S&W SD9 VE 9mm Pistol Review

The Smith & Wesson SD9VE, let’s check it out. (Available Here)

 

Now Smith & Wesson offered the SD9VE as a budget option, not quite as expensive as your M&Ps and really they’ve upgraded this really well over the original Sigma series. The Smith & Wesson SD9VE, you know it took me a little while to figure out how to say that but one of the easiest ways is what it stands for.

This is a Smith & Wesson SD for self-defense, 9 millimeter, VE for value enhanced and this actually is a predecessor to the Sigma series which guys I’ll tell you the Sigma has been plagued with a lot of bad publicity, mainly due to the incredibly terrible 10 pound trigger. But and I’ve never really, I mean I’ve shot a number of the Sigmas but for some reason once they took the Sigma and they took the Smith & Wesson SW series and then they upgraded it and this is just the best of all the above. I mean it is a much nicer pistol overall than your Sigmas or your SWs.

You know not quite where the M&P is because the M&P is really their premium line. This is made for those who want to spend around the $300, $350 range for a really nice pistol that’s accurate, that’s reliable and that is well made and that’s what we have here. So before we get started we’re going to drop the magazine and make sure the gun is unloaded.

It is a chrome plated, really nice, very slick magazine, 16 in one and have 16 in one here. It does come with two magazines which some of the predecessors only came with one to keep the price down. Which you know the thing about these and I’ll tell you guys right up front, I looked on Academy, these are running $299.99 right now.

I mean that is a fantastic price for a really high quality polymer Smith & Wesson handgun. The Sigma itself has been around since 1994 and these were actually introduced in 2011. So the SD9VE has been around for a little while.

There are some things about this pistol though that have been upgraded that I think is a pretty big improvement over the original Sigma series. First off is the trigger pull. Now I’m not a big fan of this trigger.

I’ll just tell you up front. It is around an eight and a half pound trigger pull. But the Sigmas and SWs were about 10 pounds.

I mean it was just way too much. The reason why they have this eight and a half pound trigger is because it’s called their self-defense trigger. It’s not made to be a lightweight trigger.

It’s really made for the beginner to be able to take and just have the confidence when they pull that trigger, they mean to pull it. And so that is really the theory behind this. Another big improvement to me is the grip texturing.

I mean it’s very well done. It has really little pyramids, checks right here that are fairly aggressive, not too rough. And then right here on the side.

I really like this. I mean it’s really a nice grip. On the Sigmas there’s no difference in the grip angle.

But I like this checkering. It just looks better. I mean it has a better look to it.

And I guess that’s where VE comes into play, value enhanced. But it’s definitely much more designed and the finish is better. Also on the slide itself, I think the slide has been really improved.

The finish on this slide is really exceptional. I would not necessarily, just looking at this pistol, put it in the budget category because of just really a lot of the quality. You do have your serrations at the front, which are new.

And then serrations, of course, in the back. And these are, the angle, they’re wider spaced. They’re very easy to grab hold of and it makes it nice.

Now the sights themselves are a three dot sight. The rear is a polymer sight, but it does have a shelf for cocking. And it is easy on the belt to be able to cock this with a one-handed reload.

The front sight is steel and you can see it’s dovetailed in. So you can get replaceable sights for these. This is also a four inch barrel.

And I think originally the Sigmas were a four and a half inch barrel. So it brings the size down just a touch. Now, typically I’ll have like a Glock 19 to compare to this for size, but just guys, I’ll tell you, it’s pretty much the same as far as dimensions.

It’s a seven inch in length, it’s five inches in height, and it’s about 1.2 inches in width. I love the stream clean sides. It’s one of the things about the Glock to me that has made it such a success.

And it does have the same Glock style with the takedown levers, which we’re going to look at in a minute. But the slide release here is kind of flat and close to the frame. One of the things I’ve found with some of the pistols, in fact, some really high quality pistols that I really like is that you can inadvertently, while you’re getting a two handed grip, hit that mag release on the last round and still have it in the closed position, which this does not.

Now, another thing too, I like these little pads. It’s just a place to remind you to put your finger and it gives you just a little bit of texturing right there. Also, the Picatinny rail they have at the bottom is a little bit different than what they had originally with the Sigmas and the SWs.

It has a nice satin finish and the engraving is laser engraved all the way across. And then of course, Smith and Wesson here on the other side. Of course, these are made right here in the US.

Now you can see there are no external safeties like all the Glocks and a lot of the other polymer frame pistols. The safety, there is a trigger safety right here. In fact, this safety, the trigger has to actually be engaged or it’ll lock on this little piece right here.

Now the trigger itself, it has one of those pivot triggers, different from the standard Glock. And we’re going to look at the way this trigger functions and then we’re going to check the trigger pull. It is a long take up, almost like a double action striker.

I mean, it is a long take up and reset is also long, but it’s audible. And one of the things, especially with the early M&Ps even, you couldn’t hear the reset. So at least it kind of brings it out and you have a reset.

Okay, we’re going to check the trigger pull, about eight and a half pounds. I got that pretty consistently doing it a number of times. It would go anywhere from eight pounds, 10 ounces, and then really around the eight and a half pounds.

That’s a big difference from the original 10 pounds. But I’ll tell you, one of the problems that I faced the gun is very accurate. I mean, shooting it and it just seemed to put it all in the same spot.

But with the long trigger, there were a couple of times when I was doing my accuracy test where I had a couple to go down to the left. And it was kind of funny, had two of them to do that. But it’s just something about you bring it back and you get that long, you’re squeezing, and it just seems to sometimes surprise you because it takes a little bit longer.

One of the things to remedy that, and really, honestly, the only thing about this gun that I really don’t care for is this trigger. And because of that, one of the best options is the Apex trigger, which is really nice. They cost about $20, $25 with shipping.

And that’s what I paid for this. I went ahead and ordered it because I knew I was going to put it in. And I’ll have a video on that installation.

There is a loaded chamber indicator right here at the top. And with a round in here, you can see it right through the hole. So it’s not obtrusive.

But with that, it’s also not tactile. So you have to actually visually check it. The weight of the pistol with the magazine included 22.6 ounces.

To break the pistol down, of course, remove your magazine. You’re going to double check to make sure the gun is unloaded. Pull back and pull the tabs down right here on the side.

And then you have to pull the trigger. Here we have the recoil spring, guide rod, and of course the barrel comes right out. And as you can see, very similar to the Glock.

Now this one obviously hasn’t been cleaned. And I’ve put about 300 rounds through this pistol. And you have your normal.

But as you can see, I mean, it is, it’s very close to the same design as the Glock. In fact, Sigma went through a pretty good lawsuit with Glock because of some of the patent infringements that they considered. It was settled out of court.

That’s all you need to do to field strip. Now to reassemble, just go in reverse order. Drop in your recoil spring.

One of the things about your guide rod is it is plastic. But for this kind of price, you can’t beat it. And that’s it guys.

You’re ready to go. Put your magazine in and you’re ready for the range. I want to thank Federal Premium for supplying the American Eagle 9mm.

Good shooting stuff. And we shot about 300 rounds today. It was a lot of fun.

At the range, there were no hiccups with reliability. I mean, it just fed everything flawlessly. Shot about 300 rounds through it.

The trigger definitely is a little different, but it’s something that you can easily adapt to. I mean, it’s consistent and that really makes it nice. Probably more similar to the old M&P.

Definitely much better than the original Sigma. But at 8.5 pounds, it’s a little more than what I’m used to. So it took me a little bit of getting used to it at the range, but didn’t take long to start hitting that steel very easily.

The recoil is just really nice. The gun handles well. The grip angle was nice.

The texturing on the grip really helped with keeping control of the pistol. It’s like you said, Rock. It’s got a long trigger pull.

But you know, the grip’s great. The cut striations are easy to grip. I liked everything about it but the trigger.

There’s a trigger kit and I think it was a firing pin kit that are both like 30 bucks that you can find on YouTube and the guys say it makes the world of difference on them. Well, the one thing that they really promote with that because of the trigger, it’s not a manufacturing thing. They want it to be about 8 pounds because you’re not quick on the trigger.

Okay. So for an inexperienced shooter, they’ve got to really mean to pull that trigger. They got to want it.

And in a high stress situation, you know, you got a lot of adrenaline that could be possibly, you fire it before you mean to. This will kind of negate some of that and that’s the reason for the little bit heavier trigger. I like that.

They got a little, I didn’t even notice that, they got a small rail hidden on it too. The grip, the looks of the gun, the feel of it, the weight and balance, everything about it but the trigger I like about it. And I always said, you know, 300 bucks, you can get two of these for the cost of a Glock.

I mean, it’s made to sell in a good market, you know, just for someone that’s just getting introduced to a pistol. But I think honestly, you get used to the trigger, I think you can grow into it. I mean, I think that, you know, this is one and it’s accurate.

Well, you know, if you’re talking low price, you got that, you call that a compact or a full size? It’s kind of like a 19. Yeah, yeah. Not really a subcompact.

So you got that for 300, you got the Sky for 250, much smaller. So it’s kind of preference, you know, what you want. The Sky is about as thick as that though, isn’t it? That’s pretty chunky, isn’t it? Yeah.

And the thing about the Sky is though, it’s double action only. So the trigger’s like, which is fine. That’s what it’s made for.

That’s about what this feels like. So guys, if you’re looking for a less expensive option, I think that the SD9VE is an excellent choice. And guys, I’ll tell you for 300 bucks, it’s really hard to beat and it’s reliable.

It’s fairly accurate. I think the only thing is you get that trigger fixed and it’s going to be about perfect. So for the price you’re putting into it, a great gun for someone that’s, again, on a budget, maybe you just want an extra gun or for those that are just beginning to shoot and they really don’t want to spend five, $600 on a pistol, the Smith & Wesson SD9VE is a great little choice.

So the Smith & Wesson SD9VE, thumbs way up.

 

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic.

 

-Don