semi

the other day i asked about the springfield XD9, but today i looked at a Smith & Wesson SW9 handgun which was a nice fit for about $100 less. Anyone have opinions on this Smith auto?

i know smith has gotten a bad rap of late from some, but other then the nice safety feature and a stiffer trigger pull, it's seems to be of decent quality and comparable to the Springfield.

Roskoe

Not. Get the Springfield. Or go with Glock, Kimber, H & K, STI. The new Smith autos are only a little better than a Taurus.

semi

Do you know what the problem is with them? The sales rep at the gun store was pretty high on them, in fact he had one as his own personal gun that he was carrying.

Roskoe

The various law enforcement agencies around the country are moving away from them because of what I understand is the inability of their production methods to reliably produce components within the tolerances that the gun design requires. Both of their efforts to clone the Glock resulted in pistols that were not as accurate or reliable as a Glock, from what I have seen and understood. I was involved as a consultant in a State agency's assessment of .40 semi auto pistols about ten years back. The Glock, Smith and Wesson Sigma, Beretta, and Ruger were tested thoroughly. Smith and Wesson came in dead last. Agency went with Glock. The new SW99 is an attempt to revisit the Sigma concept - better attempt - but still not as as good, in my humble opinion.

johnch

I have a S&W Sigma 40 .
I had 1 fail to feed in the first mag ( may have been ammo related).
After that I have not had any problems ( close to 4000 rnds so far) ,shooting FMJ , HP and hardcast reloads.
Great gun

Johnch

Virginia7

C'mon now, comparing a S&W to Taurus? For me, I'll take the S&W anytime. I know S&W had some problems a few years ago, but from the examples I've seen in the local shops the last couple years they seem to be turning out some good stuff. I'm not familiar with the Sigmas, SW9, but others I've seen being used at the range seem to be
working just fine.
I've had several S&W pistols over the years including mod. 39, 59, 469, 6906 and a couple others I can't even recall the numbers on. Only one ever gave me a problem was that old 39 (back in the mid 70's).
Now, having said all that, for my money I'll go with a Sig. I currently have a mod.239,
9mm. It has proven to be the most accurate and reliable pistol I've ever had to date.
I'd also be content with a good H&K, and maybe a Baretta Cougar. A friend has a Cougar 45acp, and works great for him.
I don't like Glocks. I'm not saying they don't make some good pistols, I just don't like
'em.
If you like the S&W, go for it. Me, I'll give my money to Sig or maybe H&K.

bigcountry

Wheel gun, smiths the best way, semi, never again.

bigbulls

Lets not confuse the SW9 with the SW99. The SW9 is the new sigma and from what I understand is a huge improvement over the old sigma.

The SW99 is a Walther P99 built by Walther for Smith and Wesson. In the pic below you can see the Walther name right behind the accessory rail.



This is the SW9


This is the SW99



To answer your original question my pick would definetly be the XD over the SW9.

Aught Six

I wouldn't carry the Sigma, SW9, or even SW99 (I remember the groups were considerably looser than the P99 in testing) because I'm just not confident of their quality, dependability, and accuracy. Revolvers, no problem. But I just don't like their autos. Go with the XD--it's proven itself capable of handling tough conditions and shooting accurately. It's well worth the extra money.

But...if you really don't want to spend that much for a pistol, I would recommend the Steyr M9. It's a great gun for the money. I own and carry the M40, and while I had a few bad jamming experiences early on with UMC ammo, it's handles and shoots very nicely with Winchester and Federal ammo. My cousin has the M9 and hasn't had a single jam since he got it.

rcd567

I'm not familiar to the new S&W 1911. But I can tell the reason a lot departments are moving away from Smith. I've worked for a couple different meduim sized departments and when they put out bids to the LE suppliers, Glock comes in cheaper than most. Hence...low bid. There is just a ton of politics in choosing a pistol for a Law Enforcement Agency. I've been involved first hand and can tell you the best gun for the job seldom gets chosen.
I've carried a custom Smith 45 acp most of my adult life both on and off the job. Good guns. Are they the best? Nope. I'd have to say Sig is for a LE pistol, maybe Kimber for the 1911 models.
I wouldn't and don't own a 9mm, a 40 or 45 is the way to go. Just my opinion.