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.

 

[MDLNB]

striker spring question

I recently picked up a 9ve and my son-in-law has a Glock 17. He's been modding his Glock, so since the weather has kept me inside for a while, I decided to clean my sigma up a bit. I have finished polishing and removing springs, and it works great. Of course, it worked great to begin with. So did my Harley, but you know how that goes, personalization. But, I digress.

My question is this: Has anyone replaced their striker spring with a Wolf 4lb made for Glock spring? I am not even going to bother with the made for sigma 3.5lb replacement. I have heard about the light strikes on hard primers. Has anyone replaced their spring with the Glock 4lb, and if they did have they had any problems with it? I am just doing it on a whim. We have our own backyard range out here and we like to swap pistols back and forth when firing. I have a concealed carry weapon, so this one is just for inexpensive plinking, along with my inexpensive 9mm carbine.

Anyone with experience changing the striker out with the Glock spring, I would welcome your story.

Thanks.

 

[MDLNB]

Update

I had read several occurrences of light strikes when folks had replaced their stock striker spring (rated at 4.75lbs?) with a Wolf 3.5lb spring, so I decided to try something a bit different. I ordered a Wolf 4lb spring made for Glock, and installed it. It only makes a little difference on trigger pull, but combined with a little polishing, pig spring removal, and the ball point pen trick, it comes down to a very smooth and crisp action. It fires nice. I have been picking up cheap ammo from gun shows that seem to be just about every week right now. I have been searching for HARD primer ammo to test out my work. So far, I have had zero FTF/FTE on this pistol since I purchased it. It is a fine pistol, and the price for the quality is a steal.

I am putting it through the torture test to see if I do encounter any FTF due to weak striker strikes.

Remember, I have a different pistol that I use for concealed carry. For home defense I have my concealed pistol, a shotgun and a 9mm carbine. I also have other weapons of convenience. This pistol is for plinking. If it turns out to develop any FTF's I will put the stock spring back in.

I have heard some of you purists continuously admonish ANY change to the Sigma. That's fine, and I respect your view. However, I came onto this forum for ideas, NOT to be lectured about learning to live with "the way it was designed." Since I do not know the designer or the CEO of S&W, I don't know their reason for the current design. It may be for mass production of an economic entry weapon. Or, it may be that they figured that the more work they put into the adequate pistol to make it a higher quality machine will also cost them more. But, it really doesn't matter to me, since I bought it and own it. Now, I will personalize it to my liking. If you like it as is, I am happy for you.

Like I said before, I have a Mustang and two Harleys that have after market modifications to them. They fit ME. They were good to begin with, but better now.

If anyone has suggestions, I appreciate it. If you want to admonish me, or warn me.....thank you, I also appreciate your concern. I plan on shooting more targets than bad guys, so I appreciate any suggestions in my experiments.

I am presently looking for hard primer ammo. I want to see what it will take to make this thing fail, before I back track.

Something else I am going to do later this week is to clean it again and replace any residue oil with a dry lubricant spray, made by S&W. I understand that it will cut down on a lot of residue sticking to oil. I guess it will be similar to using graphite in door locks.

 

[frankmusic]

Stay the course

Well put. Nothing left to say regarding your approach, other than a let's wait and see how it all worked out for you.

I've dealt with revolvers most of my life and the transition was not too difficult for myself. Does the gun need a bit of refinement? No doubt. Do I personally want to potentially risk compromising the reliability? No.

However, the long term results from (always reversable) tweaking is not only intriguing it also provides insight to all who choose to address this issue.

Well done.

All in all, for what it cost - there is NO doubt in my mind that this little gun is worth every penny I spent on it.

 

[MDLNB]

Here's my update:

Replaced every spring in my 9ve except for the extractor spring, recoil sring and slide lock spring.
Removed "pigtail spring"
Using a dremel, I polished all points of friction, including the chamber ramp.
Used fine grit wet and dry sandpaper to smooth plastic contact points.
I also used fine wet and dry folded on a credit card to polish the slide rails/grooves. There were some small steel burrs existing.
Coated all moving parts with S&W Dry Lube. Sprays on wet and then dries to a very slick surface film.
I am waiting for a Hi-Viz front sight made for Glocks, at which time I will replace the stock sight.
I am also considering the idea of replacing the stock guide rod and spring with a steel guide rod and spring of equal strength. My thought is that I can reduce the amount of friction by using a steel rod. My theory is that if I reduce the amount of friction, I reduce the need for stronger springs and my replacements should hold up.
Since these mods, I have fired about 200 rounds of cheap FMJ ammo, mostly PMC and Speer Lawman brand. '
I have had no failures or hiccups.
The trigger pull is now probably the smoothest action I have ever fired. I have reduced the trigger pull substantially and it is an even consistent pull to the break to fire position. It is not a sloppy or easy pull, but light enough to reduce pulling or wobble.

I plan to rapid fire more cheap ammo and then start firing some hot ammo and hollow points. Rapid fire should let me know if any of my spring replacements are too weak.

This should reduce the break in period. Although I agree with the other more senior members on this site that suggest that repetition will break in the pistol and make it smoother, and that repetition will also produce better aim and control, I have to add that I am hoping to shortcut the process, WITHOUT compromising the reliability of the weapon. They say that the weapon will smooth out and perform better after several thousand rounds shot through it. Not disagreeing with them, I am saying that it should be possible to achieve that goal in a shorter time period and be able to enhance the enjoyment of firing the Sigma earlier. This is an unqualified opinion and not meant in any way to disrespect those with more knowledge or experience. This is an experiment.

I would like to stress one point. This is not my primary self defense weapon. This weapon is used primarily to enjoy some back yard plinking and friendly competition with my son-in-law. Since this is NOT my primary self defense weapon, I can afford to experiment. These modifications are not being made spontaneously or without research.

I will reiterate what I have said in earlier posts. I liked my 9ve out of the box when I purchased it new. It worked flawlessly. I now like my sigma even better, and it works better than the Glocks I have fired. It is still safe. I have not removed or jeopardized either of the two safeties, trigger or striker safety plunger. I do not have a hair trigger, so there is no way to have an accidental discharge. You have to want to fire it, to fire it. It is still a double action style action.

I will update this again, once I have completed the rest of my torture tests. I will not hesitate to announce any failures, if they occur.

Basically, all I did was add power steering to a car that already worked fine from the factory. Let's see if I have been successful.

To be continued.......

 

[MDLNB]

Update:

I have now fired near a thousand rounds through my 9ve modified, with zero failures. It appears that my changes have been successful to this point in my testing. However, let me be clear that I have not fired any hot rounds through it since making my modifications. I have rapid fired though.

I have a theory that one of the reasons I have not had failures is that I preceded my mods by polishing and polishing the action some more. I also feel that S&W's Dry Lube is one of the best lubes I have used. The reason I feel this way is that I get NO sticky gunk build up normally found when using oils or grease.

I will update again after I have fired a series of hot ammo through the pistol.

I have not measured my trigger pull, but would estimate it to be around six pounds, if that.

 

[angel71rs]

I have a theory that one of the reasons I have not had failures is that I preceded my mods by polishing and polishing the action some more.

Completely agree that polishing out the roughness, especially in the slot, is key to maintaining reliability.

I will update again after I have fired a series of hot ammo through the pistol.

I've shot Gold Dot +P 124 gr without issue. I get it from SGAmmo, best prices I've found on SD ammo. They also carry various flavors of Ranger:

9mm / 9x19 | SGAmmo.com

 

[MDLNB]

update

I have now fired a couple thousand rounds through my modified Sigma with NO misfires or miss-feeds. My son-in-law wants to purchase one for my daughter and have me modify it for her so she can compete along side of him. They are amazed at how well it performs, and the Hi-viz front sight makes it even better. My other, visiting daughter and her fairly new husband, tried their hands at target shooting this holiday weekend, and really enjoyed themselves. My daughter had such a tight grouping that I was embarrassed to shoot after her. She started out throwing the rounds all over the place, until I gave her a bit of instruction. Then she had a group that would fit under a half dollar. My new son-in-law tried his hand with my Sigma, my other son-in-law's Glock and my other daughter's hammerless 38 spec. and did the best with the 38. He did like the Glock because of the larger handgrip. My Sigma was just too small for his large hands. But, he liked the action on my Sigma best. He runs a business and one of his female employees carries concealed. He is now interested in obtaining his CCW. He has never shot pistols before and after two days of shooting, admitted that he really enjoyed himself.

 

[angel71rs]

Wake up sleeping beauty!

My 9VE has been sitting unused in the safe for many months. Busy with other projects, new guns, etc. Decided to take it out for a spin. Did not apply fresh lube, it was as I had left it, lubed then laid on a shelf in the safe. Zero problems, ran like a champ. Post fun cleaning/inspection showed no issues from running on an old lube job. So I lubed it up and put it back in the safe, but promised Vicky (VE, get it ) I'd take her out more regularly.

My 250 buck Sigma continues to be one of my best purchases ever!

 

[BClayton357]

I got back from the range today after doing a something similar with my 9VE. I had installed the Apex spring kit. Replaced striker, ejector, and trigger springs, also replaced the sear spring and polished those surfaces. I used lithium grease as directed by Apex. Thought I had done something until I read your recent posts MD's posts of all this work you did with your VE.

Anyway, I was worried that I would get light strikes and FTF issues after these changes, but the gun shot perfect for the 200 rounds i shot today, and so much more fun to shoot decent groups for a change. I think the trigger is down from 12 to maybe 5 or 6 lbs. Still not as smooth as I would like. There is a little friction on where the sear rises on the plastic shoulder causing some jerky movement in the trigger.

This is my Home SD gun at least until my Shield gets here. I need to run another 200 fmj rounds through it to be sure and also some of the SD ammo. My Sigma has never missed a beat in 1000 rounds or so, so I don't really want to mess with other surfaces like the breach ramp. I sure like the sound of this dry lube. Where might I find this product? And thanks for sharing all your work, there's a lot of us in the same boat trying to get the most out of these VE,s. I am thinking about picking up a .40 before S&W stops making them. Best gun for the money out there and US made.

 

[angel71rs]

Surprised to hear you had no failures to fire with the lighter striker spring, so many report problems. What kind of ammo have you shot with the lighter striker spring in there?

The feed ramp on these pistols is pretty smooth compared to other manufacturers. Kel-Tecs have bad feed ramps, machine marks that run across the feed ramp, make it hard for bullets to slide up the ramp into the chamber. My P3AT would have even FMJ noses get caught on the machining marks. Those require feed ramp polishing for sure. Vicky's ramp was good, I just polish ramps out of habit I guess. But you won't harm anything if you do polish the ramp with 1000 sandpaper.

You can get dry lube at any supplier, here are results of a search I did on Midway:

Shooting Gear

I use Breakfree CLP, never had issues on any of my firearms.

You are going to love your Shield. I still can't believe how accurate I can be with it out to 15 yds. Gratuitous pic of mine in the Remora holster I use for carry: