for a lighter Wolf, did not want to risk light strikes. Just polished the contact surfaces on the striker. So all work was free, just took time and a little effort. Ended up nice and smooth, trigger pull effort dropped around 30%, just by feel.

Also polished the feed ramp as long as I had it apart.

Just back from the range and I'm very happy with the results! Used both magazines this time to function check the 2nd one, no problems with the WWB. Monarch I bought had occasional ftf jams, so I put that to the side, WWB shot fine the rest of the trip.

I'm satisfied with the way the trigger ended up. The pull still requires enough effort to be safe IMO, but makes it much easier to smoothly stroke the shot. Before, I had to make a conscious effort with the trigger, now I just concentrate on the sight picture and squeeze off the shot.

I shot off ~ 150 rds thru the Sigma, and after ~ 80, started to feel it on the knuckle at the base of my thumb where the back of the pistol was hitting it. I keep band aids in my range bag to protect my trigger finger from my P-3AT's trigger guard, put one on my knuckle for cushion, kept on shooting.

I still have to try it with SD ammo. I looked in a couple of places locally during the week, couldn't find any, guess I'll have to order online. I'm partial to Speer Gold Dots. Has anyone shot these thru their Sigma, or any other SD ammo to recommend in these pistols?

I'd have to rank this as one of my all time best purchases; 250 bucks + free trigger job = I'm happy.

 

[sniper47]

Thanks for the report. I have removed the pigtail from my Sigma, but honestly can't say if it made a huge diff. I would like to do the other spring you mention, replacing it with a ball point spring. Can you post a pic of that spring? Thanks.

 

[WildCard ZX6R]

Putting a lighter spring in the sear assembly will compromise reliability. Its only a matter of time before you start to experiance light strikes and failures for the striker to reset.

If this is a range only gun, then enjoy. But if you are going to be using it in any kind of defensive capacity i would replace the spring.

 

[angel71rs]

I would like to do the other spring you mention, replacing it with a ball point spring. Can you post a pic of that spring? Thanks.

I couldn't find my digicam to take pics, but the spring is just out of a black govt ball point. Correct OD to fit inside the stirrup, inner spring fit inside it. Clipped it a little longer than original, since clipped end wasn't going to have a finished end to sit on the spring retention spike.

Pistol is not for SD, just a fun gun, allow me to shoot less expensive luger ammo at the range. Will shoot both cheap WWB + SD ammo to see if it remains reliable. If any issues arise, can always reinstall original springs. Have them taped inside the pistol case so I don't lose them... like my too small camera.

 

[Yattan]

Sounds awesome man! Report back if you have any problems, we all like knowing what goes down with different changes. Glad you like your sigma! You thinking about going back and getting one in .40? I sure have been wanting to.

 

[angel71rs]

You thinking about going back and getting one in .40?

Nope, .40s I've shot were too flippy for me, wanted an easy, enjoyable shooter, so went with the 9mm.

Will report any issues if I have them.

 

[keng]

I purchased this same firearm in 9mm. I read many posts about this before I make the deal. I took the sear assy out and took care of the rough edges as well with very fine sandpaper and an emory board, then polished the assy with my dremel. I used the felt tips only with the buffing compound that came with it. It cleaned up great. I don't know about others but I noticed the gritty feel with the slide off more than on? The trigger was indeed gritty as has been reported so often. The clean up was a success, it felt much better! I was very happy with the outcome. I also (just for kicks) tried the spring removal, ball point pen spring replacement. It was a noticeable difference, and fired flawlessly. I agree that this is very easy to put back to stock so I just had to try it. I will leave it like this for now because it is so fun to shoot and I was very impressed with the accuracy!! I think this is a very good pistol, and I am glad I have it!! To me, it is a great gun for the unbeliveable price!! I also ordered the laser sight from 911trp. It has not arrived and I haven't heard anything except the "thank you for you order" email as of yet, but am looking forward to experimenting with that as well!!!!!!!!

 

[KyWstJoe]

Mine eats anything I feed it. I use Hydra shok 124 grain JHP. For self defense ammo. I too polished the sear assembly and ditched the pigtail spring. Zero malfs.

 

[Sleddog30]

I put 300 rounds thru my new sigma yesterday. No problems at all. The trigger is stock. It doesn't feel gritty, and has a nice smooth pull. But it is a bit long.

It shot tight groups at 12, 15 and 20 yards. I put 115 FMJ (new), 115 JHP (reloads) and 124 JHP silver tips (new) thru it.

I'm gonna run some 147 and +p thru it next weekend.

 

[40cal]

SIGMA SPRINGS

Can you post a pic of that spring? Thanks.

FYI for fun at the Range Only.- For a self defense gun I would not use any bic pen parts! IMO, polish & remove pigtai.

 

[jppezz23]

Thank you all for the information.I have the .40 it shoots fine just the way S&W made it so i am leaving it the way it is for SD .

 

[blastfact]

I've not had one misfire with retail ammo at all in my cleaned up Sigma. Not one with thousands of rounds put down range.

With that said I have had some issues with some of my reloads. I've had some failed to chamber thus jamming the pistol and some fail to fire from what many might say was a weak strike. I have also had two stove pipes.

The jams are my fault IMHO. And the character of the pistol. I had been setting up my OAL by the book. It appears my Sigma likes the OAL on the long side like as seen in retail WWB and Rem. Be it FMP, Plated, Lead or JHP.

The LS or FTF seem to trace back to the HMF Brand Russian made primers. I have since went to CCI and Rem. primers. Issue gone. I also think the stove pipes were because of the HMF primers. There would be the primary ignition followed by a secondary ignition with the slug being stuck within a 1/2" of the end of the barrel. And a lot of powder fowling left in the barrel. To test this I loaded up five rounds without a powder charge using a primer from a diff. 100 count tray. When all five went off the slug stuck within 1" of the chamber. So there was secondary ignition happening. I don't think it's the powder. I think it is the very hard HMF primers and two that were very slow to burn from a light strike resulting from a hard primer.

I have lost count of how many rounds I have put through my Sigma. I am a brass hound and pick it up every where I go. But I also buy more than my fare share of retail ammo. Yeah know some indoor ranges won't let me shoot my own stuff. And I have never had issue with my pistol with retail ammo concerning any of the mods I've made. When not at the range it stays loaded with WWB 147gn JHP. It's not my night stand pistol anymore. That duty falls to the CZ-52 with JHP's. The Sigma can be found else where in the house or out in the garage. Reloads for fun and testing. Retail when and if I need it.

 

[Walthernut]

I've not had one misfire with retail ammo at all in my cleaned up Sigma. Not one with thousands of rounds put down range.

With that said I have had some issues with some of my reloads. I've had some failed to chamber thus jamming the pistol and some fail to fire from what many might say was a weak strike. I have also had two stove pipes.

The jams are my fault IMHO. And the character of the pistol. I had been setting up my OAL by the book. It appears my Sigma likes the OAL on the long side like as seen in retail WWB and Rem. Be it FMP, Plated, Lead or JHP.

The LS or FTF seem to trace back to the HMF Brand Russian made primers. I have since went to CCI and Rem. primers. Issue gone. I also think the stove pipes were because of the HMF primers. There would be the primary ignition followed by a secondary ignition with the slug being stuck within a 1/2" of the end of the barrel. And a lot of powder fowling left in the barrel. To test this I loaded up five rounds without a powder charge using a primer from a diff. 100 count tray. When all five went off the slug stuck within 1" of the chamber. So there was secondary ignition happening. I don't think it's the powder. I think it is the very hard HMF primers and two that were very slow to burn from a light strike resulting from a hard primer.

I have lost count of how many rounds I have put through my Sigma. I am a brass hound and pick it up every where I go. But I also buy more than my fare share of retail ammo. Yeah know some indoor ranges won't let me shoot my own stuff. And I have never had issue with my pistol with retail ammo concerning any of the mods I've made. When not at the range it stays loaded with WWB 147gn JHP. It's not my night stand pistol anymore. That duty falls to the CZ-52 with JHP's. The Sigma can be found else where in the house or out in the garage. Reloads for fun and testing. Retail when and if I need it.

I've only done reloading for rifle and revolvers. This is some pretty good info.

 

[blastfact]

I've only done reloading for rifle and revolvers. This is some pretty good info.

It really was not meant to be reloading info. But a statement to the basic mods we can make verses retail ammo. And the Sigma's possible reliability. And my findings.

This week I was in the PHX. area visiting my mother. I took off for a few hours for some shooting and gun fellowship. I ended up at the Scottsdale Gun Club for some range time. I bought a arm load of WWB for my CZ-52 there and 3 box's of Fed. 115gn JHP 50 round each. I asked for and got permission for a 3 mag rapid fire with the Fed. ammo. It was the oem +P+ stuff and cost one arm, leg and darn near a testical. That was ,,,, what 48+1,,, and flawless! The Sigma was so hot all the metal was smoking a tad. LMAO! I was allowed to collect the over priced brass I just went through with laughter and claps from other shooters that gave me the time to collect. Good folks indeed!

I have beat on my Sigma HARD from time to time. In my hand its my best plinker. But fact is ,,, target shooting I can't hit crap! It's a mental thing I guess. What,,, two weeks ago I bought a Ruger GP-100 over a Smith at a $300 savings. And I have the CZ-52 on my nightstand most nights with HP's in it. I can target shoot with those firearms, but not the Sigma. Damn the luck! But that does not make the Sigma a worthless pistol to me. It's a GREAT go to weapon loaded with retail in my book!

It is also a fantastic instruction weapon. The wife is learning to shoot with the Sigma. Not a revolver or old school auto. But the Sigma. Shooting scares her,,, but she understands and wants to have the ability to secure and defend herself and or any other people like grandkids or other loved ones in our family if push comes to die within or around the home. She won't carry to date. [ But I am softly pushing her that way ] LOLOLOLOLOL. She just dont know it yet. LMAO!!!!

 

[angel71rs]

Update:

I'm past the 700 rd mark post trigger work with absolutely no issues with US made ammo. WWB 115gr fmj, 124gr Speer Gold Dot, and some old 115gr Silver tips I had laying around.

A friend of mine shot it yesterday. He hadn't shot in years, really liked the Sigma. He was shooting low at 1st, but after around 30 rds (and me telling him to put the front sight right at center, not at 6 o'clock) was getting 3" groups at 15 yds. He's thinking of getting one for himself, or a P-3AT. He shot my AT and liked it too, even though it looked like a teeny toy in his big hands. I told him to get both.

My opinion on the sear springs at this point: with the stock roughness, all that spring power is probably a good idea. The roughness inside of the slot where the little pins have to ride up and down would be of special concern. With all the parts deburred/polished up smooth, I don't see an issue with leaving off the pigtail, replacing the outer with a lighter spring. So mine stays as is, the removed springs remain taped to the inside of the case.

I'll keep shooting/enjoying my Sigma, if any issues ever arise, I'll update again. Otherwise will let this thread ride off into the sunset.

 

[YARDDOG]

My trigger was fine until 700 rnds got a little gritty, So I took slide off
& pulled the trigger it was smooth. Then I knew it was in the striker,
took slide apart ext. spring went flying, (Lesson leared) ; ) Cleaned out
striker channel & plastic sleave. It is smooth & breaks crisp now!!
Veary easy gun to work on. IMO PS Dirty Ammo is a BUMMER
Y/D

 

[meanstrk]

I just registered here, and did so specifically to research the trigger on these since it's my only complaint with this gun. I look forward to polishing everything up and trying it out with the spring mod as well. For ammo, I have been reloading with Barry's 124 RNHB with a 4.7gr Bullseye powder load. Primers are Federal, not the magnum stuff.

To date I have not had a single issue with this gun, and I let it go several months without even cleaning it (just a snake through the barrel) to see if it would malfunction, and it never did. I have a range in my back yard, so I go through a good bit of ammo.

I really appreciate this post, and will follow up.

Thanks.

 

[marlin.357]

the primary ignition followed by a secondary ignition with the slug being stuck within a 1/2" of the end of the barrel. And a lot of powder fowling left in the barrel. To test this I loaded up five rounds without a powder charge using a primer from a diff. 100 count tray. When all five went off the slug stuck within 1" of the chamber. So there was secondary ignition happening. I don't think it's the powder. I think it is the very hard HMF primers and two that were very slow to burn from a light strike resulting from a hard primer.

I don't think you were getting any powder burning, the extra bullet travel was due to the volume the powder reducing the free volume of the cartridge case, increasing the pressure. Remember the old PV=nRT from physics? Fill the test cases with cream of wheat or talcum powder and try it again, I think you'll get your extra travel back.



Or I could be wrong about everything

 

[Jamie]

I had done the trigger mod a while ago, smoothed and lightened the trigger quite a bit. One thing that bothered me a bit was watching the 'inner' spring, didn't look real 'happy', seemed to be bending while working. I've shot 3-400 rounds through it since, no problem and have heard of others shooting way more than that with no problems from that spring being all by itself. But, looking for any excuse to take it apart, I found a spring out of a mechanical pencil that had the exact same length and diameter as the stock 'outer' spring, (the pen spring it much lighter in tension than the original, but I think it will help support the inner spring), so apart it came. While in there, I worked on the 'block', (not sure of the correct term), the part that rubs against the plastic, and one of the pins that locates it rides inside a slot in it. I made sure the part that rubs on the plastic was completely smooth with a stone, get ALL the machine/laser marks out, then used my Foredom dremel to polish it. A small file backed with some 600 grit sandpaper worked on the inside of the slot. Put it back into the frame, seems like a 'wee' bit more tension, BUT much smoother! Great excuse to go back to the range. The more I work on this gun, the more it's 'mine', and the more I like it.

 

[angel71rs]

This thread came back from the dead!

Past 2k round mark, still very happy with the trigger mod & the pistol. Just shot off a bunch of Blazer aluminum case I got on sale from Graf, no problems. In fact everything except that Monarch has been fine.

meanstrk, hope your trigger work pays off for you.