In late 1994 I received a call to meet some other LE folks for a first look at a new pistol. A nearby purveyor of LE goods hauled in a half-dozen Sigmas along with lots of ammo & spare magazines. We proceeded to shoot up his ammo and grin a lot. After a couple of magazines I was destroying Copenhagen cans out to about 20 paces. The Sigma's trigger reminded me of that found on High Standard's 22 DA revolvers; sorta short, quick and all business. Our 'test' Sigmas chewed through nearly a case of ammo and never bobbled.
For the first time in my life, I was becoming enamored with a rubber gun. I thought the Sigma had potential, but S&W's good name was not enough to pry the LE market away from Glock. The Sigma suffered some early problems but by the time they were resolved, the die was cast. The Sigma was relegated to 'also-ran' category where it remains to this day. If you believe half the internet prattle you read about the S&W Sigma, you'd be inclined to rate them about three points above Bryco and two points under a good homemade slingshot.
Having recently handled the current iteration of the Sigma, I was anxious to see if they were as good as I remembered them. I begged and cast about for a SW40VE to try; what I came up with was this old SW40C, a short-lived compact version of the original gun. I grabbed a handful of my .40 pest load, which uses a 170 grain Missouri Bullet SWC over 4.0 grains of W231 for roughly 800 fps. I figured if it'll feed these, it would feed about anything and the SW40C didn't disappoint. It's only quirk was that it dropped brass, from the light load, right on the brim of my hat.
The old 40C didn't shoot half bad. The trigger takes a little getting used to, unless you're an old DA revolver man or PPC shooter. A straight back press results in a surprise break; done consistently it produces good results, as the cluster suggests. Do it inconsistently and you get fliers, like The Wild One at One O'clock.
The gun itself seems plenty accurate; I don't shoot my G23 much better, standing unsupported at 25 yards. I sure wouldn't run from a Sigma for the right price.
For the first time in my life, I was becoming enamored with a rubber gun. I thought the Sigma had potential, but S&W's good name was not enough to pry the LE market away from Glock. The Sigma suffered some early problems but by the time they were resolved, the die was cast. The Sigma was relegated to 'also-ran' category where it remains to this day. If you believe half the internet prattle you read about the S&W Sigma, you'd be inclined to rate them about three points above Bryco and two points under a good homemade slingshot.
Having recently handled the current iteration of the Sigma, I was anxious to see if they were as good as I remembered them. I begged and cast about for a SW40VE to try; what I came up with was this old SW40C, a short-lived compact version of the original gun. I grabbed a handful of my .40 pest load, which uses a 170 grain Missouri Bullet SWC over 4.0 grains of W231 for roughly 800 fps. I figured if it'll feed these, it would feed about anything and the SW40C didn't disappoint. It's only quirk was that it dropped brass, from the light load, right on the brim of my hat.
The old 40C didn't shoot half bad. The trigger takes a little getting used to, unless you're an old DA revolver man or PPC shooter. A straight back press results in a surprise break; done consistently it produces good results, as the cluster suggests. Do it inconsistently and you get fliers, like The Wild One at One O'clock.
The gun itself seems plenty accurate; I don't shoot my G23 much better, standing unsupported at 25 yards. I sure wouldn't run from a Sigma for the right price.
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