S&W Sigmas. Love 'em or hate 'em and why.

I had a 9ve for awhile. It was reliable and while mechanically accurate, it suffered from a long inconsistent trigger pull with a rough break and long reset.

I bought it on impulse because of the $50 rebate and two free mags deal. In the end I decided it didn't do anything my Glock 19s didn't do better. It became trade fodder.

If $300 was all I had to spend, I'd pick up a Sigma and send it in to S&W for a free trigger job.

All of the Sigma's I have seen at our LEO academy training (several agencies allow the sigma as a choice - and many, not lots, choose them, mostly because of cost) have had no issues in going bang. Glock is clearly the #1 gun on out range in popularity and in being issued.

The problem has been the stiff, long, terrible, (whatever word you want to use) trigger pull. Many first time shooters on our range have a tough time qualifiying and/or getting used to the trigger pull. When you put a Beretta 92 (which is the stock gun of the academy) in their hands most are able to qual easily.

Don't get me wrong, many do qualify with the Sigma too, and some do not qual with other guns as well, but the ones that give us the most trouble qualifying are the cadets with the Sigma's who did not know the trigger pull was an issue to consider and to train with before hand. Some of these cadets buy the Sigma because of price, and shoot it for the first time EVER on our range.

But as far as reliable they have seemed to have no issues in that department.

The Sigma is and has been for a long time one of the best values in the handgun world.

They may not have the worlds greatest trigger but the gun is quite reliable, pretty accurate, comfortable to hold and point well.

My first polymer frame striker-fire handgun was a Sigma SW40VE. I had it about a year and eventually traded it in for a Glock 22. I liked the Glock better but I wasn't disappointed with my purchase of the Sigma.

I picked one up because of name and price. For me, it is more accurate than my Glock 19 straight out of the box.

Never owned one, but I shot a friend's. Its grip felt natural in the hand, it was reliable, and it was accurate enough at SD ranges.

As far as I'm concerned, the Sigma, and the Ruger P95 are by far the cream of the crop of low budget handguns. Those two guns may not be a finely made, but will function as reliably and in all likelihood last just as long as the Glocks, M&Ps, XDs, etc... but at half the price.

The department I work for use to issue the sigmas. Out of the 60 or so patrol officers none of them had anything good to say about them. The sigmas they had were the first generation of sigmas. They stated that they malfunctioned so much that they had to get rid of them.
I can't really give any personal info on them because I have never fired one.

Two students at my academy brought sigmas with them. One was a 40 and the other was a 9mm. Both of the sigmas were removed from the firing line. One broke, and the other wouldn't quit stove piping. I think those two were also early sigmas.

I have heard good things about the current run of sigmas, just not the earlier ones.

Too horrible of a trigger. I have seen the triggers literally fail to release the striker. Instant paperweight.

Other than that they are reliable shot to shot. No FTEs or FTFs to speak of really.

Cheap. Reliable.

The VE Sigmas are extremely reliable and affordable. Trigger leaves something to be desired but the trigger fixes on the internet actually work very well. I CCW a Glock 26 but have a Sigma 9ve as my nightstand gun. Have never had a single malfunction with it.

What Mastifflover said. I have two, a 9 and a 40VE. The internet trigger jobs do work. Reliability and accuracy are fine in my experience. I carry my 9VE during jacket weather, and I have no qualms about it taking care of business should the need arise.

the sigma was the first semi auto handgun that i remeber shooting as a child other than the buckmark .22 so i was raised on a hicap polymer handgun in .40s&w, maybe that explains why i shoot xd's and glocks now in .40 cal.

anyway in my experience they are reliable, and accurate, they are inexpensive, and honestly i think they are a bargin, what a great value. then i didn't reliese it because i didn't know any better, but after shooting glocks and xd's and going back to that old sigma, the trigger was a little rough, but that is any easy fix with dry fire, and trigger time.

40VE Allied Forces model.

i can put all 14rnds in the 8 ring at 15 yards from a concealed draw. no problems what so ever.

it east anything and everything i feed it.

the trigger is just fine. i removed the pigtail spring and trimmed off one coil off the main spring and now the pull is about 8lbs, smooth as silk and breaks like a glass rod.

this is what i carry day after day on my hip, well when im not carrying my Rossi .357 snubbie.

Your poll is different than your question. I don't like them but have found them to be reliable.

I just put a 9VE on layaway (when you have three kids and a wife in school this is the only way to buy guns). No, I'm not planning on carrying it, or using it as a home defense gun. I have plenty of guns already, and they are more expensive and more refined than the 9VE. So, why buy the 9VE?

Simple. I am the first to admit that I have been a Sigma hater. That hate was based on the older generation of pistols, not experience with the 9VE. So, I want to see how it does. I'm going to shoot it, a lot. I'm going to record any malfunctions or other problems. I might shoot a IDPA match or two with it. I want to see what kind of gun one can really get for $299 (what I am paying) and then get a $50 rebate or two free magazines on top of it. I like S&W, so I'm hopeful. However, if the gun turns out to be trash, I'll say so. On the other hand, if the gun turns out to be great, I'll say that too.

I really like the grip, and being mostly a revolver shooter lately, the trigger doesn't bother me. So, we shall see. I didn't vote in the poll because I don't know the answer yet.

I've seen a piece of the slide come off of one during firearms training in our LE academy. I'm not saying I'd never own a S&W, but I've just never been a big fan. I'm the type that sometimes goes the opposite of popular products though.

i own both 9mm & .40sw and i love them both!