S&w sd9ve?

I had one, but gave it to someone who needed it more than I did. Now that the Ruger P series is no longer being produced, this is the gun I recommend to anyone asking me about a sub-$300 9mm. They can be had pretty readily for $279 new. The trigger is not great, but the gun has been reliable and accurate for me when I shot it. I did not carry it, but I don't see that it would be worse than a Glock 19.

They're simple, durable, and affordable pistols.

The SD9VE is popular for a reason but has one of the worst stock triggers on a current production semi automatic pistol.

A friend of mine has one and it has been very reliable. An excellent choice for $300.

I see sales for the M&P series for 399 all the time. Would be worth the extra 100 bones over the sd9ve


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I had one that was stolen in a break -in. It had the worst trigger out there, just a tiny bit better than a P64 . It was reliable, but I never replaced it, never missed it.

I have the .40 version---the trigger isn't that bad really

Decent gun for a good price

Apex trigger and the gun runs like a sewing machine.

The basic light trigger spring kit...like 25 bones if i remember right.

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I have one. Not the best trigger, but goes bang every time. A decent quality gun at a good price. I say it makes a good home defense gun because of that long heavy trigger. Less likely to pull it before you mean to. But not a target pistol because of said trigger.

Watch this video. The shooter can barley hit any of his targets with the terrible SD9VE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cleMs8xmqc

After you watch this it kinda makes you want one doesn't it?

Wreck-n-Crew said:

Apex trigger and the gun runs like a sewing machine.

The basic light trigger spring kit...like 25 bones if i remember right.

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The upgrade still doesn't put it on par with many pistols in the same range but it does help.

Kiln said:

The upgrade still doesn't put it on par with many pistols in the same range but it does help.

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In what range? Price range?

I dont know of many striker fired pistols in the $325 range, full size and with 2 mags that are much better with thier trigger or more reliable.

Granted for another $100-175 you can leave all that behind.

Taurus poly line are doing much better but their triggers are not a lot to brag about.

Kahr economy line with some reliability issues.

Now da/sa, id go with a cz clone like the sar B6P. Or Witness poly.

FWIW the first Sigma series triggers were deplorable. Moving into the 3rd or 4th gen of the series ( not sure which with the SW line and different variations) the Sigma name and its trigger reputation carries a lot of weight. The SD Ve series is much better than where they started. But they still are referred to as a Sigma...that stigma they may never lose.








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The trigger is only "bad" if your definition of a good trigger is one that is as light as possible. The SD9VE trigger pull is around 8 pounds while the Glock is around 5.5 pounds. That doesn't mean it is bad just different. Some people rave about DA revolver triggers and those are around 12 pounds.

On the low price end of pistols its not a bad gun at all. The trigger is terrible and heavy gritty and long. Not as bad as a keltec p11, but not far off either. I prefer the ruger sr9 on the power end of price points but too each their own.

I have never read anything bad about them except for the trigger. For the price I have thought about buying one and installing the Apex spring kit. Then again I already have a Glock 19 so why bother?

Good pistol. Bad trigger.

If you want a pistol for defense it would work fine - you've got 15 rounds on tap and mine has never failed to fire. It might be a little too big to carry, YMMV. But for a plinker, I would probably go with something else.

I installed the spring kit, and for 25 bucks it was fine, but it just lightened the trigger a bit. The pull is still way, way long (it's definitely a lawyer trigger). Maybe a replacement trigger would help, I don't know.

I have a pair of SD 40's. I did no mods yet. One is kinda gritty and has had little use yet, the other was better out of the box and after about 2200 RDS the thing is really not bad now. Both have a long trigger pull but most Smith's semis have a longish pull to me anyway. As good a trigger as my Ruger P89 was after 5K rounds down the pipe.

Nothing wrong with the trigger except that there are a bunch of wimpy, weak folks who don't know how to handle a reasonably heavy trigger. If you know how to accurately shoot revolvers DA the SD9VE trigger will be no problem and you won't need to buy Apex triggers either. Good idea for a self defense gun.

If you are right handed with medium hands the ergonomics are excellent. The quality of the workmanship in the manufacture of the stainless slide is outstanding. Accuracy for me has been very good, put the front sight dot on where you want the bullet to hit. Mine has been 100% reliable. Comes with Smith and Wesson's warranty.

It's a lot of gun for a very reasonable price.

It's not just the trigger weight. It is long and unpredictable too.

Lots of people like having target gun triggers on a defensive weapon. Yet the standard worldwide over the last 100 years is a minimum 6 pound pull and usually 8 on issued weapons to armed forces.

I hear a lot about the BG380 being a good carry gun and it's 12 pounds.

The point being that trigger weight does not make it "good" or "bad." In point of fact Massad Ayoob took up that challenge and competed in a tactical shoot with a Glock and NY 10 pound trigger. The result was he won the championship. It has a lot to do with the shooter's expertise.

Let me add salt to this dutch rub by mentioning the S&W automatics introduced in 1954. They were largely DA triggers first shot - a long and heavy pull which would then reset to SA. Those guns went thru three generations with tens of thousands issued to police departments and they are now becoming collectible. All those cops didn't have major issues with the triggers on those guns, they qualified. For the most part back then they were shooting as often as most of us.

As they turn up as police trade-ins the bulk of the internet posts are from experienced users who carried them for years - even decades - and they have no problems with them. Why? They figured it out because they had to, and once used to it, no further problems.

It's much the same as getting broken to harness. Young colts don't care for it, working studs don't give it any thought.

Your grandpa just needs to try the trigger himself and come up with his own decision. We can't do that from here.

guns3738 said:

Thanks for the input everyone. sounds like were making a good choice and might just upgrade to the apex trigger once we get it.

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Make sure to post a range report to let us know you like it. More feedback is always better.

Tirod said:

Lots of people like having target gun triggers on a defensive weapon. Yet the standard worldwide over the last 100 years is a minimum 6 pound pull and usually 8 on issued weapons to armed forces.

I hear a lot about the BG380 being a good carry gun and it's 12 pounds.

The point being that trigger weight does not make it "good" or "bad." In point of fact Massad Ayoob took up that challenge and competed in a tactical shoot with a Glock and NY 10 pound trigger. The result was he won the championship. It has a lot to do with the shooter's expertise.

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The Glock NY1 trigger is about 7-8 pounds, like a Sigma. The NY2 trigger is 12 pounds. As far as I know, Ayoob used the NY1. Since Glock doesn't make a 10 pound trigger, which one are you talking about Ayoob using?

guns3738-I suspect you & your grandfather will be just fine. I haven't shot a sd9 ve but I have dry fired one once or twice & it didn't seem that awful to me. Of course I have spent some time with a double action revolver, & used to own a Kel-Tec P-11 as well as a DA/SA auto. You might just have to spend some time with it to learn the trigger. A lot of it just depends on your grandfathers likes & dislikes.

When I worked at a gun shop we sold them frequently to people who just wanted a decent reliable HD handgun. Reports back from return customers indicate they were all happy with them.