Can I trust this gun?

[Guest cajun600]

Hi All,

Looking for any advice or help. I have a SW9VE SW Sigma pistol (9mm). Had it for 3 years or so, never any problems/jams, etc. Used the same ammo this whole time, never had a hiccup with it or any FMJ. Last range trip and at home the other day though, I experienced a couple nose dive jams when racking the slide back and 2 whilst firing.

Have thought about this and thinking some possible explanations:

1. Feed ramp needs some TLC (cleaned and oiled the crap out of it)

2. Magazine springs are not strong enough anymore (not sure about this or how I replace them)

3. For when racking the slide, I'm not pulling back far enough or letting it go too soon maybe?

I've cleaned and oiled this puppy up but haven't been able to figure out yet if its just happening with one of the magazines. Oh well, I'm more or less a newbie when it comes to this issue, so any advice/help would be appreciated. Really just interested in fixing / tuning it to get it back to 100% working order. Thank you all in advance.

Edited November 1, 2010 by cajun600

[MacGyver]

My first indication would be a mag problem - Probably deformation of the feed lips themselves.

I've got a friend who went through a Defensive Pistol class last year (1000 round class) with a SW9VE. Most, if not all of the stoppages that he experienced were magazine related. As a first step, I would mark your magazines and see if the errors occur with just one of them, or multiples.

[TNWNGR]

+1 on the defective mag, I've had Glock 22 and other pistol mag's produce the same result's that were described, I pulled them out of my gear bag and replaced them with new one's. IMHO replacing the mag is a better practice than rebuilding or tweaking it as the time and money spent with the bum mag rarely even out.

[Backon4]

Also remember S&W has one of the best warranties in the business. There are people with 10,000+ rounds through theirs trouble free. I had about 2500 before I gave my 40v to my dad. Mark the mags and also inspect. The loaded ammo should sit flush on both sides of the mag lips and not have any gaps and be the same distance apart front and back. If they are wider on either front or back than I would send the gun in with the magazines. Chances are you will get new mags.

[LagerHead]

My first indication would be a mag problem - Probably deformation of the feed lips themselves.

I've got a friend who went through a Defensive Pistol class last year (1000 round class) with a SW9VE. Most, if not all of the stoppages that he experienced were magazine related. As a first step, I would mark your magazines and see if the errors occur with just one of them, or multiples.

+1. Mag problems are both common and easy/cheap to fix. It's been a while since I've messed with that line of pistols, but many have a button in the bottom of the mag floor plate that lets the plate slide off and the spring come out. If yours does, take it apart, clean it, lightly oil it and reassemble. If the problem persists, buy a new mag and try again. If the problem persists, explore the springs and feed ramp, though I doubt the feed ramp just all of a sudden became incapable of feeding when you've had good luck with it so far.

[Guest cajun600]

Thanks for the excellent tips guys, I think I've itemized it down to one mag that may be the problems. I will try cleaning / oiling the spring, the top of it looks ok to me but that doesn't mean much, so I will toss it if it continues to malfunction. Thanks again.