Thursday, March 7, 2013

Smith & Wesson Sigma 40 Review




Sigma pistols have a mixed record among the shooting public with many saying they're complete garbage while others saying they're a great bang for your buck.  Here's what I've found of them over the years as well as specifically the Sigma 40 
Pros: 

-Price.  These guns can be had for roughly $300 +- $50 even today
-Fairly accurate pistols.  In terms of inherent accuracy, this gun groups around 3'' at 25 yards with most defensive ammo (seems to like 165gr loads)
-Reliability.   I know some will (truthfully) report otherwise but every Sigma pistol I've laid my hands on has been very reliable.-Easy to maintain 
-Easy to field strip
-Good amount of aftermarket support
-14+1 capacity
-Smith & Wesson has excellent customer service 
-Requires very little cleaning/lubrication to run reliably 
-Ergonomic frame
-Trigger has a positive reset

Cons: 
-Trigger.  This has been slightly improved in the newer "SD" models but the Sigma trigger is heavy (this one around 9lbs) and has an overly long reset point.
-The rail doesn't work with most modern lights/lasers.   There are adaptors (as shown in the video) available however.

All in all it's a decent gun for shooters looking to not spend a lot of money but still have a reliable platform.   Would it be my first choice?  No, but there are worse options out there in my opinion.

Here's a video with a little shooting, disassembly/assembly of the pistol, a size comparison with other guns, and a discussion of the pros and cons of the pistol.


1 comment: