Sigma 9mm update

[Jim NNN]

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My Sigma 9mm worked perfectly for the first 250 rounds when I bought it new, then developed light strike issues which required warranty work. (It was at the point were you couldn't get any round to fire. They claimed they had forgot to put in a striker bushing when it was shipped out new from the factory.)

Upon getting the gun back from the factory, I put about 250 rounds through the gun in two shooting sessions with perfect results. I took the gun out again yesterday and put 80 or 90 rounds through it - all perfect- and then I got one light strike at the end of a magazine. I put another 30 or 40 rounds through, again with perfect results.

Since the one light strike occured at roughly the same interval as the failure that required warranty work (250-350 rounds) , I wondered if it may be getting buildup of debris in the striker channel. I took the striker channel apart, and there was some crud up at the end that could've kept the striker from hitting the preimer at full force. Up until this time, I had only cleaned out the bore since getting it back from the factory for service. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I got the channel cleaned out and I look forward to it working OK.

Questions:

-There was some crud in the striker channel, BUT the owners manual says DON'T take the striker channel apart - what gives? How is it supposed to stay clean in there if you don't take it apart?

-- Is it possible that the ammo I'm using is burning "dirtier" than higher quality ammo, and therefore creating more residue in the channel? I've been using stuff I get at Cabela's for under $10 a box on sale; Sellier and Bellot, MFS, etc. The gun has NEVER jammed on this stuff, so I think it's decent, BUT I've heard that some less expensive ammo has slightly harder primers, too.

-When I took the striker channel abart yesterday, I DIDN'T oil any of the internal parts (so I wouldn't get gunked up with dirt and dust.) Is this correct? I'm hoping the nylon bushings will provide the slick surfaces needed for everything to work properly, and the owner's manual says nothing about oiling this area.

- Any thoughts about my approach, positive or negative? Thanks for any input.

 

[.357 mag]

Could be the ammo but don't know. I've never had a problem with 66-2 til I switched my primers to some off brand and got light strikes. Switched back and all is good.

I've had my sigma for 10ish years and have 19,9xx and I've only taken mine apart once because I wanted to see how it worked.

 

[chessail 77]

What you are calling light strike may have been a bad primer....check the indentation of the fired shells for the same depth as the one that did not fire to be sure ....

 

[Jim NNN]

What you are calling light strike may have been a bad primer....check the indentation of the fired shells for the same depth as the one that did not fire to be sure ....

Excellent strategy, Chessail77. I did keep the unfired round, but unfortunately I didn't think to compare it to (or keep) one of my spent cartridges. This is mostly because I showed the problem round to the guy who owns the range and he said it definitely wasn't hit hard enough.

Per your suggestion, I compared it to one of the few spent 9mm cases I have down in the basement just now and the point of impact in the primer has about half the diameter and half the depth of the spent case (though the spent case could be from another gun.) I'm reasonably sure it's a light strike.

Anyway, if people are putting 10-20k rounds through Sigmas
without needing to take them apart, then it's obvious that the gun wasn't intended to have the slide stripped down every 250 rounds for a cleaning.

ONE light strike every 250 rounds probably isn't too bad for a $299 gun, but it may not be exactly what I'm looking for in a concealed carry weapon. I think I may try some higher priced ammo to see if it works better or burns more cleanly. If that doesn't help, it'll probably be "so long" to that particular gun. Thanks for your input, guys.

 

[cbr6864]

Im leaning towards bad primer

 

[vector16]

There is a problem with your gun. If you bought it new, send it back to S&W and tell them specificaly you want a new striker assembly. you can also just order a new assembly from Numrich for $30. I took my slide apart yesterday for the first time after almost 19,000 rounds through it and it was not very dirty at all, I took mine apart just to see how to do it, like .357 Mag. I guess we are in that +18K round club. I have only had mine for 6 or 7 months though.

 

[Jc85]

I have never had a light strike on mine. only put about 2k rounds downrange tho, I also never went beyond field stripping, but I always spray a good amount of Rem Oil can down the firing pin channel too..
hoping you get it sorted.

 

[Jim NNN]

I should mention that my striker chamber wasn't ALL that dirty, but there was a bit of crud down at the end where the hole for the striker is (through which it strikes the primer.) I was able to remove most of this residue with a Q-tip, but thinking about it, there may not have been enough gunk down there to keep the striker from hitting the primer with full force.

There may be other problems with the gun. On the other hand, it's probably worth 30 or 40 bucks for a couple boxes of higher grade ammo to see if it leaves the same amount of residue as the cheaper stuff. If it's cleaner burning, I may start using it and see if the problem reoccurs. If it leaves the same amount of residue as the cheaper stuff, then I suspect the powder residue theory is a red herring.

If I get a light strike only once in a great while, then it may be difficult for the S&W repair folks to recreate the scenario, and I probably won't bother sending it back (It's been there once already). I'll sell it as a budget used 9mm that works great 99.75% of the time.

 

[panther]

I've read elsewhere that S&B has a reputation for hard primers. I've used Win. white box, and Federal red box, and never had a problem. Walmart stocks them and they're about the same price you mentioned.
Try some different ammo, see what happens.

 

[lild9ve]

i was using win. white box today and i had one round at the end of a mag mis-fire kinda like what you are talking about and it was the ammo for me, not the gun.. i have only put 600 rds through my 9ve in 3 weeks...

 

[Jim NNN]

I've used some of that Win. in the white box and not had problems with it in my Sigma, but the stuff I used was labeled "target/range" and not really best for SD. Of course, the S&B stuff may not be either.

The white box wasn't much more than the S&B in price, but I think I may try higher grade stuff. Haven't shot the gun since my original post, and I want to give it another chance. It's reliable more than 99% of the time in it's current state, but I suspect it will always be my third or fourth string 9mm.

 

[KyWstJoe]

I have never had a light strike on mine. only put about 2k rounds downrange tho, I also never went beyond field stripping, but I always spray a good amount of Rem Oil can down the firing pin channel too..
hoping you get it sorted.

Can't fault success but generally speakin' any lube in the striker is a no-no on any striker pistol. Maybe "always spraying a good amount" is keeping the crud down. I have 2 Sigmas with about 2200 and 800 rounds down the pipe and only use brake cleaner in the striker assembly. I had several light strikes in the first hundred on so and sent it back. No problems since.