Academy is running a sale on the Smith and Wesson 9mm and after rebate it is only $249. What are your opinions on the handgun for a first time handgun owner?

what model?

The Sigma. I know they had some problems at first with jamming, but have heard that they have this corrected.

wife loves hers
i use mine at the house, glock for work.
its a great gun.

Is $250 before or after the $50 mail in rebate?

and after rebate it is only $249.

Solid gun and thats a hell of a deal. Good caliber to start out with also.

You get what you pay for. The ones sold by Academy are the new enhanced version that got a lot of the glitches out. I shot one last weekend in .40 S&W. The trigger is very heavy and frankly suxx. It can be made better with a 50 or 60 dollar trigger job. I also had failure to feed malfunctions twice with fast double taps and failure of the mag to lock the slide once. It's ok as long as you know its limitations which IMHO are considerable. You'd be better served by putting in another 60 bucks and buying the Taurus autoloader.

FYI... at least at our store, the 9MM has outshown the 40cal. But we have heard about some minor problems only with the 40cal. this past spring. Since that time, nothing has come up about either gun! They each have the same "trigger" safety, similar to Glock.

Both guns are the same price.... regularly $329.99, on sale for $299.99 with a choice from S&W of a $50.00 rebate or two magazines.

POS!

I'd probably go with you on that assessment of the 9mm over the 40. It's really an OK weapon if you accept what it is and don't try to shoot it too fast, and make sure you're mags work. IMHO I think Smith should improve the mags and this would help the weapon.

thanks for the replies guys. haven't made the purchase yet, but the sale ends tomarrow. Having trouble making up my mind.

This is the best deal going right now. The Sigma is an excellent gun for $250. I am surprised to hear about malfunctions as the two I have fired were flawless. The trigger pull is very heavy but manageable. I am not going to rush out and trade my Glocks in for Sigmas but for the money they are great.


I am no big time highly trained pistol professional that shoots 10,000 rounds a month and knows everything but the Sigmas I have fired were reliable and accurate.

There's probably no pistol that is as universally either frankly disliked or loved as much as the Sigma. For most, you either love it or hate it. The newer enhanced version which is now being sold at Academy is a much better weapon than the original. If you look at the weapon internally it's for practical purposes much like a Glock. Still, what concerns me about the weapon is periodic instances in which the pistol is unreliable. If I see failure to feed with rapid double or triple tap shots as well as failure for the magazine to lock the slide after the last shot I think of one thing immediately and that's a bad magazine. I personally think the mag may have been "cheaped" to keep costs down by using weak springs and having a poorly designed follower. After a period of the magazine being loaded the springs may actually get weak. If you're a newbie and are going to keep it loaded and not shoot it too often, it could be a problem is you ever really need it. I'm not sure I want to test after market mags which is always an unsure proposition along with a few hundred rounds of ammunition to work out my theory. Then there is the trigger issue which IMHO is was too heavy, but is probably Smith's way of dealing with liablility issues with newbie shooters whom this weapon is designed for. If I were to buy this pistol and I almost did, I'd opt for the 9mm, keep the mags one or two rounds short of being full and get the trigger job. Then I'd test the mags every few weeks to ensure you're getting reliablity out of them. Personally for the price range, a little bit more cash gets you a much better weapon in the Taurus 24/7 which is in the same price range and needs no adjustments at all and which is sold at Academy as well.

I have the .40 in a Sigma, and have had a great time with the gun. I got mine from Academy as well. For the money, you won't find a better deal.

People are recommending the Taurus over this gun? Yikes! All I can say about the Taurus 24/7 which is similar to the Sigma is this-I can hit ANYTHING I aim at with a high degree of accuracy with my Sigma. I have YET to find a single Taurus owner who is happy-wait, that's going too far-that is even "okay" with the accuracy of the 24/7. If you have a range close by, please rent a Taurus before you buy one. Even the guy at my local range said they are not accurate for more than 10-15 yards.

While I don't love the Sigma, I recognize it for what it is. A fairly inexpensive gun with a very heavy trigger. The trigger can be fixed. If you end up getting one, please send me a PM and I'll send you a link that hashes out each and every step necessary to make the trigger a dream. Parts are available from Midway to do so, and are manufactured by Wolf. Does not require a smith-just a little time and a little money. I use my Sigma as a carry weapon. If that tells you how confident I am in it.

I'll have to disagree with you about the Taurus. I put one through its paces and it's excellent for the price, reliable and completely accuracte within its parameters. About the only bad thing I can say about it is that it has a long trigger pull, but is much smoother than the Sigma. Most pistol fights are short range affairs and that stats say that 90% are within 15 feet. Reviews of the Taurus are generally very good and I concur with this.
About the best pistol for the price out there in 9mm is the Ruger P95, but it's a double action, and I'm not exactly enamored of double actions for newbies. Academy is selling them for $349 and for the price you can't find a better weapon.
Back to the Sigma. You're one of those people who love the weapon and fixed the trigger. If you look at what the Sigma was designed for it's basically a poor man's Glock and in a way it replaces some of the cheaper semi-auto's made by companies like Jennings and Davis. It's also a good weapon for newbies as a first pistol, the trigger not withstanding a potential safety feature. After a while I think most of them are relegated to backup status as the shooter develops experience and preferences. I don't think the weapon is a good every day carry pistol unless you're forced into it.

Well crud, I was actually thinking of the Taurus Millenium as a possible candidate. Things did not work out and I wasn't able to purchase the Sigma before the sale ended. Still keeping my options open.

Don't worry, there will always be a sale. Academy has had this same deal out several times and is usually related to available inventory. I really love discussions like this one and hopefully we can keep this one civil without the peanut gallery joining in. When I look at buying a pistol, especially one for self defense or concealed carry, I think of two things and two things only. What is the threat and where is it going to be used ( home, car, personal carry, deep concealment etc) I try to tailor this to the above. After the above the other issues and the most important is reliablility, is the weapon going to go bang when I want it to and will it continue to go bang if I need it to. Accuracy is a secondary issue. Almost all of these pistol are plenty accurate enough. Again most gunfights occur at under 15 feet, almost none at 15 yards where the police shoot at a paltry 4% hit rate. I see guys at the range hanging their targets at the maximun and taking careful aim and I can only think how stupid they are in the process. The other factor and one is that often overlooked is how fast is the weapon, how quickly can you get that first shot off accurately. The stats say you have about 3.5 seconds, less if you want to stay ahead of the power curve. In examining the stats and after shooting the weapon I don't think the Sigma meets those standards because what you're talking about is your life or a loved one's life.

The Academy on the Southwest Frwy in Houston has both available now. I suspect most of the stores in the bigger cities will have them.

well both our sigmas break about the same point as my glocks but the trigger feel is about the same as my double action revolver.
i have no problem putting my life on its functioning.
practice with it, get comfortable with it and use good ammo.

i would not buy a taurus, one it is not on the approved weapon list at work, sigma is. two the ones i have experience with all gave me malfunctions. i would put tuarus in same class as llama.

to each there own and there are bad ones out there of any make.

whatever ya get practice, practice, practice.

My dad bought one about six months ago from Acadmey. It's a good pistol, but the trigger really sucks. I did a search on the internet, took the trigger assembly out and removed one pig tail spring. This took some heaviness out of the trigger. It has two springs that keep weight on the trigger, you can take both off, but when you shoot there is a chance the trigger may not return forward making you gun useless till you can push the trigger forward or put one spring back. Just remove the pig tail spring!! Good pistol for the price. Just do a google search about sigma trigger job!!! It's very easy to do. A couple of pins and the whole trigger assembly comes out and nothing will fly apart!!! Get a pair of needle nose pliers and take the spring out and slap it back together!! We've ran over 500 rounds through it with no malfunction!! It also reminds me of a double action revolver when I shoot it!!!