Ok, so we all know most people hate these pistols but who loves em?
@ThePontificator has one he likes after he modded it
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What mods?
i had one, it wasnt a bad feeling gun in the hand, mine was a sd40ve, the problem i had with it was the trigger felt horrible and actually cut up my finger, if it werent for that and the stupid non picatinni rail it would be a decent gun i think.
The rail isnt a picatinni?
I havenāt tried to mount anything on it
well i had mine back 10 years ago, so idkā¦ maybe the new ones areā¦
Ive had mine for 5 I have a buddy who has the 40 and his is a bit different than mine
He put in an upgraded trigger group from mcarbo.com
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I own an SD9VE purchased in 2020 from PSA. I think the reason that these pistols have a bad name is that they have gone through several generations, starting with the infamous Sigma in the mid 90s. They have changed a lot and the folks who own the current versions seem to love them as a reliable, solid budget pistol. There are some shortcomings and I will talk about them later. First, to give you an idea of why some people donāt like them, and to explain some of the previous replies probably, Iām going to list some of the previous generation 9mm pistol names here and their approximate introduction dates. Of course there is a .40 cal and there was also a 380 ACP at one point too, but for simplicity Iāll stick with 9mm.
SW9F (Original Sigma) 1994
SW9V Date??
SW9C Date??
VE series introduced 1999
SW9GVE 2004
SW9P date??
SD series introduced, Sigma name dropped 2011
The current version is SD9VE, is striker fired, 16+1, similar in size to a Glock 19, and yes it does have a standard picatinny rail (I suspect the reply above was regarding a previous version). This pistol is quality where it counts but is no frills. It is a budget self defense pistol. It wasnāt built for competition shooting. The target market are concealed carry and home defense folks on a budget and perhaps not as experienced (or picky) as a seasoned shooter. It has standard plastic 3 dot sights, plastic guide rod, a nice āgrippyā grip, nice solid steel mags, a great feel, shoots great. It is +P rated. It feels good in your hand. Mine has over 800 rounds through it. To give you an idea of what Iām comparing it to mostly, I also own a Gen 5 Glock 19, a Sig P365 and a 1944 Walther P38. You canāt really compare it to the Sig which is a micro compact, but the Glock is a good comparison. I like the feel of the SD9VE in my hand better. I like the SD9VE grip better. Some talon grips for the Glock, but not really needed for SD. I like the Glock stock sights a little better.
Then thereās the trigger. S&W calls this their Self Defense trigger. Itās intentionally heavy. I think itās around 8+ pounds and has a somewhat long pull. The idea behind this trigger is that a ānervous newbieā has to really mean to pull the trigger. Make sense? I 4lb trigger could be an accident; an 8lb trigger, well, you have to really mean that. Is this a bad trigger, you ask? Well if you are used to a 4 or 5lb trigger, yes, youāre going to hate it. But if this is all you shoot, you wonāt know the difference. Hereās what I mean. Some people hate Pepsi and love Coke, but if you only ever tasted one and not the other, it would taste just fine, right? And no, it will not cut up your finger, not any more than any other trigger, and certainly not more than the DA pull of the Walther. 
I would rank my triggers as Sig first, Glock 2nd, this 3rd. Not a fan of the DA/SA trigger of Walther, but then again, itās was my fatherās war trophy and is not a carry/defense gun.
Having said that, a lot of owners do replace the trigger. But whatās the point of that? If youāre buying a budget pistolā¦ why not just buy a Glock or an M&P 2.0? Of course I guess if you only have limited cash now, you could buy it and upgrade later when you do have the cash. Trigger, night sights, and youāve got a great pistol.
My wife likes the SD9VE better than the Glock. She bought herself another SD9VE. But it just sits, locked up.
Now there is one other drawback I need to mention. I got a little overzealous with the spray bottle of Ballistol, and I got quite a bit down into the striker channel. I developed light strikes which turned into malfunctions. After some research, I realized my mistake, and I took apart the slide, cleaned the striker assembly and striker channel with 91% rubbing alcohol. I pulled a lot of brass shavings out of there. No wonder there were light strikes. All good now, no light strikes.
This was a self-induced, Iām-a-dummy mistake. So why am I mentioning this? Because I also went overboard on the Ballistol with my Sig. But it had nothing in the striker channel except oil. No brass shavings. So from this I can conclude that there is something about the slide of the SD9VE that might make it prone to creating brass shavings. So if you do buy one of these, I would suggest you go beyond the regular field stripping, look up the youtube video on how to open up the striker channel (itās easy), and clean it out too. Keep an eye on it at least. Since I cleaned it out (and stopped oiling it!) itās stayed clean, but I plan to keep an eye on it.
Last thing Iāll say is, there is a Smith and Wesson forum out there (I hope Iām not breaking any forum rules here, if I am, I will happily edit this part out) that has a dedicated SD9VE forum and you can read all about what the owners think and what triggers they recommend (Apex Tactical seems to be the most recommended).
Hope that helps!
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The pistols without the picatinny rail were the SW9V series. They had a proprietary rail.
I have a SD9VE purchased for a song during the salad days:
M*CARBO spring kit
NDZ slide lock (OEM tabs were too short for my fingers)
NDZ 18 lb. (standard OEM weight) recoil spring assembly
Hi-Viz H3 trititum/fiber optic night sight set
The gun is fun to shoot. The grip texture on the SD series is outstanding and fits the hand better than any of my Glocks. The standard trigger is doable. Guns sold in NY and MA by law must have an even heavier sear spring (Apex sells a replacement).
A couple of thoughts on the 3-spring M*CARBO kits:
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BUY ONE. Mine reduced the trigger pull weight nearly in half although it does not shorten the take-up or reduce reset which is not a huge deal.
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I would not bother adding an APEX SD trigger. Not knocking their stuff but if you install that trigger thereās about a 33% chance you will have to file down the overtravel stop on the back of the trigger in order for the trigger bar to engage the sear assembly. Itās an issue of tolerances. If you file you have to do it a little at a time and each time you must completely disassemble and then re-assemble the frame which brings me to my next pointā¦
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DO NOT USE THE M*CARBO VIDEO TUTORIAL TO INSTALL THE TRIGGER RETURN SPRING! DO NOT BOTHER WITH THE INCLUDED āINSTALL TOOLā!
Use the APEX Tactical video tutorial you will save yourself time, stress, and possible damage to your pistolās frame. There is no need to hammer out the trigger pin from right to left. Instead, use the APEX method to push it out and reinstall it much like a Glock.
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I just got one for cc. Planning on adding a light. I have no idea where to get an IWB holster for an SD w/light, though. I canāt swear I love it, yet-havenāt fired it. Iāve fired someone elseās several times.
Phlster is a little price. But its a great holster. And, if youāre using the same light on multiple pistols, its a great all in one. I can personally attest to a lot of their products. And they have a variety of different options, although I dont know if they all will work with the SD line.
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I really appreciate your help! They have exactly what I need. Thanks.
Take a look at the Enigma if you really want to spend some money. They finally are able to keep them in stock for more than a couple of minutes, but they are great for concealed carry. Especially in an office environment or when youāre not wearing a belt. Pretty cool design that helped kick off the concept.
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Iāll have to wait for the light-bearing version to come out.
I went with the Floodlight. Iām very happy with it. Thanks again.
Itās one of the best feeling 9mms in the hand Iāve ever felt. I prefer it greatly over the Glock. Reliability is 100% tooā¦ itās only a plinker for me, but itās never acted up.
The trigger is as bad as youāve heard though. The Apex mod makes it better, but still not great, and brings you $70 closer towards the price of a Glock.
I want to like this gun really bad but I just havenāt been able to.
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Iām looking for a āblue gunā, one of the plastic trainers. Does anyone know where to get one for the SD9?