What's the latest user verdict on installing the Apex Spring kit?

[PeterPocket]

OK, I know it's been asked before, but, lately, it seems to be an evolving issue.

It started off like a house on fire with everyone rushing to replace all their springs, followed by rave reviews by users claiming how much better they made the gun.

Then, as some long-term users were experiencing light primer strikes, and other issues, the initial enthusiasm wore off, and they re-installed the original striker spring, but left in the lighter Apex trigger return spring and striker block spring.

Now, we have some deciding to go back to total stock for different reasons - some having nothing to do with the spring set, per se.

So, user opinions now range from three general positions:

#1. Full swap

#2 Partial swap

#3 Full return to stock

Since I am selling my new and unused Apex spring kit along with my SD9 VE and letting the user decide what they want to install, I need to know if that is still a prudent idea as opposed to installing the whole spring kit and letting the user decide if they want to keep running with it.

Your thoughts will be GREATLY appreciated. This would make a great survey to get an idea of the percentage breakdown among the three options.

 

[suckersrus]

Everyone has not tried them.
I have never felt the need to install an after-market spring kit.

If I buy a gun that appears to have a "spring" problem, it will go back to the factory.

I am extremely leery of buying a used gun that has had an after-market spring kit installed. The owner is a confessed gun wanker and who knows what-all he has "fixed".

The main reasons owners tinker with their gun's innards are:
To make up for their own shortcomings (can't shoot),
They have a lack of knowledge and are simply following the advice of an internet cowboy,
Or they are too lazy to dial 1-800-331-0852 (S&W CS).



All they really need is some quality instruction followed with lots of practice.


I've heard the arguments,
"I know what I'm doing.
The factory does not know what they are doing.
I am such a good shot I have to improve on the firearm design in order to become more accurate.
You don't know what you are talking about.
Your mother dresses you funny?"

I will have you know, I dress myself funny.



Oh, my advice?
Return the gun totally to original condition and don't say anything about "tinkering" around inside it.

 

[MyDads38]

I have both the SD9VE and SD40VE (along with M&P 9, 40 and 45); all my guns are bone stock and will stay that way. My SD9VE is my "grab & go" gun I carry most often and I can keep my groups 3"-3 1/2" @ 15 yards-as long as I do my part. All my guns hold that group size out to 15 yards. I shoot at least once per week to stay proficient.

I'm not a competitor, so I don't need a 2 lb. trigger on my guns. I keep them clean and lubed and don't abuse them. Sorry you're selling your SD9VE, but it's good you're letting the new owner decide what he wants to do with his new handgun. Hope you're replacing it with something else.

 

[ou1954]

I've posted on this many times. I have kept my gun stock except for the NDZ extended barrel stop which has nothing to do with the performance of the gun.

As I've said many times, if I want a target pistol I will buy one. At this point in my life I only want a self-defense weapon and in the very unlikely chance that I will need to use it, all the training in a shooting range will play little part in how I use the gun. As far as trigger pull is concerned, I clearly won't notice it.

Revolvers have been the gun of choice for years and they all have a long and heavy trigger pull (no I haven't tested one for that) but I can't imagine an SD gun having a trigger pull any longer than that of a revolver.

I still say that staying stock with all the parts involved in shooting the gun is the way to go.

 

[Capt Crunch]

I for one am completely in love with the Apex trigger. I was just not a fan of the hinge triggers. It's why I traded in my M&Pc for a XDs and it's why I changed on my SD9VE. As to the spring kit and that, I could take it or leave it but if I ever get any other Smith semi auto, it will get the Apex trigger.

I'm just starting in IDPA and i've been using my SD9VE and it's a very fast and accurate pistol and for the money, I don't think there is anything better.

 

[PeterPocket]

I appreciate the reply. Now read my post

Two most salient points that I made here are

#1 I HAVE NOT INSTALLED THE SPRING KIT, IT IS STILL NIB.

#2 My statement, "It started off like a house on fire with everyone rushing to replace all their springs," was metaphorical and not literal. The rush to buy the springs was probably greatest (percentage-wise) for the owners of the original SIGMA.

However, given how many SD9VE's & SD40VE's have been sold since Academy Sports dropped their everyday price to $319 and often sold for under $300, the actual numbers of spring kits sold might exceed the actual #'s sold for the Sigma (and maybe also percentage-wise).

Of course, the whole point of my post was to hear what you said at the end about leaving your guns stock, as that was one of the THREE CHOICES I had asked members about.

+1 for STOCK

Everyone has not tried them.
I have never felt the need to install an after-market spring kit.

If I buy a gun that appears to have a "spring" problem, it will go back to the factory.

I am extremely leery of buying a used gun that has had an after-market spring kit installed. The owner is a confessed gun wanker and who knows what-all he has "fixed".

The main reasons owners tinker with their gun's innards are:
To make up for their own shortcomings (can't shoot),
They have a lack of knowledge and are simply following the advice of an internet cowboy,
Or they are too lazy to dial 1-800-331-0852 (S&W CS).



All they really need is some quality instruction followed with lots of practice.


I've heard the arguments,
"I know what I'm doing.
The factory does not know what they are doing.
I am such a good shot I have to improve on the firearm design in order to become more accurate.
You don't know what you are talking about.
Your mother dresses you funny?"

I will have you know, I dress myself funny.



Oh, my advice?
Return the gun totally to original condition and don't say anything about "tinkering" around inside it.

 

[gumbe]

Short and to the point, stock.

 

[Snub405]

I like the trigger pull, I was raised on wheel guns, for self defense I don't want any question if god forbid I had to use it, as to wether it was an accident. Also, don't want an accidental discharge under stress when I didn't mean to shoot. As for your question, I would have the original springs in and let the buyer decide from there.

 

[11shooter]

My 9VE trigger return spring broke last fall, after 10 years of service and thousands of rounds of ammo fired. I was unable to buy a replacement spring from Smith and Wesson, so I bought Apex springs in a kit, including the trigger return spring and the striker spring. I got FTF's from the git-go, so I put the S&W striker spring back in, and the gun runs real smoothe.

I bought my S&W9VE NIB for $269 in 2004, after I was attacked and fired at by an armed robber. He missed, and he was caught after a 20-minute chase. He served 5 years. I found that the trigger smoothed out after the first couple of thousand rounds. I feel secure with my Sigma. It is very reliable, and I can keep the hits in a 6" circle at 10 yards with 124-grain JHP ammo from several manufacturers. I don't think I would ever part with my Sigma.

 

[ou1954]

Parts

My 9VE trigger return spring broke last fall, after 10 years of service and thousands of rounds of ammo fired. I was unable to buy a replacement spring from Smith and Wesson, so I bought Apex springs in a kit, including the trigger return spring and the striker spring. I got FTF's from the git-go, so I put the S&W striker spring back in, and the gun runs real smooth.

<snip>

Did S&W fail to honor their warranty or did you just try to buy the spring from them?

 

[Monteman1971]

I have just the spring kit in my SD9, no issues after a year. It made the pull a bit softer and smoother but of course did not change the long pull which is just the way I like it (for carry purposes).

I'd say it's all a personal preference but if your selling yours I would leave it stock, give the spring kit to the new owner and let them decide.

 

[11shooter]

. . . I'd say it's all a personal preference but if your selling yours I would leave it stock, give the spring kit to the new owner and let them decide.

Amen to that.

I failed to mention -- I am not knocking Apex products. It just didn't work with my particular gun, which is a carry weapon that needs to fire every time. Actually, when I had the Apex striker spring in, my 9VE fired every time with Federal match ammo and Federal SP Match primers in my reloads. The fail-to-fires were bad with Winchester SP primers, no matter what kind of brass I used, and almost every brand of factory fodder I tried. I even tried 100 rounds with new (never fired) Lapua brass. The light strikes were evident on every primer, but the ones that failed to fire looked like they had even less of a 'ding' in them than the ones that fired.

If memory serves, my FTF's were usually after 7 or 8 shots. The 8th or 9th shot would not fire. Then I would release the mag, eject the FTF cartridge, let the gun cool down, and fire the remaining 2 or three rounds from that mag, including the one that did not fire the first time. It always fired on the 2nd attempt. I had made absolutely sure my gun was extremely clean and blown dry inside every port. It still would not run flawlessly with the Apex spring, except with the Federal Match primers. Too bad, because the trigger was a dream with that setup.

It may just be my old, worn gun. I shoot it a lot, as evidenced by the fact that I wore out a trigger return spring. The good folks at S&W replaced all of the springs for me recently. It is so much better than it was when it was new.

Good Luck!

 

[11shooter]

Did S&W fail to honor their warranty or did you just try to buy the spring from them?

I overlooked this question earlier. Sorry about that. Anyway, I tried to buy the spring from S&W. They said I would have to send my gun in to them to have the spring replaced. I didn't want to do that, so I decided to go rogue. Later, when my striker broke in two pieces, I had no choice but to send it to S&W because nobody would sell me a striker at that time.

S&W sent me a pre-paid label with packing and shipping instruction. I sent my gun in, and they fixed it and sent it back to me at their expense with a new striker, all new springs, and a newly tested 10-round mag. Later, I called to order an additional 16-round mag, but they only had the newer SD-9ve mags, which are slightly different at the base, but will work in my gun. They sent the 16-rounder at their expense and didn't even charge me for it.

BTW -- I now have five 10-round mags, two 16-round mags, and two 17-round "Police and Military Only" mags that I bought during the "ban." I use the 10-rounders at the range most of the time and fire from the hi-cap mags once in a while to make sure they still work right. I carry 18 rounds and keep a spare 17-rounder close by.

I hope this helps. Sorry for the run-on. I get carried away sometimes.

 

[GRU_ 7_ mech]

It seems like many SD_VE owners like the Apex trigger, and some like the spring kit, but appears to be a problem with the lighter striker spring in the Apex kit. Has anyone contacted Apex and asked them why they have not replaced the spring with a slightly stronger spring (yet still lighter than the OEM) than comes with the kit?

 

[Capt Crunch]

It seems like many SD_VE owners like the Apex trigger, and some like the spring kit, but appears to be a problem with the lighter striker spring in the Apex kit. Has anyone contacted Apex and asked them why they have not replaced the spring with a slightly stronger spring (yet still lighter than the OEM) than comes with the kit?

I contacted them about lightstrike issues. They did not seem to think that it was their spring. They suggested I clean out the striker. Which in all honesty, was covered with brass shavings. However, I also changed back to the stock spring so I don't really know for sure which solved the issue.

 

[GRU_ 7_ mech]

I contacted them about lightstrike issues. They did not seem to think that it was their spring. They suggested I clean out the striker. Which in all honesty, was covered with brass shavings. However, I also changed back to the stock spring so I don't really know for sure which solved the issue.

I know, I just got the same response from them about the e mail I sent last night. I replied....read the S&W forum and you will see people that go back to the stock spring do not have the problem therefore most likely YOUR ( Apex) spring needs to be slightly stronger.

 

[Capt Crunch]

I suppose I could put the APEX spring back in and test it and the striker clean but really, it shoots fine and I really don't think the spring made all that much of a difference anyhow, mostly what I wanted/needed was the trigger itself and the pull.