Sigma:What's the truth???

[44Hunter]

I bought an SW9VE two weeks ago and have put 500 assorted rounds through without a hiccup. Every "non owner" I meet tells me "they're junk", "call me when it breaks", "no quality", "buy an M&P", "SW giving them away to Iraqi police", "I've HEARD they have problems", the trigger will break" etc.
I have owned over 100 handguns and although it has a "heavy" trigger, it IS a true DAO and no one should expect the trigger of a Camp Perry/ Les Bear 1911!
I am getting center mass double taps from the leather in 2.0 seconds at 10 yds. What am I missing here??? Is all this true or is this gun the sleeper of the decade??? Just leave it alone and shoot it !!!
PS: My 1911PD and HK P2000 broke at 150 rds!!

 

[stevieboy]

I think one's view of the gun may be influenced a lot by one's background. People who cut their teeth on 1911s seem to hate it. Those whose background is da revolver like it a lot more.

I'm a revolver guy, and although I enjoy shooting my 1911, I'm far more comfortable shooting a gun with a da trigger. I've tried the triggers on several Sigmas and they strike me as having a feel not unlike a da revolver trigger. No, you can't stage them but the pressure required to cause the gun to fire is roughly comparable. I LIKE the Sigma trigger, it's right in my personal comfort zone. I also like the gun's ergonomics. The grip frame is way friendlier for me than a Glock grip frame.

I have no doubt that my next handgun purchase will be a Sigma. With the rebate that Smith offers more or less continuously, a Sigma can be had for well under $300. From all accounts, it's tough, accurate, reliable, and has a trigger that I'm comfortable with. What's not to like?

 

[scottaschultz]

I guess now you know the truth!

I enjoy the heck out of my 9mm Sigma. I thought it was great to begin with, but I did send it to LSG to get things smoothed out and like it even more. My biggest mistake? Letting my wife shoot it and now it looks like I will have to buy another one... for me!

You see, I actually checked out the reviews and asked questions BEFORE I bought it and knew what I was getting into while it seems that most people buy it sight unseen because of the attractive price and then come here and bitch about what a piece of crap it is!

I find it hard having any sympathy for them!

Scott

 

[angel71rs]

I've tried the triggers on several Sigmas and they strike me as having a feel not unlike a da revolver trigger... I also like the gun's ergonomics. The grip frame is way friendlier for me than a Glock grip frame.

Agree completely.

I bought my Sigma on impulse, but it was a good impulse buy. A steal at $250 after rebate. Guy at the range next to me last Saturday was there for 1st rounds thru his Sigma. He too could not believe how good the pistol was for what he paid. I've done some trigger work on mine, he was interested, directed him to this forum so he could research, decide if he wanted to do his too.

Sigma just has a bad rep, undeserved IMO, and that rep had kept me from purchasing one in the past.

But there is the positive... if not for that rep, the cost to purchase would be much higher.

 

[angel71rs]

most people buy it sight unseen because of the attractive price and then come here and bitch about what a piece of crap it is!

Hi, my name is Angel and I'm the exception.

Seriuosly, I did no research, just ran across negative comments on these pistols on the boards, mentally had crossed it off my list of possible purchases when looking for a 9mm. Till I saw the "Hot Deal" tags on the Sigmas in Academy's display case. I took it to the range immediately after leaving Academy, was very happy with my rash purchase.

 

[Muley Gil]

""SW giving them away to Iraqi police","

I don't know about Iraq, but I was in Afghanistan when Sigmas were issued to the Afghan police. All of the ones I fired over there had very heavy trigger pulls. I started in law enforcement when the DA revolver was the norm and I don't feel that the triggers are that close in comparison. I prefer my S&W revolvers or the Glock to the Sigma.

The Afghan Army also received Sigmas.

 

[jd3772000]

 

[mlk18]

Mass ignorance is born when one person has a bad experience, rants about it in public forum or two, then people with no actual experience take it as gospel and spread it around like it's universal truth. You cannot fix the ignorant, you can only hope that eventually they will follow the next sheep off the mountain. This is more applicable to the SW9VE than any other gun I can think of. When people bash or bad mouth your SW9VE just look at them with pity and say "Oh, I thought you were knowledgeable about guns".

 

[jadek669]

Wow.. That has to be a Glock storage container

 

[roaddog28]

I recently bought a SW40VE. Just the 40 S&W version of the 9 mm. I bought the Sigma because I am a double action revolver person. I feel more comfortable with a DAO type gun. The Sigma fits my needs. Simple to clean, reliable and accurate enough for SD. Most people bash the Sigma as being junk because of the trigger. But that shows that they have little experience with action types in guns. The same people that bash Sigma probably would bash a double action revolver. They don't understand that guns are made different and every pistol is not going to have a 1911 trigger. In a stressful situation such as defense of a person life most people will be better off with a DAO type gun. That is why experience gun testers recommend a double action revolver over most other guns because of the experience level of most people. The Sigma is one of the semi-autos that is as close to a revolver as possible. I have been shooting handguns and rifles since 1971 and I believe for the person that is learning to shoot either a Sigma or a revolver is the best first gun for HD/SD. As a person gets better then they can always go to a different type gun.
I just hope Smith keeps making the Sigma. Its a excellent gun for its purpose.

Regards,
roaddog28

 

[BigRich315]

Wow.. That has to be a Glock storage container

That was my thoughts too.

New production Sigma's are great weapons. It's a DA, what kind of trigger do you expect? Mine actually feels a bit lighter than the Model 60, so I'm far from complaining. Accuracy to date is great and I haven't even seen it think of malfunctioning.

 

[Group 4]

I say trust your own instincts. Rarely has following the herd been a good policy for anything in life. Additionally, the Internet is a repository for a lot of misinformation.

 

[Ky Bob]

My only complaint with the Sigma's are that they are so well liked the price keeps going up.

 

[Rockhanger]

I have a SW40VE and next new purchase will be a SW9VE

 

[SmithNut]

A lot of us who were around when they first came out were tainted by the quality (lack of) and fragile nature of the actions. Not only am I an unabashed S&W fan, but I also spent nearly 10 years helping a gentleman locally at his indoor shooting range. The early Sigmas were, sorry to say, mostly junky, with poor quality triggers that had a habit of breaking at unusual times - like shooting them.
The Enhanced Sigma went a long way towards fixing the problems and I've heard plenty of good things about the more recent guns. You need to factor in the old adage "you never get a second chance to make a good first impression", and the stigma of the early Sigmas has lasted a long time for many of us.
No, I'm not one of the folks that lambast S&W autos because it's trendy to do so on other boards, the early guns had issues.
Now, for the M&P, I've talked to folks that have been in the gun business for longer than I, work at indoor ranges where these things get shot a lot and don't get a lot of maintenance and have heard guys that have been historically Glock and 1911 fans (bigots) tell me that the M&P works, S&W got it right. I believe them, it does seem to be the gun that the Sigma should have been. I remain on the side of the crowd that will not buy a Sigma. BTW - my son in law had one when he came into the family, very problematic and the $200 bath he took in disposing of it still weighs on my mind.

 

[mlk18]

The early Sigmas were, sorry to say, mostly junk

I agree with that statement. When I attended my first LE Firearms Instructor school in the late 1990's I watched 2 people with SW9F Sigmas suffer issue after issue until the first gun when down completely. I helped detail strip the gun to see if we could diagnose the issue. My assessment; cheap parts, low quality control and insufficient design testing. Not a banner day in the history of S&W. Even then I know a few guys with the original Sigma's that are good reliable guns.

However when the SW9VE came out and the word was made known that it was better made, with better quality control and an "enhanced" design I did not instantly judge the gun on it's predecessor. I did not buy one right away, but after enough people started singing it's praises amongst a ton of haters declaring them crap, I decided I had to buy one to just see for myself. I was and am very pleased that Smith decided not to just discontinue the line, but to make it right.

I will also add that I don't know of a gun that did not suffer initial issues and did not need to be "enhanced". Sig had issues with their duraluminum frames cracking, Beretta slides had issues with blowing off the back of the gun, Glock is up to it's 4th generation of revision and even the venerable 1911 you see today is nothing like the original gun was. Even the new Bren Ten has been slightly modified from the original.

 

[HighStrung]

Every "non owner" I meet tells me "they're junk", "call me when it breaks", "no quality", "buy an M&P", "SW giving them away to Iraqi police"

Plain and simple, why listen to people who have never owned one. Thats not to say that very experienced gun owners don't have very valuable information, but everyone has a preference and opinion. I don't give my opinion on Glocks as I've never owned one, I just don't like the feel in hand. Take the info given from those who've owned a sigma (I have 300+ thru my SW40VE with no prob's to date and no complaints but I know of several other sigma owners who have had issues), and figure the pro's vs. con's. My trigger was fine when I bought mine, a little stiff but I knew that when I bought it (and I'm not accustomed to a revolver trigger) and still have no issues with the trigger. It's not a target/competition gun, no one will tell you that it is. Is mine a 100% reliable, so far it has been but I've only got 300ish rounds through mine. Is it accurate, mine is as accurate as I am at this point, can others shoot more accuratly, sure. Has mine been worth every dime I spent on it, yep. Will I admit that there are better quality/performing weapons out there, sure there are. Depends on what YOU are looking for, do your research, and make as informed of a decision as you can. Even borrow/rent one if you can.

Pic is 14rds from 20 yrds, first time I shot this pistol. Additional info: it was 11 degrees this day and I wasn't wearing gloves so I was a little cold (not to make excuses)

 

[SleazyRider]

I hefted one in my local gun shop just this morning, and it felt very good in the hand. I was very impressed with how easy it was to rack the slide, also.
But how can one tell if it is a "new production" compared to an "old" production? This particular gun shop does not seem to move a lot of merchandise (probably because of their high prices), and I want to make sure I get a new production firearm. What about the ones Bud's is pushing---are they new production?

 

[mlk18]

Look for a proprietary "rail" on the frame's dust cover. Old Sigmas have no rail. Secondarily the model designation is on the slide. SW9E, SW9VE and SW9GVE are the new models. I am sure Bud's only has the new guns, the old ones haven't been produced since 1998 or 1999.

 

[WildCard ZX6R]

I hefted one in my local gun shop just this morning, and it felt very good in the hand. I was very impressed with how easy it was to rack the slide, also.
But how can one tell if it is a "new production" compared to an "old" production? This particular gun shop does not seem to move a lot of merchandise (probably because of their high prices), and I want to make sure I get a new production firearm. What about the ones Bud's is pushing---are they new production?

If it has the rail on the dust cover, its an "enhanced" version and will be of current design...


*edit* Lol pulled the trig the same time as MLK ...