S&W Sigma: Buy it or High Tail it?
- Thread starter EBF
- Start date
George Hill
Staff Alumnus
Maybe you guys are not cleaning them right?
Sorry - Had to make that crack. That's what the AR fans keep telling you when you say an AR isn't reliable.
Sorry - Had to make that crack. That's what the AR fans keep telling you when you say an AR isn't reliable.
yorec:
I had one of those crappy Sigma's and I know of at least 8 other gun shop patrons in Bellevue WA that also ditched their Sigma's within three weeks of buying them NIB - over the past four years. had to get SW toi directly refund them for the money since the dealers wouldn't get involved other then sedning the guns back to SW for warranty repairs.
They REALLY never upgraded them and if they did, the parts were made by cheap third owrld manufacturers.
700 plus guns is a solid population to judge.
Love my three SW N-frame revolvers and have no problems with the Sw 1076s and Ladysmiths and the 59/69 series and the Chief's Specials are okay.
But that's it.
By 2004, they'll probably be discontinued. People can buy a Springfield Armory XD for a little more. So it will die on the vine as do all poor products.
I had one of those crappy Sigma's and I know of at least 8 other gun shop patrons in Bellevue WA that also ditched their Sigma's within three weeks of buying them NIB - over the past four years. had to get SW toi directly refund them for the money since the dealers wouldn't get involved other then sedning the guns back to SW for warranty repairs.
They REALLY never upgraded them and if they did, the parts were made by cheap third owrld manufacturers.
700 plus guns is a solid population to judge.
Love my three SW N-frame revolvers and have no problems with the Sw 1076s and Ladysmiths and the 59/69 series and the Chief's Specials are okay.
But that's it.
By 2004, they'll probably be discontinued. People can buy a Springfield Armory XD for a little more. So it will die on the vine as do all poor products.
There isn't one you can have complete confidence in out of the box. All brands have created lemons. All of them. Complete confidence only comes with shooting and practice. As you get better with your gun, you'll come to know its capabilities just as you'll come to know your own capabilities. If it's a lemon, replace it. If not, keep it and shoot it - be confident in it.
So did you find out from your friend that this Sigma is a lemon, maybe he won't let you shoot it to know, or are you just being swayed by internet opinion? Just curious. Talk on the internet is cheap and expertise easily won. I've learned that the hard way...
Now, keeping that in mind I still have a rebut for jtduncan since he seems to think I care about this security department of his and went out of his way to call me by name to draw my attention to it... I personally know dozens of Sigma owners and none of them have had any real problems with thier Sigmas. A lot of them don't like them because they are Colt, HK, Glock, Sig Sauer, choose your brand, fans. Many of them sound just like you jt. But they still have had no problems with their Sigmas. A few of them even claimed to have had problems, but when I confronted them at the range (easy to do since I'm the PD Firearms Instructor and they have to qualify through me) thier guns seemed to work just fine. Couldn't make them malfunction. Seems to be a pattern from where I stand.
I've also done a little research since my department issues Sigmas and it is up to me to see our officers get reliable equipment. At every class I go to, I ask other instructors and officers who say the Sigma is junk how they know. None of them have been able to verify it directly - Its always "my friend said," or "I know of this department," etc. No one has actually seen it happen themselves excetp a few. After a few question to those, I find the ammunition was to fault and not the gun. So bringing up this security company again - could you e-mail me come contact information for thier firearms instructor, I'd love to learn just what was going on with thier guns...
Closest thing I've gotten is a couple instructors explained they convinced thier department to do away with the Sigma and go with a better gun. I have no problem with those guys having a preference for other guns, but the Sigma didn't have problems with those guys either.
Preference is a very important thing when choosing a handgun. If you prefer something other than a Sigma, fine. More power to you - learn to shoot it well whatever it is. But just because your preference runs differently than mine doesn't make my gun a POS. Your gonna have to prove it to me.
I'll freely accept that the Sigma may be not be as high quality as some other guns and may have more problems. Personally I won't buy any new S&W product for personal political reasons. Maybe S&W even produced a few more lemon Sigmas than can be found on average with other manufacturers, but I'm having a danged tough time tracking any of them down.
Sorry to sound as if I've been offended - I really wasn't, but I have gotten tired of blind accusations and to be singled out for my opinion demanded some rebuttal...
So did you find out from your friend that this Sigma is a lemon, maybe he won't let you shoot it to know, or are you just being swayed by internet opinion? Just curious. Talk on the internet is cheap and expertise easily won. I've learned that the hard way...
Now, keeping that in mind I still have a rebut for jtduncan since he seems to think I care about this security department of his and went out of his way to call me by name to draw my attention to it... I personally know dozens of Sigma owners and none of them have had any real problems with thier Sigmas. A lot of them don't like them because they are Colt, HK, Glock, Sig Sauer, choose your brand, fans. Many of them sound just like you jt. But they still have had no problems with their Sigmas. A few of them even claimed to have had problems, but when I confronted them at the range (easy to do since I'm the PD Firearms Instructor and they have to qualify through me) thier guns seemed to work just fine. Couldn't make them malfunction. Seems to be a pattern from where I stand.
I've also done a little research since my department issues Sigmas and it is up to me to see our officers get reliable equipment. At every class I go to, I ask other instructors and officers who say the Sigma is junk how they know. None of them have been able to verify it directly - Its always "my friend said," or "I know of this department," etc. No one has actually seen it happen themselves excetp a few. After a few question to those, I find the ammunition was to fault and not the gun. So bringing up this security company again - could you e-mail me come contact information for thier firearms instructor, I'd love to learn just what was going on with thier guns...
Closest thing I've gotten is a couple instructors explained they convinced thier department to do away with the Sigma and go with a better gun. I have no problem with those guys having a preference for other guns, but the Sigma didn't have problems with those guys either.
Preference is a very important thing when choosing a handgun. If you prefer something other than a Sigma, fine. More power to you - learn to shoot it well whatever it is. But just because your preference runs differently than mine doesn't make my gun a POS. Your gonna have to prove it to me.
I'll freely accept that the Sigma may be not be as high quality as some other guns and may have more problems. Personally I won't buy any new S&W product for personal political reasons. Maybe S&W even produced a few more lemon Sigmas than can be found on average with other manufacturers, but I'm having a danged tough time tracking any of them down.
Sorry to sound as if I've been offended - I really wasn't, but I have gotten tired of blind accusations and to be singled out for my opinion demanded some rebuttal...
yorec,
You say talk on the internet is cheap and then offer a differing review on the Sigma refuting jtduncan's statements. If talk on the internet is cheap, who does EBF believe? You? jtduncan?
If the experiences of others are worthless because they are piped onto our homes via the internet, you me and 14,000+ other people are wasting a lot of our time here at TFL.
Sure people are going to throw out some trash here and there just to get their kicks, but for the most part people here tell the truth (maybe I'm delusional and they don't?).
jtduncan took the time to write a pretty extensive post including real life experiences and what appear to be facts. He claims to own and like other S&W products. I don't believe he has an agenda.
Again, not trying to flame or insinuate who is right or wrong. . .
Shake
Not to start anything or flame you. . . but.
You say talk on the internet is cheap and then offer a differing review on the Sigma refuting jtduncan's statements. If talk on the internet is cheap, who does EBF believe? You? jtduncan?
If the experiences of others are worthless because they are piped onto our homes via the internet, you me and 14,000+ other people are wasting a lot of our time here at TFL.
Sure people are going to throw out some trash here and there just to get their kicks, but for the most part people here tell the truth (maybe I'm delusional and they don't?).
jtduncan took the time to write a pretty extensive post including real life experiences and what appear to be facts. He claims to own and like other S&W products. I don't believe he has an agenda.
Again, not trying to flame or insinuate who is right or wrong. . .
Shake
Yorec the folks I know that own sigmas love them. My friends that have shot mine like it as well. My 5" tiny sis who has 0 experience fires it without issue. I invite anyone who cares to shoot my sw40v as long as you pay for the ammo. I had a guy on another board tell me that kimber is a POS though he doesn't own one. Such is the net. Hey Duncan I'd LOVE to try out that G32. Promise I'll return it if ya ship it to me. 
Exactly Shake - "Opinions are like..." you know the saying and we've all got one. I'm not saying thier all worthless, but I've grown tired of expressing my opinion in favor of the Sigma and then standing back while others bash away with anecdotal evidence that cannot be proven or found - I've even been called a liar at one time when I recounted that my SW40F has 10000 round through it. It's tiring.
Now, I'm not trying to flame jtduncan overly much either and I apologize to him if it seemed so, but he was the one who called me out by name wanting to educate me about this security company with all its problems and his anecdotal friends who got rid of thier guns within a few weeks. All simply because I expressed my positive opinion about a gun. I'm open to learn about such incidents. Now, I realize that his friends cannot help me since they've gotten rid of thier guns and they cannot be reviewed. So I ask for contact info for the company which is still using them and having problems. I expressed I've been searching for proof of such things and have yet to find them. I would love to get an e-mail so I can contact these folks and see just what was going on with thier Sigma's. I'm all set to learn about it.
Just trying to separate trash talk from valuable opinion...
Now, I'm not trying to flame jtduncan overly much either and I apologize to him if it seemed so, but he was the one who called me out by name wanting to educate me about this security company with all its problems and his anecdotal friends who got rid of thier guns within a few weeks. All simply because I expressed my positive opinion about a gun. I'm open to learn about such incidents. Now, I realize that his friends cannot help me since they've gotten rid of thier guns and they cannot be reviewed. So I ask for contact info for the company which is still using them and having problems. I expressed I've been searching for proof of such things and have yet to find them. I would love to get an e-mail so I can contact these folks and see just what was going on with thier Sigma's. I'm all set to learn about it.
Just trying to separate trash talk from valuable opinion...
I understand you can never truly have COMPLETE confidence in any firearm. However, if I am going to trust my life to a pistol I don't want to have any doubts about it's reliability. It looks like about half the people posted have serious doubts about the sigma. I might just buy it but it won't be my primary defense gun. I don't have a whole lot to lose for $100.
Thanks for the help guys.
Thanks for the help guys.
Shoot it. If you like it, BUY IT! If you don't like it afterward, I'm sure a gun shop would give you $100 trade in towards another pistol.
I was at an outdoor range next to an older gentleman who had 2 Sigma SW40V's. He said they were his favorite pistols and they never baubled. We fired next to each other for over an hour, and he never had a problem.
In a seperate incident, I went shooting with some friends out of town where one of them had just purchased a SW40E with 2 hi-cap mags that day. We all shot it, and agreed that the felt recoil was more than my USP... We also had several stove pipes and a couple of light strikes. We were all using Winchester White box.
Like my old man says... 6 of 1, half dozen of the other.
I was at an outdoor range next to an older gentleman who had 2 Sigma SW40V's. He said they were his favorite pistols and they never baubled. We fired next to each other for over an hour, and he never had a problem.
In a seperate incident, I went shooting with some friends out of town where one of them had just purchased a SW40E with 2 hi-cap mags that day. We all shot it, and agreed that the felt recoil was more than my USP... We also had several stove pipes and a couple of light strikes. We were all using Winchester White box.
Like my old man says... 6 of 1, half dozen of the other.
TheActor,
From my cold hands you will!
Just had a guy a GT local snag a G32C I spotted for $398! Keep you in mind next time.
yorec:
We've all got opinions. I'm just letting everyone know that the largest employer in Washington State has perhaps close to a 1,000 of Sigma's and are having signficant problems with them.
If you've watched my posts over the year here, I hate it when people buy guns they have a chance of having problems with or hating. Lord knows, I've bought some of them myself. Just beating the drum so the natives know.
And you have email.
From my cold hands you will!
Just had a guy a GT local snag a G32C I spotted for $398! Keep you in mind next time.
yorec:
We've all got opinions. I'm just letting everyone know that the largest employer in Washington State has perhaps close to a 1,000 of Sigma's and are having signficant problems with them.
If you've watched my posts over the year here, I hate it when people buy guns they have a chance of having problems with or hating. Lord knows, I've bought some of them myself. Just beating the drum so the natives know.
And you have email.
Rename
In my opinion, they misspelled the pistol's name. It should have been called "Stigma". I sold mine with 3 hicaps and walked away briskly. I did use my profits to purchase another S&W, but this time a model 1066. Now that is a nice shooting, accurate pistol! Look at the 3rd Generation S&W autos if you want a nice S&W. May not get the hicap mags, but based on my personal comparison.....I'd rather have 9rds that will hit their target than 15rds that will eventually hit something.
In my opinion, they misspelled the pistol's name. It should have been called "Stigma". I sold mine with 3 hicaps and walked away briskly. I did use my profits to purchase another S&W, but this time a model 1066. Now that is a nice shooting, accurate pistol! Look at the 3rd Generation S&W autos if you want a nice S&W. May not get the hicap mags, but based on my personal comparison.....I'd rather have 9rds that will hit their target than 15rds that will eventually hit something.
Coltdriver
New member
If it is a VE variant then they tend to be pretty good.
Any earlier model is hit and miss.
I had a VE, I simply did not like the trigger.
Any earlier model is hit and miss.
I had a VE, I simply did not like the trigger.
jtduncan,
Thanks for the response - you've got return e-mail. Could it be that I'm finally going to find concrete evidence? Even if I do, the vast number of times I've been disappointed speak in favor of the Sigma, but I'm sure there are some bad ones out there!
Regardless of which gun you like, always shoot a gun extensively before you trust it to defend your life!
Thanks for the response - you've got return e-mail. Could it be that I'm finally going to find concrete evidence? Even if I do, the vast number of times I've been disappointed speak in favor of the Sigma, but I'm sure there are some bad ones out there!
Regardless of which gun you like, always shoot a gun extensively before you trust it to defend your life!
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I would have to disagree with the statement that reported problems with Sigmas are unverifiable. I have certainly seen them first hand. The Sigmas that I have seen are complete junk. My experience with them is limited to about 5.
I can easily imagine that there are decent Sigmas out there. But as someone said earlier, they are hit or miss.
For a defensive weapon, get something absolutely rock solid. Something that you can stake your life on. A weapon known to be hit or miss is not something you should ever consider staking your life on.
If you want to shoot cans and have NO intention of ever carrying this gun. Buy it for next to nothing and know what you may be getting. But if you want to shoot cans buy a good .22.
I can easily imagine that there are decent Sigmas out there. But as someone said earlier, they are hit or miss.
For a defensive weapon, get something absolutely rock solid. Something that you can stake your life on. A weapon known to be hit or miss is not something you should ever consider staking your life on.
If you want to shoot cans and have NO intention of ever carrying this gun. Buy it for next to nothing and know what you may be getting. But if you want to shoot cans buy a good .22.
contender4040
New member
junk
Been there, done that, never again.
I had a sigma 40ve that was nothing but trouble. Remington, Hornady, PMC, etc-----4 magazines------no matter, it was constant jams and poor accuracy. This gun was so bad that I refused to sell it to an officer. It went back to the gunshop were it was purchased. That shop had so much trouble with returns that they dropped the sigma line.:barf:
Been there, done that, never again.
I had a sigma 40ve that was nothing but trouble. Remington, Hornady, PMC, etc-----4 magazines------no matter, it was constant jams and poor accuracy. This gun was so bad that I refused to sell it to an officer. It went back to the gunshop were it was purchased. That shop had so much trouble with returns that they dropped the sigma line.:barf: