S&W Sigma 40 ?

[mosqueeler]

OK I will try to make this short but we will see.

I am wanting to get my classification in production. I have been thinking of getting a M&P in the Pro 9mm. But i have a Sigma in 40 havent shot it any just a mag thats about it. My cousin was a LOE he passed on a couple years ago so i bought his duty gun ,cause it was his. It has 5 mags so thats not an issue. But i need mag pouches & holster. I also need a guide rod he put in the laser and i dont want to blow it up. Springs, would not mind changing them out either. I am not worried about the trigger. Its my closet gun for my wife and i so the less tinkering i do the better.

I shoot ss and L10 and some limited. All steel guns, this is my first try at the poly gun so any advice would be great!

My limited is a 40 so i load it. They are 10mm O.a.l. and wont fit in the mags. As little as i am going to shoot it factory will do and sugg. on ammo?

Thanks for the help.

[Flexmoney]

The only thing I know about the Sigma is that nobody seems to like them. I don't think I've ever seen one at the range.

I am usually a "shoot what you got" kind of guy. You probably ought to shoot the Sigma, if for no other reason than to get to know it.

getting an M&P on order might be a good idea too.

[sirveyr]

The only thing I know about the Sigma is that nobody seems to like them. I don't think I've ever seen one at the range.

I am usually a "shoot what you got" kind of guy. You probably ought to shoot the Sigma, if for no other reason than to get to know it.

getting an M&P on order might be a good idea too.

I am usually a "shoot what you got"** kind of guy, too.

**However, that does not apply if "what you got" is a Sigma.

I think the S&W Sigma series was made to be air dropped into some African country to help the people liberate themselves from some evil tyrannical government warlord type guy.

It is defiantly not one of S&W's best offerings. Get the M&P...now!

[Paul Burtchell]

The only reason to keep the Sigma would be for sentimental reasons. If you are wanting to stick with S&W get the M&P 9L or Pro and don't look back.

[anachronism]

I had one. "Had" is the operative word here. They were new, and so was the 40 S&W cartridge, and I was convinced I was on the cutting edge of technology. Mine fed well from the magazine (many didn't), but failed to go bang every time the trigger was pulled. Accuracy was abysmal, 4+ inches at 15 yards. I tried all the usual fixes, the gun wasn't dirty, the springs were good, firing pin protrusion was good. It just failed to fire at least one time per magazine, and it was never the same round. One time, #5 wouldn't fire, the next time it was #8, and so on. I got even with that one, I traded it for a 40 S&W Beretta just before the word got out on the Stigma, and you couldn't give them away. Lots of guys took a bath on them back then, the bottom simply dropped out on their resale value. If you're using one for a house gun, I recommend thoroughly checking it for function and accuracy before relying on it. Just because it was a cops gun doesn't guarantee reliability or accuracy.

[Dwight Stearns]

I think the Sigma is like the Liberator .45 from WW2. It's what you might use to fight your way to a real gun. Or in this case bring to a match so somone will feel sorry for you and lend you one of theirs.

Dwight

[mosqueeler]

I do know he did not have any trouble out of it. He really liked it. I will shoot it. You never know i may have got one of the good ones. I do know they were offered to the leo's only at that time and not for public sale. the mags are marked "law enforcement only" due to the mag cap ban. i will let you know. I thought if anything a new barrel would not be a bad idea.

Like i said in the post i have shot it once, put 15 in the mag and rapid fire at a bucket or something and it went bang everytime. Dont know if i hit anything. I have seen them on line they are cheap and smith still sells them.

My kids are starting to get interested into dads gun hobby and i figured a soft nine would be good to get them started after the 22 conversion on the 1911.

My girl is 10 so she is not to far away.

thanks for the help i will let you know how it shoots

[smithjd]

I had one ISSUED for duty use in the early 90's...made me swear off S&W (until the M&P came out that is). From what I've heard a while back, you could get a Sigma, new in bubble packaging, for about $100 bucks if you bought an M&P AR. They were also sending them by the pallet for the new Afghanistan Police force.

I wouldn't waste any $$ replacing any springs or anything else. Just shoot it as is; you'd be lucky if it did blow up. Save your pennies for the new M&P.

[skeeter]

boy am i out there on this one.

i got one back in the 90's for $275 brand new. the trigger was junk but the gun ran with everything i ever put through it. you weren't going to win a bullseye match with it but it was good enough for SD. sold it to a buddy who used it for years and still owns it but doesn't get used that much anymore.

if you could give it a trigger job i think it would work as a match gun. there are better choice's but it would work

[bompa]

I have a Sigma 9ve and think it isn't too bad of a gun.. Target pistol it isn't but as a rough use pistol and a house gun or woods and plinking it serves the purpose well..

The trigger is rather heavy and long but it does get better with use up to a point..I am sure a decent smith can do wonders for it but it just might be expensive..

The M&P is a step above,big darn step,but for us Mass residents the trigger isn't much better..Just what is allowed by the AG..

[1911user]

No, that's the problem. Unlike many pistols, a decent smith CAN NOT make the trigger much better and keep it reliable. It is what it is, period. Do you think someone would list a certificate for a brand new one (in 9mm or 40, your choice) for only $200 if the issue(s) were easy to fix? It's a budget pistol and you really do get what you pay for.

Edited September 15, 2008 by 1911user

[mosqueeler]

Well I took everones addvice and bought a M&P in 9mm from GIO. I got is saturday and have cleaned it and greased and have not had a chance to shoot it. it looks like a well built iron. I aint no 1911 but thats another cat in itself. anyway thanks for the input and thanks to GIO. A little gear and some mags and i will be set. for the classification next year. Hunting season is comming and i love my HOYT to much.

[bompa]

Like I stated earlier the Sigma is not a target pistol but the heavy trigger can be fixed by a good smith and keep the reliability.. The ability to digest

lead bullets and put them where you want them to go is also there..How do I know ??I do have a 9ve that gets taken to the range quite often..By the

way it,the Sigma, is a recent purchase..I wanted to try a polymer pistol and compared a Glock and Sigma side by side..The Sigma came home with me..

Must admit a 1911 it isn't but feels as good in hand and shoots almost as well all things considered..THat was almost three years ago and it still is favored..

Recently a M&P9 joined the family so we have two plastic guns and quite a few all iron 1911's and CZ's and Brownings..They all do just what they are

supposed to do,go bang on command and put that piece of lead where it is supposed to go.

I am pleased with them all...

[reneet]

My only personal experience with the Sigma was not good. Didn't function reliably. Traded it for a Rem 11-87 SP. Highly recommend the M&P.

[mgood]

Digging up an old thread, but I would like to defend the reputation of my Sigma since no one else seems to like them.

Just before the Clinton hi-cap magazine ban went into effect, the gun store / range I frequented got in two Sigmas, SW40F, in .40S&W. One was to be a rental gun for the range and the other was for sale. The guys there knew I liked Smith and the .40 caliber. (I had a Performance Center Shorty Forty at the time.) They also knew I was looking for a hi-cap before the ban took effect and had been looking at Glocks. They suggested I try the Sigma.

I tried the one they had for rent. Before the week was out, I came back and bought the other one. It came with two 15-rd mags and I bought eight more.

I started hearing stories of Sigmas being horribly inaccurate. The two I've shot (mine and the rental gun they had) put fifteen rounds, off-hand, into one ragged hole at 25-30 feet, slow fire. Repeatably. NO flyers, unless I screw up. That hole is usually well under two inches. Not tack-driving accuracy, but plenty good for a self-defense weapon or for USPSA matches.

It just failed to fire at least one time per magazine. . . .

Mine failed to fire maybe one time out of a hundred. Maybe a little less than that. It would dent the primer, but no bang. I mentioned this to a gunsmith who was working on another gun for me. He looked at it and told me the slide didn't fit quite right. He sent it off to Smith and they replaced the slide. (This cost me nothing. No shipping. Nada.)

This was during the hi-cap ban. I was afraid they would "lose" my high capacity magazines, so I sent it in with no mags. When I got it back, it had two 10rd mags in the case which I neither asked for nor paid for.

I took it to the range and had a failure to return to battery about every other round. This was much worse than the original problem.

Took it home and took it apart. I did notice that it was bone dry. I cleaned and lubed it.

I've put about 1000 rounds through it since and have not had a malfunction of any kind. And I've run it pretty dry a couple times.

I guess it was just new slide + no lube = FTRB.

More recently I've heard stories of frames cracking. (Second- or third-hand stories, I've never met anyone with this problem.) I looked mine over carefully and find no evidence of cracks. I've got about 2000 total rounds through it.

I've also heard people complain about the trigger. I've always felt that my trigger was at least as good as any stock Glock I've ever tried. So I dry-fired a new SW40VE in the store. Trigger sucks on that one. Mine feels fine.

Maybe I just lucked out and got a good one. Strange because I usually get the one bad one of anything I get. But I'm very happy with my Sigma.

Edited March 29, 2009 by mgood

[Sarge]

Digging up an old thread, but I would like to defend the reputation of my Sigma since no one else seems to like them.

Just before the Clinton hi-cap magazine ban went into effect, the gun store / range I frequented got in two Sigmas, SW40F, in .40S&W. One was to be a rental gun for the range and the other was for sale. The guys there knew I liked Smith and the .40 caliber. (I had a Performance Center Shorty Forty at the time.) They also knew I was looking for a hi-cap before the ban took effect and had been looking at Glocks. They suggested I try the Sigma.

I tried the one they had for rent. Before the week was out, I came back and bought the other one. It came with two 15-rd mags and I bought eight more.

I started hearing stories of Sigmas being horribly inaccurate. The two I've shot (mine and the rental gun they had) put fifteen rounds, off-hand, into one ragged hole at 25-30 feet, slow fire. Repeatably. NO flyers, unless I screw up. That hole is usually well under two inches. Not tack-driving accuracy, but plenty good for a self-defense weapon or for USPSA matches.

It just failed to fire at least one time per magazine. . . .

Mine failed to fire maybe one time out of a hundred. Maybe a little less than that. It would dent the primer, but no bang. I mentioned this to a gunsmith who was working on another gun for me. He looked at it and told me the slide didn't fit quite right. He sent it off to Smith and they replaced the slide. (This cost me nothing. No shipping. Nada.)

This was during the hi-cap ban. I was afraid they would "lose" my high capacity magazines, so I sent it in with no mags. When I got it back, it had two 10rd mags in the case which I neither asked for nor paid for.

I took it to the range and had a failure to return to battery about every other round. This was much worse than the original problem.

Took it home and took it apart. I did notice that it was bone dry. I cleaned and lubed it.

I've put about 1000 rounds through it since and have not had a malfunction of any kind. And I've run it pretty dry a couple times.

I guess it was just new slide + no lube = FTRB.

More recently I've heard stories of frames cracking. (Second- or third-hand stories, I've never met anyone with this problem.) I looked mine over carefully and find no evidence of cracks. I've got about 2000 total rounds through it.

I've also heard people complain about the trigger. I've always felt that my trigger was at least as good as any stock Glock I've ever tried. So I dry-fired a new SW40VE in the store. Trigger sucks on that one. Mine feels fine.

Maybe I just lucked out and got a good one. Strange because I usually get the one bad one of anything I get. But I'm very happy with my Sigma.

I am not a glock guy but I have shot a few. I got a sigma for a buddy of mine and there is no way that trigger comes close to a glock trigger . Edited March 29, 2009 by sandman78

[Behr]

I am not a glock guy but I have shot a few. I got a sigma for a buddy of mine and there is no way that trigger comes close to a glock trigger .

+1

As an armorer for about 125 Sigma's I would have to agree. They are as accurate, I have a couple that are jaw dropping accurate, and they hold up about as well as most other duty guns...but that trigger. It's a bit heavy, reset is long, and there is not much that can be done to it. I've even shot a couple Performance Center Sigma's (I don't know why someone would want one but I'm always happy to shoot) and they are only very slighly better in the trigger, smoother more than anything else.

I've seen a lot of folks have trouble with their trigger control with 'em. I think that is why you don't see many at matches (I don't think I've ever seen one at a match come to think of it). I think the bottom line is there are way better options out there for a little money. But if it's what ya got, grab it and get in the game.

[Carlos]

Considering how good the M&P turned out to be, it is amazing that the same company (S&W) also managed to produce the Sigma. Its a mystery to me why they still make that gun.

Flashback to 1993: I bought my first 9mm Glock out of panic over local and national ban legislation that was then in vogue. My older brother thought he'd pull one over on me by buying a Sigma that was less expensive and in a bigger caliber than my Glock.

He ended up with a lemmon of a gun. Unrelieable. Trigger was terrible - not just for feel, but ergonomically, it tended to pull the whole gun downward if you tried to shoot it at all quilckly.

"Smegma" "stigma" - how ever you choose to call it, most folks prefer the M&P over S&W's original attempt at a polymer autoloader.