Sphinx SDP Range Report

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rt11002003

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Finally! I'm logged in.

Took my new, unfired (except at factory?) Sphinx SDP Compact to the range on Friday, along with a HK 9mm Tactical. I've carried the Tactical for my last several trips; I've had difficulty firing a good pattern with it.

Anyway, the first five rounds from the SDP failed to load and to lock the slide back when mag was empty. In the second group, a couple more rounds failed to load; then it cleared up, loaded correctly, but the slide still wouldn't lock back. At round 15, the slide locked back when empty. The gun continued to cycle flawlessly for the remaining 75 rounds. That gun was tight!:D

Now to accuracy, I was lousy for about 10 rounds. At that point I settled down and started improving. At rounds 40 to 45, the four of the five were in a two inch group at 10 yards. I'm convinced; it's a great gun.:) Thanks guys for bring it to my attention! I'll try to post a photo of the target.

As to the HK, the trigger is heavier than the SDP. The SDP was smooth, broke cleanly at about 4 pounds. I have a HK Mark 23 with a trigger break around 7-8 pounds. The Tactical trigger pull is close to the Mark 23. It has caused me to shoot low and left. I don't have that issue with the Mark 23. I'm guessing my supporting the additional weight and heft of the Mark 23 sets me up to ignore the heavier trigger. ????? My comments are about SA trigger pull.

Quality evaluation will come later as I get more familiar with the SDP.

Conclusion: We should all have a SDP Compact. And, I'm in the market for the Sphinx Production Black Line 9mm SA/DA SDP, if it comes to market. b/t/w, the literature says it has a manual safety, the picture agrees; but, the specs say it has decocking. Go figure.!:confused:

I was also carrying a Ruger Mark iii Competition Target in which I had just finished installing a Volquartsen trigger and hammer kit. Can't say enough about the kit. Makes that gun a whole new ball game.:)
 
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I'm not very good with these point and shoot cameras. As with guns, they perform better than I.

On this target: Started at the bottom right, fired five shots; moved left to next target, fired five shots; repeat.

Move up a row: continue sequence. Move up to top row: continue sequence.

Started over at bottom row right target and fired another five rounds at each target same sequence as before. A total of 90 rounds fired. The second group of 45 rounds was fired quicker than the first. As soon as I acquired a sight picture, I fired.

There are also black dots I used to shoot the Mark iii at 25 yards. I didn't improve until the second target where I was also firing the HK.
 

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I went to buds gun shop last weekend looking for a glock 43 and left with a SDP Compact Alpha. It took me about half a minute of holding the gun to double what I had planned on spending and I have no regrets. This gun has quickly become my favorite and is a tritium front sight post away from nightstand duty. I plan to pick up the subcompact eventually.
 
Pretty decent shooting. Looks like a couple more to the Sphinx club here at the FL. There are about a dozen of us here who own them. No doubt they are very high quality guns with a high level of machine work. I like their ergonomics and it's above average accuracy. Triggers are pretty good, just not Sig good. Recoil/muzzle flip is also pretty low.

Like any other auto loading handgun, I don't think it's the end all, be all.

Let us know how you guys like them after you do some more shooting. I like the large grip module, how about you guys?
 
Congrats rt11002003!! :cool:

I finally was able to handle a Sphinx SDP recently and it is a really nice pistol.
I thought the DA trigger pull was pretty decent but not what I hoped for and the SA trigger pull was outstanding.

Debating whether or not to get one for myself. I already have quite a few compact 9MMs in poly and aluminum frame which makes it harder as I am extremely satisfied with pretty much all of them including my Walther PPQ and German SIG SP2022.

Still I usually find room for something new if I like it enough and plan on shooting the SDP soon. Hopefully the full size SDP shows up soon also and in steel frame too.
 
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sigarms228 said:
I thought the DA trigger pull was pretty decent but not what I hoped for and the SA trigger pull was outstanding.
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As you may already know from having read these discussions, changing the trigger from heavy but clean to much lighter and clean is as simple as installing a CZ Compact hammer spring from Wolff. (The 17lb. spring is what I'm using, and others like the 16lb. spring. I tried 16lb. but had some ignition issues.)

I also have Cajun Gun Work's trigger kit for the SDP, and it includes a specially made 13 lb. spring with a several other small springs and all I've got to do is INSTALL IT, but other things keep coming up. Everyone using that kit in the SDP raves about it. While I'd like a lighter trigger, I like what I've got so well, I'm now hesitant to "upgrade" the trigger. :eek:

Any of these changes make a big difference.

Don't let the heavy DA trigger (I'm assuming that was your issue) turn you off.
 
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Worc said:
Pretty decent shooting. Looks like a couple more to the Sphinx club here at the FL. There are about a dozen of us here who own them. No doubt they are very high quality guns with a high level of machine work. I like their ergonomics and it's above average accuracy. Triggers are pretty good, just not Sig good. Recoil/muzzle flip is also pretty low.
Click to expand...

Interesting because I find the trigger to be better than any current production Sig I have shot with the exception of a Gray Guns P229.

I love the trigger on my P228 but I am not sure it is better than the Sphinx once I installed the lower weight hammer spring kit from CGW.

I am interested in what you find better about the Sig trigger.

sigarms228 said:
Debating whether or not to get one for myself. I already have quite a few compact 9MMs in poly and aluminum frame which makes it harder as I am extremely satisfied with pretty much all of them including my Walther PPQ and German SIG SP2022.
Click to expand...

It is a very different shooting poly pistol then the PPQ or the SP2022. In my hands it is superior to both. In fact I sold my PPQ to fund my Subcompact. :eek:

Walt Sherrill said:
I also have Cajun Gun Work's trigger kit for the SDP, and it include a specially made 13 lb. spring with a several other small springs and all I've got to do is INSTALL IT, but other things keep coming up. Everyone using that kit in the SDP raves about it.
Click to expand...

This is what I settled on. The Wolf 17 and 16 both gave me light hammer strikes but I have had no issues with the CGW kit.
 
Don't let the heavy DA trigger (I'm assuming that was your issue) turn you off.
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Thanks Walt and that is not the case. I have a couple compact pistols that are already shooting perfection for me. Just trying to decide if I want another possible one or maybe even wait until the full size steel frame ones come out to use as a range pistol. I hope to shoot an SDP fairy soon.
 
I agree with WVSig on the trigger being better than current production sigs. The SRT trigger reset might be a bit shorter but otherwise inferior. I'm curious about the lighter hammer springs. I feel like the SA on my compact is 4 pounds. I wouldn't want that to get too much lighter. For those who installed the spring, did it have a big impact on your SA weight?
 
I agree with WVSig on the trigger being better than current production sigs. The SRT trigger reset might be a bit shorter but otherwise inferior. I'm curious about the lighter hammer springs. I feel like the SA on my compact is 4 pounds. I wouldn't want that to get too much lighter. For those who installed the spring, did it have a big impact on your SA weight?
Click to expand...

A little but nothing really noticeable. IMHO It really just takes the weight out of the DA pull.
 
jimbear said:
I agree with WVSig on the trigger being better than current production sigs. The SRT trigger reset might be a bit shorter but otherwise inferior. I'm curious about the lighter hammer springs. I feel like the SA on my compact is 4 pounds. I wouldn't want that to get too much lighter. For those who installed the spring, did it have a big impact on your SA weight?
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The trigger on my compact out of box was nowhere near that light. It was all of 5.5 lb SA and just under 12 lb DA from a Lyman digital gauge.
 
My SA weight could very well be 5.5 pounds as well, it just feels lighter. I don't have a scale to measure. It definitely feels lighter than my P226 SAO.
 
Compact with GCW spring kit DA=9.6 lbs SA=5.4 lbs

Sub compact DA=8.13 lbs SA= 4.12lbs

These are the avg of 5 pulls using a Lyman digital scale.
 
I didn't "need" another compact handgun (however you folks brought it to my attention), but felt it would fit nicely with my other compacts, a SIG p239 and a DW Guardian 9mm. Of course, my SIG p232, Beretta 84FS and Browning BDA may also be considered compacts. Whatever.

I like shooting guns of that size. It seems to help me when shooting the larger stuff. Probably just in my mind.

I have mixed emotions about triggers. Just installed a Volquartsens kit in each of my Ruger Mark iii's. There's a world of difference in the pull between those guns. The Target trigger pull is heavier than the Competition Target pull. Those guns have "identical" components. They felt the same when dry firing, but the difference showed up on the range. Weird.

I shoot better if the trigger pull is lighter than five pounds, as long as it is smooth and breaks clean. At my age, arthritis plays a big part.

My SDP trigger suits me, for now. It could stand improvement, along with the triggers on half my guns. I'll shoot them the way they are until they aggravate me like my HK9T is doing. Then I'll try some of the advice you folks offer. A big problem results when shooting guns like a SIG X-5, or X-6, then trying something not as good. Confuses the trigger finger.

The initial grip on the SDP felt fine. My hands are size 8/9. Perhaps the smaller grips will fit better.
 
Ok, you jerks have to stop posting for another 6 months, when I'll finally have the funds available for a Sphinx. Right now all my money is tied up in a CZ-75B restoration.
 
WVsig wrote:
Interesting because I find the trigger to be better than any current production Sig I have shot with the exception of a Gray Guns P229.

I love the trigger on my P228 but I am not sure it is better than the Sphinx once I installed the lower weight hammer spring kit from CGW.

I am interested in what you find better about the Sig trigger.
Click to expand...

A few things like the much shorter reset on the Sig. The Sig has zero take up after the reset, not so with the SDP. In DA the Spinx is stagy as it hits the "Half Cock" position. The DA pull on the SDP is 12 pounds plus and over 6 pounds in SA. I have just the hammer spring installed from the CJW kit and it only dropped the DA to just over ten pounds and the SA to a little more than 5 pounds, which both are heavier than my Sig or any other one I measured.

The Sphinx breaks as clean as the Sig and over travel or lack of it about equals. Both are very smooth except the for the first part of the DA pull of the Sphinx.

I've shot more than a half dozen SDP's and dry fired about double that. The number of Sig's would be many times over. None of the SDP's were as good as a Sig overall.
 
A few things like the much shorter reset on the Sig. The Sig has zero take up after the reset, not so with the SDP. In DA the Spinx is stagy as it hits the "Half Cock" position. The DA pull on the SDP is 12 pounds plus and over 6 pounds in SA. I have just the hammer spring installed from the CJW kit and it only dropped the DA to just over ten pounds and the SA to a little more than 5 pounds, which both are heavier than my Sig or any other one I measured.

The Sphinx breaks as clean as the Sig and over travel or lack of it about equals. Both are very smooth except the for the first part of the DA pull of the Sphinx.

I've shot more than a half dozen SDP's and dry fired about double that. The number of Sig's would be many times over. None of the SDP's were as good as a Sig overall.
Click to expand...

Interesting were these older P series or newer P series guns with the SRT trigger? Almost every single Sig I have touched recently had a DA pull over 10 lbs. Even if the CGW kit only dropped the SDP to 10lbs it seems like it would be on par with a Sig.

To each their own. Depending how you run the trigger a little slack in the trigger is not necessarily a bad thing. I like to run a hard prep and the slack allows me to prep the trigger so I can quickly and accurately break the next shot on a DA/SA gun.

Honestly I have no love for current P series Sigs. I have older German guns for all the models I am interested in so I don't regularly buy newer Sigs. In my hands the SDP seems smoother than most Sigs I have touched. I don't buy them anymore but I do shoot other peoples new Sigs on occasions and handle them in gun shops from time to time.
 
WVsig wrote:
Interesting were these older P series or newer P series guns with the SRT trigger? Almost every single Sig I have touched recently had a DA pull over 10 lbs. Even if the CGW kit only dropped the SDP to 10lbs it seems like it would be on par with a Sig.
Click to expand...

The Sigs range from West German to current production. A factory 10 pound DA Sig pull is still lighter than a factory SDP 12 pound pull. Changing out the springs on the SDP will help some, but you can do the same for the Sig. Sig also has SRT kits you can add and even different trigger shoes to adjust their reach.

Over all quality of the SDP is better than the P series Sigs but, the Sigs have better trigger characteristics.
 
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