[Minute_Of_Torso]

Had an exciting range day planned. First off, my wife wanted to come along and shoot (which is a once in every 100th blue moon type of day). Second, this was the first time shooting a NIB SW99 in .45ACP.

I've read several gun rags' reports on the SW99 .45 and I must say that those boys must've gotten the gun free or at least got paid by S&W to write the article. :cuss:

I'm going to try to be objective about this report.

Ergonomics: the gun fits my hand wonderfully when I'm at home in my "man area" (basement) and I'm dry firing or just handling it. When it is being shot, however, the bottom of the trigger guard (where it sweeps upward) is very uncomfortable and became painful after a about 40 to 50 rounds, it was biting into the bottom of my trigger-finger. I tried different methods of trigger control but none helped.

Accuracy: mediocre to downright awful. I was printing like a cheap shotgun even when sandbagged. I thought maybe I was just having a bad day so I pulled out my SA Mil-Spec and proceeded to print 1.5" to 2.0" groups (typical for me when I'm sandbagged @ 25 yards). I'm not the greatest marksman on earth but 6" and 7" patterns at 25 yards are completely unacceptable for me. I think I know what the problem was, though, see the next part.

Trigger: AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Terrible. Awful. Horrible. I have to admit that I'm far more used to a good 1911 trigger setup, but I thought I might eventually get used to this SW99 trigger. The single-action pull is very strange. As I was using the day to help my wife try to shoot better, I was explaining the "squeeze not pull" concept. So I was very careful to slowly squeeze the trigger. This trigger appears so awful to me because even on a squeeze, the pull is so long that it seems to take forever by which time I'm anticipating the shot . . . which greatly decreases my accuracy. OK, so the problem may be more mine but still the awful trigger accentuated the problem for me.

Reliability: In 200 rounds I had 3 FTE and 2 FTF. Both with the same ammo (PMC). It ran fine with the other stuff I put in it (CCI, Winchester Silvertip, and even some Wolf). At one point, the slide failed to lock back on the last round and I had some difficulty in getting the normally drop-free mag to come out.

All in all, I'm not very pleased with this pistol. I think it may become For Sale or Trade fodder very soon. I know 200 rounds isn't much to judge a gun by but unlike most other guns I've shot in over twenty-five years, this one left a bad taste in my mouth right from the get-go.

Hope this is helpful to others. Any specific questions, please let me know.

[cratz2]

Cool! I didn't even know they were available yet. I've found the 9mm and 40 versions of the Walther very comfortable, both in dry fire and actual fire but if the trigger guard is painful, then it's probably time to move on. Is the grip physically different than on the 9mm/40 version of the gun or is it larger to accomodate more rounds?

I'd be interested in trying one out but I doubt I'll be buying one anytime soon. The guns I've shot were both pretty well used (and loved) by their owners. I have been told that the triggers smooth out considerably with maybe 2,000 or more uses. Then there is the fact that it's a Smith... some folks that swear by the P99, hate the SW99 for whatever reasons.

7" groups at 25 yards are pretty... well... horrible! But I'd hate to blame the gun until several varieties and weights of defensive ammo were tried. And I've never really cared for PMC ammo. I think it's PMC that doesn't even produce spec 9mm. I mean, how can you screw up 9mm ball ammo?!

Either way, thanks for the report. Hope others have better luck. I was sort of looking forward to the 45 version, probably the Walther though. :(

I guess for now, I'll have to stick with my righteous .177 caliber blaster. :p

http://photos.imageevent.com/cratz2/guns//DCP_2397a.JPG

[762x51]

Thanks for the report!

[Snowdog]

:( Sorry to hear about your disappointment. I know how exasperating it can be to get your hopes up high and spend good money on a handgun you've been waiting weeks to save up for, just to be let down in a moment of truth at the range.

So, I guess it's back to the tried-and-true 1911s, huh? :D



cratz2,

Impressive photo!

[10-Ring]

That's too bad :( I know how disappointed I get when a gun doesn't perform to expectations, bt as you said, it was only 200 rounds. Why not give it a good clean & lube and give it another 200 rounds before you really decide to get rid of it ;)

[Tom B]

Thanks for the report as I also was starting to look at the 9mm version with some interest. I guess I will stick to only S&W revolvers.

[Penforhire]

Tom, don't assume everything about the new 45 applies to the older 9. Plenty of us are happy as can be with our 9's. You do need to decide on the trigger pull feel and you can do that while handling at a store. Mine may have gotten smoother but doesn't break any differently than it did new after about 1500 rounds.

[Bowlcut]

My .40 tigger pull is getting better by the round. It smoothes way out from the gravely way it is brand new. And Im not sure the "ski jump" is your problem with sore trigger finger. I thought it was my problem as i was getting bit by my .40. But concentrate on where your finger is when you feel the bite for a few rounds....its after the ski jump i promise you. Its almost always the mag release hitting the bottom of your trigger finger, mine was right at the nail area....hurt like all get out.

I heard you can sand it a bit to make it better....but i dont like the sounds of that. I shifted my strong hand down ever so slightly...maybe 1/16" lower than what i thought was right. Made my trigger finger be perpendicular to the trigger. No more bite. What was happening was the tip of my finger was pointing down a bit too far. Hitting the far side, left side, mag release as the gun recoiled. I really started hating my gun as it hurt and really made me shoot wildly. I changed that, learned to focus differently on its sights and it all came into line.

I dont want to sound like im blindly defending s&w as im not...but im just saying give it a chance. Its not a 1911, and it shoots very differently

[Handy]

If, after trying a variety of ammo, the accuracy is still 6", have you considered sending it to the warranty dept?

[Erich]

Yeah, that would sure seem like a reasonable complaint. You could tell them to log onto this thread and then ask them how they'd like it to end! :cool: How many members is THR up to nowadays, anyway? :D

[Minute_Of_Torso]

Well, everyone, I calmed down and went to the range and put another 300 rounds through it.

[Bowlcut - I tried several finger placement options but none of them worked for me but my finger was pretty banged up by that time anyway]


I didn't have any failures this time but I still couldn't get used to the trigger setup.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that there's anything wrong with the design of the pistol . . . I just came to the conclusion that it wasn't for me . . . know what I mean?

Anyway, took it back to the gunshop and had the shop owner try the trigger. He wasn't too impressed either. He handed me a .40 SW99 . . . trigger was MUCH more smooth. So, I thought, maybe it's just this pistol and it's not indicative of the entire SW99 .45 series. So I had him let me try the 9mm SW99 and the trigger was just as bad, if not worse, than the .45.

Let me clarify something I failed to mention in the previous post. This trigger stages from a SA pull. It's stops about midway through the stroke and stays there (won't go forward) and then it's another pull to fire. Right before firing there was a very rough, hard-as-a-rock to overcome section of the pull. After that very rough, hard part it would fire. The 9mm SW99 exhibited the same thing but I think it was a little worse.

Anyway, the shop owner offered to have it sent back to S&W for warranty work but I just didn't want to go through that with a gun that had other characteristics I didn't like.

Long story short, SW99 is out. Love my various 1911's, but I ended up walking out with a NIB Ruger P95 and some accessories. My old motto still stands: "When in doubt, you can't go wrong with a Ruger."

I won't badmouth the SW99 to anyone, I'll just recommend what I didn't do this time: shoot one before you buy one.